An Unpaid Campaign

Adoiyai Zaki… Just move on with your career life. No need to think of SCIENCESS anymore.

I believe, if not all, most of the readers of this blog would think like that, aren’t they/you? I respect that but please respect my stand also: I still care about SCIENCESS.

In last Annual Grand Meeting, I promoted few people to hold some posts although I would leave the society in the following year; which meant their appointment in the society would not benefit me that much. In fact, the idea of recommending them was as a guidance for the juniors since not many of them knew the seniors.

This year around, I still promote few people because I think I know their capabilities to hold those posts and bring the society to be better than when I was in the society for 2 years. However, that does not mean that I do not believe in others’ capabilities especially those whom I do not name in this entry.

I name them solely based on my experience knowing, working and dealing with them previously when I was an undergraduate and holding some posts in societal activities in the campus.

For example, Jazli Aziz. He was my subordinate when I held the post of Head Committee of Information and Communication in SCIENCESS 2007/2008. He was a dedicated person who was hardworking and enthusiastic with his work. During IQUEST 2008, I observed his organized yet wholehearted will to finish his job as the Head Committee of Stall Division. He looked very tired throughout the event for reasons he must’s been really proud of. Then he was promoted to be the Secretary General of SCIENCESS 2009/2010. Actually it’s rare for anyone to suddenly jump to be a Mainboard member of a society without experience and thorough knowledge about running the post. But not Jazli. With a little guidance from me (he’s never shy to refer to me as the former Secretary General of SCIENCESS 2008/2009) and mostly his own creativity and ideas to manage the post, from what I’ve been informed, he does his job very well. And yes, if you’re talking about voicing out a lot of great ideas, you are talking about Jazli. However, you might question about his serious facial expression but believe me, dia ni sebenarnya otak tak betul jugak. Haha... That is the only thing that I think would discredit his charm (note: try not to role your eyes) to be elected as a President. Huhu… Need I say about his Aussie blood?

Next, I don’t have to name this guy because most people know that I am very close with him – Danial Efendy. But, please put aside the brotherhood relationship that we have because abang mana yang tak nak promote adik kan? Huhu... Let’s talk professionally. I’ve known him for one year and we started knowing when he was looking for potential exhibitors for his career programme under SCIENCESS and I offered him some assistance and ideas. Thereafter, I observed his accountability to hold post especially related to documentation and writing. Therefore, I appointed him to be my Secretary for the Amazing Explorace programme at which I shared with him some knowledge and thus added experience that he already had about Secretary because he was previously the Secretary in PRESSS back in Center of Foundation Studies (CFS). If I have to share some facts about Danial’s personality, I would firstly mention about his strength in English thanks to his English-spoken family, secondly his ketegasan in his stand and thirdly his passion in finishing tasks given.

Lastly yet coincidently, Danial, Jazli and I, the three of us were very active in being Master of Ceremony (MC) in events until we have to reject some offers because our faces were like everywhere and everytime in events. Kan Jaz dan Danial? Kesian kita bertiga. Kasi la peluang kat orang lain. Huhu...

With the above testimonials and sharing about my experience with the above names, I think the voters have concrete reasons to put an X mark next to their names when they get the voting form. For the rest of posts, I better not talk much because I only talk things that I know. :-)

Happy voting!

Disclaimer: This is an automated entry which is written during last Ramadhan month. The contents might or might not be applicable at the time it is posted.

Aplikasi Pincang di Facebook

Mari letakkan diri kita ke dalam skop ini: Diri kita sebagai Muslim yang menggunakan Facebook.

Kita semestinya tahu, adalah salah apabila kita menghalalkan yang haram dan mengharamkan yang halal. Mari kecilkan lagi skop perbincangan ini kepada yang pertama: Menghalalkan yang haram.

Umum maklum bahawa di dalam Facebook terdapat banyak aplikasi yang seronok untuk dicuba dan diterokai termasuk kuiz, permainan atas talian, pemberian hadiah dan sebagainya. Facebook sudah menjadi lanjutan kepada alam realiti kita yang dibawa ke dalam alam maya apabila kita boleh melakukan bermacam-macam perkara termasuk meluahkan perasaan, berkongsi gambar dan video, bertukar-tukar mesej, dan sebagainya.

Namun, dalam limpahan aplikasi yang terdapat di dalam Facebook, tidak kurang juga yang menyimpang daripada ajaran agama.

Seperti yang hangat dalam perbincangan saya bersama-sama rakan-rakan di Facebook baru-baru ini mengenai aplikasi-aplikasi Fortune Teller Genius dan Ahli Nujum. Berdasarkan namanya sahaja sudah jelas melihatkan pembabitan aktiviti penilikan nasib tetapi dalam versi maya!

Kita sudah biasa mendengar permainan Spirits of the Coin yang memerlukan pemain-pemainnya bertanya kepada makhluk halus yang menggerakkan syiling kepada abjab-abjab tertentu untuk mengetahui nasib masa hadapan kita. Kita juga tahu sindiket tukang tilik yang konon-kononnya boleh membaca nasib seseorang pada sekilas pandangan pada tapak tangan orang yang ingin nasibnya ditilik. Si tukang tilik memperoleh sumber pendapatannya melalui kebolehannya menilik nasib manusia. Tetapi dalam hal yang terbaharu ini, kita dikejutkan dengan kemudahan untuk menilik nasib secara percuma: daftar masuk sahaja ke dalam Facebook, klik pada aplikasi tilikan itu dan masukkan soalan yang anda ingin tahu jawapannya dan nah! Anda boleh dapat tahu nasib anda baik ataupun tidak, ataupun apa yang akan berlaku esok dan lusa!

Ada yang mempertahankan tindakan mereka yang terlibat dengan aplikasi tersebut dengan mengatakan ia hanya sekadar untuk suka-suka. Tak perlu ambil serius, malah belum tentu mereka percaya dengan apa yang diutarakan dalam hasil tilikan tersebut. Jadi, jika begitu, apa rasionalnya anda menggunakan aplikasi itu pada mulanya?

Analogi yang suka saya berikan untuk membidas alasan-alasan tersebut;

Anda membeli nombor ramalan kemudian anda sematkan dalam hati: Alah, aku beli nombor ni untuk suka-suka sahaja. Kalau kena, aku untung. Kalau tidak, sekadar mahu memuaskan hati sahaja. Lagipun ia hanya sekadar nombor yang dicabut. Jika nomborku dicabut, nasibku baik. Tak perlu ambil serius benda ni la.

Persoalannya: bukankah berjudi itu haram? Jadi, adakah berbaloi menggunakan alasan suka-suka untuk menghalalkan tindakan anda?

Isu pokoknya ialah apa-apa yang haram adalah tetap haram. Semakin canggih teknologi yang ada di dunia sekarang, semakin berubah bentuk keharaman itu. Dalam isu tilik menilik, jika dahulu tukang tilik hadir dalam bentuk manusia, pada zaman sekarang tukang tilik hadir dalam bentuk pautan berenjinkan kod-kod berasaskan nombor-nombor 0 dan 1!

Saya amat sedih apabila ada yang mempertahankan tindakan salah mereka apabila ditegur. Malah saya dicadangkan supaya menutup akaun Facebook saya jika tidak sukakan aplikasi tersebut.

Saya suka mengambil pendirian bahawa Facebook ialah lanjutan daripada kehidupan dalam alam realiti. Kita terdedah kepada banyak perkara baik dan buruk dan ia terserah kepada diri sendiri untuk memilih jalan hidup masing-masing. Begitu juga di dalam Facebook; ada yang baik dan ada yang buruk. Apa-apa yang buruk itu saya khususkan kepada apa-apa yang bertentangan dengan agama dan sudah tentu antaranya ialah aplikasi tilik nasib.

Lebih lanjut lagi, jika dalam alam realiti kita boleh menjalankan dakwah, mengapa tidak di Facebook juga, bukan? Justeru, jika ada kepincangan dalam penggunaan Facebook, sama-samalah kita saling menegur dan mengingatkan. Tundukkan ego dan dengarlah nasihat yang berguna. Tidak perlu menunggu diri dipanggil ustaz ataupun ustazah baru kita berani membuka mulut, tetapi tanganilah kepincangan sedaya upaya kita. Beranilah bersuara jika kita yakin kita benar. Bukan isu menang atau kalah ingin dibangkitkan, tetapi isu mengajak ke jalan yang benar yang perlu diperjuangkan.

Hakikatnya, apa-apa sahaja yang berlaku dalam alam realiti boleh dibawa ke alam maya. Internet misalnya yang pada asasnya bagi saya bersifat murni tetapi dicemari dengan bermacam-macam laman web yang pincang dan songsang. Tapi, dalam kepincangan dan kesongsangan itu sebenarnya internet mengandungi lebih banyak kebaikan dan kesenangan yang boleh diperoleh dan diaplikasikan untuk kita sebagai Muslim dasawarsa ini. Gunakanlah yang baik dan tinggalkanlah yang buruk. Mudah kan? Facebook pula ialah subset internet. Sifirnya masih sama.

Nasihat akhir saya bagi pengguna-pengguna Facebook, anda yang membentuk baik buruk penggunaan laman interaktif itu. Fikir berkali-kali apabila anda mahu terlibat dalam mana-mana aplikasi pun. Timbangkan faedah dan manfaat dan tinggalkan apa-apa yang tidak menyumbang kepada kemaslahatan diri.

Betul, katakanlah: Daripada aku main Facebook, baik aku baca al-Quran!

Entri Ini Entri Racist

Tatkala Syawal makin melebarkan senyuman di ufuk timur, tatkala takbir membesarkan Allah mengisi segenap ruang udara, ada yang mencemarkan kesuciannya dengan bunyi-bunyi bingit dan asap-asap racun. Aku sesak nafas menahan benci.

Lantas terjengah dalam minda; kita ini menyambut perayaan apa sebenarnya? Aidilfitri atau Tahun Baharu Cina? Hari Raya Puasa atau Deepavali? Maaf jika kau tersalah tafsir. Bukan niatku menyinggung kiranya kau bukan berbangsa Melayu dan beragama Islam. Tetapi mahu kucuit hati-hati Melayu yang terleka.

Mungkin mereka bangga menghabiskan duit dalam perkara-perkara yang tidak menyumbang kepada kemaslahatan diri dan masyarakat, malah bangga mengorbankan wang dan keselamatan untuk kenikmatan yang bernilai sekadar sebuah letupan. Benar. Letupan itu menyebabkan rembesan adrenalin berkocak-kocak dalam aliran darah mereka. Sebab itu mereka suka. Tapi apa yang lebih boleh diperoleh daripada sekadar itu? Ada apa-apa faedah?

Pelita dipasang menyinari ruang yang terhad. Sinisnya, di atas pelita yang menyala malap, ada pula lampu kalimantang terang benderang. Lalu aku persoalkan kerelevanan fungsi pelita diletakkan di situ. Mungkin dahulu pelita dipasang untuk memudahkan laluan pengunjung yang melawat rumah untuk beraya. Tetapi budaya itu masih diteruskan sehingga sekarang tanpa ada usul periksa tujuan ia dipacakkan lalu menyumbang kepada sebuah lagi jalan ke arah pembaziran.

Aku bukan anti-budaya. Malah bukan juga pembenci bangsa. Tetapi aku bencikan kepincangan dalam masyarakat yang berbuat sesuatu tanpa sebab yang kukuh, apatah lagi jika bertentangan dengan agama. Jika diluah mati agama, ditelan mati budaya, aku lebih rela menelan apa-apa yang perlu. Biar terluah perjuangan menegakkan kesyumulan agama yang jelas lebih relevan dan malar segar.

Wahai kawan-kawan, tidak kira sama ada kau terguris dengan entri ini atau tidak, mahu kuhulur salam kemaafan sempena Aidilfitri yang sedang kita raikan. Tolong wujudkan suasana keraian yang lebih bersesuaian pada masa akan datang.

Selamat hari raya Aidilfitri

Maaf zahir dan batin.

Bukan Pasal Hari Raya

Dulu pernah aku terfikir, apabila dah kerja nanti;

Nak belanja mak dan abah makan macam-macam yang tak pernah mereka rasa,
Nak bawa mak dan abah melancong kat tempat-tempat yang tak pernah mereka pergi,
Nak belikan mak dan abah macam-macam pakaian yang cantik-cantik.

Tapi sekarang, dalam keadaan mereka sekarang;

Mak dan abah dah berusia,
Mak dan abah ada beberapa penyakit,
Mak dan abah punya keinginan yang terhad.

Jadi;

Kalau nak belanja makan macam-macam, bukan mereka yang melantak. Aku juga yang kenyang. Abah tak makan makanan Barat sangat. Mak pula suka mencuba tapi mak setia dengan abah. Jarang sekali mak makan apa yang abah tak makan. Kalau makan pun, cuma nak jaga hati aku pasal aku yang masak atau beli.

Kalau nak bawa mak dan abah keluar melancong jauh-jauh, mak dan abah tak larat berjalan jauh-jauh sangat. Sepanjang aku belajar di Kuantan, tak pernah sekali pun mereka jejak ke situ. Walaupun pernah mak berazam nak melawat Kuantan sebelum aku habis belajar di sana, nampaknya sampai ke sudah tak kesampaian. Lagipun, abah kena jalani hemodialisis 3 kali seminggu. Susah nak buat arrangement.

Tapi kalau nak belikan pakaian yang cantik-cantik, itu yang paling praktikal sekarang ni. Buat kali pertama, aku belikan mereka pakaian untuk raya. Sengaja aku bawa mereka membeli belah di Jusco Klang, bukan di Kedai Bunga Raya di Banting. Biar mereka rasa sedikit berbeza. Tak mengapalah jika mahal sedikit pun, asalkan mereka gembira. Abah pilih baju kemeja dan seluar slack. Baju melayu sudah ada katanya. Mak pula tak minta banyak, cuma kasut sepasang je. Pandai mak pilih kasut tu, cantik sangat. Aku nak sangat emak dan abah nampak berseri pada hari raya nanti.

Tapi, rupa-rupanya bukanlah mak dan abah nak sangat aku belikan mereka pakaian cantik-cantik, bawa mereka jalan-jalan mahupun makan-makan, tapi kehadiran aku di sisi mereka yang paling membuatkan mereka gembira.

Pernah mereka tanya, “lepas kerja nanti balik rumah mana? Gombak ke Banting?”
Aku jawab, “tak tahu lagi la.”
Lantas mereka sambung, “kalau boleh balik la Banting. Boleh berbuka dan bersahur sama-sama.”

T_T

Of a bit Nervous and Excited

This is in response to the entry entitled First Time to IKIM.

The immediate response that I got after the recording was aired was that my voice sounded shaky. Well, to be honest, I didn't listen to that because I was asleep in the car while waiting for 10.30 am! Hahaha...

Anyway, that shouldn't be a big issue. Pardon my voice and I'll improve the delivery next time.

For those who missed the slot in IKIM, I talked about how Ramadhan can be the medium for training to quit smoking. Held in Bahasa Malaysia, I briefly described firstly why smoking leads to invalid fasting in terms of anatomy and physiology and secondly why smoking addiction happens from the pharmacology aspect. Wah, that's so biomed! :P Lastly, I pointed out the main issue of the discussion.

Here are some quotes from the discussion:

Merokok memang tidak mengenyangkan, tetapi kandungan di dalam asap itu akhirnya akan masuk juga ke dalam sistem peredaran darah. Sama seperti makan dan minum.

Jadi sebenarnya bagi perokok-perokok yang berjaya mengatasi ketagihan sepanjang menjalankan ibadah puasa, ia adalah jihad yang sangat besar kerana ia bukanlah sesuatu yang mudah untuk dilakukan.

Analoginya, jika penagih dadah dimasukkan ke dalam pusat serenti untuk mendidik mereka berhenti daripada ketagihan dadah, apa kata kita jadikan bulan Ramadhan ini sebagai pusat serenti diri sendiri untuk mendidik diri kita berhenti merokok.

Any other comments, particularly about the topic (not my voice anymore :P)?

Jaz or Don?

Update: I got a new info that Don is not competing for the President seat. So, this entry merely explains the entry entitled The Initiator.

Not long after I posted the entry entitled The Initiator, I had a conversation through SMS with a junior who questioned the relevance of the entry.

Zaki, ko tak rasa ke ramalan ko dalam blog akan pengaruh pola pengundian. Aku rasa blog ko terlalu berpengaruh, ko ramai kawan junior kat Facebook, and they can access your blog from there.

Yup. So...?

So, adakah ko jadi external factor nanti jika Don kalah?

Well... Can be gak. Hehe... You up to Don?

No. Sangat neutral. I pity him because tak masuk gelanggang lagi dah tewas psychologically. Unfair.

Welcome to politics. ;)

Haha.. What if I say I don't favor your prediction? You accept or ignore my thought.

Well... Then I say everyone has their own opinion and choice and I respect whatever it is. Hehe...

Haha.. I know you will not omit that particular thing. By now almost everyone has read it. If it becomes true, you are the culprit.

...or maybe a "hero" if those people form a great leadership power in Sciencess. I believe them. That's why I name them.

Haha.. Ok Zaki apa kata ko post kat Facebook tanya pendapat dak Sciencess adakah your prediction affects their choice. We'll see your pengaruh from there.

Well... the same post automatically dah ada dalam Facebook pun and I've tagged orang-orang yang berkenaan. I think no need to "measure" my pengaruh sebab it's not conclusive. Tak semua orang akan baca post tu and also tak semua orang baca blog aku. Yang baca pun tak tentu lagi setuju dengan my personal choice.

Haha.. Ok la whatever you say. Aku ingat ko ni macam Mahathir la. Masih berkuasa walaupun dah tak dalam parti a.k.a Sciencess. What you say, people will take it.

Hehe... I take it as compliment. He's a great PM. But thanks to you jugak la sebab point out pasal "Don kalah sebelum masuk gelanggang". But I still think Jaz and Don will form a great leadership in Sciencess just like Izu and Mustakim. Kalau rajin, tengok post-post aku tahun lepas mengenai AGM gak.

I know all your posts. I read blog dah lama dan tak silap ko ada predict gak pasal Izu. Thanks you got my point. Don't be like Samy Vellu. He is very bias, shows to public he supports Palanivel and against Subramaniam openly. Not good election.

The difference is that, I'm not competing for any posts and I'll never be in any position anymore in Sciencess. And that's a huge difference between me and Samy Vellu. Takleh nak analogikan la.

Ha'ah. Macam tak boleh. So harap ko dapat terima my opinion about Don kalah. It's ok if you predict Jaz and Danial. But Don, hmm... Ok Zaki, I say this to you because I'm close to you.

Yup. Dan aku cam happy gak la point-point ko direct kat aku. Serius. Susah nak jumpa orang cam ko yang berani cakap direct and profesional. With that, I compliment you.

Haha.. Malu gue. Mula-mula takut ko marah plak aku sibuk-sibuk nak tegur, dah la ko senior aku. Haha. Tapi I know who you are, open-minded person with big heart. Kudos to you.

Ok. Terharu. No la. Zaki yang dulu memang senang naik angin. Yang sekarang insha Allah lebih calm. Pasal cara ko approach aku tadi, terpuji. So aku layan dengan baik la.

Haha.. Ye ke dulu ko naik angin? Tadi ko balas sikit-sikit je. Aku bajet macam potensi nak perang dah.

Tadi driving la. Haha...

Ok, jangan wat entry kat blog kutuk aku plak. Naya aku. Peace bro, no war.

Haha... No la. Tapi ada gak terfikir nak jadikan conversation ni entri blog aku tapi tak mention nama ko. Hehe... Amacam?

Boleh boleh. Nama aku kalau dijaja memang tak dibenarkan. Sekarang low profile pun dah peminat ramai. Kalau glamour, mati r. Haha..

Haha... STBB kot :P

For now, I still care about SCIENCESS :)

First time to IKIM

For those who don't know IKIM, it's abbreviation for Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia. Click here to go the website and to know the FM frequencies in different locations.

Yesterday I went to IKIM to do recording for a slot entitled Sains dan Peradaban (Science and Civilization) and the topic that I chose for the slot was Merokok dan Ramadhan (Smoking and Ramadhan).

In the discussion, I explained why it's hard for smokers to quit smoking and then I tried to relate the topic with Ramadhan - how Ramadhan can be the best trainer for quitting smoking. In the first half of the discussion I shared a bit of my knowledge in Pharmacology that I learned during undergraduate study. Then in the second half of the slot I gave some advice regarding the topic.

The recording will be aired next week, Tuesday 15 September 2009, 10.30 am. I am looking forward to listening my own voice in the radio and judge my performance because I am expected to do the same thing more in the future.

I love my job!

The Initiator

It was in August, last year that I came into the first year students' class (now they are second year). I was planning something and coincidently during that day, my tilawah class was postponed while there was some technical problems in the lecture hall. The lecturer, Kak Wawa (that time she was the Head of Department) couldn't continue her lecture. So, everything was very encouraging for me to complete my mission: to be the initiator.

I had few intentions for doing that:

1. To welcome them to the university and to the kulliyyah.
2. To be the moderator for appointing class reps.
3. To initiate a relationship between the first year and the final year.

Alhamdulillah, everything went well with the session that I had the opportunity to explain to them what Biomedical Science was all about from my viewpoint and to share some experience and knowledge about living in IIUM Kuantan Campus.

In the session as well, I became the middle-man for them to appoint their class reps because I knew someone had to play that role or else they won't have any leaders in their class.

You can imagine in a class with more than a hundred students; how would you manage the class if there's no one to play the leadership role? Living in a community, we always need some leaders to lead the rest of the community towards some goals. And I was glad they chose the right ones and they still continue to be the leaders until now. Congratulations to Saifudin and Huda for being great leaders and for being able to manage your class efficiently. Behind these two strong students, there are few other students that helped them a lot in making life of the rest of class easier than they would've thought.

By the way, I am writing this entry because this week SCIENCESS is organizing the nomination for the new Board Members of the society for the 2009/2010 tenure. I wish you all the best in making decisions because it'll affect the rest of your life in the campus. If you select great leaders, you'll live happily there insha Allah.

So, these are just my choices basically based on my observation from afar and experience from working with them previously when I was in the society. It's up to you la to follow or not. Hehe...

President: Jazli Aziz (current Secretary General)

Vice President I: Don Lukmanul Hakim (current Exco)

Secretary General: Danial Efendy (he was my Secretary in KOS Amazing Explorace)

SK Kanchong Darat UPSR 1997 Students Gathering

Laughter and updates were the main agenda during the event. Held at KFC and Banting Superbowl of Banting, we gathered for breaking fast and immediately played bowling after prayers.

Thanks again to Facebook for being the medium of reconnection beween me and my long-time-no-see primary school friends! The fact that we live in the same village doesn't help much for us to see each other frequently because all of us has our own path to go. However, with such gathering we had today, it was a great opportunity to reconnect the bond we once had one day long time ago back to 1992 - 1997.

I have to admit, all of them have changed a lot in many aspects namely physically, socially and behaviorally. Or maybe it's only me who have changed the way I view friends. Sure I can't compare between how I perceived them as friend when I was in primary school and how I perceive them now. But the difference in perceiving is the one that causes something sweet to think of.

It makes me remember who I was when in primary school and who I am now, how I see them as little children as little as I was and how I see them as now-adult friends and now-adult me. That's really something to me.

Anyway, thanks guys for the great gathering. Nanti nak buat majlis kahwin dah tau kan nak contact aku camne? Hehe...

Official 'Eid Fitri Wish Card from Yayasan Ilmuwan

I never think that Yayasan Ilmuwan gives a lot of priviledges to the staffs, at least up to this point!

Yayasan Ilmuwan prepares for all staffs wish card for the coming 'Eid Fitri. So here I got 10 copies of the card to be given to you!

Yes you!

Only earliest 10 people who give their home address will be given this special card from me. The address must be given in the comment room in my blog (in case you're reading this entry in Facebook).

First come first serve basis yo! :D

Baba and Bubu

I think Facebook and blog have been really useful.

I wrote that I was looking for kittens and immediately I got comments from Wenkt telling that he got kittens for me. That time I didn't know that it was two of them until I reached his home at Shah Alam.

Wenkt got the kittens somewhere next to the road. There were 3 of them. One had been given to other friend of Wenkt earlier than me. The ones I got were a pair of kittens with different sexes.

Once I saw them, I fell in love with them right on the spot, without thinking too much about their look because I knew with full attention and care, they'll grow up great! They looked quite messy at that time.

I named them Baba and Bubu which were derived from the words ibu and bapa for obvious reason; one is male and another is female.

I'm looking forward to raising them up in a proper way thus I need to study the right ways of taking care kittens from the internet. I've watched some tips from Youtube which I found really useful.

You got any tips for me?