Makanan

Today, Papa Khalid and Rizal went to Sungai Penchala and brought back to the office the following:

1. Ikan Sembilang masak tempoyak.
2. Ikan Patin masak kuning.
3. Siput Sedut masak lemak.
4. Pedal ayam goreng cili padi.
5. Paru goreng cili merah.
6. Kepah titik serai.
7. Ayam goreng.
8. Kerdas.
9. Sambal belacan.
10. Nasi lembik.
11. Ikan bilis goreng bercili.

And now, we all terbaring atas carpet opis kekenyangan. Kalau ada penyamun masuk, kita tak akan lawan. Sugar crash.

Pencuci mulut ialah Cadbury Black Forest, Roasted Almond dan Mixed Nuts.

Burrppppp…

Towkey Rebung tu kawan saya. Saya bukan Chef Terkenal tu!

The weekend in Kuala Terengganu was a great one.

It was a pleasure to be the emcee for the wedding reception of Dr Tengku Aznita and Dr Khairi Aris. They are very nice and so down to earth. It sure was a pleasure too meeting the uncle, Abang Rahim Ismail of PETRONAS (who made me feel like I’m part of the family), his wife and Osman Adnan’s brother (Osman ni one year my junior in MCKK) and his wife. We talked about so many things from Islam in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistam to mengkudu juice and juice manggis.

It was a pleasure too to lepak with Azhar and his friends. Thanks for taking me to melantak seafood at Marang and lepak kat tempat happening sebelah Grand Continental tu.

Oh… on the way back to KL (I took the Sunday 10:00 am flight from KT), I must say, I heard the best ever announcement made by the leading stewardess onboard MAS. Other leading stewards/stewardesses should follow her. Jangan announce pakai bantai ikut suka hati jer, pronounce macam dot-dot-dot.

And yang tak berapa best ialah:

When a chubby man suddenly scream “Hoi apa khabar? Friends , meet the famous owner of Restoran Rebung, Chef Ismail…"

I said, "NO, I bukan Chef Ismail. I am Suhaimi."

Then his friend said (to rescue lah keadahnya).. "Yes.. yes.. The famous Shuhaimi Baba."

No… I said, "Shuhaimi Baba tu perempuan. Dia pengarah filem."

I am Suhaimi Sulaiman.

Announce Properly Please…

I do lots of traveling lately both on MAS and AirAsia.

As communications is my background, I can help but being annoyed by/with the low standard of announcement onboard both MAS and AirAsia by the leading cabin crew.

I was on a MAS flight from KL to Kuala Terengganu a few hours ago. And the announcement on board was so bad.

The flight to Kuching last week on AirAsia on Thursday was bad too.

Can someone please teach these people how to pronounce properly, pacing, and all. And the speed… ohhh. The stewardess on the flight today joined all the sentences together at Schumacher’s speed. When I was in TV3 we were trained to communicate at a rate of 3 words per second. Anything faster than that will annoy and confuse people.

While we can cut costs here and there to show huge profits, NEVER cut costs on communications training.

Standard kena jaga. Berkomunikasi kena betul. Kalau tidak, tak payah buat announcement, bagi aja note card, and passengers boleh baca sendiri.

Anyway, I am having a great time in Terengganu. En Azhar is a great tourism ‘minister’ in addition to his day job as an engineer.

(Pix from fotosearch.com)

TAGGED!!

I got tagged by Sherrina and X-Matters.

Rules of the game :

Each player of this game starts out by listing 6 weird things about themselves on their own blog, as well as state the rules clearly. At the end you will need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list out their names. After you do that, leave a comment on their blogs letting them know you tagged them.

OK NOW... MY 6 WEIRD THINGS:

1. I like to swim at around 10pm after they switched off the pool lights. And then I’ll imagine I’m at sea, with the sharks and all. And then the imagination will start to become so real that I will almost immediately get out of the pool to get away from the sharks. Sewel kan?

2. I sleep with all the lights in the apartment on so that I can see the ghost (if they come for a visit) and I will run.. The lights will help me avoid all the ‘traps’ in the house.

3. I only clean 2m x 2m of my apartment once a week. Place is a mess.

4. I keep dirty dishes in the fridge before washing them so that bacteria won’t breed so fast as I normally would wash the dishes 3 days later

5. I shower at the office instead of the house.

6. I make sure my hair will be damaged and a bit dried out to make it easier to style.

Now I tag the folowing people:

Ony-closet.blogspot.com
06ipla.blogpsot.com
Firomli.blogspot.com
Zeynsthoughts.blogspot.com
Adasaje.blogspot.com
Annameera.fotopages.com

The Flu Bug

I'm at the office churning the presentation materials for a potential client tomorrow.

Body is aching. This time, the flu just won’t go away. It has been 4 days now.



(Pix from fotosearch.com)

Jalan-jalan cari idea dan ketenangan jiwa di Port Dickson

Gambar-gambar di PD:


Struktur buatan manusia di pantai PD.


Samalah tu.


Rizal and Roul test market.


Roul ambik gambar sendiri.

Before the trip:


Papa Khalid at Coffee Bean


Ashwad at Samy's

The journey, the destination and the discovery

The journey to Port Dickson for our retreat was a long 3 hr drive.

The traffic on the KL-Seremban Highway, as usual, on long holidays, bumper to bumper with cars full of ‘vacation hungry’ humans.



We were part of the crawl from KL to Bangi for about 90 minutes, until we decided to exit at Bandar Putera Mahkota.

We made a u-turn, back to the north and we took the Bangi exit.

Next we took the old road from Bangi to Kajang to Semenyih to Beranang to Mantin to Seremban and then crossed over the congested highway to Port Dickson.

Now, I would like to suggest something for the people who make money from the toll.

Do not make the people who pay for using the highway suffer. It’s not nice. When we charge people for a service, it is only fair that we tell them about the products/services that they are paying for. As such, the operators of highways must have many electronic boards along the highway that will help consumers decide whether to continue to be in the massive jam or exit at the next opportunity and follow the old road. There must also be info-boards along the highway for road users to SMS or call a content operator who can give an update of the traffic situation along the way. Islam Hadari is about making money the RIGHT, FAIR way without CRUELLY TAXING the customers. Letting people to be trapped ON THE HIGHWAY after they agreed to pay for your services (read: Toll) is unIslamic.

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At the end of the retreat in Port Dickson, me, Rizal and Roul came out with a brilliant treatment for our feature film project on a controversial subject with Oscar material storyline.



Next is hooking up with the right director (who already loved the synopsis even before seeing the script) and ‘selling’ to idea to angel investors. Mokciknab is in, ya boleh beli baju kat pasar klewer for the Oscar night for next year for best actress ok…, we’ll have part of the film shoot in Jakarta too.



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Last night, MorkyMoqq and me set a world record in our books. We sat and talked and talked from 11:15 pm to 3:30 in the morning. What did we talk about? From politics to business, to bloggers, wedding plans, mind reading and the arts and science of being happy and of oranges and apples.



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(Pix from fotosearch.com)

The beautiful 60s and 70s era

I love the images of the 60s and 70s.

Back then, dad bought lots of reading materials for us. My siblings and I were exposed, at a very young age to the images of Redwood Forest, Holden Kingswood and the beauty of Jackie Kennedy.



While Dad loved Sinatra, Cliff Richard and the Motown sound, he exposed us too, to the rich sounds of the Malay world.

And recently, Papa Khalid gave me a brilliant CD -- a collection of 'standards' by Malaysia’s very own talented son, Sean Ghazi and one song in his album reminded me of that dreamy and wonderful era of the 60s and 70s when we were growing up at Kolej Pertanian Malaya (which was later ‘upgraded’ to Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, and later changed to Universiti Putra Malaysia).

Listen to this song (my renditionlah...menyumbangkan...) which was a hit during my growing up years.



BTW, I'm high on cough medicine right now. Many of my friends caught the flu and I'm joining the group.

To all Kong Hee Fatt Choy.

MyVi and MyKad

Dengarlah cerita Myvi dan MyKad.

Rangkuman Cerita Seminggu

By now Mar would have arrived in Melbourne.

Mar was with us for a couple of months together with Ashwad for their practical training. Mar will attend Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, for a degree in Media/Broadcast for the next 2 years.

Both of them got their scrolls over the weekend and now they are officially graduates from the Malaysia Institute of Integrative Media. Congrats.


We threw a party for Ashwad at the office.


The gang.

Ashwad will continue to be with us. He is one of the brightest and hardworking graduates ever to come out of MIIM. Great to have him on board.

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Early this morning, I met Mr Kimster at the makan place at KLCC to give him the 8 books on PR.

Dia pakai tongkat due to ankle yang terkehel sebab main rugby and main tembak-tembak. Selamat menjaga kaki. Don’t do things I won’t do OK.

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Over the past 4 days, I had a very hectic schedule.

On Friday, I conducted a Media Relations knowledge sharing session for UNIMAS, at its training centre in Bau, Sarawak.


UNIMAS Campus at Kota Samarahan.

It sure was a pleasure exchanging knowledge with Prof Datuk Dr Abdul Rashid Abdullah, (Vice Chancellor), the senior management, faculty deans, and other team members.

On Saturday, I was at Awana Genting conducting a branding & positioning knowledge sharing session for 13 powerful individuals who will one day lead the nation (details… rahsia).


From my hotel room at Awana Genting.


From my hotel room at Awana Genting.


From my hotel room at Awana Genting.


And today, nak lepak sikit sambil buat 4 proposal. Aduh…

‘Book Review’

Ok, ok, atas permintaan ramai, I’ll do a review on the Google story. Not actually a review but a collection of bytes.



You must read the book. Dengarlah recommendation I di bawah ni, dalam segment “Kongsi Info”

Please say hello to Mr Macroman

Mr Macroman will be a regular feature on this blog.

Mr Macroman is a nice man who wants to help in nation building. But he can only look at the big picture (macro) and not the details (micro) because looking at the details will make him stressful and he will eat a lot and grow fat.

Sila dengar Mr Macroman's first episode... and tell me what you think.

Cat City

It’s almost midnight and I just finished washing my clothes and I really hope the ‘kipas’ will help em dry by tomorrow because I need those serious looking clothes for the next 4 days.

2 days in Kuching for a seminar at UNIMAS.
2 days in Awana on the highlands for another training stint over the weekend.

It has been a long time since I last visited Kuching. Can’t wait to see the changes.



Will be staying at Hilton. So, kengkawan in Kuching apa lagi…

Yeehaa…

(Note: Pix from fotosearch.com)

Content for the 'thinking souls'

What do you think?

Send me your videos or text and i'll read them dalam bentuk video -- saja nak tunjuk muka..kak kah kah

Macam orang ker, macam monyet?

One generation later, my dad repeated the same trick to my nephew (at that time he was 4 years old).

My Dad: Shaza ni macam orang ker macam monyet?
My Nephew: Macam oranglah.
My Dad: Maknanya, macam saja orang, tapi monyet.
My Nephew: Oh.. Ingat dah menang yer...Orang yang suka kacau cucu dia itu, Allah benci.
My Dad: (Laughed like there's no tomorrow)

My Mom: Shaza, toksah siram pokok bunya banyak-banyak, nanti bunga cakap -- lemaslah banyak sangat air.
My Nephew: Tapi Wan, Shaza dah tanya pokok bunya tadi, pokok bunga cakap -- siramlah air banyak-banyak sebab pokok pun nak mandi ..
My Mom: Iyolah...

(Pix from fotosearch.com)

Proposals after proposals

I do business proposals almost everyday.

Some proposals mengena, some tidak. Biasalah, dalam business world ni selalunya apa yang kita proposed, 10% to 25% akan berakhir dengan kejayaan.

Recently I sent a proposal on ‘change management’ to a potential client.

The feedback I got was, dia tak paham.

And I have used the simplest language and the simplest idea.

Tanya punya tanya orang dalam, rupanya, dia nak ikut template pemikiran dalaman organisasinya. Perkataan kena guna perkataan yang ada dalam house rules. Undang-undang dalaman amatlah rigid.

Hmm… talk about change management.

And… Thank God I read “The Google Story”. In the book, the author, David Vise cerita macamana peritnya Brin and Page went from venture capitalists to angel investors to tell about their search engine. Most of the time, these people with money and power tak paham and tak mahu paham and takut benda-benda yang mereka tak tahu.

Pengajarannya… Toksah takut, redah jer… Tapi redah yang cukup preparation. Kalau orang reject, toksah serik. Satu hari jauhari juga akan mengenal manikam.

(Pix from fotosearch.com)

Aku rindu PDX

Ada kalanya aku mahu terbang
untuk seketika ke Nordstrom terbilang
singgah sebentar di Meier & Frank, minum air biru di Galleria
mencuci mata di Pioneer Square



Ada masanya, aku mahu ke Waterfront
untuk mendapat aroma lumpia
kemudian ke Powell yang bertimbun buku terpakai



Ada waktunya aku mahu lari
Aku penat dengan manusia kaya luaran tapi entah apa dalaman
Tapi aku pernah juga berkata, "One man can move a mountain"
Letih dan perit rakan haluan
Siapa kata lobang dan lopak sudah tiada sepanjang jalan...


(Pix from Pova.org, Xanga.com and Portlandguide.com)

Dimakan beruk…

I was having breakfast with Cekem, Ian and Papa Khalid when a journalist from Bernama called to ask me for my comments on 'Sensasi' the TV show on TV3.

Apparently he and many other reporters have been following my blog.

Oh no… I thought it was all over…

But since the journalist was so nice, and me, being an ex-TV journalist, how can I refuse. I know exactly the feeling when a potential respondent tak mahu ditemubual. Rasa sedih campur nak cekik-cekik orang pun ada.

Anyway, the journalist asked me whether the program should be banned.

I said, NO… Just do a proper content treatment, remain sensational BUT with good TV journalism and ethics, respect respondents and make the program intellectually stimulating. Kalau nak pakai ratio, it must be 60% intellectually stimulating discussion with news/current affairs content teatment and 40% fun visual+audio treatment.

Setakat bincang gosip murahan kaki lima, buang masa semua orang. Itu belum cerita pasal contribution to nation building lagi.

Ooopss… cukup..nanti ramai orang marah.

Apa kena mengena dengan topic Dimakan Beruk? Tak der kena mengena... just a phrase from lirik lagu Allahyarham Puan Sri Saloma..

Permisi ya ibu-ibu, bapak-bapak, para penonton -- mahu mula goyang gerudi yuk yuk…

(Pic from www.fotosearch.com)

Brain.

Bak kata Chairman Spice "Minum susu dalam train, how can I live without a brain.."

After reading half of “The Google Story” by David Vise, I can’t help but terbuka minda, inspired to the max, and realized that, hey, we can do that!

And there are lots of similarities in our (me and the team) and Larry & Sergey’s way of thinking.

When Mokciknab, Cekem and I decided to leave our ‘safe’ jobs in TV3 for some challenges out there, we were actually living what Larry & Sergey do every single day – always have a “Healthy Disregard for the Impossible”.

And though all three of us perangai berbeza to the max, we do enjoy our almost hourly intellectual combat – our daily diet.

And why Larry & Sergey and many other people at Stanford were successful?



Let me quote this from Vise’s book:

“Stanford made it extremely easy for students in its Ph.D program to work on potential commercial endeavors using university resources. Its Office of Technology Licensing also took a broad view of its role. Rather than laying claim to all the ground-breaking on-campus work of its students and professors, the office assisted with, and paid for patent process and then entered into long term licensing agreements that enabled Stanford’s rocket scientists to launch start-ups and get rich. In return, the Stanford licensing office received stock in the new technology companies" – Jadi, ilmu itu akan dibawa balik ke menara gading dan berkembang.

Bak kata Stanford’s President, John Hennessy, “Sometimes the biggest way to deliver an effect to the world is not by writing a paper but by taking technology you believe in and making something of it.”

Let me just say this. Dear Mr David Vise (writer of The Google Story) – You just opened a new door for me…



Dan kepada saudara-saudara ku yang memegang kuasa di negara ini yang sepatutnya menjadi change agents yang effective – sila kembangkan idea ini and be great. Toksah jadi haiwan territorial.

(Pix from fotosearch.com)

Responsible Hosting and TV Journalism

Recently I saw a ‘live’ entertainment talkshow on TV3 called Sensasi.

The hosts, Awal and Intan were interviewing Rosnah Mat Aris and Watie Elite.

And the next day, Rosnah Mat Aris had to apologize for what was described as menghina Nabi Muhammad on the show.

Ok… What I think about all these?

It was right for Rosnah Mat Aris to apologize. BUT… yes a big BUT… She was ‘trapped’ and was ‘angry’ at the remarks made by the hosts and a setahun jagung studio audience. Itu pasal dia 'melatah'.

Seriously, I sebenarnya kesian kat artis di Malaysia ini.

Mereka perlukan media untuk cari makan. Oleh itu, apa saja opportunity dan umpan media, mereka terpaksa turuti, kalau tidak, tak fofular lah.

In Rosnah’s case, how would you feel if you were invited to a talk show, ridiculed by everyone and expected to remain calm. How was she ridiculed? Macam ni..(I will summarize for you... tapi maksudnya tak lari…)

“Kak Ros punya anak sebaya dengan saya, macamana Kak Ros can live looking ‘hideous’ with blonde hair, dan keluar dengan anak-anak ikan (anak ikan = lelaki remaja)”.

Awal, the male host, tekan-tekan muka Rosnah Mat Aris and said, “wah, tenggangnya kulit Kak Ros, ini mesti cucuk. Lagi tegang dari muka Watie Elite..”

And lots more…

Now… wait a minute…

I was once a host of a hot live entertainment talkshow program on TV3 called Teleskop, many zillion years ago… and at that time, no matter what, entertainment program ker, sports program ker, kita kena ada LIDAH PENGARANG, kena ada responsible journalism, content kena betul treatment.

Masa tu Berita Terkini Hiburan Sensasi was our motto and guide. Soalan boleh panas tetapi jangan menjatuhkan air muka orang (lagi pun ini bukan budaya kita). And most of all, sekolah kewartawanan mana yang mengajar hos untuk mengasak, memalukan, dan merendahkan martabat artis?

Dahlah panggil artis ke studio, lepas tu malukan mereka. Tentulah mereka melatah. Mereka nampak saja cool, but being the sensitive people that they are, mereka akan balik kerumah menangis seminggu.

Kita tidak membantu membina industri, kita bunuh jiwa mereka. Nanti, satu hari, it will be an acceptable culture untuk wartawan mengherdik dan mencaci artis on ‘live’ television – terjah dah ‘diterima’ dah. Cuba buka balik buku journalism.

TV Journalists/hosts must know the art of asking question.

And the most important thing that they must know (very basic really -- if they have not picked up a book on journalism), is when they ask the respondent questions, they are basically asking the questions on behalf of the public (read:US). And we the public would not like to be represented by someone who is 'rude' when asking questions. Because, it will backfire!!!

If the respondent memang bersalah, tetapi kalau hos dok gasak dia, audience akan bersimpati dengan respondent yang 'malang' itu.

Mengapa ini semua berlaku?

Kerana Budi Bahasa Budaya Kita… (sebut sekali lagi...)

But then janganlah kira sangat pandangan saya. Siapalah saya… Saya cuma ‘a has been TV Star’.

That nite, "I died in my sleep'.

(Pic from fotosearch.com)

Blogging from Kota Bharu nampaknya...

Leaving on a jet plane... in a few hours.

Destination: Kota Bharu, Kelantan.

The last time I was in Kelantan was...hmmm, many many years ago for an assignment when I was in TV3.

Will be there for a 3-day-working weekend and staying at the Renaissance.

Have to go now -- gotta squeeze moisturizer, conditioner, notes and everything in my 'pilot' bag -- and thanks NK Anuar sebab nak tolong hantar I to Sentral to catch the ERL.

It's time to 'Kecek Klate'.

(Pic from www.fotosearch.com)