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Cuti- Cuti Melaka

Tengah beratur nak naik Menara Taming Sari

I just had a great time on Christmas Day. I went on a trip of what we call, the 'indoctrination' of true Melaka. After wifey keep complaining that i never been to any interesting place in melaka since we got married, i decided to do a 'harakiri' by going to Melaka city to immerse in its beauty on Christmas Day. My greatest fear of going to Melaka is its countless traffic lights along Lebuh AMJ (heading to Melaka city) My guess was right. The traffic was really bad when i reached the outskirt of Melaka. Upon reaching the bridge near Mahkota Parade i saw a long and slow moving cars, i detour-ed by taking Jonker Road way. To be honest, that was my first time driving through Jonker Walk Road ever since i grew up in Melaka. During my yesteryears (like 15 years ago), Jonker Walk was not like what it is today. It was narrow and inefficient small road where there were many Baba Nyonya stalls by the roadside. It was not a tourist attraction then.

So i tried my luck finding parking spot and Alhamdulillah, we managed to park our car in front of the Melaka River Cruise entrance. We walk like 500m to Menara Taming Sari and queued-up for not more than 30 minutes. Peoples were not that many so we didn't wait that long to queue. View from top was very nice. You can actually see Sumatera from the tower. Then, we hop on Melaka RiverCruise. Again, we didn't had to wait long to queue that time. Deep in my heart, Allah has made it easy for us today. Anyway, it took almost 40 minutes cruising Melaka river (RM10 per adult). Along the river, the buildings were beautifully painted and decorated. We also passed by Kg Morten, the traditional Portugese kampungs.

Cruising the Melaka river

After the cruise, we went to Medan Ikan Bakar Umbai to feast our starving tummy. Umbai is 8km from Melaka city. Despite boasting that i am 'orang Melaka', i never been to this place. Even my Sabahan friend, Shireen have been here before! Apparently, there are many medan ikan bakar around Pernu-Umbai. So, look for Medan Ikan Bakar Pernu. There are many stalls set-up at this place . My wife knows this one restaurant called Restoran Parameswara that serve really good ikan bakar delicacies. So we went there and thanks to school holidays/Christmas/habitual ikan bakar eater, it was full house. I had to wait at the table and waited until the patron finishes eating.

After wifey choosing sotong, ikan siakap, ketam and udang, we didn't wait that long to be served. SAYA PUNYA TUHAN! The ikan siakap was really FABOLOUS-GILER-NAK MAMPOS ok !

Look at the very tempting Ikan Siakap Tiga Rasa! (do not be fooled by Adam in this pic. He turned cranky after this shot and i had to finish my food very fast!)

And i think that's all for my Melaka trip. After kenyang, balik tidur lah!

House! House! House! Can i afford one?

Some of you might wonders why on earth i chose this topic to rant this time. The reason is simple: I would love to own a dream house which can cater my needs and suitability. The recent moving out from Denai Alam (DA) proves that to be there is a need to own a house.

My ideal home is of course landed property. The DA home was ideal for me, at least (I will not ask for more!). But since i had to move to Bkt Subang, which is a little bit smaller in size, i totally understand why most of DA's residents were actually from Bkt Subang. The car porch barely fit in 2 cars. The stupid pillars in the middle of the porch make life even more miserable. So, we usually park one of the car outside.

Oh wait, I want to talk about the trend of rising properties' prices in MAJOR CITIES in Malaysia.

The recent article proves my point. Read here.

The recent check at landed properties price in Shah Alam shows that most of the housing were built to cater those who could afford monthly installments of at least RM1,800- RM2,000. Denai Alam just launched new project called Lavender and the price is RM700,000 and above. Mind you, the houses have not been built as yet but the price is ridiculous!

Imbalanced society

Houses should be affordable by the masses. The increase of properties price may affect society in long term. The imbalance of society structure will create a long-term problems such as crimes and economic disparity. Most developers build houses in limited numbers and put up a very expensive price for the riches. A development must be inclusive all type of society. In my opinion, a housing project must reflect the true picture of society. For example, the riches, middle-classes, and low-earners should be 1 area vs one exclusive area for the riches.

At the same time, i do not deny the reason why people invest in property is because of its potential to appreciate and some people invest to earn extra income. No doubt about that. However, things got worse when the developer and the speculators speculate. The implication is far-reaching because it will influence the price of other properties as well. I applaud the recent move by Bank Negara Malaysia for capping subsequent purchase up to 70% of the housing loans. This will curb the speculation and escalating price of property in Malaysia. I am true believer that the properties will go bust soon. We are following the same trend in the US where the properties price was skyrocketing and easy-credit by the banks.

Jangan sombong
I have a friend who now somewhere not in Malaysia. Sent that person SMS and messages to ask for some favour. But never bother to reply. Fine. I suppose that person was busy or maybe hibernating or something.

Then, on other days i IM-ed that person as usual. Also no reply. As if i appeared invisible to that person.

Ok, that's it. I think some people out there are born with that. I cannot fathom why some people are just being that 'courteous'. Is it because of where that person is now?

Sigh...janganlah macam tu.

Life After ZICO

What have i been up to after Zico?



Ok. I have to admit that it has been a while since my last post. I was so occupied (lazy actually) to update and ramble about my life after ZICO.

I left ZICO a week before Aidil Fitri. On my last day, i bid farewell to friends and colleagues who have been a part of me for the past 3 years. I made friends from all walk of life from the despatches, secretaries and to the Don himself.

I am now pursuing LLM in Corporate Law in UiTM. After much thought, prayers and solat istikharah, i decided i should take this path. Experience in corporate exercises have taught me many things: Diligence, accuracy and perseverance. Some of my work were in the news and i personally feel proud that i was a part of that corporate exercise. Definitely the feelings were difference from my litigation colleagues who argued in court and won their case. The gruelling hours in meeting the deadlines and the exposure i had were indispensable. Now i have to apply all those knowledge into my study and later to use them as a real example when i start teaching. Insyallah.

Ever since i left practice, there was a time when boredom sets in. I find it quite awkward adjusting from normal "routine-go-through-stupid-traffic-jam at NKVE-Sprint highway" to just wake up in the morning and prepare Adam for nursery at 8am and later go back to continue my sleep. More often than not, i will be awake by 9am. Finally i can do my favourite things to do in the morning, reading newspaper and have a good roti canai at restaurant. *Wink

So, my classes already started in July. Took 3 subjects this semesters (all 9 subjects throughout my studies). For my Legal Research and Methodology, we were required to prepare a proposal for a research (not the full research itself) and myself and my other 2 colleagues, Ain and Hafiz chose a topic on Political Party Defection or Lompat Parti. I will deal with this topic in separate post.

I will be doing this course for 3 semesters. Most of my subjects revolves around my favourite topic: Corporate (hence the specialization). Barring any unforeseen circumstances, i will complete my course by December 2011. Insyaallah.

Moving out to new place
Yes, we have to move to new place. Apparently, my current house has been sold and the new owner wishes to increase the rent to RM1100. Currently we are paying RM850 per month and such increment will definitely affect our household cash flow. Furthermore i am not working and relying to my nominal allowance. We thought RM1100 is exceptionally high so we decided to move out and fortunately we found a house (smaller than Denai Alam) with RM800 rental. A bit smaller but enough for our small family. Our condo in Subang Andaman is ready in 2 years time and we looking forward to live in our own place call home. Yay!

Tenaga Pengajar Muda UiTM
I wish not to talk much on this. Experience in dealing with the relevant departments within UiTM was a pain. I was penniless for about 2 months and i am fortunate to have wife and family to seek help from. Imagine those who are not well-off. I can't think any possible reason except bureaucracy and red-tape. If i have already fulfilled all necessary requirements to do this TPM, rightfully the relevant departments should reciprocate. So, to you who are interested to take up this scheme, my advise is please grab this chance. BUT, make sure you have enough saving to pay your bills for at least 3 months. Hey, my friend Cartaz has not gotten her UiTM allowance since her resignation in July! Imagine that!


My family as source of my strength
All the above were not possible without my family. My wife has been on my side through thick and thin ever since i decided to leave practice. My wife understands the difficulties i was facing and lent her shoulder when i needed it the most. My superboy Adam, is now already 1 year old and started to walk. I think he needs more time before he has the confidence to walk on his own. Anyway, he was just been discharged from hospital last week where he spent 6 days there. Prior to his hospitalisation, he had a roller-coaster fever for 2 weeks and a night before he was admitted, his temperature reached 41 degree! So, we 'checked-in' at DEMC Shah Alam and our fear that it was leukemia because the lymphocytes counts were high in his blood. Alhamdulillah, after second test, the doctor confirmed it was viral fever. Relatives and friends visited him and some of them offered their well-wishes via phone and sms. Thanks to all!

I guess that's all for now. Until next time, wassalam.

Good bye

I will be leaving the place i call home since 3 years ago. I grew up to be a better man and i am indebted to it.

I still remember the first time i came for my interview, little did i know it was adventurous journey till today. To me, this place was many firsts in my life. My first real job, my first salary, my playground, my first baby was born during these time,my first car, first marriage (no subsequent marriage of course!), and many more.

Thanks to this place, i have more confident to discover new world and experience.

Thanks Zaid Ibrahim & Co... you are always in my heart.

boleh tak kau jangan berlagak

kau nak tukar kereta ke, lunch kat hotel itu ke, hotel sini ke, nak pegi oversea ke , keep it to yourself lah.

toksah nak announce kat facebook kalau dgn niat untuk berlagak.

sigh.

ps-sorry, tengah tensen keje. kalau ada sesapa terasa, ada aku kesah?

Din Beramboi.

Pagi 8.30am 2 April 2010. Aku tengah meredah kesesakan jalanraya ke tempat kerja. Apabila radio mengatakan Din Beramboi meninggal dunia, aku terkejut. Patutlah Era FM lain sikit hari tersebut. Lagu-lagu pun rentak slow dan sayu je.

Aku terkenang semula ketika zaman sekolah aku. Zaman Din Beramboi di radio THR dan Majalah Ujang. Dia juga pernah merakamkan Radio Sirap Seremban (kalau tak silap) dalam bentuk kaset.Dulu aku pernah ada kaset tu, tapi dah hilang.

Bakat lawaknya memang semula jadi. Bahan lawak lawaknya selalu menjadi perbualan aku dan kawan2 segila aku seperti Batod dan Farez. Rancangan Ah-Ha di TV3 dulu memang tak pernah miss kerana aku suka tengok Din Beramboi membuat lawak. Biarlah orang kata lawak dia lawak kurang hajar dan merapu, tapi bagi aku , dia tetap best.

Setiap pagi aku selalu mendengarkan Drama Sebabak dan Sawancara di Era.fm. AKu bukak radio Era pun pasal nak gelak sorang2 pagi-pagi pegi keje. Aku siap rekod lagi segmen Drama Sebabak kat handphone aku dan dengar balik sorang-sorang. Lepas habis segmen tu, aku terus tukar Sinar FM nak dengar lawak Sallih Yaacob plak. Tapi, kini itu semua akan berubah. Tiada lagi Drama Sebabak di Era. Tak akan ada pengganti sehebat Din Beramboi.

Kenapa aku tulis pasal din Beramboi pun aku tak tau. Mungkin disebabkan aku dibesarkan dengan mendengar lawak-lawak merapu dia. Dari zaman Pujaan Radio Sirap sehinggalah ke radio ERA.

Aku betul-betul rasa kehilangan pelawak pagi2 aku ke tempat kerja.Semoga roh arwah dicucuri rahmat. Al Fatihah.