Malaysians and 'Rahman prophecy'

Glad to share this opinion, found here. At least someone has written and expressed the funny things of this so-called 'prophecy' which I myself had doubt when I first knew it many years ago. You read and you think upon it, and I believe that definitely you'll agree with it.

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Mat Al-Jajawi: I have never heard of a more imbecilic 'prophecy' than this and wonder who was the smart Alec who started it, as if Malaysia does not have enough follies already.

The first prime minister was not Rahman, but Tunku Abdul Rahman. So his name starts with a ‘T' and not R. Even if one drops the Tunku part, his name will start with an ‘A'.

Granted that in the case of the second PM, his name was Abdul Razak Hussein; so the first letter of his name is obviously ‘A'. Similarly, Hussein Onn's name fits into the ‘prophecy' as it starts with an ‘H.'

So do the two succeeding PM's Dr Mahathir Mohamed and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. When it comes to Najib, his name is Mohammed Najib Abdul Razak, so his first letter is an ‘M', not an ‘N'.

In summary, the prophecy is correct only in four out of six cases - or two-thirds correct. Granted this fraction happens to coincide with the parliamentary majority required to amend the Malaysian constitution.

But to use this ‘performance' to justify the prophecy is ridiculous and shows how naive we Malaysians can be.

I would have thought that for a country that boasts of having launched a man into space, this kind of prophecy would have been nipped in the bud, when it first appeared in the 1970s.

Using the true first letters of the five names who have been prime ministers, and Najib who is tipped to be the next one, their first letters spell ‘Tahmam'.

The nearest Arabic word that comes closest to this is tuhmah. It means an accusation. Readers please check other languages.

Oil price

Malaysian are currently paying RM2 per liter petrol despite the global oil price has reduced to USD55 per barrel. Have you ever calculated that the price we are paying is the actual petrol price that people in other countries are paying too? Plus, our government has promised to give subsidy of RM0.30 for every liter of the oil.. But the government has just announced that there is no more subsidy given as the oil price is significantly going down.

Found a simple, but practical analysis on the actual oil price here. It's worth reading it, no harm!

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Ganesh: Malaysians are paying too much for petrol. Even after the recent reduction, we are actually paying RM1 more per litre than what we are supposed to and this money goes into the government's pocket.

One barrel of crude oil can produce of 159 litres of petrol. The price of US$55 per barrel should be multiplied with 3.5 being the exchange rate of the US dollar to Ringgit Malaysia.

The total should then be divided with 159 litres. Thus, US$56 x 3.5 = RM196 divided 159 litres = RM1.23 per litre.

The government has informed us that we are receiving a subsidy of 30 sen per litre. So, RM1.23 per litre - 30 sen = 93 sen per litre. But Malaysians are paying RM2 per litre! (the new price after the Nov 17 reduction)

By right, Malaysians should be paying 93 sen per litre and not RM2 per litre. The reduction given by the government does not make any sense at all and does not correspond to the reduction in price of crude oil per barrel.

Kita cari yang tersembunyi, kita biarkan yang nyata

Beberapa petikan daripada tulisan Dr. Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin yg bertajuk Bila Yang Nyata Dibiar, Yang Tersembunyi Dicari.

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Amat dukacita bagi masyarakat kita, jika kita sibuk mendedahkan maksiat yang tertutup yang disuruh oleh prinsip Islam agar kita tidak membukanya, dalam masa yang sama kita membiarkan berleluasa maksiat yang terbuka yang dilakukan atas pentas, dalam filem dan dijual dengan harga yang mahal.

Amatlah dukacita jika penguat kuasa agama ada masa yang cukup untuk pergi mengintip, memecah pintu milik peribadi orang lain bagi memastikan maksiat wujud ataupun tidak, namun dalam masa yang sama tiada masa untuk menghenti suami yang zalim memukul isteri yang sudah berulang kali membuat aduan, tidak cukup masa untuk menyelesaikan kes-kes kezaliman rumah tangga dan seumpamanya.

Aduhai dukacita, jika mereka bersemangat sampai sanggup tunggu pukul 2, 3 pagi untuk mengintip pasangan berkhalwat tetapi tiada cukup tenaga untuk membantah majalah-majalah yang terang-terang siang dan malam dijual yang mempamerkan aksi-aksi panas pasangan yang tidak berkahwin. Kita cari yang tersembunyi, kita biarkan yang nyata.

Sesetengah media, memang suka berita sensasi tentang maruah ‘orang lain’ untuk dilelong. Namun Islam menentang cara yang demikian. Maksiat yang dibanteras secara keras oleh Islam adalah maksiat yang berlaku secara terbuka kerana ia menggalakkan aktiviti mungkar dan mencemarkan iklim masyarakat Muslim. Adapun maksiat berlaku secara sembunyi dan hanya membabitkan soal peribadi insan, bukan keselamatan awam, maka ia tidak didedahkan.


Berkenaan isu lelaki menyerupai wanita, dan wanita menyerupai lelaki:

Ini adalah pengetahuan am yang diketahui umum, sekalipun orang mereka yang tidak mendalam agama dan tidak membaca keputusan fatwa. Namun persoalannya adalah pelaksanaan. Memang wujud wanita yang hidup ‘bergaya’ lelaki. Namun, maksiat terbuka yang banyak kelihatan jika penguat kuasa agama ingin mencegahnya adalah lelaki yang menyerupai wanita. Entah berapa ramai selebriti lelaki negara kita yang berwatak seperti perempuan. Entah berapa banyak pula drama, pertunjukan dan filem kita yang seakan mengiktiraf ‘wanita jadi-jadian’. Sehingga seakan kita ada tiga spesis; saudara, saudari dan ‘saudarai’. Inilah maksiat terbuka yang lebih patut dibantah daripada mencari-cari ‘kemungkinan’ maksiat di belakang pintu yang berkunci.


Sumber: Minda Mufti

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Pada saya, selagi pihak-pihak yg memegang jawatan di Jabatan Agama Islam tidak boleh ditegur dan melaksanakan apa yg sepatutnya, selagi itulah masalah yg timbul takkan dapat diselesaikan. Adakah mereka merasakan bahawa mereka kebal drp melakukan kesilapan & pantang ditegur? Padahal bukan semuanya mereka tahu, dan bukan semua yg mereka tahu & laksanakan itu betul. Tetapi dek keegoan dan rasa diri serba tahu, segalanya jadi tunggang terbalik!

Persaraan SS Mufti Perlis

Banyak pihak agak terkejut, dan mungkin juga bersedih atas keputusan SS Dr. Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin (Dr. MAZA) untuk bersara lebih awal dan tidak menyambung kontrak sebagai Mufti Kerajaan Negeri Perlis. Dalam masa yg sama, sememangnya keputusan ini sudah dijangkakan kerana seingat saya, beliau pernah mengatakan bahawa beliau tak berhajat untuk berada di kedudukan itu utk jangka masa yg lama. Insya Allah, medium perjuangan dakwah tidak akan tertutup dengan berakhirnya jawatan itu, malah mungkin satu medium yg lebih baik bakal terbentang.

Jawatan Mufti bukanlah jawatan untuk bermewah-mewah & mencari populariti. Ia satu tanggungjawab yg besar pd agama Islam & masyarakat. Syabas saya ucapkan pd Dr. MAZA kerana tetap istiqamah di jalan-Nya & berpegang teguh pd prinsip kebenaran walaupun didatangi pelbagai cubaan & dugaan, bukan saja semasa bergelar Mufti, malah sebelum itu lagi.

Saya secara peribadinya telah banyak belajar drp beliau - melalui kuliah, seminar, serta tulisan-tulisan beliau. Pandangan, penjelasan & hujah-hujah beliau telah menyedarkan saya akan banyak perkara yg selama ini dirasakan telah betul & sempurna, tanpa pernah mengambil kira tentang hujah & dalil asal ia keluar dr mulut seseorang yg bergelar 'ustaz' atau 'ustazah'. Padahal, Islam seharusnya dibina di atas hujah & fakta yg sahih.

Sejak pertama kali mengikuti kuliah beliau semasa saya di tahun pertama UIAM, saya mula tertarik dengan pendekatan beliau. Ilmiah dan tegas, tp amat mudah difahami. Buku beliau yg pertama kali saya baca yg bertajuk 'Pertelingkahan antara sahabat: Antara ketulenan fakta & pembohongan sejarah' meninggalkan impak yg besar ke atas diri saya untuk terus menyelami, menambah & memperbaiki pengetahuan saya tentang Islam yg sebenar, sebagaimana yg ditunjukkan oleh Rasulullah & para salafus soleh.

Saya gemarkan pendekatan yg beliau gunakan dlm memberi penjelasan tentang Islam, dan juga isu-isu lain. Malah saya rasa banyak pihak lain pun begitu. Bukan bermakna kita memuja beliau. Kalau ada para ilmuan lain yg berani & berpegang pd prinsip kebenaran seperti beliau, sudah tentu kita juga mengalukannya. Malah saya berdoa agar kita akan dikurniakan dengan lebih ramai Dr. MAZA selepas ni, malah mungkin lebih baik.

Sesungguhnya tiada perjuangan atas paksi kebenaran yg tidak mendapat tentangan & cemuhan orang ramai sebagaimana para ulama' silam telah melaluinya. Namun, nama & perjuangan mereka akan tetap dikenang sepanjang zaman walaupun mereka sudah tiada lagi. Inilah yg dikatakan perjuangan yg hakiki. Semoga kita semua diberi petunjuk untuk kekal di jalan-Nya, ameen..

Bila Ramadhan berakhir

Kehangatan hari raya masih terasa setelah 5 hari kita berada di bulan Syawal. Ini juga bermakna dah 5 hari Ramadhan pergi meninggalkan kita.

Bila Ramadhan pergi...

1. Masjid-masjid kembali lengang, terutamanya pd waktu malam. Kalau di bulan puasa, masjid kita dipenuhi dengan para jemaah, khususnya untuk bersolat Isyak & terawih. Berdasarkan pengalaman sendiri, paling kurang pun 4-5 saf jemaah lelaki yg ada. Tapi masuk je malam raya, 1 saf pun tak penuh. Amat menyedihkan.

2. Sepanjang bulan Ramadhan, banyak rancangan TV yg berunsur keagamaan, i.e., kuliah, tazkirah, tadarus Al-Qur'an, Jejak Rasul, drama-drama, dsb ditayangkan untuk tontonan umum, tapi bila berakhirnya Ramdhan, semua tu juga berakhir.

3. Di bulan puasa, banyak masjid atau individu tertentu menyediakan juadah berbuka puasa untuk org ramai. Pelajar-pelajar di universiti adalah antara golongan yg paling ramai memanfaatkan rezeki yg disedikana ini. Ini juga membantu golongan yg kurang mampu. Alhamdulillah, dpt jimat belanja. Mungkin sebahagian drp duit tu boleh didermakan, insya Allah tambah pahala. Tp kini, sekali-sekala shj, bila ada majlis tertentu, makanan akan disediakan utk org ramai.

4. Perut diisi dengan pelbagai jenis makanan & minuman sehingga tiada lg ruang yg boleh diisi sbb nak qada' balik sebulan berpuasa. Mungkin seluar yg dulunya longgar ketika di bulan puasa, kembali menjadi ketat. Ada yg kena beli seluar baru.

5. Kalau dulu di bulan puasa, masing-masing sedikit sebanyak menjaga diri drp berbuat kejahatan & kemaksiatan, i.e., mengumpat & mengata org, melihat gambar yg tak senonoh, mendengar lagu-lagu yg melalaikan, dan mcm-mcm lg, tp kembali rancak & tanpa segan silu membuat aktiviti-aktiviti tersebut bila berakhirnya Ramadhan.

6. Rumah-rumah kembali sunyi setelah kebanyakan sanak-saudara yg pulang beraya (baiasnya di hujung bulan Ramadhan) kembali ke rumah masing-masing. Para ibu-bapa yg tinggal berdua yg paling terasa kesannya setelah anak-anak & cucu-cucu meninggalkan mereka. Semoga mereka terus tabah.

7. Tiada lagi bazar Ramadhan yg menjadi tempat org ramai berpusu-pusu membeli juadah berbuka puasa. Tp ada juga bagusnya. Di bulan puasa, rasanya semua nak beli kalau tengok sbb nafsu makan sedang membuak-buak. Akibatnya banyak makanan & minuman yg dibazirkann. Jadi tak hairanlah klu ada yg belanjanya lebih banyak berbanding bulan-bulan lain.

Banyak lagi situasi yg boleh kita bandingkan antara di bulan Ramadhan dengan bulan-bulan lain. Ini hanyalah sebahagian untuk kita sama-sama renungkan.

Janganlah sekadar menambah amal kebaikan di bulan Ramadhan shj. Sepatutnya bulan Ramadhan melatih kita untuk meneruskan segala amal kebaikan di bulan-bulan yg lain. Semoga kita semua terus istiqamah di tas jalan-Nya, ameen..

Wallahua'alam

29th September 2008, 29th Ramadhan 1429H

Hari ke-29 umat Islam berpuasa bagi tahun 1429 H

Hari melihat anak bulan Syawal di Malaysia..tp klu ikut perkiraan tarikh, raya jatuh pd hari Rabu (lusa)

Kalau betul lusa raya, dapatlah sekali lg kita bersolat terawih malam ni..semoga bertemu lg dgn Ramadhan yg akan dtg...ameen

Hari ni genap 16 hari Ahmad Hasanuddin di lahirkan.. Alhamdulillah, dia sihat walafiat & menjadi penyeri keluarga kami, lebih-lebih lg dgn kedatangan Syawal tak lama lg

29 September 2008 juga hari ulangtahun kelahiran yg ke-25 bagi kawan saya, Noor Illiey yg kini berada di Manchester. Sekalung tahniah utk beliau kerana dengan rasminya telah bergelar PhD student di UMIST. Moga terus sukses & bahagia. Happy Birthday!!

Wassalam

Muhasabah di akhir Ramadhan

Ahad, 28 Ramadhan 1429 H... Bulan Ramadhan masih berbaki 2 hari sebelum ia meninggalkan kita, dan sebelum Syawal menjelang. Terasa sayu jugak bila mengenangkan Ramadhan bakal pergi sedangkan banyak amalan yg masih kurang sempurna kali ni bila nak bandingkan dengan Ramadhan pada tahun-tahun sebelum ni, i.e. di SMSD dan di UIAM. Rasanya saya telah menulis satu tajuk khas sempena Ramadhan tahun lepas, iaitu 'Episod Ramadhan Hidupku', yg menceritakan pelbagai pengalaman di bulan Ramadhan di pelbagai tempat yang pernah saya lalui.

Setiap episod Ramadhan pastinya ada perbezaan. Kalau tahun lepas, buat pertama kalinya saya menyambut Ramadhan bukan sebagai seorang student lagi, Ramadhan kali ini pula saya sambut sebagai seorang suami. Malahan pada 13 Ramadhan kali ini juga, saya telah pun bergelar seorang bapa. Alhamdulillah, segala nikmat kurniaan datangnya dari Allah yg Maha Kaya.

Sepanjang 5 tahun yg lepas saya menyambut Ramadhan di UIAM, tapi kali ni tidak lagi di sana. Ramadhan tahun ni disambut tatkala sekali lagi saya bergelar seorang student, menuntut di USM, Penang. Ia satu pengalaman baru berpuasa di sini, bersama teman-teman baru. Namun Ramadhan ini juga ada sedikit kesayuan kerana buat pertama kalinya saya tidak bersama dengan ma, abah & adik-adik di kampung. Walaupun begitu, Allah telah gantikan mereka dengan seorang isteri yg cukup pengasih & perihatin, serta baby lelaki yg comel dan juga keluarga isteri yg sangat baik di Taiping. Terasa kemeriahan berbuka puasa bila abang-abang & kakak-kakak ipar serta anak-anak saudara balik ke sini. Riuh-rendah jadinya!

Muhasabah diri..

Kita sememangnya perlu sentiasa muhasabah diri, menilai prestasi diri dari semasa ke semasa, samada ia semakin baik ataupun sebaliknya. Muhasabah bukan hanya di bulan atau waktu tertentu. Mana yg kurang, seharusnya kita tingkatkan & perbaiki. Ya, itu teorinya, yg mana sgt sangat senang untuk diungkapkan! tapi bila tiba praktikalnya, tanpa kekuatan rohani yg mantap, amat sukar utk kita laksanakan.

Seawal bulan puasa kami telah pun berada di Taiping, membuat persediaan menyambut kelahiran baby pertama kami. Jadi kenalah berulang dari Taiping ke USM setiap hari. Memang memenatkan, perjalanan sejauh 54 km yg ambik masa sejam++. Perjalanan adakalanya menguji kesabaran. Course plk makin lama makin susah rasanya..pening. Kalau tak buat revision lepas kelas, memang K.O. Bila sampai di rumah, biasanya pukul 5.30 pm ke atas, dah tak larat nak buat apa lagi, cuma tunggu waktu berbuka jelah.

Dek kerana keletihan, apatah lagi selepas berbuka, maka payahlah nak mengerah tulang empat kerat untuk bersolat jemaah di masjid. Sedangkan di bulan Ramadhan ni, pahala yg Allah janjikan berlipat kali ganda. Semoga Allah menerima amalan ibadah yg kita laksanakn dengan hati yg ikhlas kerana-Nya, juga dengan petunjuk yg telah ditunjukkan oleh Rasulullah walaupun masih banyak kurangnya. Puasa (bukan saja menahan lapar & dahaga, tp juga puasa hati, fikiran, mata, mulut, telinga & anggota-anggota badan lain), solat jemaah, solat malam, tadarus Al-Qur'an, bersedekah..semua dirasakan makin menurun prestasinya.

Dalam hadis kudsi, Allah berfirman: Semua amalan anak Adam untuknya, melainkan puasa. Ianya untuk-Ku dan hanya Aku yang membalasnya (riwayat al-Bukhari)

Mudah-mudah Allah juga mengira setiap langkah dan keringat yg gugur dalam menuntut ilmu sebagai salah satu kebajikan yg besar disisi-Nya..ameen. Ya Allah, panjangkanlah umur kami agar kami dapat sekali lagi bertemu dengan Ramadhan yg akan datang, dan berilah kekuatan kepada kami untuk terus istiqamah atas jalan-Mu.

Bersamalah kita hiasi hari raya yg bakal tiba dengan penuh kesyukuran & kesederhanaan, serta tidak melalaikan kita semua. Semoga Ramadhan ini mengajar kita erti kesabaran, kehambaan & kemanusiaan.

Firman Allah: (maksudnya) Dan sesungguhnya Tuhanmu (Wahai Muhammad) sentiasa melimpah-ruah kurnia-Nya kepada umat manusia tetapi kebanyakan mereka tidak bersyukur. (Surah al-Naml: 73)

Wassalam.

p/s: assignments ada yg kena submit, presentations, tests and final exams are coming very soon after hari raya..mencabar.

ISA, satu kezaliman?

Mufti Perlis: ISA tidak diperlukan untuk bela ajaran Islam

"Tuhan yang Maha Adil pun buat mahkamah di akhirat untuk setiap orang dibicarakan. Keadilan ditegakkan di dunia dan di akhirat. Tuhan yang Maha Adilpun memberi peluang untuk kita jawab kesalahan sedangkan Tuhan berhak buat apa saja. Jadi macam mana kita boleh tangkap orang tanpa memberi peluang mereka membela diri?"

Continue reading: Laman Mufti Perlis or mStar Online

Apex University

I've found an interesting opinion on Apex university from Prof. Ismawi's blog. It's always good to share, but in the end, we're the one who judge it.

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APEX UNIVERSITY LAGI

So now it’s confirmed that USM is the Apex University of Malaysia. Congratulation to them. They thoroughly deserved to get the recognition as they had not only worked very hard but had been very innovative in their approach. You just need to read Prof. Dzul’s column to understand what I meant. Prof. Dzul stands out among the CEOs of universities; he leads rather than manage. USM is a different university the moment he took over. We certainly need more Prof. Dzuls if our universities are to really compete. He is not afraid to say his piece even if it’s not in currency with the government’s stand. Just look at USM’s transformation plan. Yes, I am happy for him, his colleagues and students - it’s a good start because it only shows tradition of excellence is not just about age but about good strategic plan, meticulous implementation, innovative management and most importantly inspiring leadership. Because it is all that, we can achieve it too if we care to be truthful to ourselves.

Having said that I still believe that it was a mistake to have this done bureaucratically; it must be achieved through tradition of excellence. Getting the status must be done through acclaim rather than selection by a panel of eminence persons who themselves, with all due respect, were not able to produce ‘excellence’ in their own times leading their own institutions. Yes, they said ‘apex’ here does not means ‘top of the pyramid’ but is an acronym for “Accelerated Programme for Excellence”, meaning the university selected is not yet at the top but will be enabled to be at the top. But why choose the word if you don’t mean it? Unfortunately when I was learning English, my teachers reminded me to choose each word properly because each English word has connotation. Just look at the comments made by the the students and lecturers of USM since yesterday. I rest my case on the subject when you see how they beat their chests like Tarzan who has just beaten a big bad ape.

While I believe in pushing our universities to the top to excellence, I can’t help feeling that the resources are from the same cake whose size is still the same. Which means that what are going to be allocated to the AU are going to be taken from others - and I don’t think that is the business of a government. A government business should foremost be looking at fair distribution of wealth and resources to all akin parents giving fair treatment to all their children. In fact it is natural to expect that the parents to give more attention to the young ones because the older ones are expected to be able to look after themselves. If one is going to be putting in more resources on them then it should be their own resources and on their own steam and I believe USM is ready for both without government fiscal help; all they need is to just give them the autonomy so that they can do things they want to do with their accumulated wealth so far. Unlike us where the business arm seems never to be over suckling the teats of the mother, USM has a very profitable business arm, run by professionals and answering directly in business terms to the CEO. This is what happens in the British Top Universities and in American Ivy League!

Talking about the ”Ivy League”, just look at the name they chose i.e. IVY. It has no connotation of being on the top but ‘resilience and breakthrough’. Ivy (Hedera helix) is a common English plant that climbs walls and trees to get light and can survive on minimal nutrients, least of all it needs is help from other plants. That’s what we are supposed to be! APEX has the connotation of being on the top spot of a pyramid, meaning that the rests are the blocks of the structure and may be those whose sins and fault are only because they were born much later and located at places full of disadvantages so that they cannot yet accumulate much in terms of wealth and research products are probably at the base. Given the positive discrimination that actually favour those higher in the hieararchy, they are probably doomed to be Atlases supporting the world.

I must make it clear that this is not about schuldenfraude; I don’t envy USM for its achievement because they deserve it. But how in the world are they going to operate with all that expectations if they are still govern by the same AUKU that governs the rest of us. Can they use English? Can they have 20% international students if they still use Bahasa Malaysia? Can they have a different system of governance? Unless of course they intentionally ignore AUKU. Then the next question is how is one institution being allowed to flout the law of the land in the name of pursuing for excellence when others are expected to toe the line? Doesn’t that sound Michellivian when our culture demands that means must be right to justify the end? Is it really right that while one is led loose on a liberal mode, others are being held on a tight leash. Obversely the question asked may be: how do we expect the others to catch up when one is having a very favourable handicap while others are tied to the pole? I was hoping that after the March 8 tsunami, the government would rethink this whole plan whose strategy heaping resources on the rich at the expense of the poor which was started by the previous administration (as seen in the mega and glamorous projects that have the net result of extending rather than closing the socio-economic gaps of our people). Alas, they don’t seem to have learn anything at all, and that is to bring to mind that Islam requires that the state emphasizes on supporting the less endowed (is Islam Hadhari diagonally different?).

The next question is how did we miss it? From inception IIUM is set to be an international university. Foreign students and staff are our ethos. Our media of instructions are international languages. Our curricula are benchmarked on international standards and our students and lecturers are already on international pedestals. We have more PhDs compared to any other universities. Our alumni are making waves not only in Malaysia but at the world stage. Our campus and facilities are among the best in planning, design and construction. We have strategic plans that chart our transformation into very term of excellence by 2015 because we have now the Balance Scorecard and ISO audits in place. What else do they require of us? Unfortunately, we didn’t even make the shortlist as only those who are already on Research Universities are on the shortlist. Doesn’t that prove my point on the widening of the gap as result of bureaucracy and that classification is discriminating because it heaps unfair advantages on one group while ‘penalizing’ those who are in real need of support. The Apex University excercise was comparing and evaluating universities against the same set of criteria when we know fully well what the result would be: it is like comparing a grand old oak and the acorns that get splluttered by the winds beneath it. All these left bitter taste in the mouth: were we penalized for daring to be different?

I honestly believe that this is a wrong prescription for a sickness that was wrongly diagnosed. The mediocrity in the universities is because we cannot attract top-notch scholars to our institutions because the pay scheme is simply not attractive enough. We lost one to Brunei recently! They keep on saying that they are going to look into this matter for eons already now and nothing has moved; we are where we are. Until such time when knowledge creation and construction is considered as the prime mover of development as in developed countries, nothing is going to change our our universities. With what is on offer we can only attract those that are ‘regular’ rather than ’special’. If we do take them when they are young, they are going to be enticed to greener pasture when they are peaking in their productivity or just before that and the university has to do the staff development all over again. This is going to change for AU but not for others and you can be sure that excellent staff from the ‘regular’ like us will be migrating to them - making gap even bigger.

There is also a suggestion that universities take in senior people who have retired from civil service. If I may say, this is a proposal that show total ignorance on what academic life is all about. Next to the fallacy of making academicians work like bureaucrats, this only prove how our so-called policy makers continue making blunders in the name of the pursuit of excellence. It also shows their total misunderstanding on who academicians are or is it because they have very little regard for the academicians that just any Tom, Dick and Harry who are at the end of their productive age, could be repainted (not even, refurbished) into academicians? This is like one making actors into cinematography technicians; for more than 30 years they are used to doing things in a certain regime and for them to be academicians where demands for research and publications are part and partial, it is not a surprise that they failed miserably to deliver in universities, unless of course the measurement is based on the number we gave prolonged employment. Of course their networking is good and we can use them in that capacity. We should concentrate on the youngs and develop them into top-notch scholars and researchers and give them the financial and infrastructure support to retain them there. Our problem now is we are attracting too many people that others don’t want or who have no business to be academicians because they don’t have the passion for knowledge!

There was a very high expectation on the amendments to AUKU to free the creativity of lecturers. Alas it proved to be a mirage. One great man say: “If you want to be excellent, look for criticsm not praise’ but the reverse is exactly expected when they are asked for opinions on important issues affecting the nation. With the act introduced by Tun Mahathir during his tenureship as Minister of Education, we have managed to turn our lecturers into parrots and not the brains to spur the country to greater height. It’s effect is even more pronounced among our students who are to all intent and purpose the bigger versions of school children as they pursue, some time resorting to unethical practices, as many As as possible without really getting the import of knowledge. These are the problems and if these are addressed and not being pushed under the carpet because we don’t like to thing that we have failed ourselves so far, then we don’t need the synthetic AUs to create excellence.

Source: Prof. Ismawi's blog

New Theme

Alhamdulillah, I had decided to change to a new theme as I received few comments from friends that the old one wasn't really working-out, which I actually downloaded it from blog templates webpage. I guess that those who used Internet Explorer 6.0 and below, both the background and the fonts would turn to be very bright in color, hence create difficulty in accessing the contents. I've experienced it also when I used IE 6.0 in computer lab. It wouldn't be a problem for those who used either Internet Explorer 7.0 or Mozilla Firefox browsers (as well as other browsers)

New look

But now I'm back using the default template provided by Blogger. It's much better to use a simple and easy-to-read design, rather than just attractive, but not really working-out. Comments are most welcomed!

USM granted Apex University

Have you ever heard about Apex University? Personally, I just heard when my supervisor mentioned about it last week. Then I started looking here and there to have some ideas on what Apex university is. Many people have predicted that UM will be the one - Apex University, which has the potential to be world-class university. And today, what a big surprise, USM has been announced as the Apex University.

Congratulation to USM for the great achievement, and of course I'm proud being one of the USM students. It also indicates that I've chosen the right university (among local universities) to pursue my study.

And as an alumni, as well as a staff of IIUM, I wish that IIUM will do better, and improve the performance, so that we can compete with other great universities in the future, insya Allah. For the sake of improvement, nothing's wrong to imitate the good things practiced by others.

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The Star: USM granted Apex University

PUTRAJAYA: Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has been granted apex status and hundreds of millions of ringgit in additional funding to transform it into Malaysia's first world-class university.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that both quantitative and qualitative criteria were used to select USM under the accelerated programme for excellence (apex).

"The selection committee evaluated each university's state of readiness, transformation plan and preparedness for change.

"After a thorough evaluation, the committee decided that only one university truly met all the criteria, namely USM,'' said Khaled Wednesday in a press conference at his ministry. The Cabinet agreed to the decision at its meeting on Aug 27.

The university given apex status is one that has the greatest potential among Malaysian universities to be world-class, and as such, would be given additional assistance to compete with top-ranked global institutions, added Khaled.

With apex status, USM will be expected to move up the World University Rankings with a target of top 200 in five years' time and top 100, if not top 50, by 2020, he said.

Read more at The Star.

Bernama: USM Is Malaysia's Apex University

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) was Tuesday chosen for the Accelerated Programme for Excellence (Apex), beating three other universities, including the country's oldest, the University of Malaya (UM).

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said USM was selected based on the university's transformation plan and its preparedness to make changes to its proposal paper.

"The selection for the Apex programme is not only based on past achievements and excellence, but more on the planning for the future and whether the university is able to achieve a world-class status within the stipulated period of five years," he said when announcing USM's selection for the programme.

During the five-year period, USM must be able to put itself among the world's Top 100 universities and among the Top 50 by 2020, he said.

He was confident that USM would be able to achieve a world-class standard.

"Let's see how USM fares and then we will decide whether to choose another for the programme," he added.

Mohamed Khaled said USM's selection for the programme did not mean that other universities were sidelined.

On the other hand, this should spur them to further improve their position, he said when asked why UM was not selected.

Nine public universities nationwide had submitted their application for the programme but only four -- USM, UM, Universiti Putra Malaysia and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia -- were shortlisted.

USM's winning proposal paper is titled "Transforming Higher Education for a Sustainable Tomorrow".

The Apex university programme is proposed in the National Higher Education Strategic Plan where universities will be divided into three groups namely Apex University, Elite University and Competitive University.

An Apex university is a university of excellence used as a yardstick in higher education worldwide.

Under the programme, the Apex university was promised autonomy in finance, service scheme, management, student intake, study fees and determining the top leadership.

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Wassalam.

Konsert Avril Lavigne di Kuala Lumpur

Dr. Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin:

“Amat tidak wajar bagi pihak yang meluluskan konsert Avril Lavigne yang boleh menyumbang kepada unsur-unsur negatif kepada muda-mudi di negara ini. Penganjuran konsert ini menunjukkan ketidakprihantinan yang serius terhadap masalah keruntuhan moral yang sedang berlaku dalam negara ini.”

Source: Minda Mufti

IIUM 24th Convocation Ceremony

IIUM has just celebrated its 24th Convocation Ceremony on 23rd till 25th August 2008. Alhamdulillah, as my wife received her scroll on the second day, I had the chance to attend the session too, together with my mother in-law. All the graduands looked very happy to receive their scrolls, and of course in new convocation attire.

It was also for the first time I listened to a new IIUM song "Leading the Way". For me, it's a nice song with beautiful lyric as you're all listening to now (from the playlist). The song and its lyric can be downloaded from Public Relation Office of IIUM website.

These are some pictures to share:

The following pictures were taken from Hanamichi blog

Special parents, Tuan Guru Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and wife

Graduands from Kulliyyah of Science

Graduands from Kulliyyah of Economics

Graduands from Kulliyyah of Engineering

Graduands from Kulliyyah of Economics

Graduands from Kulliyyah of Information & Communication Technology

Graduands from Institute of Education

Graduand representative on the second day (3rd session) from Kulliyyah of Law

Congratulation to all the graduands. May IIUM will keep producing graduands who are capable of serving the ummah & nation.

Majlis Konvokesyen ke-24, graduan UIAM tunjuk kesungguhan

Alhamdulillah, saya berkesempatan menghadiri majlis konvokesyen UIAM ke-24 pagi semalam, sessi ketiga bagi menyaksikan & meraikan kejayaan isteri saya menggenggam segulung ijazah. Beliah dianugerahi dengan Ijazah Sarjana Muda Mathematical Science bersama rakan-rakan dari Kulliyyah of Science. Turut serta menerima ijazah pd sessi tersebut ialah para graduan dari Kulliyyah of Laws, Medicine, dan Pharmacy. Sekalung tahniah untuk isteri tercinta khasnya, juga kepada semua graduan UIAM, class of 2008 umumnya.

Turut mencuri tumpuan saya serta para hadirin semua adalah kehadiran Menteri Besar Kelantan, Tuan Guru Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat & isteri ke majlis tersebut. Tentunya para hadirin dan graduan semua berbesar hati dengan kehadiran mereka. Kehadiran mereka bukanlah sebagai tetamu jemputan, tetapi sebagai ibu dan bapa kepada anak mereka, salah seorang daripada ribuan graduan yg bakal menerima ijazah. Anak perempuan mereka menerima ijazah undang-undang daripada Kulliyyah of Laws.

Yang ingin dikongsikan di sini ialah kisah seorang graduan yg mengharukan & membanggakan semua pihak. Semasa para pelajar Kulliyyah of Laws menerima ijazah mereka, kelihatan seorang graduan perempuan diiringi oleh petugas menggunakan kerusi roda naik ke pentas menerima ijazahnya. Ramai hadirin yg bertepuk tangan. Namun ramai yg tidak menyangka akan sebab sebenar beliau naik ke pentas menggunakan kerusi roda. Rupa-rupanya... baca cerita selanjutnya di bawah ini. Sekalung tahniah untuk beliau!

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Tahan sakit bersalin demi ijazah

GOMBAK: Seorang ibu muda sanggup menahan kesakitan bersalin anak sulung untuk menerima sendiri ijazah undang-undangnya walaupun dinasihati suami dan doktor supaya bergegas ke Hospital Selayang dekat sini.

Siti Maslina Tharim, 24, graduan Ijazah Sarjana Muda Undang-Undang (Syariah) dari Kuliyyah Undang-Undang Ahmad Ibrahim, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM) berkeras melawan kesakitan untuk menerima ijazah daripada Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Pakistan, Leftenan Jeneral (Bersara) Tahir Mahmud Qazi pada istiadat Konvokesyen UIAM ke-24, semalam.

Dia dibenarkan menerima ijazah lebih awal disebabkan keadaannya semakin hampir untuk bersalin.

Dengan menggunakan kerusi roda yang ditolak seorang petugas majlis, Siti Maslina dari Negeri Sembilan, tiada masalah menerima ijazah itu daripada Tahir Mahmud Qazi.

Selepas itu, dia segera dibawa ke pintu belakang untuk dihantar ke Hospital Selayang menggunakan ambulans universiti dengan ditemani suaminya, Faizal Mahdi Mahmud, 29.



Siti Maslina selamat melahirkan bayi lelaki seberat 2.66 kilogram secara normal pada jam 5.05 petang.

Faizal yang ditemui di Hospital Selayang, malam tadi, berkata isterinya yang dijangka bersalin pada 19 Ogos tidak mahu orang lain menerima ijazah bagi pihaknya kerana kejayaan menamatkan pengajian bukan sesuatu yang mudah.

“Kami tidak bercadang menghadiri majlis konvokesyen ini. Namun, disebabkan terlewat beberapa hari bersalin, isteri saya berdegil untuk naik sendiri ke pentas menerima ijazah,” katanya.

“Siti Maslina mengadu sakit ketika bersiap ke majlis konvokesyen itu. Justeru, saya menasihatinya supaya membatalkan hasrat ke majlis berkenaan.

“Dia meyakinkan saya dia masih kuat untuk naik ke pentas.

“Sebelum itu doktor turut membuat pemeriksaan dan mendapati isteri saya sudah hampir bersalin serta memintanya ke hospital segera,” katanya yang berasal dari Terengganu.

Pasangan itu berkahwin November tahun lalu dan Siti Maslina disahkan hamil ketika di tahun akhir pengajian.

Ketika usia kandungan menjangkau lima bulan, isterinya sibuk menghadapi peperiksaan akhir tahun.

“Dia tidak pernah menghadapi kesukaran membawa kandungan yang sedang membesar walaupun sibuk dengan tugasan sebagai pelajar dan isteri,” katanya.

Dia tidak menghalang isterinya melanjutkan pelajaran atau bekerja kerana kehidupan mereka sudah lengkap dengan kehadiran cahaya mata yang dilahirkan pada hari bersejarah.

Pasangan itu yang berkenalan ketika menuntut di UIAM dalam jurusan sama menganggap peristiwa berkenaan sebagai satu kenangan manis dalam hidup mereka dan tidak akan melupakan setiap saatnya.

Sumber: Harian Metro, 25 August 2008

2008-2008

Apakah maksud disebalik tajuk post di atas? Mungkin ada di kalangan anda yg terus dapat membaca apa maksudnya.

Ia sebenarnya satu tarikh, iaitu tarikh hari ini.. 20 August 2008, yg mana jika ditulis dlm bentuk angka, akan jd 20-08-2008. Ia sebenarnya satu tarikh yg cantik & unik. Jadi saya mengambil kesempatan ini utk mencoretkan sesuatu bersempena dengan tarikh ini.

Yang jelas, walaupun susunan tarikh ini kelihatan cantik, tp tiada apa keistimewaan atau maksud tersirat di dalamnya. Cuma bila direnungkan, tetiba teringat pd seorang sahabat. Lebih kurang 2 tahun yg lepas ketika di UIAM, beliau yg sebenarnya mula menyebut tarikh ini. Apa katanya? Dgn nada yg berseloroh, tp mungkin jg serius, katanya bhw dia bakal melangsungkan perkahwinannya pd tarikh ini.

Hmm..nampaknya tarikh ini hampir berakhir tatkala saya memulakan bicara ini. Dan adakah sahabat ini benar-benar mengotakan apa yg telah dikatakan? Suka diingatkan bhw ia bukanlah suatu janji yg perlu dikotakan sebenarnya. Namun andai kata beliau masih belum mengakhiri zaman bujangnya, maka nasihat saya utk beliau, jgnlah tunggu lagi kerana tarikh ini takkan kembali lg..tidak sekali-kali. Hari ini ia berlalu dalam lipatan sejarah. Janganlah ditunggu tarikh 20-09-2009 pula lepas ni. Lama lagi tu..

Akhir kalam, saya doakan sahabat ini akan dipertemukan dengan wanita idaman hati, juga memenuhi kehendak keluarga, dan yg paling penting memiliki ciri wanita mu'minah yg bakal menjadi penyeri hidupmu kelak. Hakikatnya, diri kita sendiri yg akan menjadikan sesuatu tarikh itu penuh makna & bersejarah, wlupun pd zahirya ia hanyalah susunan angka yg tidak begitu cantik.

Wassalam.

p/s: cuba teka siapakah sahabat itu;-)?

Beijing 2008: Despite defeated, he is still the best!

I was quite disappointed to watch Lee Chong Wei's performance against Lin Dan in the Olympic badminton men singles final last Sunday. Perhaps, I was putting so much hope to see the first Olympic gold medal for Malaysia, where it could be closely contributed by my favorite game, badminton.

But then I realized that Lee Chong Wei has delivered his best for the game. It's just Lin Dan who was so tough and improved a lot during this Olympic, and perhaps it was his last performance in Olympic game.

Personally, despite defeated, Lee Chong Wei is still the best national single shuttler in the history. His unstoppable effort should highly be commendable. I hope that he will continue to improve and strive at his best for all Malaysians. Congratulation Lee Chong Wei, and Misbun Sidek for making Malaysians proud!

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More news at The Star: Chong Wei touched by show of support

SEPANG: Lee Chong Wei returned home yesterday with a heavy heart after his failure to nail the first gold medal for Malaysia in the Olympics.

But getting a hero's welcome at the Kuala Lumpur International Aiport (KLIA) brought back the smile on his face. About 300 people with huge congratulatory banners greeted Chong Wei and the Malaysian badminton team at the arrival hall to the beat of the kompang and thunderous applause.

On Sunday, Chong Wei suffered his worst defeat by China's Lin Dan in the men's singles final. Still, the silver medal was Malaysia's best result in 12 years at the Olympics and the best achievement by a singles player.

Lee Chong Wei and coach Misbun Sidek on arrival at the KLIA Monday.
- Ibrahim Mohtar/The Star

Chong Wei appreciated the show of support.

“I was sad because I could not win gold medal for the country. Many would have been disappointed with the manner I lost. But from the welcome I received today, I felt as though I had won the gold medal,” he said.

“I am glad that the nation is still supportive of me despite my defeat.

“This means a lot to me. It will only spur me on to work even harder to achieve more good results for the country.”

Chong Wei said that the experience playing at the Beijing Games was priceless.

“There were days that I could not sleep and there were days when I had no appetite to eat. The pressure was great. But I have no excuse for the defeat. Lin Dan was so fast, he had improved so much,” he said.

Chong Wei hoped for more singles talent to emerge for Malaysia.

“The next two major tournaments are the World Championships (2009) and the Asian Games (2010). With the help of my coach (Misbun Sidek), I will be ready for these tournaments,” he said.

“But like China, I hope that there will be more than one Malaysian singles player vying for honours in these tournaments. It helps when one can support the other, just like the players from China.”

Misbun said that he would not waste time as far as grooming new talent was concerned.

“The training will be tougher from now for Chong Wei. I want to get him ready for the next Olympics. At the same, my work will start immediately to groom other Olympians. This will be my challenge,” said Misbun.

Beijing 2008: Breaking news!

Teruja dengan berita terbaru dari Beijing, pemain badminton perseorangan negara, Lee Chong Wei berjaya melayakkan diri ke final Olimpik setelah mengalahkan pemain Korea, Lee Hyun-il. Sekurang-kurangnya pingat perak sudah dalam genggaman. Tapi bukan pingat perak yg diharapkan oleh rakyat Malaysia, namun semestinya pingat emas pertama utk Malaysia. Sejarah bakal tercipta. Terus mara Lee Chong Wei! Semoga para pemain kita yg lain bakal mengikut jejak langkahnya, jangan terus leka & berpuas hati setelah mengecapi beberapa kejayaan sahaja. Kembalikan zaman kegemilangan badminton negara kita.

Lihat berita di The Star: Chong Wei books a silver at least for Malaysia

BEIJING: Lee Chong Wei has secured at least a silver medal for Malaysia in the Beijing Olympics.

The national one shuttler and second seed for the men's singles event here defeated South Korean Lee Hyun-il 21-18, 13-21, 21-13 in the semi-finals Friday at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.

By booking his place in the final, which will be played on Sunday, the 26-year-old Penangite now stands to pocket at least RM300,000 as an incentive from the Govvernment.

If he manages to win Malaysia's first ever Olympic gold, Chong Wei will pocket a whopping RM1mil.

Malaysia has won a total of three Olympic medals thus far - one silver and two bronze medals - which were all delivered by shuttlers.

Before the last four clash here, the record between Chong Wei and Lee was even for this year.

Chong Wei beat Lee in the Malaysian Open final in three games.

When they next clashed in the Korean Open, Lee whipped Chong Wei in the second round and went on to beat world number one Lin Dan in a three-game thriller for the title.

Chong Wei is the only Malaysian shuttler still in the fray in Bejing. The other Malaysians all failed to shine.

New design of IIUM convocation attire

Just to share, the new design of IIUM convocation attire..

The new design of robe has taken into consideration the comfort of the graduands whereby the material selected for the new robe will be light and cooler as compared to the previous material for robe which is heavy, bulky and may cause discomfort if it worn for a long period of time.

The colour of the new graduands’ robe is turquoise which truly reflects the corporate colour of the University as compared to the previous robe which is green in colour.

The use of mortarboard for graduands is to standardize the dress code of convocation with other local public institutions of higher learning nationwide. Nevertheless, songkok will still be used for other official function of the University. The dress code for Muslim and non-Muslim female graduands require them to wear a cream coloured tudung under their mortaboard.

Source: IIUM

Life as a student

Lama benar rasanya tak menulis di sini. Kalau dulu masa di UIA, banyak masa untuk semua ni. Tapi sekarang tak lagi di USM ni. Kehidupanku agak sibuk, dan mungkin boleh juga dikatakan agak kelam kabut di sini. Sememangnya cabaran untuk buat masters setahun ni agak tinggi. Walaupun hanya 3 courses yang perlu diambil semester ni, tp workload dan syllibusnya nya boleh tahan. Setiap course mewakili 4 credit hours. Selain dari exam, kami juga dikehendaki menyiapkan mini design, assignment & presentation. Dalam masa yg sama, research pun kena ada progress. Apatah lagi sebagai first batch, tentunya banyak pihak mahu menggunakan kami sebagai 'bahan eksperimen'.. isk3.

Ada pro & kontranya jd first batch ni. Dari segi syllibus & exam, mungkin kami lebih senang berbanding batch yg akan datang sebab kalau tengok trend soalan kita, samada peringkat sekolah hinggalah ke universiti, the toughness of questions is directly proportional to the time. Maknanya makin lama makin susah kot. Harapnya mcm tu lah. Tapi sejauh manakah kesenangan & kesusahan soalan tu tak boleh didefinisikan buat masa ni sebab kami tiada sebarang rujukan. Semuanya bermula dengan kami.

Apapun, masa setahun ni memang menuntut ketekunan, kesabaran & pengorbanan. Insya Allah, akan ku kuatkan semangat & gagahkan tulang empat kerat ni untuk harungi semua tu. Cabaran yg akan datang pastinya lebih hebat. No problems, no fun!

IIUM says Good bye to Songkok

3 weeks ago, a friend of mine called me, just to inform and ask my opinion about the decision made by IIUM to replace the songkok (for brothers) and special scarves (for sisters) with mortar boards during its convocation after this. It was still rumors at that time. That means we were the last batch of IIUM graduates wearing songkok in such a big event (23rd convocation). Well, if it was true, I just said that obviously as an IIUM alumni, it's hard to accept the fact. Wearing songkok during convocation is one of the identities of IIUM graduates, who have been practicing this since the early years of IIUM establishment.

But songkok is not an Islamic identity, which reflects the piousness of a Muslim. It's just a tradition of Malays and Muslims, especially those who are living in Nusantara region.

The news has significantly drawn attentions from the public when it was officially announced and put in newspapers. It's up to you how to look at it.

A news at The Malaysian Insider:

UIAM doing away with songkok for convo

KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 —The International Islamic University of Malaysia is doing away with the songkok and special scarves during convocation for its graduates.

Instead, from this year's convocation, to be held from Aug 23 to 25, graduates will wear their graduation robes with mortar boards.

A mortar board

UIAM deputy rector (Academic and Research) Prof Datuk Dr Tahir Azhar said the change was made to standardise the dress code for university convocations nationwide.

He said yesterday that this year 4,112 UIAM graduates would receive their scrolls.

He said there would also be a change in the colour of the graduation robes, from turquoise green to turquoise blue.

"The songket pattern on the sleeve of the new graduation robes will be that of the 'pucuk rebung' (bamboo shoot)," he added.

He said UIAM was spending RM2.1 million for the new graduation robes. — Bernama

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The news is also available at Utusan Malaysia: Topi mortar ganti songkok semasa konvokesyen UIAM

Wassalam.

Another New Chapter

I haven't had the chance to jot down something since I left UIAM 0n last 27th June, while taking a short break before I start a new life as a student again in USM, Engineering Campus, which I consider as another new chapter of my life.

I registered at USM on 30th June 2008, but the semester had only started on last Monday. There were originally 15 students accepted for this mixed-m0de of M.Sc in Chemical Engineering, but only 7 turned up on the registration day. Five of them are ex-students of USM, while only me from UIAM and another one from UiTM. For the moment, I am still in the mode of 'menyesuaikan diri dalam persekitaran yang baru' (familiarizing myself in a new environment). The 7 of us are the pioneer batch for this mixed-mode program at the School of Chemical Engineering here, and we’re supposed to finish everything by June next year.

Since last Monday, I've been traveling all the way from Taiping to Nibong Tebal, which took me about an hour, and cost me around RM20 per day for the petrol. At last, Alhamdulillah, I managed to rent a house in Parit Buntar. Nibong Tebal and Parit Buntar are 2 different places in 2 different states (Penang & Perak), but it takes me less than 10 minutes to reach USM.

Overall, everything looks ok here, but of course there're huge gaps & differences between USM and UIAM...the environment, the students, cafeteria, and so forth. So far, I'm happy with the lecturers, who are very friendly and helpful. The courses required for us are also critical in providing us with a clear direction towards our research goals. May Allah make it easy for us, amin..

Wassalam.

Last day

Hari ini, 26 Jun 2008 merupakan hari terakhir saya di UIAM sebelum mendaftar di USM pada hari Isnin depan. Hanya beberapa keping gambar untuk dikongsi bersama. Semoga Allah berikan daku kesempatan untuk kembali ke bumi ini, menumpahkan bakti dan keringat untuk ummat & bangsa, amin...

Di luar pintu bilik

Kalendar Pameran Kegemilangan Sains dalam Tamadun Islan & bunting ICBioE masih di pintu bilik

Mejaku..

White board untuk mencatatkan extension number & aktiviti penting

Kosong seperti sedia kala

Perjalanan masih jauh, perjuangan belum selesai!

Farewell Gathering

Alhamdulillah, at last I managed to accomplish all the tasks (EIT Visits) assigned to me before my study leave period starts. But still I have to mark the report & submit all the necessary documents to EIT unit later. I went to Kelantan on last Saturday to visit all the five students currently doing their EIT there. I actually grabbed the chance to spend few days at my kampung before moving to Penang soon. I visited three students at Institute for Molecular Medicine (INFORMM), Health Campus of USM on Sunday, and the other two students at Majlis Perbandaran Kota Bharu (MPKB) on Monday. Then, I went back to KL on Tuesday. Lot of things happened while I was in Kelantan (other than the visits), both good and terrible. I might have thought that it was better not to go back when I keep thinking about those terrible moments. Well, let’s not talk about it. At least it was worth enough when I saw my mom’s face, smiling and crying. Mom, Insya Allah, one day, your son will fulfill all your dreams and turn your tears to smile, no more crying and suffering.

On Friday, 20^th June 2008, 3:00 pm, we had a small farewell party at the Biomolecular Engineering Research Unit (Bio-MERU) meeting room. The party was actually initiated & organized by Syahida, Shima, Alawiyah, Husna & Ain for me, Deena & Amirul (hehe..I guessed so) since the three of us will be leaving IIUM by end of June. It was a surprise for us. We didn’t expect that they have planned the party for us. It was also the last day I met all of them because when I come back from EIT visit in Kelantan, they would have left to Terengganu for the BIOTEK Project Meeting there. Though simple, the word ‘thank you’ should be the best & most suitable word to express my gratitude for their kindness and advocacy that they have given. May our friendship remain forever, amin..

Some faces that will still stay in IIUM after my leave..the RAs

See you again!

I slightly feel that, eventually, I’m able to leave. It’s time for me to leave, enough of being left. Haha! There were few companions close to me have left before. It started with Faraz who left to Carnegie Mellon Uni, then Aimi to LGM, Kak Maya to UPSI, Illiey to UMIST, Shareef to NUS, Prof. Farouk to UBD, Kak Anis to UPM, and lastly Faizal to ASM. Syahida had joined the group just before Prof. Farouk left, and only Faizal, Kak Anis & Amirul were here at that time, not forgetting my dear wife too. After Dr. Hamzah took over the project as a leader, then Shima, Ain, Alawiyah & Husna came, to be part of the family. Yeah, this is life. Some people come into our lives and quickly go, and some stay for awhile. No one will stay at one place forever. Life is dynamic, rite? Wish everyone happy in their path, may the success be ours!

Thanks!

Hari-hari terakhir di UIAM

Alhamdulillah, hampir segala urusan berkenaan study leave sudah pun selesai. Cuma agreement dengan UIAM je belum. Harapnya officer yang menguruskannya dapat mempercepatkan sedikit. Kalau tak, terpaksalah mereka pos dokumen yang berkenaan ke Taiping nanti. Tu pun satu kerja lagi nak kena pos dokumen tu ke MSD balik..huh.

Urusan dengan KPT semua dah settle. Pergi ke Putrajaya cuma sekali je, untuk ambik offer letter, borang agreement & medical check-up, serta beberapa dokumen lain. Lepas dah lengkapkan semua tu, malas nak ke sana lagi, so courier je, cepat & senang. Lagipun minyak mahal lar sekarang.. Hmm..buat medical check-up di Klinik UIAM je, sekaligus untuk USM sekali, di samping untuk KPT. Setahun yang lepas masa nak report duty sbg assistant lecturer, semua ok.. darah, urine, x-ray & penglihatan, cuma berat badan amatlah ringan pada masa tu. Tapi kali ni, ujian penglihatan saya bolehlah dikira gagal, tu yg doktor cakap lah. Memang agak kurang nampak pun masa nurse suruh saya baca huruf-huruf tu. Sekali nampak mcm 'C', sekali macam 'G', sekali lg macam 'O' pulak..ish3. Jadi doktor mintak saya gi check mata di klinik mata (optometrist). Hoho..dengan kata lain, kena pakai spec ke? Oh, tidak! Kalau tak pakai spec, nanti saya akan mengalami sindrom sakit kepala, kata doktor. Sekarang masih lg berkira-kira samada nak gi check atau tak. Kalau gi, dah tentu memang kena pakai spec. Tapi sampai bila nak lari? Nampaknya nikmat penglihatan yg Allah bagi ni dah semakin ditarik.. ingatkan mataku ini akan terus terang-benderang sampai ke hari tua..hehe. Panjangnya cerita pasal mata. Berat badan pulak ada peningkatan kalau banding dengan sebelum ni. Biasalah, hati bahagia, selera makan pun bertambahlah:-)

Walaupun dalam kekalutan nak meninggalkan UIAM ni, saya telah diminta oleh EIT Coordinator untuk melawat beberapa orang pelajar yg sedang menjalani industrial training. Mereka ini bertebaran di seluruh pelosok negara. Tapi saya dengan senang hatinya telah request untuk pergi ke Kelantan. Ada 5 orang pelajar yang buat praktikal di sana (3 di HUSM, 2 di MPKB). Sebenarnya ni ambik peluang nak balik kampung sekali..hehe. Bila dah dapat official letter drp EIT Unit, rupanya saya kena gi melawat seorang lagi pelajar di Banting (Sime Darby Research Center). Wah, jauh tu Banting. Dahlah sepanjang hidup ni tak pernak jejak kaki ke sana. Apapun, alhamdulillah semalam saya dah pun menyelesaikan tugasan saya di Banting tu dengan ditemani oleh Br. Raziff (Engineer kat Dept. of Biotech). Oklah jugak, dapat pengalaman baru. Sepanjang perjalanan tu, ada melalui beberapa pusat & institusi yg selama ni hanya dengar nama je, tapi tak tahu di mana lokasinya. Antaranya adalah Malaysia Nuclear Agency (dulunya MINT). Oo..kat situ rupanya. Walaupun ambik masa dua jam untuk sampai di lokasi tu, semuanya berjalan lacar tanpa sebarang 'kesesatan' di jalanan (berpandukan map yg student tu dah fax).

Dan esok (Sabtu), sesudah subuh saya akan bertolak ke Kelantan untuk tujuan lawatan tersebut. Walaupun minyak mahal, tapi apa boleh buat, ini memang tugasan, di samping membantu department yg semakin hari semakin kurang staffnya..isk3. Tapi takpe, boleh claim mileage serta elaun-elaun lain nanti. Kadar untuk claim mileage ni patutnya dinaikkan lagi lah bila harga petrol dah naik ni (demand sikit..)

Semalam bila buka laman web Mufti Perlis, ada nampak satu poster pemberitahuan tentang Wacana Perdana sempena 100 hari Pemerintahan Pakatan Rakyat diadakan pd malam esok di Kompleks Balai Islam, Lundang, Kota Bharu. Yang menarik perhatian saya adalah antara senarai ahli panel yg dijemput, iaitu Mufti Perlis sendiri, Dr. Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin dan juga Prof. Dr. Abd Aziz Bari dari Kulliyah of Law, UIAM. Ini yg membuatkan saya terpanggil untuk menghadirinya. Insya Allah, kalau ada kekuatan & kesempatan.

Ok, cukup untuk setakat ni. Kita berjumpa lagi di ruangan yg lain, Insya Allah. Doakan keselamatan saya sekeluarga.

Wassalam.

New President of IIUM

10th June 2008: I've just received an email from the University Management, announcing that Constitutional Head of IIUM, HRH Sultan of Pahang, Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al Musta’in Billah ibni Al Marhum Sultan Abu Bakar Ri’ayatuddin Al Mu’adzam Shah, has gracefully appointed Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Mohd. Sidek bin Hj. Hassan, The Chief Secretary to the Malaysian Government as the fifth President of IIUM effective June 2, 2008. The IIUM community would like to welcome Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Mohd. Sidek bin Hj. Hassan as the new President.

The community acknowledged with utmost gratitude the contribution of Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dato' Seri Sanusi bin Junid, the fourth President of IIUM to the development of the university during his tenure as the President of IIUM.

I pray that IIUM would continue to become a great institute of higher learning in Malaysia, as well as in the world, in producing better quality intellectuals, professionals and scholars who are capable of educating the Ummah and serving the Nation, Insya Allah.

Berbicara soal kenaikan harga bahan api di Malaysia

Tanggal 5 Jun 2008 merupakan satu tarikh yang mengejutkan seluruh rakyat Malaysia. Rakyat tentunya terkedu dengan keputusan kerajaan (yg diberi mandat oleh rakyat dalam pilihan raya lepas) menaikkan harga petrol dan diesel, masing-masing kepada RM2.70 dan RM2.58 seliter. Saya pada petang 4 Jun tersebut dalam perjalanan pulang dari Shah Alam ke Gombak selepas menziarahi sanak-saudara bersama isteri, ibu dan adik saya. Tatkala diumumkan keputusan kerajaan tentang kenaikan harga minyak itu, stesen-stesen minyak diserbu ratusan kenderaan. Saya juga mengambil keputusan untuk mengisi minyak apabila sampai di Stesen Petronas Hulu Kelang. Itulah kali terakhir saya berkesempatan mengisi minyak dengan harga RM1.92 seliter.

Rata-rata, rakyat Malaysia mepersoalkan keputusan tersebut. Rakyat bukannya pakar ekonomi, tapi mereka tentu boleh berfikir secara logik akan hal ini. Dengan kenaikan harga minyak mentah dunia, maka kerajaan terpaksa menaikkan harga bahan api tersebut. Namun yang dipersoalkan oleh logik akal rakyat adalah, sekiranya harga minyak mentah dunia meningkat, maka sudah tentu untung oleh Petronas juga berlipat kali ganda. Atau adakah ini tidak masuk akal? Budak sekolah rendah pun sudah tentu dapat memikirkannya. Maka kemana perginya keuntungan Petronas ini? Sejauh manakah projek-projek mega yg dijalankan dapat menyumbang kepada kesenangan hidup rakyat secara keseluruhannya?

Ya, sebagai salah seorang rakyat Malaysia yang tinggal di Malaysia, saya sudah tentu turut terkena bahang tekanan akibat kenaikan harga minyak ini. Kenaikan harga ini secara langsung telah menyebabkan banyak barangan lain di pasaran turut meningkat, yg sememangnya tidak akan dpt dielakkan. Apatah lagi kadar tarif elektrik juga telah dinaikkan. Saya berdoa semoga Allah sentiasa membela nasib rakyat yang teraniaya. Sesungguhnya doa rakyat yang teraniaya pasti akan dimakbulkan oleh Allah SWT.

Saya tidak mahu berbicara panjang soal kenaikan harga minyak ini. Cuma sukacita sekiranya saya dapat berkongsi beberapa pendapat & luahan tokoh-tokoh terkenal di Malaysia tentang hal ini.

Seperti yang saya tunggu-tunggu, dan saya percaya ramai yang lain juga mengharapakan, Mufti Perlis, Dr. Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin telah secara lantang menulis tentang topik ini. Saya amat mengagumi akan keberanian & ketelusan beliau dalam melontarkan pandangan, tidak kira kepada siapa, berpegang kepada prinsip kebenaran. Artikel beliau yg terbaru, Agama Bukan Candu untuk Mengkhayalkan Orang Miskin di laman web beliau serta Mingguan Malaysia 8 Jun 2008.

Berikut adalaha beberapa perenggan tulisan beliau:

.....Saya tahu, selepas ini banyak forum-forum perdana, ceramah-ceramah di radio dan televisyen akan memperkatakan tentang kewajipan berjimat cermat. Maka ustaz, ustazah dan penceramah pun –atas pemintaan penaja yang membayar harga ceramah- akan bersungguh-sungguh menyuruh orang-orang bawahan untuk berjimat cermat.

Dalil-dalil pun akan dibaca. Mungkin akan ada ustazah yang mencari cerita-cerita ajaib yang baru untuk dikaitkan dengan bab jimat cermat dan jangan membazir. Mungkin akan ada penceramah yang cuba menangis-menangis –seperti seorang pelakon berjaya yang menerima anugerah- bercerita kepada mak cik-makcik yang kusyuk menonton tentang azab seorang yang membazir ‘nasi lemaknya’.

Datanglah orang-orang kampung mendengar forum perdana dengan basikal atau motosikal sebagai menyahut seruan agar tidak membazir petrol. Adapun penceramah, datuk-datuk pengajur, YB-YB hanya menggunakan kenderaan mewah yang berkapasiti atas daripada 2000cc. Tujuannya untuk mengelakkan pembaziran wang kerajaan yang terpaksa dibayar kepada empunya kenderaan 2000cc ke bawah, lebih tinggi daripada 2000 ke atas.

Maka insaflah mak cik dan pak cik yang barangkali teringatkan tulang ikan yang pernah dibuangnya padahal masih ada sedikit sisa isinya yang melekat. Itulah membazir namanya. Maka, atas keinsafan dan taubat itu, mungkin ada yang akan mula mengurangkan makan nasi lemak daripada sebungkus seorang kepada sebungkus yang dikongsi bersama. Air kopinya yang memang sudah ‘ceroi’ akan ditukar kepada yang warna hitamnya antara kelihatan dan tidak. Maka selamat negara kita ini, disebabkan pakcik dan makcik, pak long dan mak long, pak lang dan mak lang di kampung sudah mengubah gaya hidup mereka.

Jika saya hadir ke forum yang seperti itu, saya ingin bertanya soalan, tapi soalan yang belum ‘dijakimkan’, “apakah agama ini dihantar oleh Allah untuk menghukum manusia bawahan dan menghalalkan yang lain tidur dalam kekenyangan dan kemewahan?”. Sebelum harga minyak naik, telah sekian mereka yang berada di teratak usang itu menjimat makan dan pakai. Saban hari mereka mengira belanja untuk memboleh mereka terus hidup di kala negara dunia belum menghadapi krisis harga minyak.

Baca selanjutnya di laman web Mufti Perlis>>

Selain itu, satu tulisan yang menarik telah ditulis oleh Tun Dr. Mahathir Moahamad, mantan Perdana Menteri Malaysia di blog beliau yg bertajuk 'Oil Price'. Penerangan beliau akan hal ini tampak lebih mudah untuk difahami, diselit dengan beberapa contoh pengiraan & situasi tertentu.

Banyak lagi tulisan, kolum & pendapat yg berkaitan dengan perkara ini, yg mana ada sebahagiannya saya linkkan di sisi blog ini untuk bacaan rakan-rakan.

Wassalam.

Thomas Cup - it's China again!

Badminton would always be one of my favorite sports, other than soccer since I was in primary school. I missed the era of Misbun Sidek and his other colleagues, but it's still fresh in my mind where his other brothers, namely Razif, Jailani and Rashid were playing for Malaysia back there. The most indelible moment was obviously during the Thomas Cup 1992 championships. Some of other prominent names were Foo Kok Keong, Cheah Soon Kit and Soo Beng Kiang. They were all the real fighters for Malaysia at that time. Since that, I was trying hardly not to miss the championships. However, Malaysia has never won any Thomas cup tittle after that year too.

Historically, Thomas Cup championships have been conducted every two years since the 1982 tournament (I was not yet born at that time). Before that, it has been conducted every three years since the first tournament held in 1948-1949. As known, Indonesia is the most successful team by winning the tittle for thirteen times, followed by China (7 times) and Malaysia (5 times - 1949, 1952, 1955, 1967, 1992). These are the only three countries which have won the championships even though some other countries, like Denmark, Thailand and the latest, Korea were able to went through to the final. Source: Wikipedia - Thomas Cup

Thomas and Uber Cup

And, the Thomas Cup 2008 championships has just ended yesterday, where the Chinese again retained the tittle, consecutively since 2004. China has beaten Korea 3-1. However, in the semi final, China beat Malaysia 3-2. It was a close match at all, and it seems that Malaysia was better perhaps. I, and I believe the Malaysian as well, was pretty sure if Malaysia able to defeat China in the semi final, then the Thomas Cup would have been stolen from them. I just don't know what to say about our players, especially the first double. And Hafiz Hashim also seems not in his best performance yet. But when I watched Lee Chong Wei's play, it was totally superb, and of course plus the bad performance by Lin Dan too. Congratulation also to the young double, Mohd Zakry Latif and Mohd Fairurizuan Tazari who have convincingly defeated the world number 9 double from China to make the match even, and saved Malaysia from early defeat.

Last night, I watched the match between China & Korea. I just don't care who's gonna win the tittle, but somehow I hoped that Korea would win it. It was really shocked when the first single of Korea, Park Sung-Hwan defeated the world number 1, Lin Dan in the first game 21-10. But as expected, there shouldn't be a problem for Lin Dan to come back and turned down the Korean in the next two games. Then, the Korean was able to make the match even when their first double (world number 3) beat the Chinese double (world number 2). It was an amazing performance and defense shown by the Korean double I must admit. Well, I've never expected the match between the second single of Korean, Lee Hyun-Il against Chinese world number 3, Bao Chunlai would be that close and exciting. It was also the first time I watched a match where a winner won against his opponent by 28-26.

Ok, that's enough, otherwise, I'll be a nonprofessional sports commentator here..hehe. Lastly, I wish the Malaysia team will do better in the next two years Thomas Cup championships, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur. Until 2008, the nation has been waiting for 16 years to seize the most prestigious cup in badminton arena.

UM, UIAM, UTM: Universiti terbaik

News by Malaysiakini on 16th May 2008, also available at Global Media Channel and The Star: UM leads in ranking

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Universiti terbaik: UM, UIA, UTM

Oleh: Abdul Rahim Sabri

Tiga universiti awam mendapat pengiktirafan sebagai universiti terbaik dalam kelas masing-masing daripada 17 institusi pengajian tinggi (IPT) yang dikaji taraf kualitinya.

Universiti Malaya mendahului dalam kategori universiti penyelidikan, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa mendapat tempat teratas (universiti umum) dan Universiti Teknologi Malaysia tempat pertama (universiti khusus).

Berdasarkan markah keseluruhan enam bidang yang dikaji, Universiti Malaya memperolehi 5 mata atau "cemerlang", Universiti Islam Antarabangsa mendapat 4 mata (sangat baik) dan Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (3 atau baik).

Keputusan ini, yang pertama kali diumumkan, hasil penilaian Sistem Penarafan Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam (Setara) selama dua tahun yang diselia oleh Agensi Kelayakan Malaysia (MQA).

Ketika mengumumkan keputusan tersebut hari ini di kementeriannya di Putrajaya, menteri pengajian tinggi Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin berkata penarafan ini bertujuan mengukur mutu, kebertanggungjawaban dan prestasi IPT.

Setara bermula dengan data yang dikutip dan dianalisis dalam projek rintis pada 2005 di 16 IPT dan penilaian tarafnya dijalankan setahun kemudian.

Kajian pertama sistem itu pula pada 2007 yang dibuat di 17 IPT awam dan melibatkan data-data tahun sebelumnya.

Satu pasukan tujuh anggota yang diketuai profesor Dr Che Husna Azhari dari Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia melaksanakan Setara dan urusetianya di MQA.

Sistem Setara ini berasaskan enam bidang utama yang mengandungi 87 pengukur hasil perundingan dengan semua universiti tempatan.

Mohamed Khaled berkata, sistem ini berbeza dengan kaedah yang diguna pakai oleh Times Higher Education Supplement (THES).

"Domain yang mereka pakai antaranya ialah peer review (semakan rakan sejawat) dan persepsi majikan yang kebanyakan berdasarkan kepada persepsi, berbanding sistem kita lebih komprehensif yang menggunakan enam domain yang mengandungi 87 indikator," katanya.

Dalam kategori universiti penyelidikan, tempat kedua jatuh kepada Universiti Putra Malaysia dan ketiga Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (masing-masing 4 mata).

Bagi kategori umum, Universiti Teknologi Mara dan Universiti Malaysia Sabah masing-masing mendapat 4 dan 3 mata.

Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn dan Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris masing-masing berada di tempat kedua dan ketiga bagi kategori universiti khusus (kedua-duanya 2 mata atau memuaskan).

Mata 1 yang paling bawah dikategorikan sebagai lemah, diikuti memuaskan, baik, sangat baik, cemerlang dan terbilang (6 mata).

Mohamed Khaled berkata, keputusan lengkap kajian ini tidak didedahkan kepada media, sebaliknya diserahkan kepada IPT untuk tindakan.

"Saya fikir, sudah memadai masyarakat mengetahui setakat ini," katanya.

Filem seram, apa kesannya?

Tertarik dengan satu artikel dalam Utusan Malaysia bertajuk 'Kesan buruk cerita hantu', membuatkan saya terpanggil untuk menulis sesuatu. Lebih-lebih lagi ia diselit dengan sedikit penerangan drp SS Dr. Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, Mufti Kerajaan Negeri Perlis.

Sememangnya cerita hantu dan seram adalah cerita yang tidak mungkin saya tonton. Kalau ada rakan yang mengajak untuk menonton, maka sudah pasti jawapannya, "Sorry, aku kurang berminat dengan cerita macam ni."

Saya bersetuju sekali dengan pendapat yang mengatakan bahawa cerita hantu sebenarnya tidak membangunkan minda masyarakat & sekadar hiburan kosong semata. Selain tidak membantu pembentukan insan, ia juga adakalanya memperbodohkan masyarakat. Fikiran orang Melayu kita masih dijajah oleh ideologi hantu & khurafat (terutamanya filem Malaysia). Kita sepatutnya bergerak maju ke hadapan, tidak perlu lagi dimomok & disajikan dengan unsur hantu khurafat yang boleh merosakkan aqidah kita sebagai umat Islam. Malangya negara kita masih lagi menayangkan filem-filem sebegini, juga pameran-pameran hantu jembalang yang mendapat tentangan hebat daripada para ilmuan Islam.

Jika ada yang berpendapat bahawa cerita hantu hanyalah untuk hiburan semata, tidaklah salah asalkan ia tidak keterlaluan dan bebas daripada unsur khurafat. Mungkin ada antara cerita hantu tersebut yang mengandungi unsur humor & pengajaran yang betul. Namun sudah tiba masanya kita berfikir sedikit, gunakan akal fikiran yang waras dalam menilai hal ini.

Wassalam.

Untuk artikel asal, rujuk tulisan Dr. Mohd Asri, atau berita di Utusan Malaysia.

Medicine is a noble art, not a trade; a calling, not a business. Isn't it?

When I was in third year of UG, we had a seminar (as I have been coordinating seminar for the past 2 semesters too, every Friday afternoon), presented by a speaker from Sime Darby. One of the significant words he said, which I can still remember was "medicine is no more noble...everything is business". Well, what do you think? Let's read this news, perhaps as also a response to the previous news 'Grads prefer to stay on overseas' here.

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Come back and we’ll treat you right, Malaysian medical specialists told

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said the ruling was being reviewed as the Government wanted to attract Malaysian doctors home.

Currently, all doctors are required to undergo three years of public service in government hospitals.

“We are making it easier for Malaysians who want to come back and practice. A one-stop centre has been set up to help facilitate their return,” he said.

Liow said there was no way that the Government could match doctors' salaries offered at private healthcare institutions.

.... “Let us keep in mind that the practice of medicine is a noble art, not a trade; a calling, not a business.”


Read more here>>