The "Balik Kampung" myth during Hari Raya

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 both my wife and I have no kampung. My wife is better off as her school where she teaches normally closes during Hari Raya for a week.

As time went by, I insisted to take leave during Hari Raya. My colleagues who have kampungs teased me saying that I should sacrifice for them, so give them a chance to balik kampung as I am already a local. So one time (this was probably 15 years ago) after Hari Raya, I asked one of my colleagues who took leave to Balik Kampung, where did he go during Hari Raya.. he told me he went back to his parent's house, prayed the Eid prayer in the morning and then stayed at his parent's house until he came back to KL. Then he asked me where did I go during my Raya leave, I told him on my First day Raya, I visited 15 houses including my Mother's and Parent-in-law's house. Second day Raya, I visited 7-8 houses and I related him similarly every day of Raya until I returned to work.

This Raya is my first Raya where I update my FB hj malek with my Raya visits (prior to that I have been a long dormant FB user). I shared photos and short snippets of my 7-day Raya celebration on FB. When I came back to the office, many at the office commented that I really had my Raya as they were following my FB postings. Well I told them, that has been how I celebrated my Raya, not only visiting parents and siblings, but uncles, unties, second uncles and unties, cousins, second cousins, neighbours.

So Raya for me is not about taking the journey of Balik Kampung, which is the beginning. Once you Balik Kampung, then the next step would be to visit your relatives whom you had not had a chance to meet them because everybody are busy nowadays and stay far apart. This is the true meaning of Raya and Balik Kampung.

Eid Fitr Shopping at Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Lagoon.

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

2nd Year family outing at Kompleks PKNS, Shah Alam

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 wife and I, as my two sons had other plans. We went there very early in the morning and reached Kompleks PKNS just a few minutes after 10.00 am.

By the time we reached the ground floor foyer of the complex, we could see a lot of people. There were about 100 booths selling baju kurung (a traditional female attire), jubah (robes) for males and females, tudung and selendang (female head scarves), brooches, songkok and kopiah (a traditional male head gear), capal (a traditional male sandal) and many other things related to Eidul Fitr. These exclude the permanent shops on the ground and first floor of the complex.

Our purchases were a lot less than last year as I only bought a kopiah, my wife bought two pair and my daughter a pair of baju kurung. Today the three of us accompanied by my second son went to our usual shopping place, Alpha Angle at Wangsa Maju. My wife commented that the baju kurung at Alpha Angle is much cheaper than Shah Alam. We both agreed probably this year would be the last time we will do our shopping at Kompleks PKNS, Shah Alam.

The more than 100 temporary booths set up at the foyer of the Kompleks PKNS, Shah Alam (top)
Metres of cloth hanging from high above creates the atmosphere of shopping (top).

"Gelap mata" or "pejam mata", both show how intense is the shopping (top)
The packed people on the Ground Floor forced us to go to the 1st floor where there were a lot more space for shopping in comfort. Warisan Hawa Collection (top and the following photos) is a boutique selling batik. My wife bought a pair of baju kurung here.

Farewell to Alex, all the best

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 Marketing Executive in Johor, but still working at the same company. Farewell to Alex and all the best in his future endeavours.

-----Original Message-----
From: Mahda, Alex Pega
Sent: Friday, August 28, 2009 8:22 PM
To: Mohd-Nor, Abd-Malek
Subject: Farewell & Thank you Boss

Boss

I had put the results hardcopy into a white envelope and put it under your keyboard. Your Merdeka stuff had been placed under your workstation.

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your full support and encouragement as my team manager. You will always be among the Best Boss @ Tok Guru I ever have.

Sincere apologize if I had offend you in a way or another. Again..THANKS Boss.

p/s sama Bendera Hijau kita boss...."Hijau" FOR ALL!...sama-sama Hijau ne jgn lupa boss...1.2 ;-) TGNA suka tu..hehe

Thank you and have a nice day.
Best Regards
Alex

The most expensive shoes I have ever bought

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 painful. My doctor then sent me for a knee x-ray and the diagnose was minor Osterioathritis (see below for the test result and click here http://www.footsolutions.com/arthritis.htm for more information on athritis).

I then had to use a walking cane to support my knee, take some pain killers and supplement, last but not least, go for weight reduction. One of my colleagues then recommended me to Foot Solution, a store specialising in customized shoe solutions to improve comfort and body alignment and help achieve better health through the feet.

At the store, Steven the Footcare Consultant interviewed me and ran some tests on two sophisticated machines and here are the results.

He then proposed a very comfortable pair of shoes suitable for my foot shape with a customised footbeds with a price of RM1,400 per pair. Wow!! I said to myself. Nonetheless I went ahead and bought the pair as I am desperate. It would be fully ready by Monday. I will share more on my experience wearing the shoe later.

For more information on Foot Solutions in Malaysia, see below.

Another email from an ex schoolmate

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 Othman
Subject: SRJK Sultan Alam Shah
To: amzzah_naseehah@ymail.com
Date: Monday, August 10, 2009, 10:49 PM


Hi,

Came across your blog where you mentioned that you were
in this school 37 years ago (as of 2008). So were you in Standard 6 in 1971 & were you in School 1 or School 2?

I was in School 2, Standard 6 in 1972.

Salehhuddin.

Expatriates HR Transaction Teambuilding session

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 follows

1. Synergising ES Transaction team across clusters
2. Sharing of the new Org Struture and Performance Criteria
3. Sharing of What coming next

This will be regarded as part of the Expatriates HR Transaction Declustered project and to be facilitated by representatives from the project team.

We went through the following agenda .

Agenda:
11.30am - Team Lunch
1.30pm - Welcome
1.35pm - Ice Breaker Game
2.00pm - Understanding Ourselves - Personality Test (Myers Briggs)
2.30pm - Game to break into groups
2.45pm - Understanding ourselves - Discussion in group
3.00pm - Team Building Game (Softkill - Listening/working together)
3.50pm - Tea Break
4.00pm - In groups - discuss concerns and any solutions/ideas
4.30pm - What coming our way (schedules of lunch and learn) & what going to happen next.
5.00pm - Closing

Farewell lunch for Roha

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

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 planned righ after I came back from Hajj in 2005.

Two weeks after we came back from Umrah, his employment contract came to an end without an extension. I did not know about it as he had kept it to himself. He then told me that he was really looking forward to it.

A few days before his last date in office, we (accompanied by my former Admin Assistant) went out for lunch at the best Nasi Padang restaurant in Gombak. Both Nordin and I had been at this restaurant for lunch a couple of times previously. Then I brought both of them to the best cendol in Gombak.

Good luck Din and all the best.