A confession...

Atuk Cha helping me with the sampin...picture taken duing one of the Lebaran gatherings in Kluang..

This is a confession: In one of the many school breaks at my grandparent's place in Kluang, Johor, I almost drowned in an unused pool nearby the surau. I must have been 7 or 8 years old at that time.

About 25 years ago, I followed my Tmn Kasih friends to this abandoned pool. One of them jumped in and I followed without knowing how deep the water was. I struggled to keep afloat as I couldn't swim! My friends didn't realised that I was in trouble until they saw me going down under.

One of them jumped into the pool (I can't remember his name) and pulled me out of the deep water and dragged me to the side. I owed my life to this fellow that day. After that we continued playing in the pool, but me of course just watching them from the side...

From that day on, I kept silence about this incident. Takut Atuk marah.. Only me and 3 other old friends knows about this. We were kids and I will never forget what happened that day. So today, after looking at the photo above (uploaded by AB on Facebook), I decided to share this story with everybody...

From muskmelon to harrison grey...

Finally, I took the initiatives to repaint the house. Our living hall and the family area were previously painted in flat muskmelon colour. It wasn't to my liking and I've been telling myself to do something about it for a long time.

the living hall area with 'muskmellon' painted wall.. the sofa set has to go!

Last weekend, finally I've achieved what I wanted to do for the past 5 years. Imagine waking up every morning of your life and saying "I've got to change this colour"...

We removed the steel railing that seperates the living hall and the family area...

Initially, I thought the biggest challenge was selecting the new colour. But it took me less than an hour to decide actually. As long as it's not muskmelon! The toughest part was the painting job itself.

Family area with the new refreshing look...

Yes, we repaint the whole place ourselves and this saved us at least Rm500. So Ayu painted the borders and I had the whole wall surfaces to cover. It took us a day to coat the walls with primer paint and another day to apply the finish paint.

I'm in the hunt for a new sofa set...I like this design and colour combination

Harrison grey for the feature wall and it's lavender green and lilac white for the rest. I'm personally satisfied with the outcome. The kids like it too. Ayu initially was skeptical on my colour selection but in the end, it turned out to be ok.

However, I got a rude shock of my life when I got back to my office. I was sitting at my workstation, looked up at the wall right in front of me and saw something very familiar. "Oh my God!" I said to myself in disbelieve. I had subconsciously applied the office colour scheme for the house!! Hahahaha

One down...many more to go!

Here we go again...MU started this season's campaign from where they left off, by winning more silverware. This time it's the FA Community Shield.

It marked the beginning of 2008/09 Barclays Premier League and I'm sure this season is going to be even more exciting. MU wasn't really active in the transfer market however, which indicates that they are relying on a maturing squad to go through the season as defending double winners.

The strikers department is a bit thin though and the club is in pursuit for a 4th striker. Today I read that Thiery Henry could be a possible candidate! Hmm...very interesting.

Catch me if you can!..

Other big names like Kaka is poised to join Chelsea. If this comes true, it will increase BPL's profile in the footballing world. Money can buy success some people think.

Well, they may acquire Kaka or maybe even Messi, but history speaks for itself. No amount of money can buy the coveted league title. Only team with strong blend of english pedigree and experience has the chance of finishing top.

We'll see how it goes this season. As a defending champion, at both domestic and the continent front, MU is the team to beat. It's the time of the year again. The time when husbands take control of Astro's remote because weekends equals live football. Wait until May 2009 before we hand over the remote. hehehe Glory glory Manchester United!!

I am Pak Long...

More pictures at http://www.envyeyes.net/

Alhamdulillah. 6th August 2008. The date when I was promoted to be an Uncle aka Pak Long. My sister Tasha gave birth to a healthy baby boy at Pantai Hospital. Both mother and son are doing well and they are now serving their 'pantang' at my parent's place.

Congratulations to Iyadzree and Tasha. At blogging date, my nephew's name is Iyad Iskandar Alfy. Raidi was particularly excited about his new born cousin, so both the boys spent their weekend at Mak's place.

Meanwhile, while the boys were away, we had this project going on at home....

Memories of Atuk Cha..part 2

Arwah atuk (L) melepak...

When I was a baby, with Tok Nyang and Aunty Oyah

Thank you AB, for scanning and uploading all these photos on facebook.

Memories of arwah Atuk Cha...

This entry below is actually taken from my uncle's facebook wall postings. Angkel Yoh wrote them right after he became a facebooker. He shared his memories about Arwah Atuk Cha with all my relatives on facebook.

Some of my friends have met my late grandfather before. He likes to wear his songkok so I think many of you might recall meeting him personally. I wish to write about my own memories about Arwah Atuk. I will do it one day. For now, you can read these stories first....

"I've read Aunty Alok's and Aunty Oyah's post about Arwah Atuk Cha and have felt his sudden presence as if he's still with us. What follows are random memories of arwah Atuk Cha which some of his cucus and cicits might not know, but may be interested to know. These tattles are mere snippets of arwah as a husband, a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, a man, and above all ... a FRIEND.

Did you know ...

* He once went for a singing talent audition (Talentime) at Radio Singapore? This was the early 1960s version of the Akademi Fantasia or Malaysian Idol that we have nowadays. Imagine, if there was AF then, and Atuk was selected ... Anyway, to prepare for the audition, he would practise after he reached home after office. The song was Cliff Richard's "How Wonderful to Know" (see if you guys can d/load it from the Net). So when the time came, he joined the Wadi Hana singer wannabees to S'pore, but didn't make it. But at least he tried. So all you Atuk Cha's cucus ... you know where your singing talent comes from!

*He was a Guru Silat? The gelanggang was the living room of the quarters at Jln. Sekolah, Kluang. One night a week, the furniture and carpet would be cleared, and Atuk Cha would perform the "silat buka gelanggang" before he conducted the silat lessons. Among his students were the TNB people (arwah Mat Lamdin among them), some Kluang taxi drivers, and other government clerks. After the silat sessions, he would sometimes turn on the hi-fi, and force them to listen to Deep Purple and the Beatles! Pasang kuat pulak tu. Tok Chik could only geleng kepala ... haha ... typical!

*He used to perform the "silat pengantin" at weddings in JB? This was when he started learning the silat Sunting in JB. What made it more impressive was that he started it late - in his mid-40s. Being one of the better students, he was taught the moves and asked to perform by his gurus. Now you all know where Afik gets his moves from ...

*He was a Johor junior badminton champion? This was in his early 20s. If he was a little bit taller, he would have been the Malayan champion! Haha. I think there is still a black and white photo of him posing with his Johor teamates somewhere in Tok Chik's house.

*He once wore a wig to his office in Kluang? This was in the early 1970s when I was at Technical College in KL. I bought the wig because I was forced to cut my hair by the principal. When I brought it back to Kluang, he wore it just for a lark. That time he was serving the public at the land revenue collection counter. Imagine the public's reactions at his prank! Just shows his inexhaustible sense of humor, which many of us inherited!

*He never, never, ever said a single bad word about anyone, and I mean ANYONE, even if he didn't like them! He was always gracious about other people. That's why he was well-loved by everyone who knew him. It's something we all should emulate.

Alamak, penat menaip. To be continued ...

Did you know ... (Part 2)

*He drove around the Jln Pahang roundabout (near Tawakkal Hospital) 3 or 4 times? At peak hour! This was during one of his visits to KL when Pak Long, Uncle Seth and I were at Technical College. If Aunty Oyah can remember, he did that to amuse her (she must have been about 4 or 5). Oyah would put out her face out of the window to get the feel of the breeze. Just one of his many "unusual" acts to amuse his children. Of course that wasn't the only roundabout to get the multiple roundabout treatment by arwah Atok Cha. There were a few others in KL.

*He was the master wedding pelamin designer/maker in JB? Most if not all of Tok Nyang's children's (your atuks lah) wedding pelamins were designed by him. I remember particularly (I must have been about 7 y.o.) Tok Pah's wedding in Wadi Hana; he cut down a 3-foot tall cherry tree from Tok Nyang's garden and used it on the pelamin, in between the seats, complete with red cherries! Wahhh ... very original, very glamour!

Usually when he had to do a pelamin, the house at 28 Wadi Hana would be a mess. There would be cut-out cardboards, ribbons, pieces of shiny cloth, the silvery stardusts, etc. all over the floor. But his best work was when a wealthy Malabari businessman (a Datuk Majeed) commissioned him to design/make the wedding dias for his daughter. He was so proud of his handiwork ... like something from the kayangan! The pix might be lying somewhere around in Kluang. Just shows the multi-dimensional creative and skillful side of him that we all know so well.

There are many more snippets of Atuk Cha's talents. I'll put them down when I have the time. Like the time (the early 1960s) when he conducted Accounts classes (under the Wadi Hana house) for some young dudes to prepare them for the LCC (London Chamber of Commerce) Accounts exam. If you don't know, he was very good in Bookeeping and Accounting,being one of the stalwarts of the Johor State Treasury. He was also a speed typist. Whenever he had to do office work at home, he'd show off his fast typing skills, and we'd all (me, Uncle Seth, Pak Long) ternganga tengok dia. Fuyohhh ... terer!

Atok Cha was also very good in architectural drafting (he worked as a government draftsman just after the Japanese Occupation). He would show us how to draw 3-dimensional perspective drawings of buildings and houses. Very good with his hands, as some of us who have been given his paintings and picture puzzles can attest.

What I've posted simply reveals Tok Cha's multi-faceted skills and talent, which everyone of us have inherited one way or another. Accounts, finance, public relations, human resource (for his management and inter-personal skills) architecture, engineering, interior design, art, even comedy (haha) ... he would have excelled in any of them if he had had the opportunity that all of you have today.So before you go off, pls sedekah Al-Fatihah to arwah Atok Cha, not least for bringing us all so much happiness in his lifetime. Al-Fatihah."

40 Degrees Celsius...

We were down and out. Me and my boys sufferred from high fever. Zidani was the first victim. I had to fetch him from school after the teacher called me about his worsening condition. This was last Monday. We tried to to go the clinic that evening, but the queue was just too long. I guess the season is here brought by the hot and dry weather. So we took him to DSH instead.

The next day (Tuesday), it was my turn to catch a fever. I'm sure I got this from Zidani. I had important meetings and presentations with the client this week so I couldn't afford to be on MC. I went back home that day earlier as usual, took my medicine, and slept the whole night, without turning on the fan. It was like sleeping in a sauna! Next morning I felt better and went ahead with the meetings with my sweater on.

On Thursday morning, Raidi started to have headaches and sore throats. Here we go again. Zidani is fully recovered by this time, but I guess, considering that they sleep together in the same room, life would be too unfair if the brother doesn't contract fever as well. So today he stayed at home and rested.

Question is when is the mother's turn?? Ohh yes..she was not in KL! Yesterday she just got back from Singapore...She was actually having a different sort of fever....Sounds like Chikungunya fever...or more like Takashimaya fever?? Best yeee??? Lucky she brought back plenty of chocolates.

Durian oohhh durian....

I've fallen in love with durian all over again. I thought I've lost the taste buds for the "King of Fruits". I grew up in a durian lover family you see and my mother is from Muar. You know how Muar is famous for its fruit orchards. When the durian season comes, we head south for our bi-annual feast. I had enough honestly and quit 'eating' durian more than 15 years ago.

During this road trip with TM to Gemencheh couple of weeks ago, we decided to stop by a durian stall. The strong odour didn't really excite me at first but after the first pulp the sensation kicked in! And what a feast we had that day. There were 12 of us and we ate more than 30 kgs of durian! I couldn't stop eating. It felt like I was 'compensating' for all these years 'fasting' from eating durian. I think I was the last to wash my hands...

at the durian stall somewhere in Gemas...

Today, I bought some durian from this stall just outside Pasaraya Tmn Tun. For as long as I could remember, this is the first time I bought durians from here. All these years buying groceries from this supermarket, I didn't even bother to look at the fruits on display.

But tonight I tasted one of the most exquisite durian flavour I ever had. The taste was really intense! This particular species is pricey though, selling at about RM10 per kilo. But to me, it's worth every sen. Try it, I guarantee you won't regret it!

Roti Canai...Ohh Roti Canai..

Today I ate 4 pieces of Roti Canai. But not in one go though. 15 to 20 years ago yes, I could wallop 4 rotis in one serving. I think Azad or Mafeitz can testify to this because we always go to Warong Selera restaurant to eat canai after our morning school session. At that time it only costs us 50 sen per roti.

Roti canai is Malaysia's favourite breakfast meal. Almost anywhere we go, the choice is either nasi lemak or roti canai for breakfast. Check out flicker and look at how many pictures posted about roti canai! It's even on Wiki!

Today I had roti for breakfast at Raju restaurant in PJ. The place is cosy, very relaxing, unlike any other mamak restaurant I've been too. They serve roti using banana leaf and they charge you RM1.20 per roti. Not bad at all considering that they offer you unique ambiance to savour your canai.

In the evening, I went to this roti place at the Curve, Mutiara Damansara. This place is recommended by Megat Harris. He and his wife always come here for breakfast. No wonder I don't see them at Tesco Kayu restaurant on Sundays. They've found a better place! The roti here is lazat!. Lemak and gebu.

I know some of us might be drooling looking at these pictures!..hehehe

My favourite place is still the same. It's the champion. This mamak restaurant is located at PJ state nearby Maybank, opposite the multi storey parking place (where you can find the famous kari kepala ikan).

I can't remember the name of that restaurant, but the roti is soooo nice. It has a fine balance between juicy a.k.a greasiness, crispiness and richness in taste. This place is highly recommended. I forgot how much I paid for it. It's so good that the price is not a matter to me.

I think Malaysian can develop this one particular skill. Just like how people developed the art of wine tasting, we should develop this Roti Canai tasting skills. The sensory examination and evaluation of Roti Canai. hehehe...

A true Canai lover would be able to describe the range of flavors, aroma and general characteristics of a perfect roti canai. But in the first place, what is a perfect roti canai?? Can anyone describe it?? Is it in the preparation? Texture and taste? The shape?

That's why laaa we need to develop roti canai scoring! Perhaps Hitz.FM can come out with something! Imagine when JJ and Rudy conducts canai tasting on air...them describing the perfect canai would be hilarious!

Testing 1, 2, 3...

This Blog is dual purpose.

I'm testing Blogspot function and user friendliness when it comes to posting audio files. I've posted video files before and it works well. But audio files? hmmm....a bit tricky. I managed to put up a music file though, but you can't play or hear it 'directly'.

If you click at this blog post title, it will take you to a link. A link that has an audio file (WMA format) which you can download and play...hehehe......

So one, I'm testing Blogspot's hosting function. Two, by downloading the file from the above mentioned link, I get to listen to myself trying to sing! heheheeee.. malunya......

From planetarium to Gotham City....

I just got back from One Utama GSC with Ayu. Last night we saw Batman: The Dark Knight movie.

I'm still in a daze....trying hard to close my mind and come back to reality...trying hard to accept that I'm at home in TTDI...that I'm no longer in the streets of Gotham City!! Excellent movie! Highly recommended. If this is not a box office, I don't know what is. It exceeded all my expectations!

I wouldn't say more. Just go to the cinema and watch it. For about 2 hours and 45 minutes, I didn't even want to blink! Ayu waited until the movie ends before she went to the restroom!

the late Heath Ledger as the Joker... sterling performance!

From museum to planetarium...

From the PDRM museum, we went to the National Planetarium centre. We've been here before but this time, we wanted to catch the space multimedia show.

Just a tip if you want to go and watch the show, don't sit at the lower front of the theatre. Me and Raidi had to really stretch our neck and look up to get a full view of the display screen. I think the upper section offers the best seats for viewing. The show was educational but it was quite dizzying for me honestly.

Raidi enjoyed the movie as he played with his Optimus Prime robot using the 'outer space' as the backdrop. That was cool.

i wish they have a bigger mock-up display of the space station, this is too small...

if it's a life size mock-up display..we could be spending our day exploring the space station's functional corridors..I would love to sit at the command centre or better known as the 'bridge'

us before the space theatre starts...

Saturday Outing...POLIS

Plenty things have been said about the Malaysian police force lately. From political conspiracies, high profile murder case and criminal activities, their image is negatively portrayed by the media from top to bottom. Whether the stories are true or not, the damage has been done. It will take years for the public to restore their full confidence in the police institution.

Too much highlights on the police triggered me to go and visit this museum. I've drove passed the museum hundreds of time before so I decided to drop by and see what's in store. Today, I and Raidi visited the PDRM museum located at Jalan Perdana, near the National Mosque.

weapon's cache...

It was an eye opener for me. The exhibition potrayed historical and important contribution of the police towards the country. It's way different from what we know about the force today. We had a walk through history as we read about the role of security forces from the great Melaka sultanate era, the pre and post Independence period and the modern days of fighting gang lords and underworld organised crimes.

There's a section dedicated for the heroes of Bukit Kepong tragedy. I spent most of my time at this gallery as I read through all the history pages on display. To me, their sacrifice should be given more respect by today's police force.

Outside the museum, light tanks and armoured cars are on display. Canons and artillery guns are strategically mounted as if the museum is well fortified. We really enjoyed getting inside these vehicles and we imagined ourselves being part of a police operation. We could almost hear the engine roaring and the sounds of armour taking hits from grenades and gunfire!

B&B..Blogging & Breakfast...

Blogging & Breakfast....

I'm currently at Starbucks, having breakfast with Raidi. We're going to the hospital after this for a follow up on his injured toe. It's amazing how broadband has influenced us. I'm at Starbucks because they provide free Wifi connectivity. So I'm having my own version of B&B! If only all mamak stalls or restaurants are equipped with broadband access.

Question is, how can ISP price their broadband services to attract small businesses and restaurant owners or even stall operators. Costs is an important factor for this segment so we have to make it affordable. Most importantly, it must reflect the value that the service can give.

It's not just about selling broadband access. The value proposition should be about attracting more customers to patron their outlets. So it's not about 1Mb or 2Mb connectivity. It's about how this connectivity can help to improve their roti canai business. The price should reflect this. It shouldn't reflect broadband bandwidth or speed at all!

Maybe one day they can package their roti canai with free mobile calls. So the more we eat, the more free air time we can get! Tell me who don't want to eat roti canai for that?? Roti canai will never taste the same again...

Ok, got to finish my doughnut and my favourite signature hot chocolate....my battery is running out soon!

HFMD outbreak at SKTTDI

Raidi told me that his school is closed for today. I asked him why? "Dekat sekolah ada penyakit, penyakit tangan, kaki dan mulut.." he explained to me. It didn't occur to me how serious the situation was and I thought the school closure is just a normal procedure.

Then at the office, read the newspaper and I got to know that SKTTDI is the first in the country to be closed for this outbreak! Since June, six students from the same school have been infected. Raidi wasn't feeling well in the morning and he has painful blisters at his upper lip. I was worried because they could be symptoms of HFMD.

Alert! HFMD virus detected...transform and roll out!!

Ayu took Raidi to the clinic in the afternoon. The doctor said that he's not showing all of the symptoms but he advised us to take him to the hospital if he's starting to have fever. I called Dr. M earlier in the morning to find out which hospital I should take Raidi for examination. Just in case.

Today we isolated the boys just for precaution. Zidani is sleeping at his Wan's place and Raidi is with us. It's abit strange not to have Zidani at home. The house seems to be rather quiet. He has so much influence in our daily lives.

They've taken measures to disinfect the school compound. According to the news on TV, the outbreak is not serious. Not as serious as the one occurred in Sarawak sometime ago. That's good because Raidi will be going to school on Monday. So I hope the authorities are right about the situation.

"Oil phase-out in Sweden"...

I saw the debate between DSAI and the Information minister today on TV. It's interesting to watch this debate as they pointed out their opinions and thoughts on the issue of oil price in Malaysia and its impact towards the government, Petronas and the Rakyat.

But what's next? Personally, I feel the points raised and discussed were too shortsighted. It was a political stage. Nevertheless, it's a good start I guess. They should organise more healthy debate like this in the future.

I stumbled upon this wiki piece (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_phase-out). It's about how Sweden wants to be the first country to break its dependence from petroleum. The major phase out is targeted by the year 2020, the same year Malaysia targets to become a developed country. Part of their plan, is to use telecommunication services as one of the enabler for carbon free economy.

I've blogged about the opportunities of doing Carbon trading for governments. Since the oil price went up in Malaysia, we've witnessed tremendous change in people's behaviour. Particularly in the increase of public transportation usage.

It was also stated in the NST that petrol dealers in Malaysia are experiencing a drop in sales volume as much as 10%-12%. I don't know how much carbon savings we can get from this drop.

If only we could measure, report and verify (MRV) the savings. We can start to trade carbon credits in the carbon exchange. If we can realised these gains and pass it on to the citizens, I wouldn't mind any kind of oil price hike. The higher the better!

took this picture from here, a portal where I posted the carbon trading idea

I like the Swedish government's idea of being oil independent. Their government shows great emphasis in creating a carbon free economy. It's difficult for Malaysia as the government depends on oil revenue as a major source of income. Can we be carbon free domestically, but at the same time explore and sell oil to the rest of the world? Hhmm......Malaysia Boleh!..kut?

A short trip to Genting Resort...

After picking up Raidi from his tuition class on Sunday, we were all thinking about going somewhere. Somewhere away from the city. Raidi asked whether we could go to Cherating. Ayu wanted to have lunch at Chiang Mai near Sungai Buloh. Zidani as usual doesn't want to go home. At last, I decided to take them to Genting Highland, the city of entertainment.

Initially, I thought of driving up all the way to the peak. I wanted to push the car's ride and handling to the edge. But it was drizzling and the road would be slippery. So we took the scenic route instead, via the Skyway Cable Cars! (Raidi pronounce it as kereta kebal..hahaha)

We queued for about 45 minutes to get to our cable car! But the long wait was worth it. The 10 minutes ride was very relaxing and thrilling at times. The view was breathtaking and I took plenty of pictures.

Raidi kept on asking whether there's wild animals roaming around in the jungle beneath us. Zidani can't sit still as he kept moving from one side to the other. He was very excited. Ayu kept quiet most of the time because she's afraid of heights!

We had a great time at Genting. Unfortunately, with Raidi's condition, I restricted our trip indoors. He wanted to go on the roller coaster ride but I had to say no. I promised him that we will come back again once his fractured toe is fully healed. So the kids enjoyed themselves playing with arcade games.

Zidani rode this ride twice...

At about 4pm we head back down to the cable car station. This time, the ride was more exhilarating as we were travelling downhill. We had Famous Amos cookies and we finished the whole bag by the time we reached the station.

They were complaining. The kids were not too happy as it was a very short trip. We'll be coming back here soon for a holiday I told them. I know they can't wait. But at least, for now, I'm really glad to see them having a blast...a medium one at least!

Zidani at the playground...

Shady and breezy...

This morning we took Zidani to the SS21 playground (where me and my friends usually play badminton). It was a sunny day but the park is shady. So it wasn't too bad for Zidani to have a good time. He had the whole park for himself!

There we were, watching Zidani going up and down the slides. Actually we were waiting for Raidi to finish his tuition class. Usually we would be doing our weekly groceries shopping at Tesco. But for a change, we decided to go to the playground instead.

I love being outdoors. The playground is just a stone throw away from my in-laws place, but it still made me feel that I'm in the world of my own. Looking at Zidani enjoying himself thoroughly, makes it even more satisfying. I'm sure the mother likes is too! hehehe

I'm a Superboy...

This is a blog entry about a Superboy. His name is Raidi. His itenary today includes a visit to the medical centre to check on his injuries. He slipped and fell hard on Thursday at home. It’s still painful for him, so I decided to go to the hospital for further examination.

After brunch, we headed to the hospital. On our way, I wanted to pick up a few things from my office. As I was driving towards Menara TM, both of us saw thick black smoke rising from a nearby squatter settlement.

I drove closer to the place and I was shocked to see people running around carrying their belongings. This place is just behind my office. So I decided to park my car at the basement and we both walked towards the scene.

The Jalan Pantai Baharu squater was on fire! The fire was raging and I can see smoke rising up high almost covering the entire apartment building adjacent to the village. The heat was so intense from where we were standing.

We stayed there with other onlookers, watching the firemen trying hard to control the fire from spreading. Mind you that these are wooden squatters so the fire spread rapidly, engulfing everything in its path.

Many people told Superboy to help with the situation. He just smiled back at them. I can see that he was fascinated by all this but I took the opportunity to advised Raidi on the consequences of playing with fire. Although it was an unforgettable experience for both of us, I kept telling Raidi to think about the unfortunate people who lost their home and belongings from that fire.

There was nothing Superboy could do here to help...too bad he was injured!

From my office, we head straight to the Damansara specialist hospital. The MO told us to do an X-Ray. He even joked with us for Superboy to use his x-ray vision to check on his own foot! I want to put on record here that this is Superboy’s first bone injury. According to the doctor, his little toe is peculiarly fractured. It’s not too serious, so the treatment was to tie his little toe together with the fourth toe.

He still walks gingerly after the treatment but he feels a lot better. Before we left the hospital, Superboy wanted to see the place where he was born. So I took him to the maternity floor and showed him the place. He wanted to see the labour room but it's a restricted area.

This is where I was born...

Raidi went through the day like a true Superboy. He ignored his pain and followed me around. I’m just glad that his injury is not as bad as I initially thought to be. In my last posting, I did say that I wanted to see more ground ‘action’. I certainly didn’t expect to see this kind of action! Today I saw TM’s access network on fire!

Turun Padang...

We (Telsoft & TM) had an eye opening field trip to Negeri Sembilan 2 days ago. This 'turun padang' exercise was for us to understand more about issues facing the company at the ground level. We met with people who is responsible in maintaining TM's network at the local exchanges area. They are front liners, who serves not just to ensure service availability, but they handle other customers related activities like billing and product queries. I would say they are the ambassador representing the company in their respective area of responsibility.

Me and the people responsible in running the show...Hj Isnin is standing far right..

I was particularly impressed with Tn Hj Isnin. He takes care of 3 exchanges located about 20km-30km apart from each other. He says that in a day, he could have breakfast in N9, lunch in Johor and dinner in Pahang! He has been with the company for 25 years and despite all the issues and troubles, he loves serving the company very much.

Slow mail(foreground)...or e-mail (background)? Your choice!

This is a multiple service access node (MSAN), it carries voice and streamyx services..

There's one technician who has 5,000 customers to take care off. He takes care of Gemas district which includes an army base. We had the opportunity to visit the base as well. This trip made me realised that these people on the ground work their socks-off. So I think people at HQ should work harder. We need to think harder and execute the best way to increase the company's value.

The famous Nasi Ayam at Gemas bus stop....delicious!

We heard many feedback and suggestions on how TM can improve further. Of course, there were many grouses as well. It was great just to listen to their feedback and see the business 'in action'. You get in touch with substance. I gathered alot from this visit and at HQ today, ideas were brewing.

We acknowledged the value of doing localise campaign and promotion. Every customers has specific needs and requirements. The mass market approach is loosing its appeal especially in a highly competitive environment. Being customer centric, it allows customers to see the real value that we're trying to offer. One size doesn't fit all right? So the challenge is to sell by meeting customer's affordability level. I guess we just need to be very innovative and think out of the box to achieve this.

Telsoft provides consultancy based on the insights gather from the ground. It's seldom to see consultancy firm going to the ground and get the feel of the business. Usually they come in asking for lots of data, churn them (using templates from some other assignments) and give recommendations. We don't believe in that. We are customer centric in every sense so delivering unique value is the philosophy of our business. I hope I can get to see more ground 'action' in the future.

The two Mazda 6 during the trip! The one in the background is Pn Hairiah's car...