MOHE Briefing

All good things must come to an end. I am not sure if working with company X is entirely a good thing for me but it certainly is coming to an end. But before the end is here, I was sent to attend MOHE's briefing on student data collection at PICC yesterday. The session was specifically held for all private higher learning institutions. Last year they did it according to zones and I attended the one for the east coast zone which was held in Terengganu. Due to financial reason the Ministry has decided to do it annually at PICC only.

In the letter of invitation, it was stated that the session would start at 8.30 am and end at 5.00 pm. The driver picked me up at 5.30 am and we raced to KL in the darkness of the dawn. As expected we were stuck in a jam at 3 places along the highway between Ampang and Cheras. The driver was not happy with the jam because he didn't want me to be late. Surprisingly I was more relax probably because I had a hunch that the organizing committee would serve breakfast first and I was also confident that I was not the only one to arrive late.

Sure enough, when I arrived around 9 am, every body was still enjoying food in the lobby and I was told that the briefing would start at 10 am. Well, patience is always a good virtue. Since I was starving, I helped myself with a plate of fried rice noodles and lots of fruits.

The first session was quite interesting and many participants asked questions at the end of it. Then all of us adjourned to the next ball-room for lunch at 12.30 pm. The letter said the lunch break would be from 1 to 2.30 pm but it was changed to 12.30 to 2 pm instead. I am not sure whether the second speaker was boring, or I was too full, or I was just sleepy because of starting the journey so early, I really had trouble keeping my eyes opened through out the afternoon session. I wonder if anyone noticed me nodding many times. Finally at 2.45 pm the briefing session was over. Guess what? There was more food! Many people die due to starvation around the world but in Malaysia people die due to the opposite reason.

Since I was still full from eating lunch, I remained seated in the hall with a few others in the row behind me. A few minutes later a guy who looked like a technician at PICC told us to go ahead and take the fressh flowers which were used to decorate the stage. He said " If they are taken, they will be thrown away". I thought the Ministry had financial shortage but why such wastful thing to do. They were beautiful peach colored roses and yellow daises. I took 6 stems of the roses home and they are in my kitchen at the moment.

Since I thought I would be ready at 5 pm, I told the driver to go to wherever he wanted to go as long as he came back by 4.30. He decided to go to our HQ in Cheras and I had to wait for an hour or so for him to get me. It was not too bad because I had a chance to talk to my colleague from different branches. It was raining really hard on the way home but thank God we arrived safely in Kuantan around 7.30 pm.

Free at Last

Teaching will not make us millionaires but it certainly gives more satisfaction than money can buy. After doing it seriously for the past 3 months, I finally finished grading the finals and keyed in the grades into the system which the University uses. Overall, the grades are fine and the curve looks normal. These are the wonderful students I taught last semester and I hope to get more of the same kind next semester. Happy holidays kids.

Exam Workshops

Usually workshops for final exam preparation would be held in KL due to its central location. However, this time around it was held in Kuantan, at the Grand Continental Hotel from March 5 until March 7. Between 60 and 70 lecturers were involved and I was selected as one of the secretariat members. The schedule was packed, from 8.30am until 11 pm, with short breaks in between. I thought of commuting from home to the hotel for the 3 days it was held, but it was kind of silly because KPTM provided us with rooms. It was such a torture looking at the refreshing and inviting swimming pool which was right outside of our workshop hall! Below are pictures of some of the participants. Any faces which are familiar to you?

Welcome to KPTM

Finally KPTM gets a new Chairman. He’s very young, vibrant, and energetic! Just the kind of leader KPTM needs. Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to meet with him and shared some of his ideas and plans which will be implemented soon. The one which interests me the most is his plan to get as many alumni as possible to have a gathering in Kuantan. What a coincidence! Right now I am in the middle of compiling the information from our alumni, especially those who graduated from the AAD program. If any of the alumni is reading this entry, I would like to say please give us your full support for this event. I really hope that this time around it will come true. Prior to this, I have tried to gather them twice! Unfortunately, for some unknown cosmic reason, both gatherings were canceled.

Besides getting a new Chairman, KPTM also gets its new bus. It’s about time! It was a sad moment to let go of our faithful “Bas Kunyit”. So, with the new year, new bus, and new leader, KPTM is ready to take on any challenge.

Eid (Raya) Gathering at KPTM

More eating! Just when I thought I could be saved from stuffing my face, the College had arranged for the Raya gathering this morning. There were so many types of food - satay, soto, laksa, lemang and rendang, cakes, cookies, candies, and thank God some fruits too. While I was so busy talking and eating inside of the "hall" (actually it's a part of the library), I completely forgot to see what was going on outside of the library where the students' canopies were set up. I guess the students were happy because they didn't have to pay for lunch. From what I heard, the food was plenty at their canopies too. I hope, there will be no more gatherings with food until next year!

My Clan and the Director

The General Studies Group

The Engineering ClanMy Clan

Math and IT group

Some of the staff present

Peaceful

Almost as pieceful as being in this forest

Ramadhan is only 2 days left and Syawal is coming really soon. As usual, at this time of the Islamic calendar year, our campus is very peaceful and quiet because most of its inhabitants have left to celebrate Eid in their hometowns. Only students from Sabah and Sarawak do not go home but they usually go to their relatives' or friends' places. Just awhile ago, I stepped out of my office to go to the next block, there was not a single movement around. It felt great but spooky at the same time because the only time I felt like that was when I walked near a graveyard.

The Great Wall Of KPTM

The Front Entrance

I was wondering why there were cement mixing machine and mountains of sand near the entrance of the College. The puzzle was solved as soon as I saw the poles being erected along the site where the old fence used to be. The College is in the process of building The Great Wall of KPTM! It should have been built a long time ago but I guess the College didn’t have the right amount of extra dough to burn. Ever since I can remember the fence has been vandalized by the raging- hormone occupants of the hostels who were too lazy to walk an extra meter to the gate. Every time a hole is fixed a new one will appear. It’s a losing battle and definitely an administrator’s nightmare! So we have many holes around the College which are really ugly to look at. Most of the time students use those holes to get to the nearby restaurants at meal times or to get in and out after “curfew” hours (between 11pm and 7am). As much as I hate seeing it and being surrounded by the prison-like wall, I think the decision to build it is helpful in solving the problem. When I was traveling in Mexico, I saw many houses were surrounded by high walls and they put broken pieces of glass at the top of the walls. I supposed to prevent intruders from climbing up their fortresses. I wonder if the College should do the same. Hmm… it would be interesting to see people’s reaction to that.

God willing, when the wall is complete, I will try to post another entry.

Swine Flu

Call it by any name! The fact remains that it is swine flu. Why are Malaysians so afraid of the word PIG? In the Quran (and in the Old Testament too) there is a verse forbidding Muslims from eating the flesh of pig, but there is no mention of hating the word pig or to hate the pigs. I think it’s about time calling the spades, spades. Anyway, that’s not what I want to write about. I would like to share that many of the students at my college have been quarantined because they are suspected of having the swine flu virus. Some of the lecturers are suspected too and they have been given a week off. I would love to get a week off without having the flu! These poor students have been placed in one of the vacant hostel blocks and they are being “guarded” by no other than our Mr. Bud. They must be bored to death (not literally, God forbid!).

They were playing somekind of board game

New Look, Old Joint

Very Attractive Decorative Batik

It is a great welcome to our café which opened yesterday after staying dormant for a few months. I have been working for more than a decade at this College but this is the first time I see our café being decently decorated. The new operator has put in a lot of effort to make the place look attractive and inviting. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he even put up big mirrors above the sink areas. That was never in existence before! So now we don’t have to worry about walking around with morsels of rice at the corner of our mouth or having a tiny piece of red chili pepper stuck in between our teeth! Usually I would go off campus to have my breakfast but for the past 2 days in a row I found myself voluntarily walking to the café. I just hope that the operator will continue his enthusiasm throughout his contract. Only time will tell.

Nice skirting for the tables. Just hope that customers will not use 'em to wipe their hands

Even the columns are decorated!

The staff lounge

Check out that big mirror! I hope these sinks will not get clogged.

The look of a very satisfied customer...:)

Very practical, students don't have to stand in line waiting for someone to make their drink. All is readily available

Even the burger stalls look cheerful!

Briefing with MOHE

Bersama En Hadi Omar

On 30 April 2009 KPTM sent me and Cik Wan Shahar (our IT exec) to attend a briefing on data collection with the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). The briefing was held at the Primula Resort Hotel in Kuala Terengganu. Since we preferred not to stay overnight, we had to leave the comfort of our blanket at 5.30 am. We made it just on time to register at 8.30 in the morning. The briefing was organized to get a uniform data from all private educational institutions in Malaysia. MOHE came up with a standardized format for all us to use when we submit our student data to them in June and December every year. The event ended at 1 pm. We arrived in Kuantan just in time for me to practice ping pong with my ping pong buddies.