amzzah naseehah

Over and under promise

2012-02-12T07:18:00.007+08:00

Promise is a commitment to act. However it is quite common in all societies that promise is something which is uncertain until we have an English saying: "Promises are meant to be broken" and a German Proverb: "Nothing weights lighter than a promise". That is the reason why there is a requirement for a written contract to bind promise legally. If the contract is broken, then there will be legal

Freedom to our children

2011-10-23T12:17:00.000+08:00

Every child from a parent is a distinct individual. A child may even have the same pointed nose of the father or the same curly hair of the mother, but deep inside, the child is different in many ways from their parents and siblings. Likewise twins may look the same in most of their physical features; however one half of the twin is still different in many ways from the other half.I have two sons

You plan your career

2011-09-16T12:23:00.002+08:00

I recently hosted a group of young graduates for lunch. They just joined the company I work for a couple of months ago and the lunch is part of the on boarding process at my company. The lunch provided an opportunity for interaction between the young graduates and departmental managers to share experience and seek clarification on company's philosophy and anything related to career

Facebook - Social network vs. Social friendship

2011-08-06T11:54:00.006+08:00

Sometime ago, I had a discussion regarding Facebook with my family during a family's dinner at the UiTM Shah Alam Hotel. We were there after fetching my eldest son from his UiTM hostel. The discussion started after one of my sons shared about one of his friends' opinions that in order to become Facebook friends, both parties need to know each other prior to being accepted as friends.During the

ONLINE SPAM TO CON

2011-02-11T04:15:00.004+08:00

BEWARE! I have searched the net for Lalachite Azurite and it is not lubricant but gemstone. By the way the sender of this "spam to con" email may be different from one to another but so far I've seen, all are Malay names. The email connection can be msn, gmail, yahoo so on and so forth. Only greed will make you fall for this.Friday, February 4, 2011 9:31 PMFrom: "Noreha bt mahat"Add sender to

Excel in UPSR 2011 Motivational Programme

2011-02-03T17:08:00.004+08:00

On Monday, I conducted a motivational programme for year six students at a primary school in Gombak. These students are going to sit for their UPSR examination in September. UPSR is a government standard examination for primary student at year six i.e. 12 years old. Though passing the examination is not mandatory, however to excel in it will open up greater learning opportunity either at the

Office liaison or relationship

2011-01-15T02:20:00.002+08:00

Yesterday while I was having some drinks at the office cafeteria, I met with an office colleague whom I have not met for a long time. We exchanged greetings and news about each other i.e. ourselves, our work and our families. I then introduced her to those at my table as "my long long long good friend". She responded while pointing at me "and this is my long long long good boss". Only then I

Investments decision

2011-01-07T00:05:00.011+08:00

One of my Facebook friends posted a question to me on investments. He asked me, "How to gain highest return in investments?" It seems someone had approached him on a Gold investment scheme with the pretext that Gold investment is lucrative and guaranteed. Definitely, gold investment is lucrative because gold is valuable and expensive and it is guaranteed because the price of Gold is stable. Well

AFF Cup - Malaysian victory, what's next?

2011-01-03T00:12:00.003+08:00

In my earlier posting World Cup 2010 Tuesday, 6 July 2010, I commented regarding the condition of Malaysian soccer in the world arena. The posting was made a few months after the Malaysian team won the SEA Games Gold medal and even after Malaysia won the most recent AFF Cup, my comment still stands. I mentioned in my earlier posting that to be in the running in Asia top five (to be vying for the

Live is a journey

2010-12-28T07:35:00.003+08:00

Live is a journey. This is how I looked back at the time when I left my High School and move on into college, started a career and a family. Some people may have a life journey not in that particular order. Due to different personal circumstances, they may start off their journey with having a career then go to college at the same time they started having a family. However, regardless of the

Rewards

2010-11-17T01:56:00.000+08:00

It is the end of the year again where employees will undergo a performance assessment process with their line supervisor/manager. This process is to assist the employer in determining the level of Rewards to be granted in the coming year. The Rewards will normally be in the form of salary increase and bonus.Assessment is generally done on an individual basis. It is based on fulfillment of a set

Patience and blessings

2010-08-28T07:33:00.002+08:00

In this world of broadband and super lightning speed of information sharing, people tend to expect that everything will be equally speedy and fast. Of course if this is possible and achievable, it will indeed be speedy and fast. However certain things are slow and times consuming that require patience and perseverance in order for it to be possible and achievable.Most people rely more on their

July 24: An exciting reunion after three decades of Setapak High School Form Fivers 1981

2010-07-29T23:13:00.008+08:00

I was one of 22 former Form Five Setapak High School students (1981) who gathered at Bangi Kopitiam, Wangsa Maju for a reunion after 30 years . The first to come and sat at the table was Martin Paul who looks young as ever. I then came second as the main coordinator of the reunion and saw Martin whom I have met once or twice prior to this. The numbers then became nine (Martin, Ganesan, Ahsan,

I'm excited for July 24

2010-07-10T13:47:00.004+08:00

Yes I'm excited. I have already gathered in my pool of fb friends 10 of my ex-schoolmates who were from the same batch. We are planning for a simple reunion next Saturday and some are coming from outstation to attend. Those who are not connected via fb will be invited via sms. Thanks to our communication technology.At the same time I'm planning for my reunion, my wife is also attending her

World Cup 2010

2010-07-06T22:25:00.005+08:00

World Cup 2010 has been so devastating. Spain, Holland and Germany persevered and are in the Semi-Final while Argentina and Brazil were defeated when the odds were stacked for either one of them to be the first World Cup champion hosted in Africa. Italy was the surprise early exit, while France and England were expected not to progress and had rightly showed their true form when they exactly did

Maintaining a relationship that last

2010-02-20T00:15:00.003+08:00

Some of us may have heard of the story of a man who had pulled out a thorn from a lion’s paw he accidently met in the savannah. Some years later, both of them met once again in the Roman arena of death, the man against the lion, with the pack audience expecting a bloody duel. However the duel did not happen as the lion recognized the man who had helped it before and the man was left unhurt. The

About turn in my career

2010-01-29T19:35:00.004+08:00

Last month, some departments within the company I work with went into a reorganisation exercise. The organisation was a massive one covering all countries where the company operates. Among the positions affected was my position that was merged into another position. The other positions though not affected, were also opened for other applicants.Everyone affected by the reorganisation was allowed

Instant and convenient culture

2009-12-04T21:46:00.003+08:00

While I was driving through my housing area a week ago, I noticed an advertisement printed on an A4 paper, laminated and hung at a lamp-post which says "Work from home. Earn RM2,XXX to RM4,XXX per month, call...". Then yesterday I read in a newspaper, "Bang Wok (I have changed the name) cannot promise that you will earn RM1 Million, but you can start earning more than RM5,000 per month by ..."All

The "Balik Kampung" myth during Hari Raya

2009-10-03T05:35:00.007+08:00

When I started working more than twenty years ago, people know me as someone who has no kampung (hometown) as my mother and I lived in Gombak i.e. KL. So applying leave during Hari Raya (Eid) was a challenge then as I was first a bachelor and second, I have no kampung to go back to.When I got married, I married a nice Gombak girl. Hence my kampung status then did not improve as I am married but

Eid Fitr Shopping at Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Lagoon.

2009-08-31T02:11:00.004+08:00

Click here for more Eid Fitr Shopping at Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Lagoon.

2nd Year family outing at Kompleks PKNS, Shah Alam

2009-08-30T23:43:00.012+08:00

This year my family and I went to Kompleks PKNS, Shah Alam once again for our Eidul Fitri shopping. Unlike last year (see my posting Family outing at Kompleks PKNS, Shah Alam Sunday, 31 August 2008) when we were there before the fasting month, this year we purposely chose a fasting day i.e. yesterday, Saturday 8th Ramadhan to do our shopping. Also unlike last year, only my daughter followed my

Farewell to Alex, all the best

2009-08-29T08:25:00.006+08:00

When I became the HR Expatriate Services Manager in January last year, Alex was one of the Services Advisors in the team. He constantly consults me on his work and performance. Due to the manpower rationalisation of my team and the impending transitioning into an inferior terms and conditions of employment covering the team, he had decided to apply for a transfer. He recently got a job as a

The most expensive shoes I have ever bought

2009-08-15T21:39:00.014+08:00

Ever since I returned from performing my umrah, my knee pain had become unbearable. I started experiencing the pain while exercising at the office gymnasium (refer to my post Leg~sercises on Saturday, 23 May 2009). At that point, I just dismissed it as just fatigue.The pain disrupted my normal life much to my disappointment, I could not go to the gym and walking about at home and office became so

Another email from an ex schoolmate

2009-08-11T00:06:00.004+08:00

Well.. well.. it is a pandemic. Another email from an ex schoolmate, this time of SRJK Sultan Alam Shah PJ, my primary school in 1971 (standard 1), mind you. What a wonderful cyber space.--------------------------From: Mohamad Salehhuddin OthmanSubject: SRJK Sultan Alam ShahTo: amzzah_naseehah@ymail.comDate: Monday, August 10, 2009, 10:49 PMHi,Came across your blog where you mentioned that you

Expatriates HR Transaction Teambuilding session

2009-08-09T13:18:00.005+08:00

In view of the impending Declustered Expatriates HR Transaction team, my Team Leads and I had agreed to organise a Teambuilding for Expatriates HR Transaction team on 3rd Aug, a half day event. (For more information on the department I am managing, please click Forthnightly Shared Learning Session) The objectives of the teambuilding were as followsSynergising ES Transaction team across

Farewell lunch for Roha

2009-08-09T00:10:00.003+08:00

One of my subordinates, Roha got a transfer cum promotion to Labuan, Sabah starting 1st August. Her team organised a farewell lunch at Tenji Japanese Buffet Restaurant, SohoKL, Sri Hartamas. The restaurant's ambience was beautiful and they have a big spread buffet. The price is okay but the food there was so~so.Good luck and all the best to Roha.

Farewell to a friend

2009-08-08T14:59:00.010+08:00

Nordin Ayob was a colleague once upon a time. Then he was a subordinate before he moved to another department. All the while we were friends, and indeed we are still friends up till now as we share the same interest, i.e. Hajj, Umrah, Mecca and Madinah. Both of us had gone to Mecca and Madinah thrice, two for Umrah and one for Hajj. We went for Umrah together in June this year, something we had

Eric Fan:Setapak High School - 1980 - SRP and 1982 SPM

2009-07-24T22:53:00.005+08:00

What beauty we can savour from cyber space. I had not updated my blog since May due to business commitment and travelling, then came this email during my inactive period. Beautiful indeed. Thanks Eric.---------From: Eric FanSubject: Setapak High School - 1980 - SRP and 1982 SPMTo: amzzah_naseehah@ymail.comDate: Tuesday, July 21, 2009, 3:10 PMDear Mr. Naseehah,I saw your blog and brought back many

Leg~sercises

2009-05-23T13:56:00.007+08:00

Hmmm.... you must be saying "Leg~sercises?", what is that? Well I'm not claiming I'm a body builder nor am I a gym instructor. I just coined the word to share with you one of my routines at the office gym where I got to exercise my leg's front and back muscles. With age catching up on me, I'm experiencing mid-life challenges such as knee and back pains, so the routines are some sort of a

Listening, expectation and decision

2009-05-09T03:06:00.004+08:00

This week I had three feedback sessions with my subordinates. One was a planned monthly session but the other two were impromptu (refer to my earlier posting on types of feedback dated 24 August 2008 Self awareness a key to self improvement and success and 27 October 2008 Resignation and Attrition.)In the sessions, the common theme we discussed was about listening. The expectation from my

Indoor Games Committee

2009-05-02T20:38:00.004+08:00

When I first started working about twenty years ago, I used to spend eight hours working at my desk and the rest of the day at the office sports club. It then took me only a couple of months to know almost everyone at the office regardless of whether they are from my department or not. Nowadays, I notice that people spend less time socialising with their office mates after work. Everybody seems

Forthnightly Shared Learning Session

2009-04-26T22:47:00.007+08:00

I have a big team of 37 staff in my unit. 6 of them report directly to me. I have 3 Team Leads, 2 Subject Matter Experts and a Relief Service Advisor. The 3 Team Leads supervises an average of 10 staff each.I manage my team partly via a weekly meeting with my 3 Team Leads and 2 Subject Matter Experts. I have a separate weekly meeting with my Relief Service Advisor. During these meetings, we

Petrosains family tour @ KLCC

2009-04-20T22:01:00.003+08:00

I have completed my materials for the talk

2009-04-18T17:21:00.003+08:00

I am all set. Insyaallah on 25 April I am conducting a talk to the school prefects of a school near my home on Creative Thinking, refer to my post I now have a company 15 April 2009. Alhamdulillah.

THANK YOU NOTE FROM ME...

2009-04-16T22:10:00.006+08:00

I was browsing my old emails and found this thank you note in my inbox, buried among other old emails.From: Mohd Yusoff, Siti KhadijahSent: Friday, February 27, 2009 6:29 PMTo: Mohd-Nor, Abd-MalekSubject: THANK YOU NOTE FROM ME...Dear En Malek,As today is my last day working under your supervision, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the guidance and knowledge that you have

I now have a company

2009-04-15T00:41:00.007+08:00

I have been planning for a long time for this. Now I have a company AMZZAH NASEEHAH RESOURCES, Human Capital Management and Consulting Services, alhamdulillah. I am excited, really excited. Though I have conducted a few trainings and consultancy services previously, this time around I feel different as I had been doing those on free lance basis. Insyaallah on 25 April I am conducting a talk to

email from my ex Setapak High School mate

2009-04-13T08:31:00.004+08:00

hmmm... it has been a while since my last posting. Sorry, as my schedule was packed, I did not even have time to check my emails. Interestingly when I check my emails this morning, I saw an email from my ex Setapak High School mate.From: Ganesan Streamyx xxx???@streamyx.comSubject: Setapak High SchoolTo: amzzah_naseehah@ymail.comDate: Thursday, 2 April, 2009, 1:01 PMHi ,I was checking out a key

Chinese New Year 'Lou Sang' Lunch Feb 6 2009

2009-02-08T09:39:00.007+08:00

On Friday 6 February, my team and I went for a Chinese New Year 'Lou Sang' Lunch at Yu Shan Chinese Restaurant, KL Golf & Country Club, Off Jalan Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur. We had a sumptuous Chinese cuisine 7-dishes set lunch, started off with Lou Sang or Yee Sang, a Malaysian Chinese traditional dish usually taken between the first to the fifteen days of Chinese New Year. I had my Team Leads

Family Karaoke at Red Box, Mid Valley 1 February 2009

2009-02-02T08:23:00.007+08:00

Sunday 1st February, my sister-in-law's family and my family attended a wedding reception at Subang, Selangor. Thereafter, my family and one of my wife's nieces stopped at the Gardens, Mid Valley. At first we wanted to watch the movie "Sifu dan Tongga", however we changed our mind as we passed through Red Box Karaoke. All of us then spent our afternoon karaoke-ing over there. Actually karaoke

Islamic Economic Development Festival, Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, 22-26 Jan 2009

2009-01-25T07:30:00.007+08:00

My family and I visited the festival yesterday. There were numerous stalls at the festival providing information from government agencies such as JAKIM, YAPIEM and YADIM. There were also stalls by several local public and private universities. Exhibition on products produced and marketed by small and medium Muslim industries were also available. These include food, electronic gadgets, household

Resignation and Attrition part 2

2009-01-18T12:46:00.005+08:00

One of my Team Leads had tendered her resignation and left last Friday. She was my second Team Lead who resigned (see my blog post dated Resignation and Attrition Monday, 27 October 2008). The situation is not favourable to my organisation and I at the moment. This is due to the impending shift to inferior terms and conditions for Team Leads and below positions at my organisation to be

Non-work related activities at the office

2009-01-17T12:17:00.008+08:00

1. Strenuous work outs at the officeStarting this year, I have resumed going to the office's gymnasium after a short rest (a short 0.8 years... he he). This is part of my resolution for 2009 to be healthier and continue with the good live. My plan is to spend three days a week at the gym doing strenuous work outs. I hope I will sustain this. This would complement my weekly badminton game with my

Family Trip to Penang 10-11 January

2009-01-11T23:36:00.006+08:00

My family and I were in Penang Saturday and Sunday 10-11 January to attend a wedding reception one of my staff. Along the way we stopped by at Teluk Intan, Perak and met my ex-room mate during Hajj season 2005 (see photo below taken at the hotel lobby in Makkah then). We also stopped by at UiTM, Bandar Seri Iskandar in Perak to meet my wife's nephew who had just registered into UiTM about two

Malaysian Funniest Home Video

2009-01-01T17:34:00.015+08:00

This is the video which had been long awaited for by a group of viewers of my blog, just read their trail of comments to my posting 2nd Badminton game at Setapak High School 27 Dec 2008 below before you watch the video'Ammar said...the middle one is the sharpshoter because his score the most excellent the right one is the blocker because no one can get trough him the left one is dribbler.my

Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa Kampung Baru but not at Kampung Baru

2009-01-01T15:48:00.004+08:00

On the eve of 2009 New Year, my family and I had our dinner at the Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa Kampung Baru cafe at Platinum Walk 2, Danau Kota, Setapak. The restaurant had just started its operation on 23 December and is open daily from 11am to 1am, more news here NST Online » Local News » Nasi lemak chain expands . We tried their tasty nasi lemak toppings of chicken rendang, fried chicken, fried

New School Term is here again

2008-12-29T10:30:00.007+08:00

Sunday 28 Dec, my wife, my daughter and me went to SRI Al Amin Gombak to purchase my daughter's text book and uniform. Yes it is the school season again. We reached the school at 9 am and were ready to go by 9.30 am as we were early and had beaten the que. As always SRI Al Amin is well organised in handling this sort of events, kudos to the school. Keep up the good work.

2nd Badminton game at Setapak High School 27 Dec 2008

2008-12-28T07:35:00.010+08:00

As I have mentioned last week in my posting "Badminton game at Setapak High School 20 Dec 2008 (26 years after I had left it)", my extended family were back this week to play badminton at Setapak High School. However I missed another nephew, Udin who said he was coming but did not turn up.I played four double matches and won two of them. The victory was sweeter when I trounced Zaid, my eldest son

Aqeeqah for 'Imran @ PV5, Platinum Hill Condo, Taman Melati 21 Dec 2008

2008-12-21T22:17:00.006+08:00

I did not mention earlier that I received a new nephew last November. 'Imran from my second eldest niece, Khadijah.We had his aqeeqah today and was well attended by relatives and Khadijah's friends. I tasted only a morsel of the lamb, just to join in the celebration as lamb is pantang for me, he he he...May all mighty Allah bestow the wisdom and guidance to 'Imran and his children and

Badminton game at Setapak High School 20 Dec 2008 (26 years after I had left it)

2008-12-20T17:50:00.009+08:00

My two sons; Zaid and Anwar, my daughter Hanaan, my two nephews; Safwan and Sufian joined my wife, my sister (the School Senior Assistant), her husband and me to Setapak High School this morning to play a few games of Badminton. We played in the famous Setapak High School gymnasium (one of the few non-boarding public schools in Malaysia that has a gymnasium). Setapak High School's had a very

Year End Team Celebration at Chinoz, The Gardens Mall at Mid Valley on 16 Dec 2008

2008-12-20T08:06:00.013+08:00

As to mark our 2008 successful operations, my team and I at the office had our Year End Team Celebration at Chinoz. Each one of us had our pre-ordered ala carte lunch set (the restaurant could not cater for my forty team members if we had ordered on the spot). The dishes were prepared nicely and of course served ala carte style. There were two speeches; one from my boss and the other from me. My

My "extended family" weekend at my PV10 Condo - Dec 13 2008

2008-12-14T08:16:00.004+08:00

My PV10 condo unit is still vacant due to the fact that I am a very selective landlord. Several property agents had approached me to rent the condo to students, some are ridiculously silly wanted to put in 15 students into the unit! My dream tenant would be a small local family starting up in KL or expatriates family on an assignment to KL. Click at the following to view my advertsSetapak Lake

Family holiday at Padang and Bukit Tinggi 25-28 Nov 2008

2008-12-04T19:16:00.028+08:00

It has been a while that my family and I had taken a holiday abroad together. This year we had the opportunity to plan it very early. In May, one of my wife's colleagues had offered to organise a four-days and three-nights trip to Padang and Bukit Tinggi, Sumatera, Indonesia. It was to be some sort of family day, but with own expenses of course. My wife and I took this opportunity to plan us

Melbourne business and leisure trip 18-21 November

2008-11-24T00:57:00.010+08:00

I was planning this trip while I was attending the expatriates compensation conference at Langkawi in October. The trip was intended for me to conduct a Contract Review Meeting with the relocation vendor of the company I work with. Out of a sudden, my boss who had accompanied me to Langkawi suggested to me to have a family holiday in Melbourne as well. However, since I had already planned a

Invitation as a trainer for a "Negotiating Skill Workshop"

2008-11-08T23:42:00.017+08:00

_________________________________________________Ruj Kami:PAS/K098/26/01/08 (004) 30 Oktober 2008/30 Syawal 1429HTetuan amzzah naseehahUp : En Abd Malek Md NorAssalamualaikum wrt wbtTuan,JEMPUTAN SEBAGAI “TRAINER“ UNTUK BENGKEL TEKNIK KEMAHIRAN BERUNDINGMerujuk kepada perkara di atas, dengan segala hormatnya pihak kami ingin memohon jasa baik pihak tuan menjadi tenaga pengajar dalam program

Resignation and Attrition

2008-10-27T16:03:00.007+08:00

I had a resignation recently when one of my three Team Leads tendered her resignation. This is the second resignation in my team of 40 this year (for more information on the structure of my team, I had written a posting on Thursday, 10 July 2008 with the title A difficult decision). The company I work with requires a three months notice period. However, she gave a month notice and bought out the

A meeting at Westin Langkawi 24-25 Oct 2008

2008-10-27T05:23:00.012+08:00

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Asia ORC Roundtable meeting at Westin Langkawi, Kedah from the 24-25 Oct 2008. ORC Worldwide is a consulting organisation specialising in international mobility and expatriates compensation and benefits. It has its offices in several locations; Chicago, Dallas, Washington, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in the USA; London, Munich and Paris

Employability Talk at Chemical Engineering Faculty of UiTM, 17 Oct 2008

2008-10-19T04:58:00.006+08:00

On Monday 13 October, my colleague text me telling me that one of his friends would like to speak to me. I thought that it was only the usual Q&A on Human Resources questions that I normally received from mutual friends connection. The questions that were posed to me would be on Human Resources Policy or Compensation and Benefit or employment opportunity.The caller was a lecturer at Universiti

An early dinner at Sa Sayang Cafe, Batu 5 1/2 Jalan Gombak

2008-10-19T04:57:00.009+08:00

After visiting my wife's niece in Sungai Way for Hari Raya, we headed home. As it was raining heavily just before we went out, there was heavy traffic along the way back. Our earlier intention of visiting another of my wife's niece who had just delivered a baby at Ampang Puteri Hospital was aborted. It was close to 6.30 pm and to save time we decided to have an early dinner somewhere near our

SK 1&2 Sultan Alam Shah

2008-10-19T04:50:00.009+08:00

Last weekend, while on the way to the house of my wife's niece in Sungai Way for Hari Raya, we passed through Section 11, Petaling Jaya (PJ as we Malaysian call it). I was so excited as my former primary school when I was in standard one, SK Sultan Alam Shah at Jalan Bukit, Petaling Jaya is within the vicinity. When we reached the school, I stopped by the side of the school. My two sons went

My Project Manager's end of contract

2008-09-30T00:38:00.001+08:00

In my post on Saturday, 9 August 2008 with the title Building relationship and gaining trust in work, I related to you about my Project Manager. He is in charge of the implementation plans and operational stabilisation of a third party vendor on relocation services. His one-year contract was coming to an end on 30 October 2008. I had expressed my intention to extend his contract via his manpower

October Milenia Muslim magazine with part 5 of my collumn is available now

2008-09-28T22:46:00.004+08:00

You may get a copy at the local bookstore, newstand or subscribe directly from Milenia Muslim (<--click here).

This made my week

2008-09-21T14:33:00.004+08:00

Last Friday, I was having a chat with one of the staff at the office. She used to report to me when she first joined the company. I was handling Recruitment then and she was supporting me. She just joined the department I am in early of this year but in a different unit.She showed me her notebook where she had diligently written her "To Do List". I commented on her nice handwriting and then

Chinese Wedding Reception on the 7th day of Fasting

2008-09-15T05:43:00.005+08:00

My wife and I were invited to one of my staff wedding reception on 7th September at one of the hotels in Kuala Lumpur. I have always made it a point to attend weddings especially if the weddings are connected to my personal or official life. This is similar to the trip that the whole family made to Kedah to attend another one of my staff's wedding in late August.I had been to a Chinese wedding

Global Contract Manager's visit to Malaysia

2008-09-07T10:21:00.004+08:00

This week the Global Contract Manager of the company I work with came over to my office for a visit. He is based in Europe and had just moved into the position early this year. The purpose of his visit was to familiarise himself with the operations of the KL Human Resource Service Centre and the contracts that the Centre has with its service providers.One of the roles of my position is to manage

Human Resources Expatriate Policy Train-the-Trainer Internal Workshop at Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur from 25 Aug-1Sep 2008.

2008-09-02T22:27:00.009+08:00

As a continuation to the Human Resources Expatriate Policy training I had attended in The Hauge, The Netherlands in May early this year, I was invited to attend the Train-the-Trainer workshop at Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur from 25 Aug-1Sep. The plan is to lay out a training plan where local and internal resources would be trained to deliver the training. The facilitator was a young South African

Family outing at Kompleks PKNS, Shah Alam

2008-08-31T07:38:00.012+08:00

Yesterday my family and I attended a khenduri (thanksgiving ceremony) in Shah Alam at my previous boss's house. The khenduri was held in conjunction to the upcoming fasting month, which is expected to be on Monday 1st September 2008. After the khenduri, we stopped by at Masjid Shah Alam to perform our noon prayer. As my wife had always been interested to shop at Kompleks PKNS, Shah Alam, we then

de templer Restaurant - The Authentic Chinese Muslim Cuisine

2008-08-30T22:50:00.012+08:00

Last Friday, I had dinner with my family at this restaurant. It is located at Jalan Melati Utama, 4, Melati Utama, Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, along the MRR2 highway in front of Platinum Victory Condominiums. We had crabmeat and shark fin soup, sizzling prawn, deep-fried cuttlefish, dried chilli chicken, brinjals with salted eggs, fried eggs with big onions and plain rice.While having our dinner, my

September Milenia Muslim magazine with part 4 of my collumn is available now

2008-08-30T21:08:00.005+08:00

You may get a copy at the local bookstore, newstand or subscribe directly from Milenia Muslim (<--click here).

Self awareness a key to self improvement and success.

2008-08-24T18:32:00.006+08:00

I had an opportunity to attend a two day workshop on Service Excellence for Leaders at the Le Meridien hotel, KL conducted by Ling Turner on Thursday and Friday 21 and 22 August. There were a few powerful tools that were shared during the workshop. One of the tools that had made a big impact on me was during the feedback session.The feedback session was organised with 7 participants and a

Family Holiday in Alor Setar 16-17 August

2008-08-19T00:19:00.037+08:00

In 2006, my family and I attended a wedding reception of my friend's daughter at Teluk Intan, Perak. We stayed for two nights in one of the hotels in Teluk Intan town and took the opportunity to explore the town and it's surrounding during our stay there. After that pleasant outing, I have always dreamt of hitting the road visiting all the cities and towns around Peninsular Malaysia with my

2 nights at Tawakal Hospital

2008-08-15T22:54:00.014+08:00

As I have mentioned via my Twitter, my daughter was admitted into Takaful Hospital on Tuesday 12 Aug, suspicion of either allergy or viral infection. She had red patches all over her body and was having fever on and off the past three weeks. She was weak, had loss some weight and had not been going to school on many days during the period.At first, I was reluctant to admit my daughter into the

Interview for Quality Assurance Analyst

2008-08-11T23:02:00.018+08:00

I had recently interviewed 3 candidates for the position of Quality Assurance Analyst. The role and responsibility of this position are very much related to internal auditing, however I have a lot more ideas in store as I intend to develop the team I am managing to be in full compliance with the Control Framework structure as specified by my organisation's Financial Controller Management unit.As

Tips on how not to do business

2008-08-10T09:59:00.005+08:00

My brother and I own a plot of land, about 3.5 acres, somewhere near the new Batang Kali town centre. The land was a former rubber smallholder plantation. I once had tried to replant the land with local fruits but was conned and had to endure with a loss of a few thousand ringgit plus a motorcycle that I bought for the helper. The rubber trees are about 20 over years and not much interest was

Building relationship and gaining trust in work

2008-08-09T22:43:00.004+08:00

One of the projects I am working on at the moment is rolling out a relocation services contract via a third party vendor into the Middle East countries. I have a Project Manager reporting to me to handle the implementation plans and to cover operational stabilisation. The project timelines of the implementation had been overly slipped due to some opposition from the local Human Resources unit.

Cheng Ho Restaurant, Chinese Islamic Seafood

2008-08-03T23:54:00.005+08:00

This restaurant at Wangsa Maju owned by the legendary Malaysian rocker, Amy Search had been in the limelight for quite some time. Even the Malaysian Islamic Party's spiritual leader, Tuan Guru Nik Aziz had had his lunch there in the presence of Amy himself. I could have never imagined that getting a table at the restaurant was so difficult until I went there myself. Two Saturdays ago, 26 July

August Milenia Muslim magazine with part 3 of my collumn is available now

2008-08-03T01:08:00.002+08:00

You may get a copy at the local bookstore, newstand or subscribe directly from Milenia Muslim (<--click).

I recommend this book

2008-07-27T22:50:00.014+08:00

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need (Paperback)by Daniel H. Pink (Author), Rob Ten Pas (Illustrator)Have you read a career guide book illustrated in manga (Japanese cartoon genre)? Check it out, click on the book.

Manila Trip - learnings from a passionate and energised culture

2008-07-27T03:20:00.007+08:00

I am currenthly involve in a global project to improve the Shared HR Services operations in my company. The team comprises of representatives from several regional service centres. We had been sharing on good practice from each service centres during our teleconference meetings and I was interested to learn how Manila is doing as the service centre over there operates at night as they had to

An email from Le Service Ressources Humaines

2008-07-20T16:37:00.006+08:00

Last Saturday, I received this email from Le Service Ressources HumainesFrom: To: amzzah_naseehah@ymail.comSent: Saturday, July 19, 2008 1:51:24 PMSubject: Votre MailBonjourCe poste n'est actuellement plus ouvert. Nous nous en excusons et vous proposons de revenir consulter nos offres ultérieurement.Vous souhaitant bonne chance dans votre recherche d'emploi.---------- Cordialement Le Service

Employee Motivation: Tips for Entrepreneurs from IdeaCrossing

2008-07-19T10:19:00.007+08:00

An interesting news article I have read in the net.Employee Motivation: Tips for EntrepreneursSource: IdeaCrossingPosted: 2008-07-14July 14, 2008 – Cleveland, OH - The success of new business ventures is tightly tied to employee motivation, and profitable entrepreneurs are serious students of the art and science behind motivating their employees.“Understanding the diversity inherent to employee

Denying comfort zone to unleash our talent

2008-07-16T21:36:00.004+08:00

As I had mentioned previously, I currently have 3 teams in my unit reporting to me, each led by a Team Lead. Uniquely, the coverage of each team is dissimilar due to the complexity of each team's roles. However each team has an equal ratio of coverage to the number of team members. So I have a large size team, a medium size team and a small size team in my unit.Each of my Team Leads has their own

An easy decision

2008-07-12T10:11:00.013+08:00

While I was having dinner at home on Thursday night, my Regional Operations Manager (let us call him ROM) called me on my mobile. After a few pleasantries, he asked me about the performance of one of my team members who had resigned recently (let us call her Resignee).I was a little bit taken by surprise, the question did not sound logical as Resignee had already resigned, so why did ROM wanted

A difficult decision

2008-07-10T21:32:00.010+08:00

Last Monday while driving home from the office, my boss called me. As she came to know that I was driving, she quickly said that she would like to speak to me once I reached home as it was not safe for me to take her call while driving, a valid reason I would say. Along the way, I was wondering what was so important that she could not wait until the next day to speak about.After taking my bath

It has been a while

2008-07-08T23:57:00.008+08:00

Yes, it has been a while since I have written something in this beloved blog. Nonetheless I am happy that I have traced several visitors to my blog, either from within or out of the country. Thank you for visiting and I hope you are enjoying the sharing that is offered here in my blog.Work demand had taken me off blogging for a while with extensive travelling adding to the complexity. By the way,

My mentor, my network and my first promotion

2007-08-19T02:16:00.003+08:00

I found my first year in the job very fulfilling. The highlight of the year was when my departmental manager had commended one of my works. It was an analysis that I had done on correlation of good performance appraisal and position seniority. It was just my own initiative of downloading of appraisal and staff personal data that I then turned into some tables and charts which was actually beyond

How I survive my first year at work.

2007-07-30T23:03:00.001+08:00

Being a new kid on the block, I blended a mixture of some humility and assertiveness in handling the uncertain situation at that time. It was rather a weird situation as some of the more senior peers perceived me as over qualified for the job and, though not verbally said, may outdo them in progression due to my higher qualification while I was keen to learn from them in order to perform my job

Decision for my first job

2007-07-23T00:09:00.001+08:00

As I have related earlier, my interview with the big and famous Multinational Company ended up with an offer for a position of General Clerk III at a salary of just over RM500 per month albeit with me having a diploma which salary could have fetched around RM800-900 at that time i.e. in 1990. Nonetheless, I had accepted the offer as I had explored the company's career development and enhancement

My job offer

2007-07-08T23:24:00.001+08:00

Apart from directly applying jobs on my own, I had also registered myself at Jabatan Tenaga Rakyat JTR (this can now be done conveniently on line at the following url http://jcs.mohr.gov.my/jcs/jcs_jobseeker_register/pre_register.faces). This is where job seekers provide resume and prospective employers submit their job vacancies while JTR would facilate in coordinating the needs of both parties.

Job hunting

2007-07-06T12:03:00.004+08:00

Peace be upon you who receive the guidanceTowards the end my final semester, I had started to compose my resume and photocopied several sets of my educational certificates i.e. my transcript, scholastic achievement such as dean's list certificate, high school diploma (SPM and SRP) and many others. It was customary in Malaysia (at that point of time circa 1980's) to attach resume and copies of

College Life

2007-06-30T09:55:00.002+08:00

Peace be upon you who receive the guidanceMy final semester at Institut Teknologi MARA (UiTM) was filled with uncertainty. Malaysia was facing economic recession at that time (late 1980's) and jobs were scarce. I was following the vacancy advertisements in the newspaper and the primary requirement is something that I cannot offer i.e. job experience. Some of my coursemates had already planned to

Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM or UiTM)

2007-06-22T23:39:00.002+08:00

Peace be upon you who receive the guidance,I returned to Malaysia in July 1985. Contratry to what I fear, my family was very supportive of me eventhough I did not produce them a degree from the USA. My late mother told me "it doesn't matter to me as long as you're safe and sound in front of me."Upon returning home, I spent a lot of my time pondering on my strategy to rebound from my predicament.

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA

2007-06-18T22:20:00.002+08:00

After scoring 17 Aggregate in SPM in 1991, I was offered a scholarship to study at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA. I did well in my Freshman (1st) year attaining GPA of close to 3.00. However when I was in Sophomore (2nd) year, I had to opt for Mechanical Engineering as my major since it was prescribed in my scholarship. I had a fancy for Mathematics actually and tried to reason out

My secondary school

2007-06-15T23:55:00.002+08:00

Peace be upon you who receive the guidance.I sat for my Ujian Penilaian (now UPSR) in 1975. My result was 2A 3B, at the top quartile of my school, alhamdulillah. However, I purposely failed my interview to enroll into MRSM, a boarding secondary school, so as I can be at home with my family. This was a concsious decision which I did not regret. I then enrolled myself into Setapak High School (

My primary school

2007-06-02T22:40:00.002+08:00

Peace be upon you who receive the guidance.My primary school started when I was 7 years old. My school was Sekolah Rendah Inggeris Sultan Alam Shah, Petaling Jaya. I was in the same school with my late brother. He was 4 years older than me.My father was ill with brain tumor for a few months while I was in standard 1. As my mother was caring for my father at the hospital, my brother and I were put

Childhood Memory

2007-05-27T18:00:00.001+08:00

Peace be upon you who receive the guidance.My father was a teacher who then became a headmaster. My mother was a housewife. I came from a big family, 5 boys including me and 5 girls, I'm ninth and 2 of my siblings had already passed away, a sister and a brother.I can't remember much of my childhood from birth until I was five. I started to remember things when I was staying in Kampung Sungai

Introduction

2007-05-17T22:47:00.002+08:00

Peace be upon you who receive the guidance.All praise to God who had given me the time and energy to write in this blog. I intend to share my life experience from as early as possible in my childhood up till now. Hopefully this sharing would provide some motivation and guidance to you in your life.I am currently an HR Professional in a multinational corporation. In my career, I have been handling