Nation Building Course - October 2010

Last week, I have attended a Nation Building Course organized by the Biro Tatanegara for 5 days in Ulu Sepri, Rembau. I found that the course was quite informative, especially the facts about the history of Malaysia, the Federal Constitution, the 1 Malaysia concept and so forth. We also enjoyed having some physical activities and games (but some are considered as 'silly and childish'). 

The most important is that I've made lot of friends from many other institutions, mostly lecturers from public universities. Other than public universities, there were also staff from Ministry of Health (hospitals), Department of Chemistry, Public Services Department, Ministry of Human Resources, and many other ministries.

Some of my group members.. they are from UTM, UTeM, UiTM, UMK, UniMAP, UPM, MOH, and Dept. of Chemistry

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Trip to IIUM Kuantan

On 18th October 2010, I joined an educational trip to the Kulliyyah of Pharmacy, IIUM Kuantan Campus. It was specially organized for the students who are currently taking Bioprocess Facility Design course under the instruction of Dr. Maizirwan and Dr. Rushdi. The aim of the trip was to give clear exposure to the students on how a manufacturing plant of biochemical and biopharmaceutical products are designed, operated and maintained. IIUM is now in the final stage of setting-up the pilot plant for the downstream processing of  pharmaceutical products, which would later be certified as a GMP plant, known as "IIUM Pharmacy". 

The participants..

It was a nice, enjoyable and informative trip. Many thanks to Sr. Syajaratul and all the technical staff there for guiding and helping us throughout the plant visit. Credits also to Dr. Rushdi for allowing me to join the trip. We do pray that the flag of IIUM and IIUM Pharmacy will always be up!

Keep Going, Keep Fighting

I do watch football match (local and international), though I am not an extreme fanatic fan of that sport. The recent match that I watched was Kelantan vs. Selangor. Glad that the red Warriors was able to beat the Red Giant by 3 - 0. What a score line! It also proved that the Red Giant would not always be the winner.

Back in 2005, it was one of the greatest match in football history when Liverpool came back from behind to beat AC Milan in the Champion League Final. They were down 0 - 3 in the first half, but they never gave up. They kept going and fighting till the end even though many have concluded that it was 'game over'.

I read the news on the next morning, and this is an excerpt from the winner's captain, Steven Gerrard, the one who kept looking forward and motivating his teammates to never give up.

"I thought it would be tears, frustration and disappointment, but we kept going and kept fighting to the end."

[Steven Gerrard, The Star 27 May 2005]

So, let us keep going and never give up fighting! And there are moments where the mission has to be achieved through a good teamwork.

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Hardworking vs. Lazy Students

Again, during my undergraduate time, there was an awareness program organized by ENGINIUS (Engineering Society), consisted of many other sub-programs, dedicated for the Engineering students. I, either accidentally or purposely, had a brochure that was distributed randomly. It contained short messages and quotes, perhaps taken from various sources. One of them, that I still remember and keep until today (I copied and kept on my PC) was the pieces of advices given by Br. Asan Ghani (now Dr. Asan Ghani, Head of Mechatronics Department). It was named "Take 5 with Br. Asan Ghani".

Well, what did he say? These are some of his precious advices.. I simply like it, and I am deeply happy to share with everyone, especially the students, and of course I shall become an official and full-time student again, very soon Insya Allah.

"I love to tell all students that there are no such things as smart or stupid students, but what we have are either HARDWORKING or LAZY students. If we fail in our study, it doesn't mean that we are stupid, but most probably is that we are lazy..."

"The cure for our laziness is TO ACT, TO TAKE CHARGE AGAINST IT. We need to plan in order to succeed. Good planning will help us to surf our path towards success. But of course good planning worth nothing unless we have STRONG DISCIPLINE and SELF-CONFIDENCE within ourselves."

Wassalam.

Mengadu Pada Allah

"Mengadu pada manusia, manusia akan bosan, 

mengadu pada Allah, Allah akan sayang.."

Minta Petolongan Hanya Pada Allah

"Dan apa-apa sahaja nikmat pada diri kamu, maka dari Allah-lah (datangnya). Kemudian, apabila kamu ditimpa kemudaratan, maka kepada-Nyalah kamu meminta pertolongan." [Surah An-Nahl: 53]

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"And you have no good thing but is from Allah. Moreover, when you are touched by distress, unto Him you cry with groans." [Surah An-Nahl: 53]

Quote of the Day

When I was an undergraduate student, I loved to compile motivational quotes from various sources, mainly books that I read and talks I attended, as well as from companions surrounding me. I would then choose the few quotes that I like most, printed them out and pasted in my room. And those quotes would be changed from time to time, i.e. at the beginning of new semester. 

 

I was happy to do that. I somehow felt rejuvenated every time I read the quotes, especially when I was in deep gloom. They were just like supplements. And as Muslims, we should keep in mind that Allah would always be there for us. If we really ponder, there are lots of the quotes (Allah's words) in the Qur'an that actually motivate and soothe our pain.

For that reason, I am delighted to share some of the favorites quotes that I have been compiling in the last 10 years. I prefer to put it as 'Quote of the Day'. The frequency of posting the quotes will then depend on my schedule. Sometimes the hectic schedules prevent me from doing it, even it will just take few minutes. I loved to write in a very calm and relaxed manner. That also determines the quality of the writings..

Wassalam.

IIUM 26th Convocation

IIUM is now having her 26th Convocation (2nd - 4th Oct 2010), which means that IIUM has already produced 26 batches of graduands. That also means that three years have passed since we (Class of 2007) received our scrolls.

Every batch (Class) may have its own uniqueness. We would always remember the 2007 convocation as it was the last batch to wear songkok and the classic (instead of 'old') robes during the ceremony. And for me, mortar boards are not bad, of course with the new robes (started in 2008). Well, I wrote something on the issue of songkok 2 years ago.. IIUM says Good bye to Songkok.

I believe that the number of graduands that IIUM produces every year becomes higher and higher. That's a good indicator that IIUM has been well-recognized and accepted by Malaysians and the International communities. May IIUM will keep producing graduands not only better in quantity, but also better in quality.

On the 1st day of convocation..I somehow feel that the presence of the Azman Hashim Complex has spoiled the convocation countryside. Previously, it was the most ideal and nice side for all the graduands and families to having their photography sessions, meeting friends, and so on..

Congratulation to all graduands (Class of 2010) who have successfully completed their degrees here, either Bachelor, Masters, or PhD. Receiving a scroll, especially from IIUM, does not merely mean a success in academic world, but the scroll also carries the amanah from Allah. Everyone of us is responsible to always contribute back to Islam, to serve the best for the development of ummah and nations.