Another old friend passed away

Today, 29/6/09, I sent a SMS to Bayan@Fauzi at 3.13pm to ask about his brother health status. His brother,Nilam was a friend of mine. He replied back at 3.15pm....and told me his brother still in coma...I think...more than 1.5 months after suffering a stroke back in early May 2009. However, Bayan called me at 5.15pm to inform that his brother, Mohd. Nazly Osman, passed away at Kepala Batas Hospital. He was admitted to Penang GH for more than a month before transferred to Kepala Batas Hospital. I went to visit him last month, 28/05/09 at Penang GH. He was a nice guy, very cheerful and got his nick Nilam, when we were studying at STSSS back in 1986-1990. But, I forgot who actually gave the nick to him.

I pray to Allah SWT......may Nilam will be included in the pious groups.....

H1N1@ Swine Flu.....it's scary....

I have finished my study leave on Saturday and reported duty yesterday. It's been 3.5 years long leaves.......New challenges will start next week as new semester begins. What really concerned me is about the latest news about H1N1 pandemic. As today's news, 50 cases of +ve H1N1 reported and I foresee the +ve H1N1 cases will increase.

"An umpdate: A 14-year old student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Damansara Utama is the latest victim of H1N1 virus"

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/Frontpage/20090622075311/Article/index_html

However, I'm quite worry of next week, as the new semester begins, many students will come back from their long holidays. There are newly intake local students and foreign students. They will register for new semester on 28 June 2009.The current local and foreign students (from China, Vietnam, Thailand, Middle East, Indonesia etc.) will be registering from 3 July 2009. There are also some students who are from rich families coming back from vacations in Australia, US, Canada, etc. Are there any possibilities that these students free from H1N1 virus? I really hope all the students are in good health. I wonder whether UUM's management foresee and fully prepared for any potential problems and uncertainties. I really hope they are fully prepared....

Happy Father's Day

Today is Father's Day. Many countries celebrate it today, i.e. Malaysia, Chile, China, USA etc. (actually there are 52 countries celebrate Father's Day in the 3rd week of June every year). I just hope to be a better father to my children....and becomes even better........

Happy Father's Day!!

Sizzling Noodles....@Tesco Alor Setar Foodcourt

I went to Tesco Alor Setar on Saturday, 13/6/09. Tesco is one of my sons' favorite places during weekends. The food court at the ground floor always becomes the main attraction for meals. But, I have noticed 1 counter....selling many types of sizzling noodles.

All types of foods available at the food court. I notice that all the counters were registered under the owner's name, i.e. Clay pot- Rahmawati (if I've not mistaken) & business registration number. However, 1 counter, selling sizzling noodles, registered as "Sizzling *** (sorry, I can't remember it's full name) & the business registration number. I become curious and asked a cashier at a clay pot counter....what really surprised me was....the owner is a nonmuslim....and all the ingredients are prepared by the owner....As a muslim....food is something very sensitive....even though some of my friends don't bother much about food...but for me, I always put a restriction to myself and my family to really put special attention regarding foods to be taken. Any potential "shubahah" associated must be avoided accordingly and the "haram" of course is strictly prohibited.

Return of the Jedi.......

The Star Wars movie reminds me about the challenges in life. Do you know that Jedi or "Jaddiun" in Arab is one of the solar system in the universe? I followed Ustaz Syamsuri preachers previously and he recited one verse from Al-Quran, Al-Furqaan (25:61) "Maha Berkat Tuhan yang telah menjadikan di langit, tempat-tempat peredaran bintang, dan menjadikan padanya matahari serta bulan yang menerangi". He eloborated the verse using one old book "kitab"...however, I could not remember its name.....

21 June 2009, I'll be back to UUM, officially, after 3.5 years of study leaves. I hope I will be more prepared as new rules and policies are introduced significantly. Teaching is very interesting however in order to ensure the students able to generate their capabilities and prepare themselves for real world challenges are something very challenging indeed.

Tragedy....Air France Flight 447

The Air France Flight 447, carrying 228 people vanished Sunday about four hours into its flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. The cause of the crash will not be known until the black boxes are recovered — which could take days or weeks. But weather and aviation experts are focusing on the possibility of a collision with a brutal storm that sent winds of 100 mph straight into the airliner's path (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090602/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/brazil_plane).

I still remember when my flight from Sydney to KL was stranded on the runway due to thunderstorm in Sydney back in December 2007 (7 December to be exactly). The wind was so strong as the Boeing 747 in its parking gear mode yet I still could feel the turbulence. Luckily, the storm lasted only for an hour.....however my flight was delayed for two hours before the air control tower allowed for take-off at 5.00pm.

Tragedy.....in Gong Badak

"Mujur acara lewat sehari"- Harian Metro; "Bumbung stadium runtuh"-Utusan Malaysia; "Workers escape in the nick of time as roof of year-old stadium collapses"-The Star.

These are the headlines of a tragedy in Gong Badak, Terengganu. It appears to be very fortunate as the annual inter-varsity staff sport carnival should be held today. If the event was officiated yesterday, I would strongly confident that most of the hospital wards will be fully occupied........Any problems will show the symptom first before the actual problem occurred. This is very basic and fundamental in Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) approach. Early equipment/facility abnormality can be detected earlier if, proper, well organised and sufficient training and education are provided accordingly. For instance, cracks, abnormal paint smear, leakages, unfamiliar sounds, etc. are some of the symptoms that showed instability of the building.

I wonder, whether the supervisor, manager or the person in charge are delivering this basic information to their staff, especially those who are dealing with routine jobs such as cleaner, sweeper, gardener, etc. And more importantly, the staff knows what to do if such symptoms appeared and fast remedy action taken.