On this rainy day

Alhamdulillah, things have started to pick up again on the business front.

A new business opportunity presents itself in the form of an untapped captured market (who could have asked for more) and a great source of distribution channel. Obviously it is easy to get giddy over the possibilities but at this juncture, it is very important to not overstretch the already limited resources. With the economic outlook not expected to look rosy for the next few years, this discovery gives a sense of hope and an avenue to ride the economic uncertainty.

Talk about a moment of inspiration... while buying burger at the stall last night, I thought of something that the burger stalls can do with my beef and poultry products. I called the owner and we are meeting this friday where I will show the product concept to him. If thing works out tell, heck, it will be a new product offering at ALL burger stalls ALL over Malaysia... :)

The rain has subsided.

MCOBA Dinner

Long Overdue Posting..

On November 8th 2008, I attended the MCOBA Annual Dinner at the Hotel Istana, Kuala Lumpur. My attendance was truly at the very last moment due to come unforeseen cancellations by my other batch mates.

Adri took the lead by booking a table under our batch and managed to get ten of us in no time. A few of our batch mates who are now big shots in their "kementerian" and "company" attended the dinner under their own table, so it was qute a merry reunion of sorts for the class of 1992. I came to the dinner with Don (who got lost while on the way to my house, my fault for giving faulty directions) and we were greeted by sea of people in the hard-to-miss college striped tie. Batch members at our table were Vyn, James, Bogak, Aca, Ganj, Adri, Sarly and Badak while KE and Reza were seated at the CIMB table.

I do not wish to elaborate on the dinner itself (lest I offend some old boys who worked hard on the performance that night) but it was the after dinner gathering at the Pavillion which was really memorable. Nope, nothing took place that would worry the missus back home. Suffice to say, you guys rock!

The Last Few Hari Raya Open House

I would have missed it if my staff didn't remind me that today one of our biggest client is having their Aidilfitri Open House. Its the same every year, they would have their towards the very end.

The company may be my biggest client but not too long ago, it has something to do with my father and I. You see, not too long ago, we used to be a significant shareholder of the company. How we were removed is a stuff for novel (which one day, I will write) but I guess the point I am trying to put across is that in business, your friends and your enemy can switch in a blink of an eye.

Anyway, I arrived at their new installation facility located across from their current premises. The place has yet to be used so instead of putting up tents like they normally do around their compound, they have all the table and chairs indoors. The place looks good after being spruced up. It used to be a pet food factory but after it was auctioned, the new owner rented the place to the company for their project.

I met a few of the people who were around when I was there. I even bumped into an ex-staff of mine (another lesson in life.. about friends and enemies, the likes) and we chit chatted about the old days and days to come. He's doing rather well and I am happy for him. Perhaps we can work on some projects together.

The Aqiqah

Alhamdulillah, Amir Haris' aqiqah went well on Sunday, 28/10/2008.

It was a very good turnout of family and friends.

Haris slept throughout the Marhaban and Potong Jambul, heheh...

Market Reach

You can sometime be amazed by people around.

Just now, I had a chat with the cleaner who cleans our office and discovered that she could probably get me more market for some of my products as compared to some of my sales force. We sometime tend to overlook the smaller markets where personal relationship counts for everything and how the "local" factor can sometimes tip the balance to your side.

Worth exploring...

More Work Updates

1. I spoke to Kamol (our partner in Bangkok) today and he has some very promising news on the french buyer who will most likely purchase frozen ready-to-eat meal for the French market from our company. Way to go brother!

2. Without compromising who the "impossible client" is, I really wish she would stop insulting my products and not be so high-handed. I could easily refer her to her company's tender committee or even upper management but I do not wish to create trouble for her (though Allah knows how much she has spoilt my days and weekends too). Can't wait for the meeting this week where I will prove her wrong in front of her management (she called for the meeting, not me).

3. Whenever I provide my service to my client, I try to put myself in their shoes and I try to make sure they don't spend more than neccassary. However, it amazed me how some of them would waste money on storage fees; something they could easily avoid if they just provide us with the documentations on time.

Office Updates

1. My clerk went AWOL since after the Eid break. The last I heard from her was a day before Eid where she sent me an SMS (contents shall not be revealed), which among others, stated that her father no longer "allow" her to work at my company. Its her first job and its always difficult when parents interfere (macam kat sekolah pulak). I have been nothing but nice to her but if this is the way she is acting, then, good luck to the new employer.

2. After a week of evaluating, I've decided to get the office new copier from the company who happens to be across the street from our office. To think that I had companies from all over KL coming to submit quotations.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri

This year I am celebrating Aidilfitri in my my mum's kampung in Masjid Tanah, Melaka. Lucky for me, Honey Dearest hails from Hutan Percha, which is just 25 minutes away. So, it is quite easy to have celebration on both sides.

This is the first time Honey Dearest and I are celebrating the Eid with our baby Haris. He is exactly three weeks old on 1 Syawal; too bad they don't make Baju Melayu for infant :)

A True Alternative?

I am pretty sure someone will now say it to my face, "Well, you did lament about not having a credible alternative to BN... so, how about now?"

We'll see...

By the way, what's the rush ? Why not the next GE ?

Pics of the Amir Haris

This is the among the first picture of baby Amir Haris just after the Honey Dearest gave birth to him on September 10, 2008 at 8.23am. All 4.32kg of him :)

babychikjournal.blogspot.com

Alhamdulillah... My Little Bundle of Joy @ 8.23am

At exactly 8.23am at SJMC today, my little bundle of joy came into this world, all 4.32kg of him :)

Alhamdulillah.

I will definitely write more.. at the moment, a bit exhausted with all the excitement :)

Smoking

During the last budget presented by our Prime Minister, the tax for cigeratte was increase quite substantially.

Guess what someone said when he was interviewed in one of the dailies regarding the higher cigeratte cost ? He said he will adjust by cutting back on other things!

Like what ? Food ? Shouldn't it be the other way round ?

Down Memory Lane: Ramadan circa 82-87

When I was in Standard One, I only managed ONE full of fasting. It was on a sunday and I remember I was practically on the couch the whole day. The rest of the fasting months were the "buka puasa tutup puasa" regime, where I would fast until noon and self declared that the fast continues after I have taken my lunch, hehehe.

It was only in standard two when I managed to extend it to 26 days of full day fast. The remainder 4 days I did not fast was because I was down with fever. In standard three, it improved to 28 days with two days of fever and finally when I was in standard four, I finally managed to complete one full month of fasting.

These were the days before the bazaar ramadan, so breaking of fast were practically like having early dinner, with some kuihs brought from street vendors who continue to sell at their lot even in Ramadan.

However, what was memorable during this time (especially in my std 5-std 6 years) were the Tarawih prayers. During that time, there was only one mosque for the whole of Subang Jaya (USJ was just a plantation back then) and it is the SS15 mosque. We would perform the Isyak prayer, a few rakaats for the Tarawih and all of us would head to 7 Eleven near the old pasar for Slurpee. Sometimes we would play with fireworks and firecrackers but it was evetually banned when on one fine sunday evening, someone decided to play during the day time and a stray firework landed on a pile of paper at mosque's entrance and caused a small fire.

Our Last Visit

Our visit to Dr Delaila is normally on a saturday but since she was on leave last saturday (being that long Hari Kebangsaan weekend), we decided to schedule our visit for today. As usual, we arrived earlier (or though we did) and by the time we took our number, it was already 8027. Luckily, about 23 of those above us have appointment for other doctors so we were fourth on Dr Delaila's schedule for that day.

After the normal check up and examination, Dr Delaila told us that due to the circumstances prevailing, Honey Dearest has to go through Caeserian Section. We were therefore asked to choose a date by the good doctor and we decided on Sept 10, 2008. 10.09.08... and it will read in his IC as 080910-10-XXXX.

Hehehe...

How come the anxiety has started to set in?

Ramadan Al Mubarak

I would like to wish all Muslims Selamat Menyambut Ramadan Al Mubarak.

Ramadan certainly brings back many memories to me. From my primary school days, the glorious MCKK years, the PPP/ITM times, ramadan in US, Ramadan when I first started working...

It'll be nice to reminisce all the ramadan, all over again.

The 51st National Day: Road to Nationhood

It is exactly 9.55pm on August 30th, 2008 when I wrote this entry.

I am back at my hometown in Melaka and was a bit disappointed with my wireless broadband service (heck, its only about an 10kpbs faster than my dial up connection). Then again, that would be a story for another day.

At the brink of Malaysia celebrating her National Day, there are a lot of things which I have been pondering, especially so since the last March 8 General Election. To put it in a nutshell, as a nation, are we really there yet? Was the last general election result really a sign of a maturing society dispensing its right to choose responsibly or was it an act of frustration of our society trying to teach "someone" a lesson but at the same time, maybe jeopardizing the very fabric of our social existance?

There are certainly a lot of pent-up frustration with the present governing coalition (with the main target being the backbone of it :UMNO) if the articles and comments on the blogsphere are to be taken. The people are becoming more vocal in their demands and when there are demands from certain quarters, there are bound to be uneasiness and sometime downright hostility to these demands. We are all for just society where everyone is treated as equals and given equal opportunity to succeed but given the very basis of the founding of our country, we should thread this issue with care. Nobody is promoting discrimination and no one is promoting the slave-master relationship (as being portrayed by the "ketuanan" issue) but unfortunately a lot of us seemed to forget our historical background and how independence came about.

Yes, we need to be progressive and look ahead, but not at the expense of discarding our history.

On this note, Happy Birthday, Malaysia.....

Something on the horizon ?

There was no question that Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim would win the Permatang Pauh by-election. The only question whether he would win with a margin more than his wife or less.

The question was answered resoundingly when DSAI beat Dato' Arif Shah Omar Shah with a 15,579 majority, which was more than the 13,388 majority garnered by Dato' Seri Wan Azizah during the March 8 General Election.

So, after an absence of 10 years, DSAI is back at the Dewan Rakyat and sits directly across from the Prime Minister as the new Opposition Leader. I am sure there must be a sense of deja vu when DSAI entered the parliament again to to be sworn in and while sitting at his place, it must have striked him that not too long ago he was only one seat away from the coveted position of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

What will be on everyone's mind is that come September 16th, 2008, would he finally be able to take oath as the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia, as he has been telling to all of us ?

UiTM di Hatiku Part One

Wujudmu di sini di tanah anak merdeka
Bagai obor ilmu memayungi putera-puterinya
Pelopor hidup budaya bangsa
Agama Negara

OK, that's as much as I can remember on the UiTM song but I had the opportunity to sing in on two occassions : my ADP certificate presentation ceremony during my PPP/ITM days and during the convocation for my MBA (during the commencement for my degree at UW-Madison, I sang The Star Spangled Banner, heheh... hey, please don't question my loyalty to my Malaysia). My attachment to UiTM is also due to my parents whom are both UiTM graduates. Reminicsing back on stories told by parents, it was ITM that gave them the chance to improve themselves and makes them what they are today. If it wasn't for ITM, none of them would graduate with Bachelors and Masters degree from the United States and I would probably be writing this blog in Bahasa Malaysia.

So,when someone suggested opening 10% of UiTM intakes to the non-bumis, you can bet it touches a lot of nerve.

... more will be discussed.

MAHA 08

This is my first year participating in MAHA 08.

Our principal, a manufacturer from Kedah took up the booth offer from the Kedah state government to participate but with this year's event being 12 days in total, they have asked us to man the booth and conduct the sales on their behalf. After all, we are their Selangor/KL state distributor and we believe the exposure at MAHA would help in our marketing effort.

Looking around the hall C, most of the participants are "old hands" at participating in exhibitions as their deco, goods presentation and posters are all glossy and professionally done. Looking at what the manufacturers provided us (four buntings-2 for each flavour, samples and a pot), it will be quite a challange to make the booth decent.

Luckily, my staff Shida and her friends are quite creative and it was fun to watch them doing up the empty booth. Lo and behold, we finally looked like we are here!

Pak Lah spent almost half a day at the exhibition site, which at a total cost of RM240 million, is definitely one huge exposition center. Lets hope that it won't be used only once a year for MAHA.

I met a few fellow participants from programme organized by MARA and Matrade. Some of them have been doing quite well in the export market and it is something I aspire to do.

Since I will be here for another ten days at least, I will keep posting on the happenings.

Let The Games Begin!

It was indeed a spectacular start to one of the greatest sporting event in the world. The Beijing Olympic Games began on 08.08.08 at 8.08pm with probably one of the most elaborate and breathtaking opening ceremony ever. The highlight has to be the lighting of the Olympic torch, where former Chinese gymnast, Li Nang was suspended mid air and depicts the action of a runner while behind him unfurls all the venue of the Olympic Torch Run.

Malaysia is on the hunt for the elusive gold medal.

Who will be our first Olympic Gold Medallist/Millionaire ?