Lawatan ke MINT

Pagi-pagi lagi aku kena pergi ke MINT untuk tengok kemudahan penyelidikan di sana. Tempatnya menarik, di atas bukit, di tengah hutan dikelilingi pokok kelapa sawit. Agaknya rimau pun masih merayau dalam hutan tu.

Pusat penyelidikan itu agak canggih. Banyak tapak dan bangunan baru sedang dibuka. Dalam perjalanan ke tapak, lori-lori sedang mengangkut tanah ke sana-sini. Bukit ditarah untuk pembangunan. Pembinaan sedang rancak dijalankan. Malah kalau dilihat keadaan jalan di sana, mungkin tempat yang kami pergi itu masih belum diserahkan kepada tuan punya (belum comissioned).

… Malam tadi sekali lagi aku terpaksa tidur lewat. Aku menghabiskan masa untuk membaca arahan dan mengisi borang cukai pendapatan untuk tahun taksiran 2004. Tarikh akhir untuk hantar borang BE ialah 30 April, hari sabtu ini. Sudah dua malam aku selongkar kotak dan almari untuk mencari semula resit-resit pembelian buku, resit zakat dan sebagainya yang aku buat tahun lepas.

Sistem terbaru yang diperkenalkan tahun ini ialah Sistem Taksir Sendiri. Ia memerlukan sedikit masa sebelum pembayar cukai selesa dengan kaedah baru ini. Tidak seperti tahun lepas-lepas, resit asal tidak perlu disertakan dengan borang BE dan ia perlu disimpan selama 7 tahun untuk disemak jika diminta oleh LHDNM. Akhirnya Malaysia juga sudah berubah kepada sistem yang lebih berlandaskan ketelusan dan kejujuran...

My car tyres blew up

Early yesterday morning, I blew up two of my car tyres after falling into a big hole in the middle of a busy road going to city centre. I guess I was unfortunate because I never took that road. I wanted to avoid paying expensive parking charges if I took the road that I usually use. But I ended up paying for two tyres and expensive labour charges to the mechanics. I can’t understand why such a gaping hole can exist in the middle of city road. According to the workshop owner, there were other cases – two at least – in the past few days. And they all ended up in her workshop because it was closest to the scene. If I was riding a motorbike I could end up dead underneath somebody’s car. Based on my own quick look, I think the hole was formed by a defective grating on a manhole on the road. It looked deceiving because at first I thought there was nothing wrong with the grating. Only when I came closer did I realize that there was a big hole in it, and by that time I did not have time to avoid it. The tyres went into the hole, hit the sharp broken metal grating and went flat. Two holes were punched into each of them and there was nothing I could do except replace them with new ones. I apologized to my host for being late for our meeting.

Meeting old friend

Last Wednesday (20-4-2005) I met one of my seniors at university. He is now teaching geology at a university in the north of the country. He came to my place on a consultancy project for the geology people. Met him last year but at that time we did not have enough time to talk longer. It's been close to 15 years since we went our own ways to pursue our dreams. He got his doctorate while I fell short by one level. Didn't know he liked teaching, research and engaging in intellectual discussions. Things that I also share. We spent some time catching up with old times. Yes, we went separate ways on our career path, but we still share a lot of things in common.

He was inclined to religion and still is. Good mix I think. A PhD in science and a deep interest in religion. We need this type of people in today's world. A balance between material side and spirituality. Somebody who can offer some thoughts on how to see things from both angles.

He is supervising several post-graduate students and one of them is from Libya. I guess post-9/11, people from Middle East began to look to the Far East in many areas including education. That's good. We need support from them. It's time that they invested their money in this part of the world.

Trip to PMO

Had to wake up very early today to catch a plane to KT. Arrived at the airport about 35 minutes from departure time and found long queue waiting to check in. I did not expect the line would be that long but they told me it was usual for early morning flights. Half an hour before flight, the latecomers were called to go through an express counter. I was not going to be left behind after all.

The plane was packed full with what looked to me like business people on a day trip just like me. The take off was delayed because the plane also had to line up and wait for its turn. I grabbed a paper on the way in and found myself engrossed in reading when the plane was eventually cleared to fly.

The journey took about an hour. It was smooth and the weather was fine. It touched down at about 8.45 am. The airport itself is small. No match with the huge KLIA. But a signboard informed visitors that that would soon change. A new airport is going to be built. I think it’s about time. It’s about time that people from this part of the country saw some decent infrastructure. It looks possible now that the politics here has changed to be aligned with the federal government. Along the way, I saw new development projects springing up like mushrooms. Good for the local people. In the past, development in this oil rich state has not caught up with the rest of the country. Not much evidence of the 5% oil royalty. But hopefully this time, the money does not concentrate into just a few hands. They should not repeat the same mistakes of the past.

The coastal road from the airport to my destination is long, sometimes winding between the hills. I was in no mood to enjoy the view. There was something that I had to read. I was on the third page when I suddenly slipped into dreamland. The early morning rush to the airport eventually got the better of me. I was forced to compensate it with some rest. ZZZzzz

My new home

I like Sunday mornings. I can sleep a little longer than usual and wake up to enjoy breakfast in my home kitchen. I can read the Sunday paper, or Reader’s Digest at my own lazy pace. I don’t have to rush to take my kid to school. There is no need to beat the traffic jam. Just one whole day of free time to do whatever I like.

I moved to my own house one month ago after so many years living in rented property. I spent some money widening the kitchen, installing kitchen cabinet, plaster ceilings and dining lights. Even with my less than perfect colour differentiating capability, I tried to get matching colours – or at least what appear to me as fitting.

Moving into own house does not happen everyday and it’s worth the effort to make it comfortable and pleasant to look at. There is still poorly done paintwork that’s waiting to be re-done. My contractor friend has promised to fix it free of charge. The kitchen fan has to be repaired because of a leak coming from a dislocated tile on the roof after recent very heavy rain. The old 200 ringgit dining table is still waiting for something better, perhaps marble, to take over its job. The faithful fridge, bought when I was still single, has been doing good job for close to 8 years. But now it is begging to retire, tired of being packed full every time we go shopping. The stove, a relic of my town house days, seems to do its job better now that it’s accompanied by a smoke exhaust fan fitted into the kitchen cabinet.

The list of things to do is even longer for the living room. There is not a single picture or decoration hung on the wall yet. It gives me time to admire the empty space and consider the many ways of how I can make it beautiful. Every day after office, I stare at it as if offloading all the burden of work and pouring it onto the virgin wall. Only four of the ten down light bulbs are still working after one month of service. The first blew up within days of our move. I feel like I have been conned by the saleswoman. They were all made in China, just like almost everything else these days. Even famous names like Phillips and Panasonic can’t help but outsourcing their manufacturing there. There is some space for another set of sofa. I am thinking of filling it with some teak furniture but that can only come if my employer is kind enough to give me some bonus in a few months’ time. That teak set has to compete for money with a display cabinet under the stairs, however. I saw in one of the other houses, a very elegantly done display cabinet under the stairs going up to first floor. Instantly I fell in love. I’d told myself I would order one for my home. I need something to take my sight off from the ugliness of the corners under the stairs. Then again, I better spend my money on nice curtains. They are windows to the outside, blocking the punishing afternoon sunrays and shielding my privacy from the people passing by.

It’s ironic. When I was small, I used to live in wooden house and used to dream one day I would be living in concrete walls. Now, I prefer many of my house stuff to be made out of wood. Except that I can’t afford all of them. Only last week I spent quite a sum of money to put on some awning on the first floor balcony. The awning, just like almost everything else in the house is copied from my next door neighbours. But, while they spent more than 100 thousand on renovation, I can only afford a fraction of that. He’s a businessman with auto workshop specializing in service and repair of Mercedes. I am only a wage earner.

My home is about three quarters up a hill somewhere about 30 km from KL. One hot night I went outside and took a look at the lights from houses in the valley below the hills. It was so beautiful, quite and peaceful. My mind took me back to my old kampong. It was nice to live there. My grandmother, the only close living relative I have there, visited me some weeks back. After some weeks she could not wait to get back to the kampong although she was going to be alone there. My brother and I persuaded her to stay a little longer. I could not understand why she was in a hurry to get back home. But slowly I realized that after some time your home becomes part of you. The furniture as well as the living people in it become the context in which you live. They give meaning to your life. That night, after seeing the beautiful stars, hearing the distant noises from cars on the highway below, feeling the cool night breeze flowing among the trees, I began to realize that, despite the nostalgia of twenty years living in a village, I am going to settle down here. This house is now my new home.


Sunday
17 April 2005

Second day at this

Hurrying to take my kid to school this morning...but once we got to the school gate she told me she only got one shoe. The other one was left at home. Arggggg! Tension. How could this happen to me. My kid was late for school and then I was in danger of arriving late to work.

Luckily the newly built highway from home to office is superb. 10 minutes and I was swiping my card at the office gate. Still got time to send this blog. Back to work.

Terima Kasih Arif Aiti

Dalam perjalanan ke tempat kerja hari ini aku dengar Nasional FM. Encik Arif Aiti spoke on how to create a blog. So I am trying now to create one...if it works a big thank you to En Arif Aiti.