Dignity.

Assalamualaikum ye anak-anak.

Haa. Mari semua duduk depan pakcik meh. Lagi dekat lagi bagus. Lagi dekat dengan ilmu. Itupun kalau pakcik nak cerita pasal ilmu la. Kalau pakcik mengarut. Anak2 nak duduk belakang sekali pun takpe. Tapi kalau pakcik nak berkongsi ilmu. Anak-anak kena rebut tempat depan sekali tau. Sesungguhnya time Rasulullah SAW menyampaikan dakwah dulu, para sahabat duduk dekat sangat dengan Baginda. Dekat sampai lutut bertemu lutut. Haa. Betapa eager nya para sahabat dulu dalam menuntut ilmu.

So pakcik nak anak-anak pun gitu gak. Kalau masuk kuliah tu. Duduk la depan2. Kau budget duduk belakang2 boleh usha2 awek la? Kau nampak belakang kepala awek je weh. Kalau awek tu pakai tudung. Langsung tak nampak ape. Better ko duduk depan. Nak usha awek pandang je la kat belakang. Betul tak? Kalau dia perasan lantak dia la. Perempuan memang cepat perasan. Tapi kita kena maintain cool. Boleh?

Kalau tak percaya betapa mujarabnya duduk dekat dengan ilmu ni. Cuba experiment sket. One day korang duduk belakang. Then esoknya korang duduk depan. Cuba compare tahap konsentrasi dan kefahaman korang. InsyaAllah sangat berbeza. Kalau korang tak tidur la kan. Kalau tidur pakcik lepuk je kalau pakcik jadi lecturer.

Haa cukup dengan mukadimah pakcik. Terlebih panjang lak. Boleh buat satu lagi post siap. Nampak banyak sket nukilan pakcik. Tapi takpe. Hari ini pakcik nak bercerita tentang dignity. Sorry la anak-anak sebab pakcik tak tau bahasa melayu bagi dignity. Sesiapa yang tahu boleh beritahu pakcik ok? Jangan malu jangan segan. Jangan jadi melayu yang segan. Paham? Tak paham sila tutup nukilan pakcik sekarang. Sekarang.

Oihhh garangnya aku hari ni.

Semalam. Pakcik berkenalan dengan seorang saudara seislam ni. Macho gak rupanya. Rambut belah tengah. Putih2. Hensem2. Alaaa macam ala2 pakcik la. Putih is the keyword. Paham?Lelaki-lelaki zaman sekarang ni memang hensem2 ye tak? Ok jangan geleng2 pale. Apa pakcik cakap? Tak paham tutup ok?

Tapi yang membuatkan pakcik tertarik dengan brother yang hensem ni. Bukan sebab pakcik gay. Uihhh. Nabi tak mengaku umat weh.

Woi. Pakcik tau la pakcik dari kecik sekolah laki je. Tapi jangan la nak buat muka jelek kan? Aku lempang sorang2 ni kang.

Ok sambung2. Brother tu nama dia Yusof. Pakcik tak tau macam mane nak eja nama dia. Tapi sebutan dia Yusof la. Apa yang istimewanya pasal abang Yusof ni. Allah uji dia di dunia ni. Allah uji kesabaran dia.Allah uji keyakinan dia. Allah uji ketahanan dia.

Allah uji dengan tidak memberi daya penglihatan kepada dia.

Ya. Abang Yusof ini tak dapat melihat.

Tapi abang Yusof ini melihat menggunakan akal fikiran. Kita ni celik je lebih. Tapi kita tak guna pun akal kita sehabis yang mungkin. Haa. Kan pakcik dah kutuk diri sendiri.

Berbalik pada cerita abang Yusof ni. Brother ni dah 5 tahun menetap di KL. Mula2 pakcik segan nak berborak dengan dia. Takut kalau2 pakcik menyinggung perasaan brother hensem ni ke. Serba salah pakcik jadinya. Tapi. Tengok brother ni pun melayan pakcik cam member dia je. Pakcik pun apa lagi. Pot pet pot pet la. Alaa. Cam korang tak buat je kan? Ngaku skang! Haa takuttt

Eh macam terlalu details lak pakcik cerita. Okk nak dibuatkan takeaway nya disini. Semenjak pakcik mula memahami erti kehidupan ni *cewwahhhh*. Segala perbualan dengan brother tu. Sedikit sebanyak menyentuh hati pakcik. Eh pakcik takdela sampai mengalir air mata kan. Empangan pakcik kuat. Sekadar bergenang je. Tak pecah lagi. Ego laki kottttt

Bagaimana seorang yang buta, boleh menjalani hidup yang susah di KL ni? Pakcik tengok brother ni gembira je. Tenang je raut muka dia. Pakcik pun jadi tenang.

Brother ni keje kat mid valley. Reflexology. Dekat tingkat dua kat north area kot. Haa pergilah try. Mane tau best kan. Eh pakcik takdapat komisyen tau dok promote2 ni. I wish I could. Hoiii tak ikhlas langsung

Brother ni dah kawen. Bini dia mengandung 6 bulan. Tanya laki ke perempuan. Brother ni gelak je. Dia kata hari tu scan tak confirm lagi. *haishh pakcik lelebey la kan tanye macam2. Korang lempang sket pakcik ni. Haaa berani ko angkat tangan?

Perkenalan pakcik selama 30 minit semalam, cukup buat pakcik puas. Puas dengan segala kehidupan yang pakcik ada. Puas dengan segala kelebihan yang pakcik ada. Puas dengan segala-galanya. Apa yang pakcik maksudkan puas di sini adalah:

Appreciate.

Kita celik. Kita berkata-kata. Kita mendengar. Tapi kita tak tahu menggunakannya. Sedangkan ramai lagi yang memerlukannya

Kita memandang benda yang tak sepatutnya. Kita berkata benda yang dilarangNya. Kita mendengar benda yang dilaknat olehNya.

Mana pergi dignity kita? Sedangkan Allah anugerahkan kepada kita. Untuk kita berlaku baik. Untuk kita berlaku adil. Tapi kita buat ke?

Tak kan?

Oh mengaku jela. Jangan nak berpura-pura baik pula.

Eh tapi kalau baik pun jangan sedih pakcik tak puji lak k?

Dalam penat-penat pakcik berdiri sambil usha2 awek. Pakcik terfikir sejenak. Bagaimana isterinya yang dah mengandung 6 bulan, menjaga suaminya yang buta? Bagaimana pula suaminya yang buta, menjaga isterinya yang mengandung 6 bulan?

Nampak tak anak-anak. Betapa besar dan mulianya pengorbanan mereka masing2? Brother ni tak dapat pun kelebihan yang Allah bagi. Tapi life has to move on. Ini kita yang celik ni. Yang sempurna sifatnya ni. Apa2 pun nak bergantung pada orang lain. Guna cable la. Bawah meja la. Ahhh sampah kesemuanya!

Eh tapi korang jangan membuang sampah merata2. Paham?

Itu sahaja dari pakcik. Sebenarnya. Korang baca panjang2 ni. Pakcik nak sampaikan satu message je actually. Korang jangan bengang lak. Duduk sampai cram2 dah kaki. Benda nak cakap satu ayat je kan.

Spend more time with the old and unfortunate people. Then you will appreciate and live your life with dignity.

Live with dignity. Live with love. Live with strength. Ultimately, Live with Islam.

Sekian, jaga diri, akhlak dan iman ok anak-anak?

Assalamualaikum

Not a year older, but a year better.

Tatkala hati terdetik, “eh dah pukul 6 la. Kena balik ni”. Sambil melihat jam. Aku langkas mengemaskan meja.

“Eh Azizul, saya nak kamu buat summary pasal career development kamu tu. Saya nak kamu buat sekarang. bos nak tengok malam ni.” Sapa mentorku.

Pergh. Tak menahan. Otak dah set balik rumah dah. Sekali kena buat kerja. Last2 balik lambat. Tak pikir pun nak balik rumah.

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

Owh. Sedar tak sedar. Dah setahun aku bergelumang dengan suka duka korporat ini. Segala perit jerih. Kesengsaraan. Tak tidur malam. Dok tongkat mata pakai pencungkil gigi. Minum kopi banyak2 supaya segar. Bekerja lebih 24 jam. Kena marah. Kena herdik. Kena kutuk. Weekend datang kerja. Orang berjalan2 tengok wayang di bawah. Aku bekerja keseorangan di atas. Kerja sampai larut malam. Datang kerja di pagi raya.

Tapi kan. Aku susah payah semua ini untuk apa sebenarnya?

Untuk aku ke? Bukan.

Takkan untuk orang lain?

Eh. Ntahla. Aku takde rasa aku buat ni untuk orang lain. Anyway. saja2 nak share. I just attended one of the forum dekat my workplace. Ala2 motivational sket la. Tajuk dia:

‘’Working with Meaning’’

What does meaning mean anyway?

Why do you go to work at the first place?

Or you just go to your office just because you have to?

Or because you need that money?

Atau semua orang sibuk2 bekerja. So aku pun nak kerja gak la!

Camtu?

Somehow, forum itu sedikit sebanyak menyedarkan aku gak la. Eventhough we all know apa yang akan dibincangkan. But we don’t really appreciate it. Kan? Kita tahu kita bekerja untuk masyarakat. But do we really apply that? Everytime we walk out the door. Do we think that we do it for the people? When we look outside our office, we can see developments everywhere. From ground zero, now 30 stories high. Hey ejul. Do we really measure development by looking at the buildings?

How high the building is?

How big the building is?

How beautiful the building is?

Hoihh banyak lak soalan aku tanya plak kan. Aku lempang kang. Dah lari tajuk dah ni. Mari kita cuba try relate balik dengan tajuk. Adakah kita berkerja ni semata-mata untuk orang lain? Give back to nation? To the people?

Eh aku setuju. I could not agree more. Truly indeed. *Haa ape lagi ayat setuju kau nak?*

Tapi. Yang kita lihat hanyalah luarannya. Macam KLCC. Luarannya cantik. Tapi tahukah kita betapa kuat dan pentingnya tiangnya di dalam? Begitulah working with meaning kita. Kita memang nak beri kepada masyarakat. Nak berkhidmat pada masyarakat. Nak majukan masyarakat. Tapi kita perlu tahu. Sebenarnya apa yang kita buat. Semuanya untuk Allah.

Ye. Allah. Sebabnya?

Allah gives us air to breath

Allah gives us strength to live

Allah gives us heart to love

Allah gives us mind to think

Allah gives us everything.

So why don’t we do everything because of Allah?

Kita tahu benda ini. Tapi kita tak really appreciate. Or dengan kata lain. Not really apply in our daily life.

Everything we do, everything we say, everything we hear and everything we see, is for Allah.

Always.

Sekian..

Jaga diri, akhlak dan iman!

Assalamualaikum.

25 things about me.

Assalamualaikum!

Wohaaa bangganya after sudah tak menulis selama beberapa tahun! Eh dua tahun lebih to be exact! Ouch lamanya! tapi I tak taula kalau2 blog I ni masih ada secret admirer lagi kan *eh dulu ada ke? *

Anyway, mari kita bersama2 refresh balik sebab apa aku tulis blog ni? Dulu punya niat sebab saja2 je. Nak share kat orang ramai. Yela dulu study. Masa banyak terbuang. So daripada buang masa. Baik menulis ye tak?

Tapi sekarang?

Sekarang more on sentimental values sketla*acecece aku lempang diri sendiri kang*. Yela bila baca balik post2 yang terdahulu. Awww memories~ tapi kelakar. Haishhh

Rasa-rasa tujuan utama more to menulis apa yang terbuku di minda, yang tersirat di hati. Apa-apa yang aku boleh tulis untuk buat teladan. Aku tulis. Untuk kebaikan semua orang juga. Aku pun dapat gak. Sebab? Ha ni sebab dia:

“The best way to teach ourselves is to teach people. The best way to remind ourselves is to remind people. The best way to improve ourselves is to improve people.”

Itula yang aku pegang dari dulu sampai la sekarang. Sebab tu kalau time zaman2 skema2 time study dulu. Aku suka mengajar. Sebab nanti yang dapat benefitnya aku gak ye tak?

Tapi takpe. Lets make it informal la senang cerita. Nak tulis skema2 pun nanti janggal pula. Nak tulis sempoi2 pun nampak cam tak matang. So better kita ambil tengah2la. Tapi dalam Islam takde tengah2 tau. Elakkan syubhah. Eh ewahhhh. *eh teladan2*

Allow me to rejuvenate my blog *eh baru nak start?* with a little bit of introduction about myself.

25 benda je tak banyak. (sarcasm harap maklum)

1. Rasa2 time umur aku tak sampai setahun lagi orang dah panggil aku ejul dah. Eh ke comel? Or tomei? *dush dush pukul diri sendiri*. So paham2la eh. Nama glamour aku ejul. Tapi ada je orang panggil aku nama2 lain. Aku tak kisah. Janji benda tu tak melambangkan benda yang tak baik.

2. Aku lahir di Sarawak (ye diulangi Sarawak ye. Ha ko jangan nak buat muka lak) uihh. Garang betul. Anyway. Menetap beberapa tahun di Sarawak sebelum berpindah ke semenanjung. Time before tadika lagi dah pindah semenangjung dah.

So kira orang KL la ek?

Oh tidak tidak. Kamek Sawarakian. *pewwiitt! Baru berbahasa sket dah claim Sarawakian! Cet!

3. Selama aku belajar dalam system pendidikan Malaysia ni. Ada 3 sekolah yang aku dah pergi. Ketiga-tiga sekolah tu sekolah single sex. Sekolah laki la. Kalau aku gi sekolah perempuan owhh alangkah bahagianyaaa.

Sekolah rendah sekolah laki. Sekolah menengah pun sekolah laki. Pastu budget masuk asrama time form 4 dapat campur la? Uhh jangan harap. Dapat lagi sekolah laki2. haihhhhhh

Tapi aku tak gay. Haa. Korang jangan ingat aku songsang lak.

4. Oh setakat ni aku dah ada koleksi 4 orang kekasih dah. Pewiiit!! Ni betul2 buaya hardcore ni. Alaa. Yang first and second tu zaman budak hingusan je. Bila masuk 3^rd and 4^th tu baru hingus dah kurang sket. Hehe. Tapi I single sekarang ni. heee. *pannnggg. Tu pun nak cakap ke?

5. Oh aku tak dapat 5A time kat sekolah rendah dulu. =(. English aku dapat B. Nangis teresak2 kot atas peha mak aku. (Alololo anak makk)

6. Oh (asal oh dijadikan sebagai pembuka bicara ni?) family aku suma 6 orang jumlahnya. Parents and 4 siblings. Akak2 aku dan aku ada adik lelaki seorang.

7. Ok dah penat. Perlu ke sampai 25?

8. Eh aku lahir tahun 88 la! Ong ong! *sindrom dah malas tulis dah

9. Aku baru berumur 9 tahun. Masih belum mengenal erti dunia lagi. Rutin harian aku? Mainnnn je keje. Belajar tak mau. Lari sana lari sini. Before sekolah gi main kat padang. Sekali time assembly kena isolate sebab baju aku tersangattt kotor. Haishh malu aku malu

10. Yeahhh. Time ni aku baru darjah 4. First love aku. (eh ewahhh menggatallll). Bukan first love la. Yang ko g caya pesal? Time ni couple main2 je. Haishh. Ape kena darjah 4 dah kapel2 dah? Oh biasala single sex school. Hot2 gitu. =p

11. Oh darjah 5 aku masih bersama2 dia. Setia kot! (Eh dulu kau tau erti setia ke weh?) hermmmm. Eh ntah. Tapi ada aku kisah sekarang?

12. Ah haa. Ni prime time sekolah rendah. Of course la kan. Darjah 6 kot. Paling senior di sekolah. Cikgu2 selalu cakap. ‘’Azizul, azizul kena tunjuk contoh terbaik untuk adik-adik tau. Azizul dah jadi senior dah sekarang’’. Ouch masih aku ingat lagi pesanan cikguku. Tapi apa yang aku dah buat kat sekolah? Hancusss. Huhu.

Eh tapi banyak gak yang aku tabur bakti time darjah 6. Pokoknya darjah 6 paling best la! Masuk nasyid la (ewahh nak sebut gak tu), jaga taman burung sekolah la. Bendahari la. In charge hari anugerah cemerlang la. Siap jadi pengantin lelaki tu. Fuhh pengantik perempuan tu cun gila. Tapi time tu apa pikir kan? Benda2 tu bukan aku tau pun.

Haa. Time ni gakla aku couple lagi sorang. Perghh. Yang lama tak clash pun dah couple lagi sorang. Ala yang lama lost contact. Kata budak2. Clash pun aku tak tau maksud dia time kecik2 dulu. Anyway. Yang 2^nd ni sekejap je. Months. hehe

13. Wohooooo! Zaman baru beb! Sekolah menengah dah. Seluar dah kaler hijau dah. Takde kaler2 biru lagi. Member2 punya seluar sume nak yang tempah2. Jun saito la. Cantona 7 la. Eh eh aku tak tempah pun. Mahal sangat. Kesian kat mak aku. Aku pakai seluar canggih je. Perghh memang canggih la. Haa time ni sangat seronok. Macam2 terjadi. Jumpa cikgu disiplin la. Kantoi ponteng la. Kena rotan la. Tengok member bawa ganja la. Tapi on top of that. Aku happy. So ada aku kisah? (ko xkisah xyahla cerita kat orang. Ada orang kisah ko kisah?)

Huh garangnya monolog tu. Hey ko sedarlah sape yang tulis ko weh. Lupa suami. Eh eh perempuan ke? Haa tu yang kita tak tau tu.

14. Ouch. Ni zaman gemilang terbilang hulubalang beb. Time ni la aku aktif dalam PKBM. Ala yang ala2 tentera tu. Haa sebab tu la u all tengok body I ni ketul sana ketul sini. (eh bukan yg gelebeh2 kat perut ni). Haishhh korang ni. Uishh time ni pun aku suka gak. Masuk hutan cari kayu untuk tidur. Perghh. Memang best of the best la. Menang peringkat kebangsaan kott. Mana nak dapat? Depa dok kutuk2 orang Bandar takleh kawad senjata la. Tak larat nak angkat senjata la. Anak emas la. Haaa. Tengok sapa menang? Siap dapat puji-pujian from judges lagi. *eh emo plak tetiba. Relak sudey

Weh korang. Time ni la aku jumpa first love aku. Cewwahh.

15. Ouch zaman PMR. Memandangkan aku gagal dalam UPSR kan. So aku nak tebus habis-habisan. Activities suma aku tak dah tak join dah. PKBM aku join peringkat KL pun sebab diorang tak cukup orang je *budget hero la kan. Tapi time ni la aku dok tuition hari2. Perghh. Takleh tahan. Isnin rabu and jumaat malam tuition dekat2 dengan rumah. Selasa and khamis petang dekat dengan sekolah. Sabtu ahad satu hari tuition dekat UM. Berapa banyak seminar dah aku pergi? Tak terkira.

Perghh. Memang gigih. Tapi berbaloi. =)

16. Ok time ni aku dah budget gila nak masuk sekolah co-ed. At least nak merasa sket study ngan awek2 kan. Baru terasa diri ini begitu berharga. (Cewwwahhh dia ni. Takleh bagi can nak menulis). Tapi apakan daya. Sekali dapat sekolah laki gak la. Haishh. Tapi takpe. Memandangkan dekat Putrajaya. Maka aku pun melangkah pergi. Time ni la zaman ntah pape aku. Result teruk. Akhir tahun nye result dapat 5A je. tu pun yang jenis dok pujuk rayu cikgu. Cari kesalahan cikgu bukan main gigih. Yela nak dapat A kan. Klau tak memang teruk la result aku.

Time ni la akak aku cabar sambil perli2 aku. Dia kata kalau aku dapat straight A’s dia bagi aku 500 ringgit. Uiiihhh. Time tu 500 ringgit sangat banyak kottt. Tapi aku sahut. Time cuti hari2 aku pergi library study. Gigih gila

17. Haa. Time ni zaman skema aku yang sangat2 skema. Bangun pagi kol 5.25. then jadi orang pertama bukak lampu toilet. Pastu mandi2. Siap2 pakai baju sekolah suma. Kemas katil. Dalam kol 6 sambung tidur balikkk. Tapi tidur kat tepi katilll je. Tidur duduk plak tu. So nanti nak tegangkan senang. Pastu bila warden datang nak rotan. Aku terus bangun! Haa. Bijak tak? Ok aku tau aku skema. Solat pukul 6.30. banyak g masa nak tidur tu.

Pastu pas solat terus direct g dewan makan. Then g kelas. Dalam kol 7 dah ada dalam kelas dah. Jadi orang pertama lagi bukak lampu. Pastu aku pun tidur balik kat kelas tu. Hehe. At least klau dah nak assembly tu aku xlambat. Takdela tidur kat dorm kan? Pastu habis kelas kol 2.45. kol 3.30 masuk prep. Sampai kol 5. Then balik solat. Pastu g main2 apa2 yang patut. Ouhhh memories. Then malam pun prep. Kol 12.30 wajib tidur. Fuhh skema sekian terima kasih. Tapi berbaloi. =)

18. Yeay result SPM dah kuar. Alhamdulillah. Tapi aku terjatuhkan camera member aku. So duit yang akak aku bagi tu tpaksa buat bayar camera. Uhk uhk tak sempat enjoy. Tapi takpe.

And yeay before result kuar aku dah sambung belajar dah. Alhamdulillah. Eh tapi aku dah hilang zaman yang ditunggu2 weh. Zaman bercuti. Bekerja. Berdating. Ni orang buat part time. Aku dok sibuk study tkedek2 kat foundation tu. Tapi takpe. Ade aku kisah? Eh kisah gak la. Sob sob.(ko lempang je ejul ni. Ngade lak)

19. Alhamdulillah. Hajat aku nak merasa pergi ke Negara mat salih termakbul jua. Hajat aku nak g tengok Sydney Opera House pun termakbul jua. Huhu. Tapi time ni zaman aku beriman sket *ceh tahun lain tak beriman ke?. Tapi bagusla. Terdedah dengan peha2 yang terdedah. So Alhamdulillah masih beriman. Time ni la macam2 shock aku ada. Culture shock la. Food shock la. Muslim shock pun ada. Tapi takpe. Suma tu aku anggap steep learning curve. Ewahhh ayat indah!

20. Ouch. Tahun kedua di university orang kafir. Ala dulu belajar bertahun2 kat sekolah pun sekolah kafir gak. Sekolah mubaligh lagi. Tapi takpe. Tahun kedua ni macam biasa. Belajar macam2 from macam2 orang. Seronok, seram dan sepi.

21. Final year di university. Macam2 berlaku. Clash dengan first love aku tu la. Sedih seyh. Tapi takpe. Dalam tahun tu gak dapat pengganti. Eh ewahh. Rosak rosak. Tu 2^nd love lak. Hehe. Tahun ni seronok! Banyak mengajar aku erti kehidupan. Mengenal erti sedih, marah, gembira, simpati, curious dan macam2 lagi la (mati la aku nak tulis banyak2 kan. Jari dah lenguh dah ni)

22. Ohh hooo zaman baru pula! Zaman berkerja. Ni memang totally different la. Daripada zaman muda mudi. Involve di zaman corporate lak. Eh mana g zaman remaja aku? Ouch. Kecik2 dah terdedah dengan suka duka corporate. Tapi takpe. I take it as a challenge (yo o je kau eh)

Anyway. Tahun ni pun sedih gak. Clash lagi. Haishhh. Pastu sekarang dah malas couple sampaila kawen. Wohaa lagi bahagia. Bercinta lepas kahwin. Hehe

Dan saya ada KPI yang tersendiri. Ingin mempunyai asset yang bernilai 1 juta ketika saya berumur 30 tahun. Impossible? Well make it possible then.

23. Ye saya berumur 23 pada tahun ini. Have been a year in corporate world. Not a year older. But a year better.

24. Ok projected pada tahun ni saya akan focus on my career aspiration. (eh jul satu lagi satu je lagi! Wiwiwiwi)

25. Yeahhhh. Sampai di garisan penamat! Tahniah jul tahniah!

Sekian, hopefully it’s a good start for me to write back. Semoga dirahmati!

Assalamualaikum!

British Airways

This scene took place on a British Airways flight between Johannesburg, South Africa & London. ..

A white woman, about 50 years old, was seated next to a black man. Very disturbed by this, she called the air hostess. 'You obviously do not see it then?' she asked. 'You placed me next to a Black man. I did not agree to sit next to someone from such a repugnant Group. Give me an alternative seat.'

'Be calm please,' the hostess replied. 'Almost all the places on this flight are taken. I will go to see if another place is available.'

The hostess went away & then came back a few minutes later. 'Madam, just as I thought, there are no other available seats in ! Economy Class. I spoke to the captain & he informed me that there is also no seat in Business Class. All the same, we still have one place in First Class.'

Before the woman could say anything, the hostess continued , 'It is unusual for our company to permit someone from Economy Class to sit in First Class. However, given the circumstances, the captain feels that it would be scandalous to make someone sit next to someone so disgusting. She turned to the black guy & said, 'Therefore, Sir, if you would like to, please collect your hand luggage, a seat awaits you in First Class.' At that moment, the other passengers, who'd been shocked by what they had just witnessed, stood up & applauded.

This is a true story. Say NO to racism...

Taken from here

Letters from PETRONAS

Letter 1
Dear all,
After reading all the chain mails and blogs, I feel called to reply, because of the relentless attacks and allegations -- most of which are inaccurate or baseless -- against PETRONAS.

PETRONAS' STAFF SALARY & BONUS

1) The salaries paid to PETRONAS' employees are not as high as people think. At best, they are just industry average. And these are not attractive enough for some who left PETRONAS to find work at other companies (mainly from the Middle East) which are willing to pay more. Why do they pay more? The oil and gas industry worldwide has been facing acute shortage of qualified or experienced personnel, so most companies are willing to pay lots of money to entice and pinch staff from their competitors.

Bonus? There has NEVER been a bonus amounting to 6 months or 12 months throughout the 33 years. On average, it is 2 months. But don't ever think we don't deserve it. We more than deserve it. A lot of us work really hard, some in the most extreme of conditions. Those who have been to and worked in northern Sudan, for example, would testify that it's like working in a huge blower oven. Southern Sudan, on the other hand, is almost all swamps and mud. Imagine having to go through that kind of heat, or waddling in muddy swamps, day in and day out.

QUALITY OF CRUDE & REFINED PRODUCTS

2) Malaysia produces about 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day (and about 100,000 barrels condensate). Of this crude volume, 339,000 barrels are refined locally for local consumption. The rest is exported (and yes, because it has lower sulphur content it fetches higher prices).

Malaysia also imports about 230,000 barrels of crude oil per day, mainly from the Middle East, to be refined here. This crude oil contains higher sulphur and is less expensive (so the country gains more by exporting our crudes). In Malaysia, this crude is processed by PETRONAS at its second refinery in Melaka, and also by Shell at its Port Dickson refinery.

Different refineries are built and configurated to refine different types of crude. And each crude type yields different percentage of products (diesel, gasoline, kerosene, cooking gas etc) per barrel.

But most importantly, products that come out at the end of the refining process have the same good quality regardless of the crude types. That's why PETRONAS, Shell and Exxon Mobil share the same pipeline to transport the finished products from their refineries to a distribution centre in the Klang Valley. The three companies collect the products at this centre accordingly to be distributed to their respective distribution networks. What makes PETRONAS' petrol different from Shell's, for example, is the additive that each company adds.

PETRONAS' ROLE, FUNCTION & CONTRIBUTION

3) A lot of people also do not understand the role and function of PETRONAS, which is essentially a company, a business entity, which operates on a commercial manner, to mainly generate income and value for its shareholder. In this case, PETRONAS' shareholder is the Government.

In 1974, when PETRONAS was set up, the Government gave PETRONAS RM10 million (peanuts, right?) as seed capital. From 1974 to 2007, PETRONAS made RM570 billion in accumulated profits, and returned to the Government a total of RM335.7 billion. That is about 65% of the profits. That means for every RM1 that PETRONAS makes, 65 sen goes back to the Government.

Last year, PETRONAS made a pre-tax profit of RM86.8 billion. The amount given back to the Government (in royalty, dividends, corporate income tax, petroleum products income tax and export duty) was RM52.3 billion. The rest of the profit was used to pay off minority interests and taxes in foreign countries (about RM7.8 billion - PETRONAS now operates in more than 30 countries), and the remaining RM26.7 billion was reinvested. The amount reinvested seems a lot, but the oil and gas industry is technology- and capital-intensive. Costs have gone up exponentially in the last couple of years. Previously, to drill a well, it cost about US$3 million; now it costs US$7 million. The use of rigs was US$200,000 a day a couple of years ago; now it costs US$600,000 a day.

A lot of people also do not realise that the amount returned by PETRONAS to the Government makes up 35% of the Government's total annual income, to be used by the Government for expenditures, development, operations, and yes, for the various subsidies. That means for every RM1 the Government makes, 35 sen is contributed by PETRONAS.

So, instead of asking what happens to PETRIONAS' money or profits, people should be questioning how the money paid by PETRONAS to the Government is allocated.

CRUDE EXPORTS & FUEL PRICES

4) A lot of people also ask, why Malaysia exports its crude oil. Shouldn't we just stop exporting and sell at cheaper prices to local refiners? If Malaysia is an oil exporting country, why can't we sell petrol or diesel at cheaper prices like other oil producing countries in the Middle East?

I guess I don't have to answer the first couple of questions. It's simple economics, and crude oil is a global commodity.

Why can't we sell petrol and diesel at lower prices like in the Middle East? Well, comparing Saudi Arabia and other big producers to Malaysia is like comparing kurma to durian, because these Middle Eastern countries have much, much, much bigger oil and gas reserves.

Malaysia has only 5.4 billion barrels of oil reserves, and about 89 trillion cubic feet of gas. Compare that to Saudi Arabia's 260 billion barrels of oil and 240 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Malaysia only produces 600,000 barrels per day of oil. Saudi Arabia produces 9 million barrels per day. At this rate, Saudi Arabia's crude oil sales revenue could amount to US$1.2 billion per day! At this rate, it can practically afford almost everything -- free education, healthcare, etc, and subsidies -- for its people.

But if we look at these countries closely, they have in the past few years started to come up with policies and strategies designed to prolong their reserves and diversify their income bases. In this sense, Malaysia (and PETRONAS) has had a good head start, as we have been doing this a long time.

Fuel prices in Malaysia is controlled by the Government based on a formula under the Automatic Pricing Mechanism introduced more than a couple of decades ago. It is under this mechanism that the complex calculation of prices is made, based on the actual cost of petrol or diesel, the operating costs, margin for dealers, margin for retail oil companies (including PETRONAS Dagangan Bhd) and the balancing number of duty or subsidy. No retail oil companies or dealers actually make money from the hike of the fuel prices. Oil companies pay for the products at market prices, but have to sell low, so the Government reimburses the difference -- thus subsidy.

Subsidy as a concept is OK as long as it benefits the really deserving segment of the population. But there has to be a limit to how much and how long the Government should bear and sustain subsidy. An environment where prices are kept artificially low indefinitely will not do anyone any good. That's why countries like Indonesia are more pro-active in removing subsidies. Even Vietnam (which is a socialist country, by the way) is selling fuel at market prices.

PETRONAS & TRANSPARENCY

5) I feel I also need to say something on the allegation that PETRONAS is not transparent in terms of its accounts, business transactions etc.

PETRONAS is first and foremost a company, operating under the rules and regulations of the authorities including the Registrar of Companies, and the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia for its listed four subsidiaries (PETRONAS Dagangan Bhd, PETRONAS Gas Bhd, MISC Bhd and KLCC Property Holdings Bhd.

PETRONAS the holding company produces annual reports which are made to whomever wants them, and are distributed to many parties and places; including to the library at the Parliament House for perusal and reading pleasure of all Yang Berhormat MPs (if they care to read). PETRONAS also makes the annual report available on its website, for those who bother to look. The accounts are duly audited.

The website also contains a lot of useful information, if people really care to find out. Although PETRONAS is not listed on Bursa Malaysia, for all intents and purposes, it could be considered a listed entity as its bonds and financial papers are traded overseas. This requires scrutiny from investors, and from rating agencies such as Standard & Poor and Moody's.

BOYCOTT PETRONAS?

6) The last time I checked, this is still a democratic country, where people are free to spend their money wherever they like.

For those who like to see more of the money that they spend go back to the local economy and benefiting their fellow Malaysians, perhaps they should consider sticking to local products or companies.

For those who like to see that the money they spend go back to foreign shareholders of the foreign companies overseas, they should continue buying foreign products.

FINAL WORD (FOR TODAY)

I'm sorry this is rather long, but I just have to convey it. I hope this would help some of you out there understand something. The oil and gas industry, apart from being very capital intensive, is also very complex and volatile. I'm learning new things almost every single day.

Appreciate if you could help to forward this response to as many contacts as possible to counter the subversive proposal out there.

Thank you.

Wilson Lee Gain Loon (CAU_MEDIARELATIONS/PETH)

Letter 2

Do what you like.

The price of gasoline at the petrol station is set by the Government, not PETRONAS. PETRONAS has done its patriotic duty by paying the dividends, royalties, corporate tax, petroleum tax etc to the Government for YOUR benefit (rakyat lah).

And bear in mind that 30% of its revenue comes from overseas operations, thus bringing in foreign exchange to the country.

OK. Assuming that you buy this idea proposed by whomever it was.

So PETRONAS will have reduced revenues. Bear in mind that the costs of operations are also increasing. So the profits are reduced. Then PETRONAS and other oil companies pay less tax.

Then the Government will have less revenue. (Note: at least 40% of Government revenue for 2007 came from the oil industry). With less revenue, there will be less Government projects (you can then forget about bridges and highways, and rail tracks, and smart schools and not-so-smart universities, and hospitals, etc). So contractors and consultants, and con-sultans and con-cronies will cry and scream. Makan batu lah..

The Government has already announced freezing of recruitment. So, many new graduates will be unemployed. Makan batu lagi. Maggi mee pun tak mampu dah. Later, all sorts of allowances for civil servants will have to be withdrawn. Treasury tak cukup duit.

On top of that the oil industry may have to scale back many of its new investments, totaling about 45 billion ringgit over the next few years. Contractors, service providers, steel fabricators, maritime service providers etc will join the ratapan tangisan – no jobs.

Don’t forget that PETRONAS is sponsoring thousands of students in universities and even high schools – at any one time there are more than 4,500 university students being sponsored by PETRONAS in Malaysian universities and overseas. Also more than 2,000 high school children receive minor scholarships – children of poor families.

Kalau PERTRONAS tak ada duit, kesian lah mereka di atas tu. Shall I ask them to see the proposer of this idea (to boycott PETRONAS) and seek help from them instead?

So, it is to YOUR benefit that you make sure PETRONAS keeps making enough money to support YOUR Government so that your children can continue to go to school without paying for fees and books, and to go to universities at peanuts rates.

CONCLUSION: Help yourself and your family and your country by making sure that PETRONAS keeps making profits. Go to the nearest PETRONAS station and fill up now!! Don’t forget that if you go to non-Petronas station, the profits that these companies get will go their shareholders OVERSEAS.

So, be patriotic. Do your duty. Go to PETRONAS!!

(I hope you guys will help to send this response to as many contacts as possible to counter this subversive proposal).

Rosti B Saruwono - Datuk Dr (VP_Edu/PETH)

Taken from here.

Kebenaran? Wallhua'lam. Cuma isi-isi yang disampaikan boleh dipercayai.

Selamat Menyambut Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Selamat menyambut Hari Raya Aidilfitri pada tahun 2008. Maaf sekiranya saya ada buat salah ataupun terkasar bahasa. Semoga tahun ini membawa lebih manfaat daripada tahun-tahun lepas. InsyaAllah.

Amalan Baik Tapi Terbalik.

• Amalan kenduri arwah beberapa hari selepas kematian. mengikut amalan masyarakat kita, keluarga si mati akan buat kenduri dan masak untuk tetamu yang hadir ke majlis itu. sepatutnya orang lainlah yang tolong masak dan adakan kenduri untuk keluarga si mati. keluarga si mati kan masih berada dalam kesedihan. lagi pula dikhuatiri kalau2 tetamu itu makan harta anak yatim yang ditinggalkan oleh si mati untuk anak2nya.
  

• Amalan menghadiri walimatul urus, tetamu yang datang membawa wang untuk disedekahkan kepada keluarga pengantin. malu rasanya kalau pergi tanpa membawa wang. kalau tak ada wang, rela untuk tidak pergi, takut malu. tetapi bila menghadiri kenduri arwah, tidak pula dihulurkan wang sebagi sedekah mungkin untuk meringankan sedikit beban keluarga si mati. tidak malu pula menghadiri kenduri arwah tanpa membawa wang.
  

• Apabila menghadiri majlis keraian, majlis pemimpin besar2, pakai cantik2. bergaya. baju mewah. tapi bila solat, pakaian pun comot, tak bersih. tak wangi. terbalik kan?
  

• Kalau kita jadi tetamu, segan nak makan makanan yang dihidangkan sampai habis. entah apa yang dimalukan. sedangkan yang sepatutnya adalah sebaliknya. apabila tetamu makan makanan yang dihidangkan, tuan rumah pasti akan gembira.
  

• Kalau bersolat sunat (atau apa2 amalan sunat lain) kat masjid bukan main rajin lagi. tapi kat rumah, nak solat sunat sekali pun susah. sepatutnya amalan sunat diperbanyakkan di rumah supaya kita tidak riak. yelah, kalau kat masjid, bila orang nampak kita rajin solat sunat, khuatir pula kalau jadi riak. bukankah amalan yang kita lakukan tidak boleh riak.
  

• Apabila bulan puasa tiba, sepatutnya kita mengawal nafsu kita. bukan sahaja mengawal nafsu dari makan atau minum sahaja. tapi dari segala sudut. tapi bila bulan puasa, tahap perbelanjaan semakin meningkat dan tidak terkawal. terdorong untuk berbelanja apabila inginkan sesuatu. sepatutnyakan bulan puasa la nak berjimat cermat.
  

• Amalan membuat kenduri sebelum pergi menunaikan haji. sepatutnya, kenduri doa selamat diadakan selepas orang itu selamat pulang dari bermusafir. doa selamat tanda kesyukuran kerana orang itu telah selamat pulang setelah sekian lama bermusafir dan berjaya mengharungi segala ujian yang melanda semasa bermusafir.
  

• Ibu bapa risau apabila anak2 tidak lulus peperiksaan, tidak pandai membaca atau tidak tahu menulis. sibuk hantar anak ke kelas tambahan untuk memantapkan lagi otak anak2. tapi bila anak tak tahu mengaji Quran, tak tahu solat, tidak pulak sibuk suruh anak belajar sedangkan mengaji Quran dan solat itu wajib dipelajari.
  

• Kalau hujan lebat, ribut petir, penat atau sakit sekalipun, kerja kena pergi. kalau tak pergi, nanti gaji sikit. kena marah dekat bos dan lain2. tapi kalau ke rumah Allah, malas pula nak pergi. berbagai alasan diberi. tidak pula rasa malu pada Yang Maha Pencipta.
  

• Si isteri, bila nak keluar rumah, melawa. pakai cantik2. mesti nak wangi2. berhias dan segala macam lagi. tapi bila kat rumah depan suami, tidak pula melawa. yelah, dekat rumah sahaja. buat apa nak melawa. sedangkan yang dituntut adalah berpakaian cantik dan berhias adalah untuk pandangan suami. bukannya orang luar. kadang2 sebab2 macam ni la buat rumahtangga tu goyah.

*diambil daripada blog Aimi Nadia (sila rujuk pada ruangan di bahagian kanan skrin anda)