A summitter of Gokyo Ri

Assalamualaikum and a very good afternoon I bid to Governor, DG, AGs, Directors, Deputy Directors, and all guests who are present today. 

I’m not a descriptive person. I will not describe to you how amazing the views were from beginning to end of the journey. I believe the video presentation and the photo exhibition have done a fantastic job in illustrating that. What I would like to share with you are my personal reflections on the journey, something that could not be captured visually, but could be felt and only seen in hindsight. 

If I were to share two eye-openers from this adventure, they will certainly be the new comfort zone I have found & a different interpretation of success I have been enlightened with. 

They say “Growth happens outside of your comfort zone”. And that was exactly the reason on my mind when I signed myself up for this expedition. I wanted to go out of my safe cocoon and challenge myself to grow. I wanted to recognise my boundaries and push myself to overcome them. But little did I know, I was actually jumping out of my comfort zone, to a different kind of comfort zone. 

Why do I say that? 

Despite the tremendous challenges we have to face all the way through, I feel truly blessed to be surrounded by people who have made me feel at home. 

It was a journey where friendship is age, race, and status blind. There is no question about how high or how low you are on the corporate ladder because underneath us all, we are flawed individuals who are striving to be better. 

It was a journey where people have endlessly encouraged and cheered for each other even though they themselves were gasping and struggling to make it to the finish line. 

It was a journey where you see living proofs that with hard work and determination, it is possible to have a career, a family and still keep pursuing interests you have passion for. 

It was a journey where the only comparison ever made upon you is one against your previous self, not against a benchmark set by others. And in those elements, I found my comfort zone. 

This trip has also opened my eyes to another definition of success. For most of us, success is about transcending our limits and achieving our dreams. While those are absolutely true, little did we realise that there is another level of accomplishment that we could, and perhaps should strive for. And that is, by helping and empowering others to also grow beyond their limits. 

This different interpretation of success is demonstrated by none other than our team leader, Apau. I kept wondering, why would a man 

1. Spend thousands of Ringgit to climb the same peak for 3 times 
2. Take the pain to train us, whom level of fitness are so far behind 
3. Spend so much time to organise for the trip, get the paperwork and approval ready when he could have climbed a different peak on his own, hassle free. 

I found my answer at the summit of Gokyo. 

As I was getting closer to the peak, I told myself that the first thing I wanted to do was to find Apau and thank him for making this possible. That’s all. 

Instead, standing in front of him, I found myself crying and lost for words for a moment. I hugged him eventually and said “Thank you. 
Thank you Apau, for everything”, to which he replied “it felt good, right?” 

You see, Apau had “been there & done that”. He knew how mountains could change people and how nature has opened minds and thoughts in ways no self-help books could. He believed that and wanted to share that valuable learning experience with the rest of us. 

Success could be scoring your personal goals or a long list of personal accolades. To Apau, success is helping others to get there. It’s about making small but permanent impact in other people’s lives. It doesn't matter if he has climbed the mountains for the umpteenth times, but if he could make the journey possible for other people to bring changes within themselves, that is already a success. To me, this is deeply profound. It is a very meaningful compass to navigate our lives with for greater purpose that yields greater good. 

All in all, the expedition has been amazing and has offered us a holistic learning experience. I have learned useful knowledge on health and fitness like what to eat and not to eat on training days and experienced the good physiological changes that happen in between. At the same time, I also gained tremendous motivation to keep on pushing forward even when my legs are quitting on me because I know the pain is worthwhile. 

In fact, I believe the experiences we had have made all of us stronger physically, mentally and emotionally. 
As I reflect upon my one year anniversary with Bank Negara, I find myself lucky to be surrounded by highly motivated yet humble colleagues with diverse backgrounds. The learning opportunity that this organisation has to offer (indoor or outdoor) is something not to be taken for granted. 

When a British mountaineer named George Mallory was asked why he wanted to climb Mt. Everest, his answer was “because it’s there”. I used to think that sounds cliche and a bit too simplistic to say, especially for someone who was about to conquer the impossible and leave a legacy behind. 

Now that I’ve been to the Himalayas, I’m thinking maybe George Mallory was right after all. The trekking experience there is so incredible that no words could do justice. 

So, I’ve decided. If someone asks why I would put myself under Apau’s training regime and endure hundred kilometres of trekking, my answer would be “because it’s worth it”. 

And I hope people wouldn’t find that answer cliche and simplistic too, but rather will be inspired to experience what could be a life-changing journey of a lifetime. 

Thank you. 

- Atikah Abdul Aziz -
Central Banker

Regulator of the Year in the Asia Pacific Region

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has been named as the winner of Bank Regulator of the Year in the Asia Pacific Region and Best Conduct of Business Regulator Award for 2012 during the Asian Banker Risk & Regulation Conference. The Central Bank received the award at the Asian Banker Summit 2012 held at the Bangkok Convention Centre on April 25th, 2012.

BNM has demonstrated exemplary supervision and rigorous conduct, successfully steering Malaysia's financial system to emerge mostly unscathed through the global financial crisis. It has strategically positioned and promoted Malaysia as the leading Islamic financial hub in Asia, at the forefront of the international market in Islamic finance. Islamic banking now accounts for 20% of the Malaysian banking system and the Sukuk market, representing more than 50% of the Malaysian bond market.

BNM formulated various measures and policies, such as its 'Guidelines on Responsible Finance', launching a series of moves to liberalize its financial sector to facilitate cross-border business transactions and enhance business efficiency, as well as placing emphasis on consumer protection, exhibiting rigorous yet responsible supervisory conduct.

About 1,000 delegates attended the Asian Banker Summit 2012, consisting of industry specialists, senior bankers, regulators, service providers and decision makers from leading institutions in Asia, the US, Europe and Latin America, where opinions and responses of practitioners from across the region to global issues are shaped.

The awards programme, administered by The Asian Banker is Asia's most important annual risk event featuring leading practitioners from a cross-section of banks and global regulators on a number of critical areas affecting the banking industry.


Source: Jabatan Komunikasi Korporat, Bank Negara Malaysia

Subsidi, oh Subsidi

Aku berpendapat kerajaan patut tarik subsidi kepada IPP dahulu sebelum tarik subsidi-subsidi lain seperti subsidi gula, petrol dan tepung.

Betulkah suara-suara yang mengatakan IPP mendapat subsidi kurang lebih RM19 bilion? Banyakkah tu. Persoalannya, layakkah mereka diberi subsidi memandangkan mereka membuat untung besar setiap tahun?

Kerajaan perlu laksanakan apa yang betul dengan cepat.

Diterbitkan artikel daripada The Malaysian Insider untuk bacaan semua.


IPP subsidies under review
By Lee Wei Lian
May 19, 2011

Najib was asked to slash subsidies to IPPs before honing in on consumer subsidies. — file picKUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — The controversial gas subsidies for independent power producers (IPPs) are under review but no decision has been made yet, said Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Mohamad Hanadzlah today.
“We have done a discussion and study under the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, EPU (Economic Planning Unit) and myself,” Husni told reporters at the sidelines of the 15th Malaysia Banking Summit today when asked if the subsidies will be relooked at. “We have to wait for the decision.”
The issue of gas subsidies is also a controversial one as the prime beneficiaries are seen to be the IPPs, many of which are highly profitable and perceived to be controlled by politically-favoured parties.
DAP recently urged the Najib administration to first cut billion-ringgit subsidies for IPPs rather than burden the people with subsidy cuts on essential items
“Remove the big opium of gas subsidies that can save tens of billions of ringgit annually before dealing with the opiate for the masses that only save hundreds of millions of ringgit,” said DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng in a statement recently.
“Why should the masses and the ordinary 27 million Malaysians be made to bear these price rises when the few big corporate giants in the IPPs do not suffer a single cent in gas subsidies cuts?”
DAP publicity chief Tony Pua added that the government must take action against “fat crony companies” like IPPs if it wished to reduce subsidy burden, as last year’s five-in-one subsidy cut would only save RM750 million while a 20 per cent cut in subsidies to IPPs would save RM3.6 billion.
The Petaling Jaya MP said while there was no doubt that the cost would be passed on to consumers, unfair contracts signed between the government the IPPs meant that electricity tariffs should be at least 26 per cent cheaper based on comparison to international rates
He said that based on Petronas annual reports, gas subsidies granted to IPPs amounted to RM8.1 billion in 2008.

Sungaiku Indah?

The Selangor state government has made known to public of its strategic plan to rehabilitate and develop the Klang River. I like the idea and I really think we could learn a lot from Singaporean success in rehabilitating her polluted river.

I really hope one day, I could have picnic with friends at this spot. Those of you who frequent the STAR LRT might know this place. Until it's rehabilited and revitalised, the dream will remain as dream. Plus, the unpleasant smell too!

Dugaan & Kesukarelaan

Aku sekeluarga diuji lagi dengan satu dugaan yang agak menyedihkan. Moga Allah memudahkan kami berdepan dengan dugaan ini dan janganlah diletakkan kami dalam golongan orang-orang yang kufur ke atas nikmat-Nya. Aamin.

Bercakap tentang nikmat-Nya, syukur banyak-banyak ke hadrat Ilahi kerana tidak putus-putus dilimpah-Nya rahmat ke atas aku, keluarga tercinta dan sahabat handai. Jadi, apabila datang tawaran daripada Uji untuk aku mengepalai usaha-usaha meningkatkan kesedaran tentang kesukarelaan, tanpa berlengah aku terus bersetuju.

Aku sedar tanggungjawabnya besar, oleh itu aku akan cuba sedaya upaya melaksanakannya dengan sehabis baik. Dan ini adalah peluang keemasan untuk memulangkan, biarpun sekumit, "pinjaman-pinjaman" daripada Yang Esa kepada orang-orang sekeliling kita. Insya-Allah...

Antara yang dirancang, termasuk temubual dengan kakitangan yang aktif dalam kerja-kerja amal dan artikel tentang rumah-rumah kebajikan serta idea-idea berkaitan dengan kesukarelaan.

Alhamdulillah, pasukan ini disertai oleh staf yang dedikasi dan komited. Jadi, doakanlah kejayaan kami, ya.

Sebelum aku terlupa, 5 Disember ini adalah International Volunteer Day. Marilah kita sama-sama beramal jariah dan mencari keredhaan Allah taala.

Bak kata Ustaz "dalam" HOT.fm, "...selamat beramal!"


p/s: Kalau mampu bayarlah. Kalau tidak mampu, insya-Allah, aku halalkan.

WCOPA 2008

I found this clip on Youtube, a rehearsal session for the final of Pop category in the World Championship of Performing Art 2008.

I was informed that Noryn Aziz from Malaysia won this category, after beating off a stiff competition from Andrew Clarke of Jamaica and Rose Marielle Mamaclay of the Philippines.

Personally, I think both Noryn and Andrew sang beautifully in this clip. Nevertheless, Miss Mamaclay, to me, was more like screaming than singing. It was powerful indeed, yet not too soothing in my ears. Don't get me wrong, she definitely has lots of potential, but I wish you could show some sort of voice control. May need to watch how Jennifer Hudson learned to master her voice control.

What you guys think?





p/s: Andrew Clarke was named the overall winner - 2008 GRAND CHAMPION PERFORMER OF THE WORLD.

2008 Beijing Olympics

China has once again, impressed the World with a splendid opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games 2008. Whilst I'm more impressed with the architectural designs of the stadiums, I must admit the opening ceremony last night was one of the bests in the history of Olympic Games. My all time favourite remains the opening ceremony of the Barcelona Olympic Games 1992.




NOTE: Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images


Malaysia Boleh!
This time around, the Malaysian contigent is led by the flag bearer, Mohd Azizul Hasni Awang, who will be competing in cycling event.

I personally think Malaysian delegates have one of the best attires in the Games. The US delegates is one of my favourites too.




The first Malaysian team to be competing in this Olympics is our archery team. I hope the team, which according to the latest ranking, is ranked 4th after Taiwan, Italy and South Korea, would give their very best and gives the other teams run for their money.

Anyhow, good luck to other Malaysians especially Amirul and Lee Chong Wei. Please do us proud and live up to the Malaysia Boleh spirit.



NOTE: The rest pictures were taken from News Straits Times and Utusan Malaysia. Meanwhile, the picture of Lee Chong Wei was taken from Wikipedia.

Also, Beijing has came out with a couple of songs for the Olympics. Please help yourself with the following clips. It's so good to see China and Taiwan, Iran and the USA, on the same stage to celebrate the best and the fittest of the World. Hopefully, all athletes will uphold tight to the spirit of sportmanship and show to the rest of the World, especially the politicians, the beauty of friendship and brotherhood.


Welcome to Beijing


Forever Friends

Cambridge Trip, Graduation and Happy Birthday, Proton!

I know... I have so many issues for this post.

First of all, it's regarding a trip to Cambridge. I was planning to pay a friend of mine a visit, tentative in early August. Unfortunately, my dissertation is not progressing as per my plan. Therefore, I'm forced to reschedule this trip to a later day.

Although Lee (yeap, he's the subject I'm currently referring) has given a flexibility at his end, but I'm afraid I can't be certain on when the next date would be. I'm totally aware that Lee is indeed a very busy person. More often than not, either he flies to places in continental Europe or frequents to London for a relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Coincidentally, the resident club of my hall is organising a day trip to Cambridge too! It's this Saturday and costs only 3 pound sterling for an adult. Hmmm...



Let me sleep on it again and hopefully I could make up my mind soon, very soon.

Fendy and Dini will be officially graduating this afternoon. The girl is so clever! She and Sharil got first class while Fendy got 2:1 and all three will be conferred with Master degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Insya-Allah, I'll try my best to be there to celebrate this joyous moment of my adik-adik. Fendy's parents are here together with the parents of Farid (Ayap) and Izwan (Fir). I've met the parents of the latters but not Fendy's.





The above banana split was what I had at Thai Banana, a Thai restaurant opposite my hall. Both Dini and Fendy had nice buffet, not too lavish and too stingy. And it was reasonably priced too.

I hope we could come here again this Sunday. But... I just realised that I've promised to Shamel (my classmate from Syria), Frode (Sweden), Bolot (Kazakhstan) and Fusi (Cameron) that I will join them for a football game this Sunday. Me and football? Hehehe... it doesn't feel right, does it? Oh, my... I'm sure all of them will laugh at my kaki-bangkuness, big time!

Argh... we only die once, aren't we? What the heck!

Oh yeah, last Tuesday was the birthday for Malaysia's national car company, Proton. Happy 23rd Birthday, Proton. I hope Proton will make us proud one day. And I shall wait for that one fine day...

Proton cars are more reliable than Mercedes Benz's?

You find it shocking? Me too.

Believe it or not, this is the latest finding of a brand reliability survey by the Which? Car magazine as published in its July 2008 edition.

The findings was also appeared on the Manchester Evening News on 20 June 2008.

And guys... here is the brand reliability table compiled by Which? Car magazine:

1. Honda, Japan (85)
2. Toyota, Japan (84)
3. Daihatsu, Japan (83)
4. Lexus, Japan (83)
5. Mazda, Japan (83)
6. Subaru, Japan (83)
7. Suzuki, Japan (83)
8. Hyundai, Korea (80)
9. Mitsubishi, Japan (80)
10. Porsche, Germany (80)
11. Mini, UK (78)
12. Nissan, Japan (78)
13. Ford, USA (78)
14. BMW, Germany (78)
15. Skoda, Czech Republic (78)
16. Kia, Korea (78)
17. Proton, Malaysia (78)
18. Mercedes Benz, Germany (78)
19. Audi, Germany (78)
20. Jaguar, UK (78)
21. Vauxhall, UK (78)
22. Citroen, France (75)
23. Volvo, Sweden (75)
24. Peugeot, France (75)
25. Smart, Germany (75)
26. Chevrolet, SA (75)
27. Daewoo, Korea (75)
28. Jeep, USA (75)
29. Saab, Sweden (73)
30. Seat, Spain (73)
31. MG, UK (73)
32. Alfa Romeo, Italy (73)
33. Rover, UK (70)
34. Fiat, Italy (69)
35. Renault, France (68)
36. Land Rover, UK (67)
37. Chrysler/Dodge, USA (67)

I personally think, 17 out of 37 car manufacturers is NOT TOO BAD for a small manufacturer like Proton. At least, Proton cars are more reliable than the French, Italian, Spanish and Swedish cars.

Congratulations, Proton and continue to do us proud with better quality and innovative cars. Malaysia Boleh!

On a unrelated matter, hehehe, I would like to announce that I'm going to Italy next week!!! Insya-Allah, will be flying from Liverpool to Venice and will be staying in Venice for two nights. Then, my next stop will be Pisa to see the infamous Leaning Tower. After Pisa, I will travel to Rome by train and, insya-Allah, will be staying there for three nights. Please wish me a safe journey because I'm a bit nervous with this part III of my Europe Tour, considering that I'll be doing it all by myself.

Caio!

To hike or NOT to hike?

These days, it's a bit jarang-jarang to see Malaysia mentioned by the international wires. And today, my country is, once gain, appeared on CNN and Al-Jazeera websites. This time it's about the fuel price hike.

Whilst most of us are expecting it to come, but not many people would expect that the government will raise it by 40% plus minus. The government claimed that the new price is still below the actual market price i.e. RM3. In other words, the government still gives 30 sen subsidy. On top of that, the government promised of cash rebate of RM150 and RM625 to motorcyclists (with motorcycles below 250 cc) and motorists (with cars below 2000 cc and pick ups below 2500 cc), once they pay or renew their road tax.

Is this justifiable? Is this fair?

First of all, this is only my personal 2 cent, based on my limited observation and knowledge.

First of all, politic aside, no one can deny that the world price of fuel will never go down, simply because of the demand and supply, and scarce resources theories. There will come a day when there is no oil beneath us, and Malaysia is not excluded. Therefore, we have to embrace the fact that, fuel price is going to go up, sooner or later. Period.

The issue here is how to effectively deal with this phenomena.

To answer this, lets assess the consequences of fuel hike. Immediately, it will cost more to commute and of course, the transportation cost of most businesses will also increase accordingly. And this will effect most, if not all, Malaysians.

On the other hand, where will the savings from fuel subsidy withdrawal goes? One thing for certain is the RM150 and RM625 cash rebates. But will this be equivalent to the total savings? It is not worthwhile, if the people gets only this.

The government needs to do more explanation of what in the pipelines in order to ease the people's financial burdens.

Could we expect further reduction in road tax and of course, tariffs and duties on imported cars and spare parts? This is because maintenance cost also makes a bigger hole on motorists' wallets. And how about NO increment in toll rates, please...

But the above is still NOT enough. The government should at the same time provides cost-effective alternative in the form of an efficient public transportation. The savings should be channelled to Prasarana and KTMB in order to improve the services of LRT, Komuter and RapidKL. Among others, buy more coaches, increase frequency and extend the network for all three - LRT, Komuter and RapidKL buses. Then, and only then, the government may introduce the congestion charge. In addition, the government migh want to give direct subsidy to three targetted groups - school children, warga emas & OKUs. As an idea, the school children is travel for free in London.

However, the measures I mentioned above is only to ease the cost to commute for general public.


To be continued...

Hello Merlion!

Alhamdulillah, I've safely arrived in Singapore last night at about 10.30 pm. So far, Singapore is as efficient as the last time I visited her in 1998. May be the Custome and Immigration Department else where (specially in United Kingdom and Malaysia) could organise a fieldwork or lawatan sambil bekerja as it called by PAS to learn how efficient their counterpart in Singapore are.

Another quick and limited observation at the Changi International Airport, in general the stewardesses looked less glamourous as their counterparts observed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

I will write more about my Singapore fieldtrip at the end of each day so that I may adequately make current and spontaneous observation. Until then, let me share with you some pictures that I took on the day before I arrived in Singapore.



This picture is taken in front of my flat. And I suspect it's a funeral of a person with considerate wealth, or at least the deceased has a wealthy family. But I was wondering why there were two caskets. One is in the black car and another one was pulled by the two horses. Were there two dead bodies?

This reminds me how excited I was during my childhood time every time I heard the sound of "dung dung ceh, dung dung ceh!" My two sisters and I will run to our compound and wait for the lori mayat to pass by which followed by a big and loud entourage. Some played musical instruments, some wore special attire made of sacks and walking with sad faces. While one or two threw away rectangular yellowish papers with chinese character, a couple of young boys carried sugarcanes which were tied with red cloth.

Do they still do this in Melaka?



The above picture was the dinner served on the Emirates, and the picture below was the lunch. I personally think that in terms of food, MAS and SIA serve the best and the tastiest food on board. However, in terms of service, MAS stewardesses are the best and no wonder they keep winning the World's Best Cabin crew for seven years in a row. Emirates' was just at par with JAL and BA but uncomparable with MAS and SIA.

I was so shocked to found that a British lady was doing this in the same flight that I was in. Well, no manners are now officially applies on British too!

Tales of Villa Cafe, e-KT and e-Jerlun

I had a late night out last night. My friends and I went to Villa Cafe for our supper as well as catching up of what's happening around since the last time we met. Well, not that long. If I'm not mistaken, a month or two.

At first, we wanted to go to Rotana Cafe but Sharil's persuasion for us to pick Villa Cafe was too strong to resist. In addition, none of us but Sharil of course have been there. So, if it turned out to a bad choice, at least we have a scapegoat to be pointed to. Hehehe.


We picked the top floor and thank God for that pick. Well, our first impression was just so-so and we can't stopped picking on Sharil by exaggerating some of the shortcomings that we found out, like its weird armless rattan chairs and the cheepoh-looking and berlobang-lobang coffee table. Nevertheless, Dini and I were agreed to each other that the crowd was not that bad. And they didn't play the Middle Eastern music videos as loud as Musicana Cafe.

The biggest spoiler of the night is its "rude" waiter. Well, the word "rude" might be too harsh but basically the waiter has no friendly intonation and could be a one-sentence kind of person. But that didn't stop us from having fun talking about our stuff plus, and most of us were quite surprised that we did centre our conversation on Malaysian politics. Or could it be that Fendi was trying to be sarcasm. Anyhow, it was a "productive" talk especially when you have people with diverse political belief. Some are pro-BN and some are pro-BR and some, although are indifferent yet have solid principles.

However I don't to bore you with politic talk. But, please allow me to say something about one of the candidates in the recent general election. I pick Tok Mun aka Puan Maimun binti Yusuf.

As most of you know by now, not only she lost the contest, her deposit too. To me, 10K not a small amount and that doesn't include the expenses of running her campaign. Alhamdulillah, a couple of youth have decided to help out and are running a campaign to raise fund for Tok Mun.

If you feel of doing your part here, feel free to visit http://maimunbintiyusuf.blogspot.com/ to learn more on how to get involved in the said fundraising. According to this blog, soon they will publish the account number of Tok Mun (yeap, Tok Mun's own bank account) and you may donate generously. Until that, you might want to send an email to maimunbintiyusuf@gmail.com to plegde an amount to this fundraising. Don't get me wrong, the idea is not to "menunjuk-nunjuk" but merely to create a stimulant or to motivate people to donate generously. Hopefully, Allah will bless this effort and the money raised will help Tok Mun in her daily life. Aamin.

Also, please help yourself to be a member of Tok Mun Group on facebook and get in touch with about 400 people who are touched by the courage and determination shown by Tok Mun in pursuing her dreams. There are also links to stories or coverage on Malaysia's (if not world's oldest) oldest candidate in a general election by media worldwide.

Maybe RTM would want to feature her in their IT song clip!!

Good samaritans that have been campaigning for Tok Mun

Dini asked me why I's so passionate about Tok Mun story. I don't you guys, but I feel so inspired by her decision and struggle to contest in the general election. Well, I might not agreeing to her idealogy or some of her principles, but Tok Mun had proved to all of us that it's worth trying our very best to pursue betterment in life. Definitely, it is going to be a good message to pass down to the younger generation. The message of hard work, determination and dedication and age is just a number.

Before I go, allow me to share a couple of printscreens from Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir's blog - RantingsbyMM.

In case you can read the messages written on both screenshot, here is the transcript for your information, please.

arenaKu uKanera said...
i wonder why you and your sister-in-law wore selendang in jerlun? hmmm...
March 6, 2008 7:51 PM


MarinaM said...
Arenaku Ukanera and Jay, ALL the women wear tudung or selendang in Jerlun. To have not used one would have been considered disrespectful.
March 7, 2008 12:42 PM

Again, I choose to elegantly say, "No further comment".

A girl, A grandpa and I

"That girl is a personal friend."

Politics aside, I really think that is inappropriate to refer to a woman who you made love with. Don't get me wrong because I'm not saying that I condone what he did and I'm not interested to be a moral police myself either. How about, "she's a personal friend of mine" or "the lady is a personal friend of mine". Is it because she is early 20s, so she is that girl. If that the case, then who you think you are, you 61 year old... grandpa?

Oh, my God... what I need now is some DVDs to cheer me up. I think I want to give Little Mosque on the Prairie a try. My uncle gave me the DVD when I visited him and his family in London last month. He said he know I will enjoy this show, which is an instant hit in Canada, currently showing in various countries around the world, including France, Israel and Turkey. Hopefully, it will get to Malaysia too.

Okay guys, before I sign off, I would like to make known of my intention for my second part of European Tour. Insya-Allah, I'm planning to go to either Spain or Scandinavian countries. I really hope this time around I can gather two or three friends for this trip. Anyone?

OR

Space Tourism? Hmmm...

Although Physics was one of my least favourite subjects in my school days, I am always have a great interest in aerospace. Alhamdulillah, one Malaysian - Dr. Sheikh Muszafar (I really do not know how to spell his name) has successful in realising his dream to outer space. Although it was not a cheap project, at least we managed to add one more item into our another Malaysia Boleh success stories list.

I received an email yesterday from one of my mailing list groups, which I found out very interesting.

Again, like I mentioned earlier that I am not good this subject matter so I cannot comment much about the points highlighted by the author of the letter. If anyone has anything to say, please do not hesitate to jot down comment at the bottom of this posting.

And here is the said letter (in Bahasa Melayu).

****************************************

16 November 2007

Professor Dr. Mohd Yusuf Othman
Pengarah
Institut Islam Hadhari
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

Assalamualaikum,


Professor,

PENJELASAN PROFESSOR DR. MOHD YUSUF OTHMAN BERKENAAN PROGRAM ANGKASAWAN NEGARA DALAM AL-ISLAM

Pada pagi ini, saya terbaca suatu kenyataan dalam akhbar tempatan dari seorang pelajar cemerlang UPSR yang meletakkan kejayaannya berpunca daripada motivasi akibat kejayaan angkasawan negara sampai ke ISS dan kembali dengan selamat pada akhir bulan lepas. Walaupun kita sedar bahawa pencapaian cemerlangnya langsung tiada kaitan dengan misi angkasawan negara itu, tetapi adalah kerana usahanya sendiri dan juga cikgu-cikgu yang telah mendidiknya selama beberapa tahun, tetapi disebabkan pelajar itu baru berusia 12 tahun, maka saya tidaklah tergerak untuk mempersoalkan kenyataannya.

Tetapi selepas itu, saya terbaca pula kenyataan Professor berkenaan program angkasawan negara dalam Al-Islam keluaran terbaru, maka tergeraklah saya untuk mempersoalkannya.

Professor menyatakan bahawa orang yang melihat program angkasawan negara sebagai satu pembaziran adalah orang yang berpandangan sempit dan negatif. Professor juga menyatakan bahawa orang Islam patut menguasai teknologi angkasa, bukan sekadar menjadi penggunanya.

Saya tidak bersetuju dengan kenyataan Professor bahawa orang yang melihat program angkasawan negara sebagai satu pembaziran adalah orang yang berpandangan sempit dan negatif.

Saya juga berpendapat penjelasan yang diberikan oleh Professor dalam Al-Islam terhadap program angkasawan negara tidak melambangkan kenyataan Professor bahawa orang Islam patut menguasai teknologi angkasa, bukan sekadar menjadi penggunanya.

Sebahagian daripada program angkasawan ini, iaitu misi angkasawan negara pertama hanya boleh diterima sebagai sesuatu yang tidak membazir jika kerajaan Malaysia terpaksa menerima tawaran menghantar seorang angkasawan ke ISS, iaitu kerajaan Malaysia tidak mempunyai pilihan lain seperti menghantar 1000 orang pelajar ke Russia bagi melengkapkan ijazah pertama dalam bidang kejuruteraan aeroangkasa atau membina 100 unit makmal sains angkasa di 100 buah sekolah di seluruh negara atau aktiviti lain dengan kos yang sama menghantar seorang angkasawan ke ISS, tetapi mendatangkan lebih banyak manfaat dalam bidang pembangunan aeroangkasa kepada rakyat dan kerajaan Malaysia.

Pembaziran sebenarnya berlaku apabila kerajaan terpaksa mengekalkan populariti program angkasawan negara dengan menjalankan pelbagai aktiviti yang memerlukan kepada peruntukan kewangan yang banyak dan penglibatan pelbagai pihak. Pengekalan populariti ini terpaksa dilakukan bagi membuktikan bahawa penghantaran misi angkasawan negara pertama ke ISS adalah suatu aktiviti yang betul dan praktikal. Maka terpaksalah kerajaan meneruskan aktiviti ini dengan menghantar seorang lagi angkasawan. Misi angkasawan kedua ini adalah berkali ganda lebih membazir.

Jika kerajaan tidak mengumumkan misi angkasawan kedua, program angkasawan negara akan dikritik kerana ia tidak mempunyai kesinambungan, tetapi apabila kerajaan mengumumkan misi angkasawan kedua, program ini dikritik pula kerana membazir. Sebenarnya fenomena yang merugikan kerajaan dan rakyat Malaysia tetapi menguntungkan kerajaan dan rakyat Russia ini memang telah diduga oleh kerajaan Russia. Maka terperangkaplah kerajaan dan rakyat Malaysia. Walaupun membazir di segi kewangan, masa dan tenaga, terpaksalah kerajaan menghantar seorang lagi angkasawan ke ISS.

Bagi membuktikan program angkasawan negara ini betul dan praktikal serta tidak membazir, maka diselitkan aktiviti yang dipanggil penyelidikan saintifik oleh ANGKASA. Seterusnya diumumkan bahawa objektif penghantaran angkasawan ke ISS ini adalah untuk meningkatkan minat pelajar dalam bidang sains dan teknologi. Kemudian diceritakan pula bahawa program ini bukanlah pakej pelancongan angkasa yang ditawarkan oleh ROSCOSMOS, tetapi program khas pembangunan teknologi angkasa Malaysia.

Walau bagaimanapun, dengan kemudahan teknologi maklumat pada era internet hari ini rakyat Malaysia sedar bahawa aktiviti yang dikatakan penyelidikan saintifik itu, iaitu CIS (Cell in Space) dan MIS (Microbe in Space) sebenarnya adalah aktiviti saintifik yang paling biasa dan paling mudah dilakukan oleh peserta penerbangan angkasa ISS. Rakyat juga sedar bahawa CIS dan MIS yang disediakan oleh ANGKASA itu tidak tersenaraikan sebagai penyelidikan saintifik Expedisi 15 dan 16 ISS. Malah rakyat juga sedar bahawa sesiapa sahaja yang berpeluang menjadi peserta penerbangan angkasa juga berpeluang untuk terlibat sama sekadar membantu menjalankan aktiviti saintifik ESA, NASA, ROSCOSMOS atau JAXA.

Rakyat Malaysia juga sedar bahawa misi angkasawan pertama sebenarnya adalah pakej pelancongan angkasa ke ISS yang ditawarkan oleh ROSCOSMOS dan telah dibeli oleh 5 orang pelancong angkasa sebelum ini. Malah ada di antara pelancong angkasa ini yang telah menjalankan aktiviti yang serupa dengan CIS dan MIS ketika melancong di ISS. Laman web rasmi NASA dan ENERGIA ROSCOSMOS sehingga surat ini ditulis juga masih menamakan angkasawan negara sebagai peserta penerbangan angkasa ataupun pelancong angkasa.

Rakyat Malaysia juga sedar terdapatnya beberapa pakej lagi yang ditawarkan oleh ROSCOSMOS yang lebih menarik daripada misi angkasawan pertama negara. Antaranya pakej pelancongan ke ISS yang melibatkan spacewalk dan pakej berbulan-madu di ISS. Malah ROSCOSMOS juga merancang untuk menawarkan pakej melancong mengelilingi Bulan. Maka rakyat juga sedar, misi angkasawan kedua berkemungkinan besar akan merupakan suatu lagi pakej pelancongan angkasa ROSCOSMOS.

Rakyat Malaysia juga sedar bahawa adalah tidak berbaloi untuk menghantar seorang angkasawan ke ISS semata-mata untuk mempromosikan sains dan teknologi kepada pelajar sekolah.

Ketika era program Apollo, memang terdapat statistiks yang menunjukkan peningkatan dalam jumlah pelajar Fiziks dan Kejuruteraan di universiti di Amerika Syarikat. Peningkatan ini bukanlah disebabkan oleh penghantaran angkasawan ke bulan oleh NASA, tetapi disebabkan oleh pembangunan kenderaan pelancar dan modul Apollo. Pelajar Fiziks dan Kejuruteraan tertarik kepada kenderaan pelancar dan modul Apollo yang pada ketika itu merupakan suatu teknologi angkasa yang canggih. Teknologi inilah yang mendorong minat mereka terhadap Fiziks dan Kejuruteraan, bukannya angkasawan yang pergi ke bulan.

Rakyat Malaysia juga sedar bahawa kenderaan pelancar Soyuz yang membawa angkasawan pertama negara tidak ada bezanya dengan kenderaan pelancar Soyuz yang membawa Yuri Gagarin ke angkasa pada tahun 1961, kecuali sistem komputer, komunikasi dan pengawalan serta komponen yang tidak wujud 45 tahun yang lalu. Maka tidak ada langsung kemungkinan berlakunya pemindahan teknologi secara sengaja ataupun tidak sengaja dalam program angkasawan negara ini.

Walau bagaimanapun, memang ada rakyat Malaysia yang tidak sedar akan semua perkara yang dinyatakan ini. Merekalah sahaja yang bersetuju dengan pendapat Professor yang menyatakan bahawa sesiapa yang menganggap program angkasawan negara ini membazir adalah berfikiran sempit dan negatif.

Bagi menguasai teknologi angkasa, dan tidak sekadar menjadi penggunanya, orang Islam tidak boleh membazir menghantar angkasawan ke ISS menggunakan Soyuz. Orang Islam mesti membangunkan sistem pengangkutan angkasa sendiri.

Orang Islam juga tidak perlu membangunkan sistem pengangkutan angkasa yang berupa kenderaan pelancar seperti Soyuz yang telah ketinggalan zaman. Konsep guna-sekali Soyuz wujud disebabkan kenderaan pelancar ini dibangunkan dari konsep rekabentuk dan operasi peluru berpandu antara benua yang sesuai pada era perang dingin di antara Amerika Syarikat dan Soviet Union.

Perang dingin ini telah membuatkan kerajaan Amerika Syarikat dan Soviet Union melabur dengan begitu banyak sehingga mewujudkan sistem pengangkutan angkasa berasaskan peluru berpandu antarabenua seperti Soyuz. Disebabkan operasi kenderaan pelancar seperti ini melibatkan begitu banyak pihak dan mempengaruhi ekonomi dan politik mereka, maka kerajaan Amerika Syarikat dan Russia terus mengekalkannya pada hari ini dengan membiayainya melalui aktiviti penghantaran satelit dan angkasawan secara komersil. Usaha ROSCOSMOS membawa pelancong angkasa dan angkasawan Malaysia adalah usaha terbaru ROSCOSMOS membiayai pengekalan konsep kenderaan pelancar guna-sekali.

Orang Islam tidak perlu berbelanja untuk membiayai usaha kerajaan Amerika Syarikat dan Russia menanggung beban produk perang dingin ini, tetapi memfokuskan kepada pembangunan kenderaan pelancar guna-semula yang sesuai dengan era hari ini, yang lebih bersifat ekonomi berasaskan pasaran daripada ekonomi berasaskan politik.

Pada hari ini prototaip kenderaan pelancar guna-semua suborbital yang boleh membawa seorang manusia ke angkasa iaitu lebih tinggi dari 80km dari aras laut boleh dibangunkan dengan kos yang lebih rendah dari menghantar seorang angkasawan ke ISS. Prototaip ini juga boleh diterbangkan ke angkasa berkali-kali membawa individu yang berlainan dalam setiap penerbangannya.

Prototaip ini seterusnya boleh dibangunkan lagi sehingga ke versi yang boleh berfungsi membawa penumpang secara komersil. Kenderaan pelancar guna-semula suborbital ini juga boleh berfungsi sebagai pelancar satelit kecil, pelantar pencerapan Bumi, pelantar penyelidikan atmosfera dan mikro-graviti dan pelantar misi strategik untuk pertahanan.

Seterusnya kenderaan pelancar guna-semula orbital yang boleh terbang lebih tinggi mengorbit Bumi boleh dihasilkan untuk ke ISS atau lokasi lain di orbit. Teknologi ini tidak boleh diperolehi melalui program angkasawan negara yang menghantar angkasawan ke ISS menggunakan Soyuz, tetapi hanya boleh diperolehi dari program angkasa yang lebih kreatif dan tidak membazir.

Maka rakyat Malaysia yang berpendapat bahawa program angkasawan negara adalah suatu pembaziran bukanlah berfikiran sempit dan negatif seperti yang didakwa oleh Professor. Orang Islam yang berfikiran seperti itu mungkin tidak mahu sekadar menjadi pengguna teknologi angkasa, tetapi berhasrat untuk menguasai dan menerajuinya.

Sekian terima kasih.



Norul Ridzuan Zakaria
President
Space Tourism Society Malaysia Chapter
(E: ikam290200@hotmail.com . HP: 013-6648622)


Salinan:

Naib Canselor Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia
Pengerusi Eksekutif Al-Islam

Congratulations, Boss!

Once again, for five consecutive times, Global Finance has given Grade A to the Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia) in its annual Central Bank Report Card. What make me even prouder is that (Y. Bhg. Tan Sri Dato' Sri) Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz's counterparts in the United Kingdom and the United States of America were graded D and C, respectively. The excerpt below was taken from the Global Finance Central Bank Report Card 2007.

Once again, well done Dr. Zeti! You make us proud as always.

MALAYSIA

ZETI AKHTAR AZIZ

Grade: A

Malaysia seems to have successfully weathered this year’s global and regional financial turmoil, and, as usual, central banker Zeti Akhtar Aziz’s even-handed management of monetary policy has helped. Unfazed by both the Asian crisis early this year and the spillover from the US subprime crisis, Zeti has kept interest rates steady at 3.5% since last April. By effectively doing nothing for the past year or so, the central bank has been extremely effective. Malaysia’s economy is on a roll, with GDP growth for 2007 on track to almost match last year’s 6% while inflation is tame, dropping in the second quarter this year to 1.5%—its lowest level since late 2004. Meanwhile, the ringgit has been gradually appreciating in real terms against the dollar, something that observers generally agree is good for the health of the economy. The one dark cloud for the economy is that demand for its electronics output is tailing off, but Malaysia’s financial services industry is taking up the slack. Heavily promoted by Zeti, Malaysia’s Islamic finance industry is playing a crucial role in that process.

UNITED KINGDOM

MERVYN KING

Grade: D

This past couple of months have been tough on Mervyn King, the UK’s now-beleaguered central banker. In September, just days after he pledged not to bail out banks that were caught in the credit crunch, he had to do just that for floundering Northern Rock. King had no choice because the Bank of England is mandated to help in such situations, but the debacle made him look terrible. That embarrassment paled by comparison, though, to the humiliation King had to endure a week later when he appeared to cave in to political pressure to ease borrowing requirements for troubled banks in the UK. Volatile market conditions had also forced the central bank to hold interest rates steady at its August and September meetings, despite its hinting earlier in the year that it would want to raise them. The only consolation for King is that inflation seems to be edging back down from its recent 3% spike to the bank’s 2% target. GDP growth, meanwhile, is faltering as high rates and the credit crunch bite. As Global Finance was going to press, King was facing increasing pressure to resign. If he does, his successor will have to not only restore balance to the economy but also restore the bank’s credibility.

UNITED STATES

BEN BERNANKE

GRADE: C

In this summer’s subprime mortgage meltdown, Ben Bernanke faced his first real challenge as US central banker. Unfortunately, his response was somewhat feeble. As America’s financial system seemed to teeter on the brink of disaster, Bernanke vanished from view. Then, from his bunker, he squirted a dose of liquidity into the markets. Sadly, if he was hoping to reassure troubled markets by pumping in liquidity, then he was sorely mistaken: All he did was assure jumpy investors that there must be something very, very wrong that they didn’t yet know about. When he cut rates by half a percentage point in September, he appeared to be reacting to short-term market pressure rather than instituting long-term monetary policy. It was a disappointing performance from a central banker who had hitherto shown himself to be a more-than-worthy successor to Alan Greenspan—who, incidentally, has reemerged into the limelight to assert that a recession is looming. The problem is, Greenspan might be right. The subprime mess could still derail the US economy, and there will be very little the central bank can do about it—even if it wanted to. In Bernanke’s favor is the fact that, while signs of a slowdown abound, the US economy is still growing at an acceptable pace. GDP year-on-year growth was revised upward to 4% in the second quarter of 2007, while inflation appears to be moderating…for now, at least.