with bride and bridegroom, Shapx and Sri Kandy
Maswings, in Sibu
Comelnya!
Lembah Impian dinner, KK (alumni belanja)
gorgeous gals
gals doing the traditional music
Sarawak by the river
kek lapis yang popularIt is not something impossible to ill plan your trips to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu in a day and a half.
That was what done over the weekends.We forgot it's sch hols and were ignorant Sabah and Sarawak would have a long weekend starting May 30 (Harvest Festival).Naturally flights were fully booked.There was only one seat left so it had to go to me (my officer terpaksa tinggal).Dalam kecamukan fikiran (fume!fume!) I got lucky cos' a state Union leader sat next to me and we had fun talking about grievances at work! Hahaha.And I ended up enjoying the trip.He promised to introduce me to more union leaders.Bagus ni.I think if born another era, another country, I might be a communist. Oh ok, maybe a socialist.Hee3.
Sarawak
Although I was only doing a stopover for a few hours in Kuching (to lunch with our alumni there), we had a fruitful discussion about where we want to go.Banyaklah projek-projek kita harap dapat dijalankan.They are all doing very well in both government and private sectors.
Sempat pulak the ladies bawak I pi tempat buat Kek Lapis yang terkenal (ramai org2 terkemuka datang ke sini). The latest flavour is blueberry kek lapis.Sedap, awak! Berbungkus-bungkus saya beli untuk diagih-agihkan kepada sedara mara di Semenanjung.Different flavour.Alifah said flavour papaya tu sedap juga.Then there's chocolate layer. Tak larat nak pikul.
Sabah
Sebab flight penuh, I had to take the one which went to Sibu first. Wough, to get in and out Sarawak not easy you know? It's like travelling overseas.So many forms you have to fill in (what with the swine flu form although on the form it said only if you are entering Malaysia from overseas. We still had to fill it in although we flew from KL) Nak masuk isi form, nak keluarpun the form kena chop siap2.I dah lama tak pi Kuching and KK and can't really remember it was this kecoh (kalau transit in Sibu, lain pulak lorong nak mengechopnya.Kalau terus KK, lain) The guy at Sibu immigration ( I believe from Semenanjung) said, "Pelik, kan? Saya dulu pun rasa macam tu."
MASWings from KK to Sibu ni pun satu hal.Ada lagi this species of a plane? Hidup segan, mati tak mau.Very dirty, rude air stewardess as well.Mintak apple juice, dibaginya orange juice.Bila I tanya ini ke apple juice (I was innocent! Memang I was wondering without trying to be sarcastic), dihempas2nya gelas tu.Haram nak cakap sorry.Hmm..must write to Deris Jala.Masih ada sentimen bencikan orang Semenanjung ke? (I experienced this at the KK airport too, tempat collect luggage) but our Sabah alumni are the best of best (probably sebab depa good Muslims dan kita dah asuh at IIUM). Very tertib, bersopan santun.Salam cium tangan (for the ladies).
I arrived at about the same time with our guest speaker Prof Sidek Baba (although he flew direct from KL) so they took us to dinner at this great place called Lembah Impian Country Homes http://www.lembahimpian.com.my/ Macam kat Ing-ler or Scot-ler (bak kata Pakcik Soh, Nik's uncle) Good food, good conversations. Prof Sidek banyak cerita.He knows a lot. We were still talking about Syed Qutb and Hassan Al Banna jadi ahli freemason as claimed by Dr Omar.
Our alumni in KK (as also in Kuching) are all well-positioned in the society.Top lawyers, top bankers and telecommunicationists.One of them is Political Secretary to Sabah CM.BAR graduate.Hebatnya! BAR means you specialise in Arab language and literature, you know.Don't play2.These grads are everywhere in the world now: kerja kat Embassy, PTD, etc.But you tengoklah kita punya teaching staff of Arabic Dept pun..PhDs from SOAS, London...don't play-play.
Anyway, we stayed at Promenade. Not as good as the last time I stayed there..oh wait..I was at Sutera Harbour..not Promenade,Nik yang suka sangat Promenade. I updated him. Toilet tak leh flush, bau busuk.Staff tak friendly (although some are), if you go on government rate, they do not include breakfast (you have to buy extra) so I wrote a complaint (champion of complaints..kalau ada position in any company to trouble shoot problems,I fit in well!) and gave them my feedback:
hotels usually rely a lot on government trainings/meetings.Patut depa respect la sikit government civil servants sebab kasi hidup biz depa..ini tak..knowing there's guaranteed money, they want to squeeze every single sen. I told them, hotel lain bagi b/fast although on government rate (in fact, some are so good, they give extra attractions).Sekarang kalau semua orang tau Promenade buat macam ni, mesti depa tak mau pilih hotel ni.Sebab dia berkira sangat dgn kakitangan kerajaan (although IIUM is not kerajaan but we signed up for government rate and the same would apply for all government offices).
Sabah Chapter launch: May 31.I thought it went very well although the organising comm said they planned it in less than 2 months.Prof Sidek spoke on Islamophobia.I launched the chapter (first time! So yes, I got to say the famous line, "Dengan lafaz bismillah..saya rasmikan pelancaran Sabah Chapter..tahniah dan well done!" ...ada gimmick lagi...wough...ingatkan simple ceremony je (the main purpose was the talk, I thought).So I pressed some launching button, Quran keluar from somewhere and I had to cut ribbon some more...rasa macam CM pulak. Hahaha.
At lunch, more discussions (kita ni serious people.Lunch discussions kita bukan pasal cuaca).Yup, Sabah alumni are a different breed...committed to our philosophy of education.Yang kita suka they are everywhere: on both sides.Ketua Pemuda UMNO pun mereka, ketua pemuda PKR pun mereka juga..tetapi boleh duduk semeja, bergurau senda.Prof Kamal once advised them: rise above party politics and embrace kepentingan sejagat.
Pasar Filipina tu tak appealing sangat (I have so many pearls already at home) but udang kering is cheap here so kita pun pergi kejap.Beli la apa yang patut for family at home( I bosan nak bawak barang2 ni so kena beli bag extra nak angkut buah salak, buah mempelam.Hai..macam pi pekan sari le pulak!)
Flight to KL a bit delayed but not much.Dah janji Nik we'd rush to Shapx's wedding.We got there around 10 pm.Saw Sabeera at the car park, leaving and she kata eh? you leaving or arriving? :))
Nasib majlis belum selesai.Ini org kata rezeki.There was one whole table untouched so kita pun settled in nicely.Managed to speak to kedua mempelai.Sempat la bergambar2.Shapx and I went a long way (Asia-Pac Festival) and friends made out of the Festival (like Sabeera, Francis, Louis of Costa Rica, Busakorn of Chulalongkorn) last sampai hari ini.
Hari ni I have to cuti (June 1) Nak rest but Anidah is in town.Maybe I'll meet her for lunch at Subang Parade or something.
That was what done over the weekends.We forgot it's sch hols and were ignorant Sabah and Sarawak would have a long weekend starting May 30 (Harvest Festival).Naturally flights were fully booked.There was only one seat left so it had to go to me (my officer terpaksa tinggal).Dalam kecamukan fikiran (fume!fume!) I got lucky cos' a state Union leader sat next to me and we had fun talking about grievances at work! Hahaha.And I ended up enjoying the trip.He promised to introduce me to more union leaders.Bagus ni.I think if born another era, another country, I might be a communist. Oh ok, maybe a socialist.Hee3.
Sarawak
Although I was only doing a stopover for a few hours in Kuching (to lunch with our alumni there), we had a fruitful discussion about where we want to go.Banyaklah projek-projek kita harap dapat dijalankan.They are all doing very well in both government and private sectors.
Sempat pulak the ladies bawak I pi tempat buat Kek Lapis yang terkenal (ramai org2 terkemuka datang ke sini). The latest flavour is blueberry kek lapis.Sedap, awak! Berbungkus-bungkus saya beli untuk diagih-agihkan kepada sedara mara di Semenanjung.Different flavour.Alifah said flavour papaya tu sedap juga.Then there's chocolate layer. Tak larat nak pikul.
Sabah
Sebab flight penuh, I had to take the one which went to Sibu first. Wough, to get in and out Sarawak not easy you know? It's like travelling overseas.So many forms you have to fill in (what with the swine flu form although on the form it said only if you are entering Malaysia from overseas. We still had to fill it in although we flew from KL) Nak masuk isi form, nak keluarpun the form kena chop siap2.I dah lama tak pi Kuching and KK and can't really remember it was this kecoh (kalau transit in Sibu, lain pulak lorong nak mengechopnya.Kalau terus KK, lain) The guy at Sibu immigration ( I believe from Semenanjung) said, "Pelik, kan? Saya dulu pun rasa macam tu."
MASWings from KK to Sibu ni pun satu hal.Ada lagi this species of a plane? Hidup segan, mati tak mau.Very dirty, rude air stewardess as well.Mintak apple juice, dibaginya orange juice.Bila I tanya ini ke apple juice (I was innocent! Memang I was wondering without trying to be sarcastic), dihempas2nya gelas tu.Haram nak cakap sorry.Hmm..must write to Deris Jala.Masih ada sentimen bencikan orang Semenanjung ke? (I experienced this at the KK airport too, tempat collect luggage) but our Sabah alumni are the best of best (probably sebab depa good Muslims dan kita dah asuh at IIUM). Very tertib, bersopan santun.Salam cium tangan (for the ladies).
I arrived at about the same time with our guest speaker Prof Sidek Baba (although he flew direct from KL) so they took us to dinner at this great place called Lembah Impian Country Homes http://www.lembahimpian.com.my/ Macam kat Ing-ler or Scot-ler (bak kata Pakcik Soh, Nik's uncle) Good food, good conversations. Prof Sidek banyak cerita.He knows a lot. We were still talking about Syed Qutb and Hassan Al Banna jadi ahli freemason as claimed by Dr Omar.
Our alumni in KK (as also in Kuching) are all well-positioned in the society.Top lawyers, top bankers and telecommunicationists.One of them is Political Secretary to Sabah CM.BAR graduate.Hebatnya! BAR means you specialise in Arab language and literature, you know.Don't play2.These grads are everywhere in the world now: kerja kat Embassy, PTD, etc.But you tengoklah kita punya teaching staff of Arabic Dept pun..PhDs from SOAS, London...don't play-play.
Anyway, we stayed at Promenade. Not as good as the last time I stayed there..oh wait..I was at Sutera Harbour..not Promenade,Nik yang suka sangat Promenade. I updated him. Toilet tak leh flush, bau busuk.Staff tak friendly (although some are), if you go on government rate, they do not include breakfast (you have to buy extra) so I wrote a complaint (champion of complaints..kalau ada position in any company to trouble shoot problems,I fit in well!) and gave them my feedback:
hotels usually rely a lot on government trainings/meetings.Patut depa respect la sikit government civil servants sebab kasi hidup biz depa..ini tak..knowing there's guaranteed money, they want to squeeze every single sen. I told them, hotel lain bagi b/fast although on government rate (in fact, some are so good, they give extra attractions).Sekarang kalau semua orang tau Promenade buat macam ni, mesti depa tak mau pilih hotel ni.Sebab dia berkira sangat dgn kakitangan kerajaan (although IIUM is not kerajaan but we signed up for government rate and the same would apply for all government offices).
Sabah Chapter launch: May 31.I thought it went very well although the organising comm said they planned it in less than 2 months.Prof Sidek spoke on Islamophobia.I launched the chapter (first time! So yes, I got to say the famous line, "Dengan lafaz bismillah..saya rasmikan pelancaran Sabah Chapter..tahniah dan well done!" ...ada gimmick lagi...wough...ingatkan simple ceremony je (the main purpose was the talk, I thought).So I pressed some launching button, Quran keluar from somewhere and I had to cut ribbon some more...rasa macam CM pulak. Hahaha.
At lunch, more discussions (kita ni serious people.Lunch discussions kita bukan pasal cuaca).Yup, Sabah alumni are a different breed...committed to our philosophy of education.Yang kita suka they are everywhere: on both sides.Ketua Pemuda UMNO pun mereka, ketua pemuda PKR pun mereka juga..tetapi boleh duduk semeja, bergurau senda.Prof Kamal once advised them: rise above party politics and embrace kepentingan sejagat.
Pasar Filipina tu tak appealing sangat (I have so many pearls already at home) but udang kering is cheap here so kita pun pergi kejap.Beli la apa yang patut for family at home( I bosan nak bawak barang2 ni so kena beli bag extra nak angkut buah salak, buah mempelam.Hai..macam pi pekan sari le pulak!)
Flight to KL a bit delayed but not much.Dah janji Nik we'd rush to Shapx's wedding.We got there around 10 pm.Saw Sabeera at the car park, leaving and she kata eh? you leaving or arriving? :))
Nasib majlis belum selesai.Ini org kata rezeki.There was one whole table untouched so kita pun settled in nicely.Managed to speak to kedua mempelai.Sempat la bergambar2.Shapx and I went a long way (Asia-Pac Festival) and friends made out of the Festival (like Sabeera, Francis, Louis of Costa Rica, Busakorn of Chulalongkorn) last sampai hari ini.
Hari ni I have to cuti (June 1) Nak rest but Anidah is in town.Maybe I'll meet her for lunch at Subang Parade or something.
5 comments:
Dr F! u were in Kuching but you did not meet up with me! I would love to meet up with other alumni and discuss things too:(
halamak! macamana boleh terlupa! It was very rushed.We had booked 2 tables so 20 people could easily fit.My apologies.I langsung terlupa I have my own babies in Kuching! Next time, I'll beep you.I met Shamsul in KK.Dia cakap dia BENL 1997.Dah berubah..susah nak kenal.He was carrying his baby! :))
Alumni 1997? wow;) no wonder he has a baby already..well, u can be rest assured that if u meet any of us BENL 2008 now (i think ada dua jer), we would not be carrying any baby just yet:)
DO keep me posted on any alumni activities, though. I am pining and longing for a bit of IIUM here in Kuching. I could even meet u up with Mr Patrick Yeoh again:)
You have a chapter about to be registered with ROS.Cuba contact any one of them.Nanti I cuba dapatkan their contacts and will email you.
Alright. Thanks!
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