Thursday, April 30, 2009

Memories....

I attended a wedding of a friend two weeks ago. I was really happy to meet my teacher....actually a ustazah anyway after about 17 years (she taught me in 1992/93). She was also happy as I still recognised her....One thing I learnt from her was..."always show your respect to your teachers". Respect could be conceptualised in many perspectives...i.e. always greet your teacher, be punctual to class, talk humbly with your teacher, be courteous, etc.
Ustazah Bushro..thank you very much. I try to deliver the same message to my students the things that I learnt from her class.....
I did my masters degree at BATC UTM and my classmates were very friendly.....and they were mainly holding managerial post in their organizations and showed positive character and composure....I really enjoyed knowing them and till now we're still keep in touch.....
They were always put priority to come to the class punctually.....

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

PIG FLU

My friend, is a doctor and involves in many incidents related to outbreaks in Malaysia. SARS, bird flu, Dengue, etc. He even involves in the investigations of unregistered medical/ food related materials. He and his teams have done many confiscations of products, i.e.to improve "man" energy levels.....but it ended that many dangerous chemicals have been added as the main ingredients , e.g. sildenafil was used over the limit permitted. I think you may know Viagra... even certain brands of instant coffee contain more than 100mg sildenafil in every sachet!.....what a surprise....

The email by him to all my friends (ex-Stsssians 1986-1990 batch) really shows the global impact of the Pig Flu thus eventually triggers WHO to declare level 4 pendamic warning


This is the email:


Assalamualaikum.

Apa habaq semua? Semenjak dua menjak ni tak berapa nak dengar cerita pun dari kawan-kawan semua. Mungkin masing2 dok busy kut termasuk diri aku. Walau bagaimanapun aku nak mencelah sikit tentang tajuk yang sebenarnya tak payah nak diintroduce lagi. Rasanya semua dah tahu pasal hal ni. Tapi apa yang buatkan aku nak tulis pagi ni sebab sebelum ni sepanjang kita semua hidup atas muka bumi ini, inilah kali pertama WHO (Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia) mengisytiharkan amaran Tahap 4! Sebagai kesimpulannya tahap 1-3 lebih kepada persediaan menghadapi wabak (pandemik) tapi bila masuk tahap 4-6, maknanya ia lebih menjurus kepada respon! Hampa faham la kut maksud dia. Bila dah masuk tahap 4 ni maka kami anggota kesihatan seanterio dunia memang dok ready untuk menghadapi kemungkinan wabak seluruh dunia. Walau bagaimanapun, dengan iringan doa aku berharap tahap 4 ni akan boleh turun semula walaupun perkembangan sehingga hari ini nampaknya belum sampai masa untuk amaran tersebut diturunkan ke Tahap 3. Tahap 4 ni mudah cerita ialah apabila berlaku jangkitan sesama manusia. Human to human transmission. Makna kata kalau kita tak jamah babi pun (sori kalau nampak kasar) kita juga terdedah kepada penyakit ini sebab kita boleh dapat dari manusia lain!

Melihat kepada situasi semasa sehingga 5.15 petang kelmarin (28 April 2009), dah ada 7 negara yang secara rasmi melaporkan kes selsema babi ni (swine influenza A (H1N1). Di Amerika Syarikat sahaja dah ada 64 kes yang telah confirm melalui ujian makmal. Setakat ni tiada kematian di US. Di Mexico ada 26 kes yang confirm dengan 7 kematian. Ni aku cakap pasal yang confirm sahih lagi jitu, bukan suspect2 lagi. Kalau hampa baca paper memang figure dia tinggi. Yang jadi persoalan sekarang ialah situasi di Mexico lebih parah dari US. Virus influenza ni yang menakutkan sebab keupayaan dia untuk bermutasi, antigenic shif dan antigenic drif, berubah bentuk macam Transformers, hehe. Maha Suci Allah, kita dengar virus kali ini adalah virus baru, new strain merangkumi komponen manusia, burung dan babi. Inilah yang membuatkan delay dalam mencipta vaksin. Kalau sapa yang minat dengan movie, hampa cari satu filem bertajuk Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America. Filem tu pasal selsema burung, yang kita dok cakap selsema babi...tapi ia masih kes influenza. Bagi aku, filem tu boleh menjelaskan kemungkinan (aku ulang kemungkinan) yang boleh berlaku.

Apa yang kita boleh buat sekarang ialah amalkan personal hygiene yang baik terutama hand washing. Basuh tangan maknanya basuh tangan la bukan basah tangan. Kita orang Melayu kalau nak makan rata-ratanya basahkan tangan, bukan basuhkan tangan! Sebab apa, virus ni jenis kuat punya macam Gaban. Kalau orang yang dijangkiti bersin, kata la terkena kat tombol pintu, virus tu boleh survive kat tombol pintu beberapa jam. Bila kita pegang tombol tu, then kita dok garu hidung kita pula, maka di situ transmisi boleh berlaku. Mudah kan kita nak pi ke alam barzah. Terutama kami anggota kesihatan, memang amat mudah untuk dijangkiti sebab tu anggota kesihatan digalakkan memakai face mask. Buat masa ini di Malaysia, rasanya tak perlu la lagi orang awam pakai face mask tapi anggota kesihatan memang perlu. Buat masa ni kami memang dok ready, kalau ada arahan screening, maka klinik dan hospital akan jadi macam zaman SARS dulu.

Dari segi risiko,memang tak dinafikan negara kita Malaysia juga boleh terdedah sebab hubungan antarabangsa melalui jalan udara. Aku kat Penang pun dah beberapa kali merasa suasana macam ni. Masa SARS dulu, satu kematian di Malaysia mai dari Penang...Pulau Tikus. Ancaman anthrax dulu pun mai dari Penang....Mak Mandin. Ni selsema babi pun sebenarnya kita tak boleh lari. Entah la, betapa kerdilnya kita manusia bila berdepan dengan kekuasaan Allah swt. Virus besar tu pun panik satu dunia. Macam juga la nyamuk yang halus tu, denggi tak pernah duduk diam. Moral of the story, kita tak boleh lari dari kematian. Punya la jaga kesihatan, tak da darah tinggi, tak da kencing manis, tiba2 mai penyakit macam ni, kena sehari dua dah pi....pi ke alam barzah! Ok la sekadar itu dulu buat kali ini. Bukan nak takutkan hampa tapi nak ingatkan. Kira takut, kami lagi takut sebab duduk kat barisan depan. Kalau nak kena, kena kami dulu.........

Monday, April 27, 2009

JMP 6023 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT: FINAL EXAMS

Dear students
The final exam is just around the corner. I wish you all the best of luck. Study hard and be focused.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

A Pandemic Warning


A news released yesterday.....very dangerous flu is affectting Mexico and arriving in Brittain. The pig flu/swine flu...very dangerous and took the death toll to 81 in Mexico and the same virus type has appeared in Texas, California, Kansas and New York. A total of 19 people have been infected, eight of whom have recovered. A British Airways cabin crew member yesterday complained of 'flu-like symptoms' midway through a flight to Heathrow from Mexico City, where the virus first surfaced. Last night the unnamed man, understood to be a British national, was in isolation in a West London hospital and was being treated by staff trained in infectious disease controls. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1173263/Killer-pig-flu-threat-UK-BA-crew-member-rushed-hospital-81-die-outbreak.html
As all know, Mexico and USA have very massive pig farms and....however, in Malaysia we already experienced the deadly Nipah virus back in 1999. Bukit Pelanduk, Negeri Sembilan, is also one of the biggest pig farm in the South East Asia. I have no intention to insult anyone....but in Islam, the ban of the "najis mughallazah" is clearly understood. The other outbreak struck Malaysia, bird flu...for instance still in the Ministry of Health observation. Just wondering what will be the actions taken by the ministry in the pig flu pandemic.


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Halal food....again....

Interesting news.....taken from Kosmo! 21/4/09. What does it mean? How about cake and biscuits....bread?? The "halal" issue is surely very fundamental. It is something very massive issue for me. What about food in hotels? Is it halal? Especially 5-star hotel......
KUALA LUMPUR – Banyak jenis coklat import bukan sahaja dihasilkan dengan campuran minuman keras tetapi tidak kurang juga yang menggunakan lemak haiwan yang tidak halal termasuk babi. Dakwaan ini dibuat berasaskan kepada penemuan bahan kimia emulsifier yang dikatakan mengandungi lemak haiwan berkenaan dalam adunan coklat. Emulsifier secara asasnya agen pewarna, penambah perisa dan memudahkan penyebatian serta menjadikan coklat berkilat. Orang ramai boleh mengesan dengan mudah mana-mana jenama coklat yang mengandungi emulsifier ini dengan merujuk kepada daftar kod saintifik seperti E-100 hingga E-904 yang biasanya tertera pada belakang pembungkus coklat. Ada sesetengah jenama coklat hanya mencetak perkataan emulsifier dan ia bahan tambahan daripada tumbuh-tumbuhan atau haiwan. Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) pula mendedahkan, pengusaha coklat di kebanyakan negara Barat lebih gemar menggunakan lemak babi kerana penternakannya meluas terutama di Amerika Syarikat, Denmark, Jerman dan Perancis. Pengarah Projek PPIM, Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin berkata, emulsifier memang ada dihasilkan daripada tumbuhan tapi penggunaannya sangat kecil. “Ada juga yang menggunakan lemak binatang seperti lembu tapi itu juga sangat kecil, mereka lebih gemar guna lemak babi kerana kandungan lemaknya sangat tinggi,’’ jelasnya. Secara saintifiknya, tubuh babi mempunyai hampir 70 peratus lemak

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Indonesia.....the food does matter!


I've read a newspaper today....no interesting news....only by-election soon to be......very ridiculous......as within 4 months.....3 by-elections already took place......
However, a story from Indonesia didn't surprise me at all. Pork meat in "serunding" or abon in Indonesian. The tales about Indonesian restaurants all over the globe really make me feel uncomfortable....I've visited Sydney in 2007....actually to present a paper at IBR (International Business Conference). The 1st time in Sydney.....surely very hard for me to find a proper place for a meal.....It's fortunate for me to meet 3 Indonesian students who were willingly to help me find a place to eat. An Indonesian restaurant......a supposed to be a "halal" ones. I spent about AUS$30 for lunch and dinner. However, a friend who has visited few countries.......offered me a very good advice......"do not put your 100% confidence of so called halal food in Indonesian restaurants". She told me......" I was in Amsterdam....few years back....and entered an Indonesian restaurant for a lunch.....and...what really shocked me was.....a very colorful poster: TODAY'S SPECIAL: SATE BABI"
And......the whole new episode in her life began....as she spent the whole week in Amsterdam....eating instant noodles.....Maggi mee of course....
And.....that story made me feel very terrible.....as I also need to spend the whole week.....eating some biscuits brought from Malaysia and.....I met a friend, the late Lukman.....a lecturer from UM, who willingly to share some wonderful time.....looking for halal food in Sydney, and we managed to find a Malaysian restaurant in Sydney, very near to Pitt Street. However, I've posted this before in my blog...he passed away due to complication of cancer (at his leg).
So, whenever you travel abroad.....the issue of food is very crucial.....and we need to do extra preparation. I've experienced last year in Constanta, Romania. It's also very difficult to find place for halal food although, the city is considered as centre for Muslim community in Romania. Banana was my routine for breakfast, lunch....dinner and...sometimes supper.....and I lost 2kg in a week.....




Tuesday, April 14, 2009

JMP6023 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT: FINAL EXAM

Dear all,
Please be informed that the case study for final exam is finalised.
Please read Textbook page 82-88 for the Case: SEVEN ELEVEN JAPAN CO.
3 questions will be asked from the case study.
There will 5 other simple questions in your final exam as well

wish you all the best & good luck

HML

Monday, April 13, 2009

JMP6023 Supply Chain Management


Dear students,
Case studies & assignment presentation: Please email me in order to get the comments. I'll give the feedbacks and hope you can add all the comments before submitting to me on 20/4/09.

Thanks

Halim Mad Lazim

Monday, April 6, 2009

MAGNIFICENT....SUPERB.....WONDERFUL.....BRILLIANT......STUNNING

A wondeful night.....as I thought another miserable result for ManU......
It proved that......nothing is impossible......fully utilise all the opportunities.....chances......resources.....capacity......and show the results!!
Bravo ManU......

* I nearly asleep and miss the game......and after the result.....it brought back my enthusiasm to do some works tonite.....
Full report from soccernet.com:
Federico Macheda enjoyed a truly remarkable introduction to English football as he curled home an injury-time winner to give Manchester United a 3-2 win over Aston Villa which sends them back to the Barclays Premier League summit. It seemed the Red Devils would have to settle for a point after Cristiano Ronaldo's brace had only proved enough to keep United level against a Villa side that thoroughly deserved a lead provided by John Carew and Gabriel Agbonlahor.
But Macheda, a former member of the Lazio academy who arrived at Old Trafford in 2007, was to have the last word. At exactly the same moment as Yossi Benayoun struck for Liverpool at Fulham last night, Macheda turned onto Ryan Giggs' low pass before unleashing a stunning shot that curled past Brad Friedel and sent Old Trafford into ecstasy. With Rio Ferdinand's groin injury failing to ease in time for him to be considered, United were without their first-choice defenders and their first-choice strikers amid six missing men that included Wayne Rooney.
Gary Neville's first appearance for two months was expected to come at right-back, so it was something of a surprise to see him line up alongside Jonny Evans in the centre of United's defence. Carew's eyes certainly lit up, given his vast height advantage, which he duly exploited to the full. On the back of an eight-match winless streak, Villa's confidence was a bit fragile too but their dominance in the 14 minutes before Ronaldo's wonder-goal provided enough evidence for them to retain self-belief even after they had gone behind.
During that opening flurry of attacks, Fletcher kneed a Carew header onto a post and Agbonlahor sped clear of Neville only to fail in his quest to find a team-mate with a low cross.
It is difficult to understand why a team that swept all before it for virtually three months should suddenly appear to be so poor.
Beyond question is the individual ability they possess, although the brutal nature of Ronaldo's 19th goal of the season still took the breath away. Normally the kind of opportunity provided when James Milner and Friedel got themselves into a muddle, forcing the Villa keeper to handle a back pass, could be a bit of a negative given its proximity to the opponents' goal. Not on this occasion. Ryan Giggs brushed the ball to his illustrious young team-mate, who sent it over the wall and into the roof of Friedel's net in a flash. A sense of calm should have spread across home ranks. Instead, Villa merely came again. Showing the form that established them in the Champions League positions at Arsenal's expense by the end of January, Agbonlahor and Ashley Young terrorised the United defence. Edwin van der Sar was called upon to keep Villa out on three occasions but there was nothing he could do to deny Carew when Gareth Barry wriggled his way into space by the touchline. The Norwegian crept between Neville and O'Shea to steer a deft header into the bottom corner. Ferguson responded by putting Neville back to full-back, giving up the unequal struggle of competing with Carew. He also urged the United fans to make more noise, indicating a fear that talent on its own was not going to be enough.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

JMP 6023 Supply Chain Management


Dear all, please make some preparations for our class on 11/4 & 12/4. As the final exam is coming soon, I'm sure all of you are in great spirit and momentum to attend this class. I really hope all of you are ready for the four case studies and assignment presentations. Please find info of the followings for next class as well.
1. Product data management,
2. customer relationship management,
3.automated quality control system,
4.computer-aided design systems,
5. warehouse management systems WMS,
6. manufacturing execution systems MES,
7. Transportation management systems TMS,
8. radio frequency identification systems RFID,
9. geo-coded tracking systems (GCTS),
10. bar-coding technology,
1. e-commerce technologies,
12. supply chain event management (SCEM),
13. demand forecasting management (DFM),
14. ERP and
15. SCP systems

Ok...cheers!
**the pic...Constanta...Romania (Nov. 2008)