Serasa Beach, a tourist attraction?

I was reading an article in our local newspaper not too long ago that Serasa beach with its pristine beach and serene surrounding is a tourist attraction. So at one weekend I brought my kids and wife to do our bit of KNK (Kenali Negara Ku, our tourism promo to encourage us explore our own backyard instead of going overseas).  When we were there, I was in for a bit of shock.  I wasn't sure if I would agree with the author of the article because what I saw was not exactly something that I would describe as pristine. There were all kinds rubbish strewn on both sides of the beaches and I had to say that the scene was appalling. With all the rubbish thrown all over the place, I couldn't believe that there were still kids and parents who would take a dip in the polluted water.  The question is who ought to be responsible in cleaning this up?

I am so soooo sorry

I cant forgive myself.  Today I made the cardinal sin of an irresponsible dad and be honest I wasnt really proud of it. I forgot to pick up my son alai syafiq after school! Today was his first day of real school after the 3 day orientation at the Maktab Sains. I am still trying to get used with the new routine of picking him up after school.  Before at his old school, it was my indon driver whom I relied on to send and pick up the kids from school with the exception of my 2 daughters who go to JIS.  So I was supposed to pick him at 5.30 pm after my badminton game but somehow my mind simply slipped.  I went back to my desk after the game as I had a few things to clear.  I am supposed to give a presentation this coming tuesday and I had to draft a few legal opinions which obviously I cant say much here as they are OSA.  so you can imagine that my mind was crisscrossing from one piece of work to another.  Little did I realise that the time flew as quickly as my feeble-mindedness  when my missus gave me a call if I had picked up my son. My heart pounded so fast because when my missus called I thought to myself  that I wouldnt be able to forgive myself if something bad happened to him as it was already almost 7 pm! When I arrived at the school, luckily there were two security guards who were waiting with my son. I was really so relieved that he was not alone. I was thanking the guards profusely and apologised to them for my lateness.  Obviously my son was very upset and I could see tears in his eyes. I told him how sorry I was and to make it up I bought him some cheese burgers at Jollibee just nearby.  I cant say how thankful I was to the security officers for allowing my son to use their handphone to call his mum.  This is one reason why I think students should be allowed to carry handphones for as long as they dont use them during lesson hours.  One possible option is for the class teacher to keep them in a safebox and return them to the students after school hours are over. I can understand that schools are reluctant to do this as this would add an extra  administrative burden to them and there is also the liability issue if the phones in their custody got stolen or damaged. I know there would be a lot more of other issues to resolve than the ones I mentioned. Another alternative is to provide a few public phones that the students can use to call important numbers like calling their forgetful dad!

Alai Syafiq's first day

The new year 2009 has somehow begun with nothing unusual.  My eldest son Alai Syafiq has begun his orientation week at his new school, Maktab Sains.  Missus and me attended his first day of school. Obviously he was very anxious.  As usual this is the time of the year that I will come up with my own list of new year resolutions. I actually had two wish-lists this year, my own personal one and one which I drew up for the office and published in our intranet. I won't publish the personal one here as it is personal but rest assured like any personal resolution it is a positive one.  I asked Kaka Amal, my eldest daughter to come up with hers which she posted in her blog poiseandlegs.blogspot.com.  Anyway, the dreaded traffic jams will hit the road as usual again as school days have begun after the long break..

Happy 2009

Happy 2009. May the new year bring more happiness and prosperity to all of us. Amin!

There is nothing permanent except change

His Majesty's Titah for the new Hijriah is all too clear.  We need to embrace change.  There are a lot of things that scare me  but our widespread apathy and complacency are amongst the ones that would scare me the most. The most common I am hearing is either "dont worry we have a lot of oil" or either this one.. "oh yeah, why worry, we have a lot of foreign reserves".  I was reading one forummer in Brudirect who said that Brunei is a heaven on earth with all the things that we have.  This nonchalant attitude really scares me

There are a few things that I am very certain and these include,

1.  Our oil is not an infinite resource. It will run out.

2.  The world will find a more efficient, clean and safe alternative source of energy.

3.  Our portfolio investments overseas will not guarantee jobs at home.

4.  The civil service cannot continue to expand and provide jobs for the locals.

5.  Inflation will continue to hit us.

If we need to embrace change, I would say it has to begin with our laid back attitude as if our current prosperity is a carte blanche from above.

stinky salad?

When my missus and I went shopping this afternoon, we stopped by at the food stalls to have an early dinner. Again I am sure this is another case of lost in translation.  But I am very sure a lot of people would think twice of ordering this dish. Unless of course you have the gut to stomach it :-)

For pet's sake, any name will do but this

We have a lil hamster and we named him tabby.  I suppose it is the most benign of all names for a pet. But would you call your pet with naughty sounding monicker like the one here? I am sure if your pets could talk back to you they would say "for pet's sake, any name will do but not this one" hehehehh