10 Years Bond; How Bad Could It Be?

It’s been a while since I last wrote here, in my so called digital diary. Its not that I don’t want to write. I have a lot of things in mind to be written, but it just happens that I fail to get it written. Even my wordpress blog has been quite silent these days. Beforee the election, I was too busy to have time to update. Post-election, got some time, but still failing to write. Sorry, if I let some of you readers down. Trying to be a die-hard-blogger!

So, this post topic may sound familiar to some of you. Especially those who studied with me in UTP (Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS). It is more related to the PETRONAS so called scholarship. I don’t understand why some still call it PETRONAS scholarship when the truth is it’s not a scholarship. The correct phrase is PETRONAS convertable LOAN. By that, it means, those who thinks that they are PETRONAS scholar, you should rephrase it to be PETRONAS LOANERS!

While MARA sponsorred student need to pay only 1% if they score 3.0 and above, PETRONAS LOANERS need to pay 10% even if they score 3.5 and above. 1% of MARA loan is only RM800 while 10% of PETRONAS loan is already RM10000++. If you score between 3.0 to 3.5, you need to pay 20% and the list goes on. Well, you only can pay those amount if you are released by PETRONAS, which you virtually would not get.

So, that leaves a PETRONAS LOANER with only two option. Work with PETRONAS for 10 years (as per agreement) or pay back RM100K back. Some in PETRONAS said that you have to pay the RM100K in 14 days, but a source in ESU said you’ll need to pay RM100K++ in 10 years time. Which means, roughly, RM850++ per month, which I presume, crazy!

Than, most people would ask back, how bad could working with PETRONAS be? I don’t know because I never worked in PETRONAS. You get a starting salary of RM2500, a technical allowance of up to RM1000 per month after one year working experiance, up to six month bonus, travel allowance which could be up to thousands RM per trip, ‘fantastic’ meals after meetings etc. Again, how bad could that be?!

And again, I don’t know! I don’t even have a clue of how ‘rich’ I could get.

Than, most will say, just work with PETRONAS lah. You get rich fast what. PETRONAS rich what. And bla bla bla. I’m speechless!

Some don’t really care of what they do as long as they get paid a handsome amount of money per month. Some, which is a minority, works because they love the work. Its called passion. I’m not so sure which category I’m in. I am choosy when it comes to the work I do, and I do want to be paid handsomely. But one thing for sure, I don’t like working with a bond of 10 years.

It makes me quite confuse. While PETRONAS is far richer than MARA, MARA still only ask 1% or 10% back from the total amount they gave. PETRONAS on the hand, ask 10% to 100%. Some officer from PETRONAS claim that they are ’sponsoring’ student as part of a social obligation. And it further confuse me, is asking back for their money also part of social contribution?

Ok, some will argue, don’t I know how to pay back the good deed? In the early days, loans were converted to scholarship if you graduate with flying colours. Its like a token of appreciation. A gift for the hard work you did. Nowadays, most sponsors are still generous enough to maintain that concept. But not for PETRONAS.

Ok fine, some will say, I signed the agreement in the first place. Yes, stupid me. I did. Money can often make you blind. Most of us were blind in the first place. Getting RM500 per month, RM3500 to buy a computer and RM800 per year to buy books. Isn’t that far better than good? Now even MARA gives RM5000 to buy a computer. Funny…

Well, if some of you don’t know yet, the new agreement for the new PETRONAS loaners have changed. They get RM750 per month now since the price hike have caused most students to suffer. But, the most interesting part is that you get bonded for 15 years! Good what. Working in a big, establish company. Handsomely paid too.

A friend of mine said that this is a human’s right violation. Never heard of such a bond. 15 years. Don’t know where you’ll be when you finish you 15 years term.

Anyway, can’t say much now. Sooner or later I’ll be called by PETRONAS. Can’t afford to pay back RM100K++ in 10 years. Better just enjoy the 10 years in PETRONAS (considering some say PETRONAS pay is good!). Well, you can always run away if you are brave enough. I don’t have the guts yet.

And if you guys still think PETRONAS pay is nice, think again. Try to do some research and you will find the total opposite. But again, try to be LOYAL to PETRONAS. Its not that bad after all. Lol~

P/s - Hope this post is not considerred as BOC = Breach of Contract.

The No-Work-To-Do Sickness

It's been nearly two month now, working as a Piping Engineer in an international company based in The Netherlands. Most people said I'm lucky because I get to work early. Maybe earliest because I only manage to tanam anggur for 1 week. Some people said I shouldn't accept the offer. Relax at home firstlah! Once you are working, you can just dream of having weeks of holiday. Many also asked about my scholarship status. Am I willing to not work with such a famous company in Malaysia. A branded company that you can see nearly everywhere. Why choose a company that very few have heard. Some even joked with me saying that my company's name is almost the same as Indah Water and thought that I was doing pipelines for s*it. What ever! It doesn’t matter much to me…

However, it struck me to realize that as days pass by, I'm getting more bored than ever. Its hard to find anything more interesting to do. I nearly got a project to start with this week, but I couldn't get anyone to install an important software in my computer. How hard could that be? How funny does it sound anyway. A simple installation of a software takes two month. Interesting huh? I wonder how long would the installation of the project itself would take...

Never the less, I'm glad to be here. At least everyday I manage to learn something new. Sometimes it's only one new phrase. But still, I learned something day after day. Some lesson are positive, some are negative. And I'm still hoping to learn more. I've gone through some ASME, ISO and API standards which I refuse to go through during my intern (due to my laziness). I read and went through various projects, reading the input and output of the simulation. Some caused me headaches. Some caused me to go to the toilet and wash my face. I believe I'm going through a very interesting phase; the adaptation phase or what so ever it is called.

In my first month of work, I usually go home and continued the boringness at home. I have no room mates. No friends staying with me. But I'm lucky enough to have a house mate which is an ustaz. After work, I go home, eat and sleep. That was my first month. My second month got quite interesting. This time, most of my free time was occupied with meetings and programs organised by DPPWP (figure it out by yourself). Some meetings were so sudden such as last night. I got a SMS at 7 pm for a meeting at 9 pm and the location was quite far from home. Nicely manage huh?

Despite the fact that I hate such horrible manage meeting and program, I enjoyed most of it. At least I can try to contribute some of my expertise (if any). And also, I won't be so boring alone at home which caused me to sleep as early as 10 pm. Sometimes a sleep at 1 am or 2 am. Usually I try to sleep before midnight because I don't want to be drinking to cups of coffee the next morning (which I was 'forced' to do once after sleeping at 3 am).

My routines have been changing a lot now. I have after-work-work which have deadlines to meet. I have meetings and discussion which I hope will benefit the society as a whole. And most important, I have the opportunity to contribute to Islam and hope that my deeds will be given pahala by ALLAH s.w.t.. My latest task was something I like most, but also something which I find very challenging. Many people knows that I like to write, to be specific, to blog. I never did expect that my hobby will one day become my after-work-work which will be published on paper an distributed to thousands or readers. I never did think I will be given this great opportunity. The '"expect the unexpected" really impress me…

I hope that I could manage this new exciting task at my best. And I hope that my writings, my contribution will struck the readers to create a change. And I hope that all of you will pray together with me so that I will be given ideas (ilham) and manage to write the ideas on paper. Insya-Allah, if possible, I will share my team's first publication.

Till then… The best is yet to come (borrowed from Shahira…).

Musafir Kelana

Sejak Bila Pergaulan 'Bebas' Perlu Digalakkan?

Sejak kecoh di beberapa akhbar tentang kes pengasingan pelajar lelaki dan perempuan di SMK Seremban Jaya (Seremban) dan SMK Hillcrest (Gombak), isu ini terus dimanipulasikan oleh beberapa parti politik dan juga kumpulan hak asasi manusia yang agak anti-Islam.

Jika dilihat kes di SMK Seremban Jaya, setelah aduan dibuat oleh beberapa ibu bapa non-muslim dan juga pertubuhan mereka, maka dengan sepantas kilat, menteri besarnya yang tidak famous turun ke sekolah dan memberi arahan supaya dicampurkan kembali; tanpa berbincang dengan pihak pentadbiran mahupun PIBG sekolah tersebut. Walhal, konsep pengasingan tersebut telah dibahaskan dan dipersetujuai sewaktu mesyuarat PIBG tahun sebelumnya. Malah pengetua sekolah tersebut juga tidak dibawa berbincang memandangkan beliau sedang menunaikan haji. Maka yang bermain di fikiran majoriti rakyat, sudah semestinya tindakan si MB tersebut berbau politik. Yalah, PRU makin dekat, dan ura-ura mengatakan MB akan digantikan oleh Khairy makin meliar. Siapa tak risau?

Cuma itulah. Kalau ya pun risau, cubalah bawak berunding dengan pihak PIBG sekolah tersebut. Lihat kenapa konsep tersebut diperkenalkan. Bukan main bertindak membabi buta (walaupun Negeri Sembilan banyak babi). PIBG punya rational tersendiri. Tindakan dibuat memandangkan kes disiplin yang agak teruk. Pelajar lelaki selalu menganggu pelajar perempuan, sekaligus menyebabkan pembelajaran terganggu. Salahkah mengasingkan mereka demi untuk pembelajaran yang lebih berkesan?

Saya sendiri berasal dari sekolah sejantina, dan saya tidak merasakan wujud sebarang masalah akibat ketiadaan kaum hawa. Malah langsung tidak ada pelajar perempuan, bukan diasingkan. Alhamdulillah, saya berjaya ke alam pekerjaan dengan mudah. Begitu juga sahabat-sahabat sesekolah saya. Malah tak salah andainya saya mengatakan bahawa sekolah sejantina biasanya lebih cemerlang daripada sekolah campur. Lihat sahaja sekolah seperti Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah, Sekolah Tun Fatimah, SDAR, STAR, TKC, MCKK dan lain-lain. Biasanya sekolah beginilah yang berada pada ranking top 10 PMR dan SPM.

Tidakkah ini membuktikan tiada masalah tidak bergaul dengan berlainan jantina? Malah sebaliknya, prestasinya cemerlang sekali. Pelajar tidak berpeluang untuk bercinta monyet. Tidak perlu menghabiskan masa dengan dating dan sembang-sembang yang tak berguna. Duit jimat kerana tak perlu belanja si dia. Fokus hanya kepada study dan menjadi manusia berguna. Namun bila sahaja masuk ke kampus yang bercampur segalanya, mulalah jadi tak keruan. Berkepit sana sini. Pelajaran entah ke mana. Duit melayang pula. Last-last, jadi manusia haprak yang tak guna.

Dan isu pengasingan ini berterusan lagi. Akhbar TheSun terus mengapi-apikan suasana. Diasaknya menteri dan UMNO yang entah apa-apa. Kali ini, dituduhnya buku teks darjah dua mengajar budak-budak perkara yang tak betul. Walhal nasihat, "Bataskan pergaulan antara lelaki dan perempuan", merupakan ajaran Islam yang mulia. Malah mengajar pelajar untuk membasuh kemaluan selepas membuang air kecil mahupun besar, berpakaian yang tidak mencolokkan mata, memperkenalkan kawan-kawan kepada ibu bapa, dan meminta izin untuk melakukan sebarang aktiviti dikira tidak molek dek mata mereka. Salahkan menjaga kebersihan diri dan menghormati orang tua? Walaupun mungkin majoriti Melayu melihat ia sekadar adat, tapi bagi saya ia bukan sekadar adat tapi sebahagian ajaran Rasul junjungan tercinta.

Nah, kini kita menanti komen menteri UMNO dan Barisan National. Kalau bernasib baik, mungkin Pak Lah terbaca akhbar hari ini. Tapi biasanya, dia hanya tau tidur dan buang duit rakyat sahaja. Kepada orang Melayu dan Islam yang masih sayangkan agama dan bangsa, jangan tunduk dek tuntutan yang gila. Dalam kes ini, biarlah mati anak, jangan mati adat. Biarlah anak-anak tak dapat bergaul bebas, asalkan Islam terus dijunjung. Yang penting bukan pandangan manusia, tapi pandangan Allah yang Maha Esa.

Sama-samalah berdoa moga maruah Islam terjaga dan dipulihara. Di zaman yang muda mudi rosak belaka, moga kita menjadi insan yang terpelihara.

Wallahualam

Salam Secebis Kesalan Segunung Harapan…

Musafir Kelana

Being Victim of Nonsenseness

I don't even know if such a word call 'nonsenseness' exist, but that’s the only thing I have in mind for such a stupid thing.

Last two weeks, I was caught in a heavy rain storm. I couldn’t go back home, so I went to Amcorp Mall, just to window shopping while waiting for the rain to stop. My phone's battery is very low, due to my heavy usage (calls, messaging, 3G and etc.). My sister called me, but we didn't talk for long since my battery went empty less than a minute starting our conversation. Damn! I felt very irritated. It never happened to me before, when I was using my Sony Ericsson K300i. The battery usually stands for 4 to 5 days. Amazing for such a basic phone.

Since I was so irritated, I went searching for an extra battery. I forgot that most stuff here (Amcorp Mall) are way more expensive than Low Yat or elsewhere. At that time, I was only thinking of finding an extra battery, for emergency purposes. One shop sold only Avax original which cost RM280. RM280 just for a battery? No way! So I continue searching, and one shop offered RM80 for an AP-original battery. Well, he claimed it to be original, just AP. I saw the hologram, but didn’t remember the exact way to authencate the hologram. So, I foolishly believe that it was AP-original. I went to the ATM, with drew some money, I paid for the battery.

After 2 weeks testing the battery, and doing some research, I realize that I was fooled. The hologram was such a lie. It look very different compared to the actual one. And worst, it last only a few hours. Sometimes only 3 hours after using 3G at a low data consumption. This was absurd. Yesterday, I went back to claim for warranty, but unfortunately no stock available. Have to wait. Don’t know how long. Only than I realize how stupid it was to buy something in Amcorp Mall. How stupid to trust such claim.

So, here I am, with no extra batteries. Waiting for the so called warranty claim. Googling through various website, I found out that I can buy original battery as cheap as RM60. the hologram is exactly the same, and the code on the hologram can be authencated. RM20 cheaper than the claimed original battery. Isn't it tenseful to be cheated while knowing that you are kind of being cheated? I did think the shop was lying, but the anxiety to have an extra battery caused me to lose my rationality.

Next time, don't buy any IT or electrical stuff at Amcorp Mall. The price is way to high, and most are fake. I knew it from the very first day going there, but just didn't bother to listen. Now I have to pay for my stubborn act. Lol~

Musafir Kelana

Mapping On The Move

Yesterday, after updating this wonderful blog of mine, I tried playing around with Wikimapia which was introduced to me by one of my fellow blogger, Shahira. Before, I never had some ample time to play around with the Wikimapia. It was posted in Shahira's blog for nearly a month, and only now I was trying the so-interesting-website she suggested to us reader. And I have to agree, it was so damn interesting. I was exploring the map around my house in PJ and also some place in KL. Than, I suddenly went thinking; is there any software such as Wikimapia for a mobile device?

It was only than things got even more interesting. After Googling for a few second, I found a software called MGmaps. It’s a Symbian software, replicating various maps such as Yahoo! Maps, Google Map, MSN what so ever. I download it to my phone, and install it within minutes. So, I tried the software anxiously. It was interesting. Very! How ever, I realize that the map wasn't so beautiful. Despite saying to replicate Yahoo! Maps and etc., it didn't for my case. I only manage to access Yahoo! Map which to me, is not very clear. Anyway, it is still interesting.

Feeling desperate to find a better software, one that really gives me access to Google Map, I start Googling again. Using 'Google Map Mobile', I manage to find a Google Map specially developed for such people like me. I installed the software and start enjoying such a nice virtual map of anywhere in the world (excluding Israel…). I found the application to be quite heavy, running on a slow phone like my N73. It also juice out my battery within less than an hour. After some interesting exploration, I stopped. Maybe I'll play around with it again at night…

After falling asleep just after the Maghreb prayer, I woke up at 9.30 to perform the Isyak prayer and prepared to go for a meeting. On the way, I tried to use the Google Map, just to see if it will help. How ever, the internet connection was quite slow all of a sudden. The application suddenly crashed, I my phone was in the 'hang mode'. I restart my phone, and try to run the application again, still, no luck. After some boring repetitive test, I removed the application and went to download the application again. This time using the phone browser, not the Opera Mini which caused Google not to detect my phone model. Google detected my phone model as Nokia N73 and I manage to download the right version.

This version was lighter than the previous one I installed. The interface was a bit smoother, and it never did crashed. I was happy with this version. Just the was I expected. And there was something more interesting, it had a feature called 'My Location'. At first, I thought it was meant for GPA devices, but I was wrong. It manage to show my location quite accurately, at Lebuhraya Mahameru. I was impressed! It must have detected the transceiver I used for my connection. So now, using this software, I can track my location, and view it in the map. It's impressive to see how technology advancement can be very amusing…

After thinking for a while, I believe its worth it to have an unlimited 3G package. Everything at my finger tip. From news, blogging, instant messenger and also mapping. I wonder if I should register for an izzinet package which can only be used by computers? And certainly I'm not thinking of having both; 3G and izzinet. That would cause me a lot of money. Never the less, I still received a RM300 bill from Celcom last month, only to notice that Celcom recorded my internet usage wrongly. So it's not so overwhelming to know that in the Altantuya case, Celcom provided inconsistent data. Maybe that's how Celcom survive… Making people pay extra since most people just pay, without understanding if they really did use what they had to pay. Lucky me, my complaint was handled with care.

So, till than for today. I hope I won't fell asleep in office. Last night, I slept at 1 am, and woke up at 5.50 am. I was fortunate not to miss the Subuh prayer at the masjid nearby. If everyone knew how big the reward of praying Subuh berjemaah, I believe all masjid will be full. Only than people will see Islam as a strong and respectable religion… Only time will tell…

Wallahualam~

Musafir Kelana

The Same Old Days...

Its been a while since I last scribbled out anything. Its not like I have nothing to write. I have loads to share, but I can't figure out a way of writing it down to make it interesting. I like to write, and I want to write with quality. Not just write anything which can be put together with a pile of junk, and still claim that that's my writing. No way… So, I had to figure out of something.

Today, it just came to me that I had to write. I can't leave my blog in an idle mode like hundreds or even thousands of other bloggers who in the end give up to write. I can't be like those typical bloggers who set up a blog just to try, promote and leave it like that, just because it's free. No! I won't let myself be like that. This blog must be updated atleast once a week. The best, once a day, which I doubt I could maintain for more than month, or even a week. So, here I am, trying to make sure my blog lives with what ever is left in my writing.

Enough about the boastful intro.

Cut the crap!

So, today, is yet another day. A day same like yesterday. Same like the day before yesterday. Same like last Friday and the days before it. The boring, lame old days which cause me boredness that could make me ill. I am again, sitting in the same seat, at the same desk, with the same monitor glaring in front of me. Several windows openned; trying to make myself occupied with work. It's funny to know that while my friends are sitting at home, waiting for their job offer, I'm in my office also waiting for any job offer. Both situation are boring, I believe. Only one difference there is, I get paid to sit in this office waiting for any jobs to be done. Lucky me!

Owh, last Sunday wasn't like some old boring days. I did something interesting which cause my body to ache until today. Last Sunday was the day, the day that I became a buruh kasar. On that important day, I gathered all my strength to demolish a wall. A wall that makes my 'garden' becomes so small that I can't hardly fine ample space to park my motorcycle. The job was a tough job. Using a hammer slightly smaller than my fist, I worked hard to demolish an unknown-purpose-wall. The demolishing of half the wall took me 1 hour (with the help of my housemate). The cleaning part took us 2 hours. We stop at 12 noon to be proud to see the half demolished wall.

Even though we only did half, we still manage to make ourself proud since it was tougher than an engineers' job. Its tougher than studying Fluid Mechanics for the final exams. It's tougher than one can imagine. Well, I believe for a majority of us. I believe the job would be very much easier to just pay some workers to do the job. I just need to open my wallet, and hand in some notes. That’s all. But I choose the road not taken. Well, actuallty I did open my wallet, just to buy the hammer which cost RM13.

Its hard to imagine how some Indonesian workers work for RM70 per day; doing work tougher than just demolishing a wall. No wonder many locals don't want to work as construction workers, even tough the pay for locals is more than RM70. Some think it's just not worth it, while some, especially foreigners think it's more than worth the effort. Some, like me, thinks, it's far better than seeding grapes in the garden. You know what I mean? We value the money far differently compared to those from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia etc. Is it our wrong? Or their wrong? I leave it to you to decide.

Anyway, I believe it was my first time, and I hope it would be my last time doing such hard job. But unfortunately, it wouldn't be because I still have half the wall to demolish. Maybe I wait until I fully recover from this terrible body ache…

What more to tell? Think I'll stop here fro today. Next time, I figure of something else to scribble...

Musafir Kelana
P/s - I just realized that this 'scribble' thing is the same as A Kadir Jasin's blog. Sorry for that. Will think of another name. Any ideas? Da~

Reading - Working - Reading

Is anything wrong by being a hard core reader? Using any possible free time reading. Reading anything. Novels, magazines, newspaper, autobiografi, bibliografi, self help books, and the list goes on. Is there? Maybe some kind of new psychotic virus or what ever. Because lately I'm getting quite addicted to reading. Few days ago I was reading "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince", than after that, I read the latest book by JK Rowling, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows", now I'm getting interested with a book by Dale Carnegie, "How to Stop Worrying & Start Living". It's like a reading marathon. All because of the Mobireader software I installed on my phone causing me to bring eBooks everywhere I go. eBook that is far easier to bring along compared to real books.

What worsen thing even more is that I can't stop the eagerness to read, eventhough in office. Well, not saying I'm not doing my work because eventually, I don't have any yet. The reading only occurs when I'm damn boring studying things that takes time to absorb, which I believe if I force myself to read, will cause me dozzing away.  So, I was thinking, wondering around. Is it wrong to read in the office? In normal condition, yes, I know it's wrong. But what about my condition now? Which one is better; sleeping, or reading?

Anyway, maybe this is just an excuse to let me read. I do think I also need a lot of studying since I'm a fresh engineer. The youngest and freshest. Which makes, maybe, the lest knowledgeble in this office. I'll take my time to think than…

Musafir Kelana