Suhaimi Sulaiman's World

WEEK IN WEEK OUT

2009-11-01T04:27:00.000-08:00

“Duduk betul-betul. Karang jatuh siapa susah… Azman, mak kata duduk betul-betul…”

And you really think the 5 year old is going to listen? Of course not! In an era where both mom and dad have to work very long hours in search of the meaning of life, they will not punish the kids. Why? Simple -- because they are guilty of spending so little time with their children. So they have to bribe them with gifts and give them almost total freedom to invade my space. The kids will just run and make noise in restaurants and irritate me to the max… If only they knew when I was small, Abang and I and later when Dokmen came to the world, we were not supposed to move once we were seated. No discipline in/at public places = no outing -- Grounded for a month, at least. And it worked. Perhaps that’s why today I am so anal about discipline during outings….

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You can’t judge a book by its cover. An extra cool sportsman can be the most sentimental being on this planet. Yeah Shah Matrock layan Konsert Siti Nurhaliza. He is braving the rain to see the recording today at Angkasapuri – what do you know … I always believe a strong man (or woman) is one who is not afraid to show his/her vulnerability (and the V-word has been badly defined by society).

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It was a memorable weekend indeed. After one week of the grueling Harvard Business School training dissecting case studies from 7:30 in the morning till past midnight, the weekend was a memorable one. How memorable?

1. Had a great chit chat session with Hafez and Abang Mohamad Noor at McDs Mon’t Kiara till about 4 am Saturday morning… I think Abang Mohamad Noor will have somewhere in his diary “…until 4 am, I was speechless listening to this crazy fat man blabbing about dono-wat at McDs…”

2. Saturdays’ Mee Rebus session with AK Shafizan Johari was a blast too – as usual we ate food enough to feed 8 people in some hungry region in the world. Later I bought another “ikan-laga-Siam”. I now have 12 already!! They are in 12 different glass containers. And yes, they are right to say ‘Suhaimi tu, kalau kau nak tahu, simpan anak ikan…” “Memanglah aku ada 12 ekor kat rumah…” “Ada aku kisah…” (Ooopppss evolving into A_ _ _ _ _ Alia? Oh tidak…).

3. The Dilhafifi birthday get-together was so much fun. Alexis @ Great Eastern mall was perfect. The Tokyo Blues Band was so cool too.
Dil, thank you for inviting me... And the nice things you said touched me...huhu...

4. And lunch and movie with Jefri & Matrock was a fun one. I am just so addicted to the Spaghetti Marinara at Chinoz@The Gardens. And the movie – The Time Traveler’s wife – was really interesting. It’s about a Chicago librarian who suffers from a rare genetic disorder that sends him hurtling through time whenever he is under extreme duress. Despite the fact that he vanishes at inordinately frequent and lengthy intervals, he attempts to build a stable future with the beautiful young heiress he loves. Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams star in this dramatic fantasy, which is directed by Robert Schwentke and based on the best-selling book by author Audrey Niffenegger. Sad ending though…

5. Tomorrow Jono will go to Mekah. Jono, I will miss u and doalah untuk I kat sana. Moga pulang dengan Haji Mabrur… You are great. AORJT.

Ah… Dilhafifi asked, Che Mi, anyone special in your life now? I said, entahlah ….

THE KUANTAN GETAWAY

2009-10-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

The ikan kerai masak lemak in Temerloh was superb. So delicious that we had to ‘tapau’ some for another round of mouth watering experience.

Please … can we have ikan kerai masak lemak in Kuala Lumpur? I love the taste of kerai. Better than patin, anytime.

Also for the very first time after 47 years of being alive, I got to taste ‘satar’. It is something like otak-otak but the overwhelming presence of ‘kerisik’ as another main ingredient made it taste slightly different. Yes, like kerai, can we have satar in KL? Tired of the usual goreng-goreng stuff in KL.

The seafood in Kuantan was superb -- yes, lots of choices in Tanjung Lumpur – we decided to dine at Santai, and it sure was a good choice.

And Hyatt Kuantan was a great place to spend a wonderful relaxing weekend -- close to almost everything -- the beach and downtown Kuantan.

And we bumped into Tengku Nurul & hubby while having lunch at Hyatt’s beach front restaurant.

Just one not so fun stuff. For a huge shopping centre (the one which is right across from MS Garden Hotel) -- the parking self-service payment machine can only be found on 2 floors!!! At least that was what I figured out. For about 200 cars parked on the 4th floor, there was only one machine. And the spiral ramp to access the parking area on the 4th floor, made us dizzy. Felt like ants crawling on a mosquito coil.

If you are so stressed, the sea and sand can take your miseries away. According to Hafez, bury your feet in the sand, sit on the rock, close your eyes and let the water take the bad energy away. I think it worked.

And for a good trip – go with minimal expectations but go with great company. Good food, great conversation, positive energy and a wonderful setting – now that is the new definition of rejuvenation.

I have been to Pahang many times. This time, I fell in love with the state for many reasons – the nice ladies at the front desk of Hyatt, the down to earth folks and the beautiful strangers, and lots more – it sure is a very long list…will keep it close to my heart.

TRAINING JONO

2009-10-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

I slept at around 3 am, on the couch. AK slept much later and while sleeping I could hear him mumbling about me snoring – yes, sometimes you can hear people talking, you can hear what Christiane Amanpour blabs on CNN and you can tell who are parking their cars downstairs while you sleep.

What were we doing sleeping very late? We were helping Jono Munajat a.k.a Jawa a.k.a Kamarul Ariffen Munajat in his ‘accelerated-course’ preparing to anchor Khabar Haji in Mecca. He has 2 more weeks before he leaves for Mecca with Haji Nazri. Together with the Haj team, they will provide daily reports on the Haj season for AWANI’s sister channel OASIS.

AK Shafizan Johari, AWANI’s Business Journalist & Anchor helped out. He played the role of the cameraman -- recording the training session, using my Sony Cybershot versatile camera. Now, this is what I like about people at AWANI. Many of them are ever willing to help. Earlier in the day, Kam helped to train AK, Faizal Murad and Dzulfitri to anchor current affairs talk show programmes.

Due to the fact that I have a full day almost everyday, ending only after Agenda AWANI at 9:00 pm, I have to schedule Jono’s training at around 10 pm. And since Plaza Damas has a great place with many eating places open till very late, I decided to do the training at my apartment at Plaza Damas, Sri Hartamas. While my Cybershot camera is used to record the presentation and questioning techniques, my Vaio laptap is used as a playback machine for analysis and de-briefing sessions.

The training started at 10:00pm at Uncle Don’s Hide Park, over satay, roti kaya, meehun and peach pudding. We went through my powerpoint slides on:

1. Branding and positioning of anchors.
2. Giving souls to stories.
3. Standuppers and crossover, and
4. Voiceovers.

After that we went to my apartment and played roles – all recorded on camera by AK. Jono was the on-location anchor interviewing a Tabung Haji representative and a doctor. Of course lah, I was the Tabung Haji representative and also the doctor. I was looking for his questions preparing and delivering techniques and of course his listening skills – one of the the most important skills needed to be a good journalist.

It was a fun session and Jono has a flair for presentation. All he needs now is strong editorial, correct branding and the x-factor screen presence.

The training ended at around 2:00 am and we went to Mc Donalds at Mont Kira – Me, AK Shafizan Johari and Jono Munajat.

Next, he will be trained on how to do crossovers and video conferencing.

I love sharing experiences and enjoy coaching others to excel. I feel so good when the people that I coach excel and become famous…

Until today, Aznil Nawawi keeps on saying, you know who was my teacher… Suhaimi Sulaiman… a good one. And every time Aznil says that I will cry – cry of joy…

Era of Enlightenment

2009-08-10T01:47:00.001-07:00

Mukmin

Pian came back from Singapore. He came to visit Rizal at Awani and stopped by to say hello to moi. He said he’s tired of Singapore and he wants to live life to the fullest in KL. I think, Pian being Pian, he will have no problems achieving that. Welcome home Pian.

I had a light lunch with Mukmin. He needed to see me to discuss his latest project. Mukmin is an enterprising young man. In his mid 20s he produces documentaries and many other tv programmes -- in addition to other communication ‘packages’. I am very honoured indeed as Mukmin would normally call me up to bounce ideas. I think Mukmin will go very far.

Next – preoccupation with ‘corner’ and ‘collection’.

I find it funny, even if they’re not situated at corners, restaurant operators named their outlets XXX Corner, YYY Corner, Mat Corner etc. Well, we can’t expect everyone to carry the battery operation Besta dictionary. Vocab alahai vocab.

Next, designers, tailors. Many of them named their outlets – XXX Collection, YYY Collection. Interesting….

PPSMI -- Well, try learning English the Peace Corps way...

2009-07-07T22:46:00.000-07:00

Yes, PPSMI and all ...

BTW there is a good way to learn English, an alternative.. no need to fight lorr ..

The Peace Corps Method -- I was an instructor a long long time ago. My sifu was Tuan Haji Fauzi Halim, the Founder of Centre of Modern Languages. We helped prepare government sponsored students to improve their English before they start their American degree programme. That was in 1987...

We will have the discussion tonight on Agenda AWANI channel 501 Astro at 8:15 pm.

Cheers.

Yeahhhh... I updated my blog..

I love you MCKK

2009-04-19T07:08:00.001-07:00

Me & George watching Jeff & Shah Matrock playing rugby

The trip back from Kuala Kangsar after the end of the Malay College Old Boys Weekend was so much fun. Jeff was the designated ‘pilot’ -- of course I was in no position to drive after sleeping only 3 hours over 3 days. What was I doing? Catching up with old friends -- friends that I grew up with at Malay College, some 30 years ago. Oh yes, Shah Matrock was responsible to make sure both me and Jeff will not fall asleep. Seated at the back, he was the designated court jester.

Every year around this time, we will make the ‘pilgrimage’ to Kuala Kangsar to spend time with old friends and link-inspire the present boys of MCKK. Talking about inspiring and guiding, I think Rafizi Ramli is doing such a great job helping out the Malay College debating team – yes, voluntarily.

I got to see the results of his hard work when I dropped by to say hello to the BM & English Debating team at the Debating Room. When I got there, the team members just finished a quiz on general knowledge. It reminded me of my time representing Malay College in the inter-residential school debate competition for the Prime Minister’s trophy in 1979. And my debating team-mate was there too, Rohaizat Darus. He is now a big chief with Sapura. The other team member, Saifuddin Abdullah (now, Dato’ Saiduddin Abdullah) is busy with his responsibility as a Deputy Minister, and was not able to make it this time.

Jeff played beautifully on the rugby field, as always. He has a ‘flair’ for sports. Wahab at 47 was still very fit. Stone too.

Azhar Wahab Fenner

On occasions like this, we get to know interesting new ‘things’ about people around us. This OBW, I had a chance to know how interesting Shah Matrock is. He is not only funny but if you need good company while driving on the North-South Highway, Shah Matrock is the one. He can talk about almost anything -- from sugar content, to investment, to ACCA and politics. And cracks good jokes too.

Pian was there, missing Rizal – Rizal had to anchor Agenda AWANI on weekends.

I must say this time around I had good quality time with Iyoi, Stone, Wahab. Didn’t get to hang around much with Nasha and Robby as they were busy with Nasha’s children.

Spent only a few minutes with George and Kudin. Enjoyed the company of Mooze & Elin.

Kudin and his favourite juniors.

I think I kept Moqq awake all night with my snore. Dia berdengkur jugak. And we accepted our 'less than perfect attributes'. I kept him awake too with my tossing and turning. We stayed at the River Resort.

And as always before leaving the MCKK, tears came out of my eyes – I just can’t explain why… It happens every year.

Mooze

Stone, Iyoi & Wahab

Nasha & Son

In NST Today, Mar 23, 2009

2009-03-22T21:36:00.000-07:00

Suhaimi at the forefront By : HAFIDAH SAMAT 2009/03/22

Astro Awani has its pulse on business with Focus Economy, the channel’s first English news and current affairs show, helmed by Suhaimi Sulaiman. HAFIDAH SAMAT writes.

TV personality and Astro Awani executive producer Suhaimi Sulaiman is on the brink of revolutionising the local broadcasting landscape.

As relentless in his quest for knowledge as he is in his pursuit to educate viewers at large, the multi-faceted TV compere/host has been responsible for setting standards for the industry as early as the 1990s.

When we met at Astro Awani studio in Bukit Kewangan, Kuala Lumpur recently, Suhaimi was busy recording Focus Economy, the channel’s first English news and current affairs show to join its programme lineup this month.

The show debuted on Astro Awani (Channel 501) on March 9.

It airs every Monday at 11.30pm.His guests — made up of experts from the various creative sectors — were discussing the second stimulus package (which was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on March 10) and how the mini budget can sustain the economy in times of crises.

“The idea for this show came about when the sub-prime crisis started in the United States last year. After discussions with the producers, I knew that the effects would hit our shores eventually,” said Suhaimi.

Focus Economy is tailored as a platform for viewers to obtain perspectives from both sides of the coin.

“Focus Economy takes a different perspective from the other business talk shows. As a responsible media organisation Awani aims to assist the government to spur the growth of our economy,” said Suhaimi, adding that the programme aims at helping viewers cope with the recession.

The rationale to include Focus Economy as the station's maiden English language feature is due to demand.

“The producers have been deluged with requests from viewers to introduce English programmes and we’re glad that it has finally materialised. Our audiences have a strong sense of ownership and we are aware that they want to be a part of the channel. At the end of the day, I believe that a TV station is successful when viewers feel that they’re involved in the programmes. I also hope that viewers will be able to think laterally as the show provides balanced, in-depth news as well as exciting discussions on topical economic issues. With the advancement of new media, viewers have the options to take on the different perspectives in our content. People are worried about the economic downturn and tend to be sceptical about what can be done."

“I’ve about 3,600 friends — ranging from young entrepreneurs to businessmen and CEOs — in my Facebook group and I believe that with their ideas, I can do Focus Economy till 2011.”

Suhaimi, who holds a degree in administration from Portland State University, Oregon in the United States, has helmed several business talk shows during his sterling career which began in the early 1990s.

Here is a TV veteran who is passionate about the broadcasting industry and has a creative take on things.

When he joined Astro Awani, the 47-year-old proved sceptics wrong when he — along with the pioneer team at the station — strived against the odds to steer it into one of the most watched news and current affairs stations.

Suhaimi also introduced some of station’s landmark programmes such as Perspektif Kita and Sudut Pandang — both zooming in on national and international issues.

In his effort to bridge the generation gap between young and established presenters at the station, Suhaimi initiated a mentor-prodigy programme.

He takes on several broadcast journalists under his tutelage under the programme. “The sessions are personalised and fortunately I have a supportive team who is willing to learn,” said Suhaimi, who also co-hosts Agenda Awani, a unique prime-time news bulletin with young anchor Rizal Zulkapli.

The programme discusses, analyses and reports the most compelling news of the day featuring "live" studio guests. The show is aired daily starting 8pm.

Astro Awani general manager Rozina Aziz said the launch of Agenda Awani and Focus Economy signals exciting times ahead for the station.

Agenda AWANI & Focus Economy

2009-03-05T06:14:00.000-08:00

Prepared by our publicist/strategist -- watch out for it:

In an effort to bring high quality news and current affairs programmes to information-hungry Malaysians, Astro AWANI (Channel 501 Astro) is set to launch two programmes in early March.

Agenda AWANI - a unique primetime news bulletin, and Focus Economy - a new current affairs programme, will premiere on 9 March.

Rozina Aziz, General Manager of Astro AWANI said, “In launching Agenda AWANI, we are taking a contrarian approach during the traditional primetime news hour."

"We would like to offer viewers an alternative by moving away from giving the A to Z of daily news to focusing on top stories and reporting them in greater detail. We have become known to our loyal viewers as a channel that provides balanced, in-depth news as well as challenging and exciting discussions of topical issues.”

Starting 9 March, Agenda AWANI will be aired LIVE on Astro AWANI as its signature prime time news programme.

This unique bulletin put the top news stories under a misroscope, giving viewers a complete, all-round 360 view.

Fronting the news bulletin will be Suhaimi Sulaiman who has solid experience as a broadcast journalist and anchor, having been in the industry for 18 years.

"Suhaimi is well loved by our viewers who have come to look at him as a force to reckon with when it comes to news and current affairs.” Adds Rozina, “And in true Astro AWANI tradition, Suhaimi will be joined by young, up-coming anchor Rizal Zulkapli, who will have the golden opportunity of learning from his long-time mentor."

This will be a big step for this young anchor, but he is intelligent and has proven himself as our principal business anchor.

"Rizal has also anchored special analysis programmes in conjunction with the Malaysian General Elections as well as the US Presidential Debates and Presidential Inauguration. He has also interviewed international leaders and personalities in in-house specials VIP AWANI and Tamu AWANI."

Another programme that will make its debut is Focus Economy which will be a very timely show, showcasing bright sparks in the currently gloomy economic outlook.

The programme aims to unearth great ideas and solutions that could help spearhead growth in the short, medium and long term and help Malaysia ride through the global recession.

Focus Economy will be the first English language programme to be introduced as a regular feature on the channel.

“We have received a lot of requests from viewers asking for us to introduce English language programmes. We have established two strong current affairs programmes – Sudut Pandang and Perspektif Kita – that take a look at issues of the times. Having been on air for 18 months now, we felt the time is right to extend the appeal of the channel to more Malaysians, by offering a weekly programme in the English language. Viewers will enjoy our closed caption feature which will enable them to choose whether they’d like to watch the programme with Bahasa Malaysia subtitles or otherwise,” explained Rozina.

The launch of the two new programmes signal exciting times ahead at Astro AWANI which was launched in September 2007 in conjunction with Malaysia’s 50 years of Independence.

Rozina adds, “We have studied the findings of independent research and commissioned specific research of our own. We also monitor feedback received through various mediums and key blogs to get a sense of how people perceive the channel, what they like about itand what they find lacking. Watch this space, as we will be announcing more new content on the channel, based on the feedback we have received from our viewers.”

Agenda AWANI broadcasts daily from 8.00pm to 9.00pm commencing 9 March.

Veteran TV newsman Suhaimi Sulaiman fronts Agenda AWANI from Mondays to Thursdays while upcoming anchor Rizal Zulkapli helms the bulletin on Fridays and weekends.

Also from March 9, Astro AWANI debuts Focus Economy. It will be hosted by Suhaimi Sulaiman, the weekly programme features fast-paced brainstorming with leaders of major companies and industries, Small & Medium Enterprise leaders and government leaders on various pertinent topics.

Looking for bright sparks at times of gloomy economic outlook, the show will focus on new and attractive ideas, innovations, niche and growth areas, markets, opportunities and collaborations.

Tune in every Monday at 11.30pm for a dose of hope and inspiration. Focus Economy is delivered in English with Bahasa Malaysia subtitles.

Yes, yes, I will write...

2009-02-27T20:06:00.000-08:00

In one of the mock-runs for a new programme

Me, Danguria and Yanie

Again, I was stopped the other day at a shopping Mall. This time at Sri Hartamas Shopping Centre.

And the lady said... "Can you please update your blog. Orang lain busy jugak, tapi still boleh update blog..."

I said, ok...ok..

Phew... pressure tu, orang lain boleh marah kalau tak update blog.

Anyway... There are many reasons why I tak update blog... Teramatlah busy... I know... I know... Ini reason takleh diterima akal. Hit me now... Bersalah. Ampun.

Anyway, what have I been up to?

Lots of things..

Among others, juggling responsibilities. I will be hosting 2 weekly shows this March and one new programme Mondays to Fridays in the evening. Tak tercabut kepalo atok ni ha!! But I love the challenge.

In addition to that I am also working on sponsorship, newsroom management, etc, etc. Ah, also, training the anchors on hosting LIVE talkshow. Love it. Like I always say... It is always the busy people who will get things done...

Me and Ellia in the Mentor-Mentee session

Ashwad delivering his line during the training

Marlina

Dzul in a mock-run .

Mimi, a cool intern at AWANI.

Me and Nazri in a mock-run

Pelakon over terbaik ...

Pelakon pembantu over terbaik.

And what about love life? What is that? hahaha.

Today I want to share my latest 'hobby' -- yes... I am now into steam fish -- thanks to my health freak friends -- Zai and Hafez. Because of them I am now into steaming fish... Ikan yang best ialah Siakap.

Hafez & I

So I bought a brand new steamer. Easy to use. Tak mahal, 109 hengget.

For a pemalas guy like me who is now into healthy food (tapi kengkadang belasah gak Ice-Blended Mocha yang manis dan lemak tu), the steamer is easy to use.

OK, how to prepare siakap steam?

On the siakap fillet, taburkan lots of garlic, ginger and batang green onions. Coat with 2 teaspoons of oil and then masukkan dalam steamer for 10 minutes. Then angkat and put a bit of oyster sauce and fish sauce and garam. Then masuk balik for another 5 minutes. After that makan.

Senangkan..

By the way, busy-busy pun sempat jugak lepak ngan kengkawan -- no, they came and dragged me out of the house!

Waiting for my hair colour to develop

Me, Hafez & Schubern

Shubern, Dino, Hafez, me, Dangsuria and Yanie

THE KUALA TERENGGANU BY ELECTION

2009-01-18T22:46:00.000-08:00

I will post the story later.

Pictures first.

Ri-Yaz Heritage Resort & Spa

2009-01-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

I will be back!!!

Ri-Yaz Heritage Resort & Spa in Pulau Duyong, Terengganu is now on top of my list.

A beautiful resort by the sea, it is a good place to unwind.

I stayed there during the Kuala Terengganu Bi-Election.

Good food, courteous staff, nice pool, spacious bathroom, bedroom... what more can you ask.

You must try the keropok lekor, nasi dagang and ayam percik.

Lepak at the restaurant pun dah cukup. Angin laut bertiup kat muka, fresh betul.

Just see the pictures below and you will understand why.

What new year resolution....

2009-01-07T00:48:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me yesterday, what is my 2009 resolution?

I said, same like everyday.

Every morning, I will tell myself, I will do my very best, be true to myself, be the best that I can and be nice to people.

And being nice is the easiest thing to do.

And when we are nice we smile more and we look darn good.

Kan kan kan?

KERMIT THE CUTE FROG

2009-01-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

It has been 5 days now and my voice still sounds like Kermit. No more fever no more cough but voice still tak ada… how meh?

Mana nak elok… I still consume teh ice, makan pedas dan berminyak. I am so degil to the max.

But this phenomenon of voice yang hilang sekali sekala has to happen like twice a year. Macam routine plak. And timing dia selalu bila orang balik from haji. I think it is a hint so that I pergi haji kot.

Will start work again on Monday. So now, tengah cracking to finish some of the fun chapters for the book project.

And Hafez, cepatlah buat popiah tu?

Yanie, Dangsuria & Me

SPONTANEITY

2008-12-31T07:22:00.000-08:00

It was the last day of 2008.

Jeff had his own idea on how to celebrate the New Year. He said, “let us go to Melaka and makan ikan bakar…”

I said, “Good idea…”

And we left the house. Our first stop before Melaka was Citibank as I had to collect my new credit card.

And after that, we made a U-turn.

Instead of Melaka, we went to Genting Highands. Yes, both of us unprepared – clad in shorts and t-shirt.

It was raining all the way and by the time we reached Genting, menggigil beb.

Me & Jeff at Starbucks Genting Highlands

**************

You must go watch this interesting movie, Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. I went to see it twice. First with Hafez and then Jeff.

Australia is an epic and romantic action adventure, set during the brink of World War II.

Nicole Kidman played an English aristocrat who traveled to Australia and met a rough-hewn local, played by Hugh Jackman and reluctantly agreed to join forces with him to save the land she inherited.

Together, they embarked upon a transforming journey across hundreds of miles of unforgiving terrain and faced the bombing of the city of Darwin by the Japanese forces.

Great cinematic experience -- romance, drama and adventure.

Me & Hafez

GREAT INTERVIEW

2008-12-23T03:12:00.000-08:00

Yes, it sure was a great interview. Dato' Sri Tony Fernandes was just so media savvy. And the best part, I got to meet Rozman Omar. We went to school together at Malay College. Rozman is Air Asia's Group Chief Financial Officer.

It was also sort of a reunion with Zaini. Lama betul tak jumpa and we talked about Aziz and Muluk. I have not been in touch with them and I will soon make the call and plan a get together.

BTW the interview with Dato' Sri Tony Fernandes will be featured in Wajah 2008 -- coming soon on Astro AWANI.

******************

Good news. Din is out of the hospital. Great. We will go makan-makan.

*******************

Oh... I will be working on Christmas eve and on Christmas day and the weekend.

*******************

VAMPIRE, SOCIAL SKILLS & TIES

2008-12-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

I think I am somehow related to the vampire.

Ideas just flow around midnight, I look so good around midnight (perasan ni, so what?) and I love shopping at midnight. And good for my wallet, they don’t open Pavilion at midnight. So, I am now a loyal KK customer – the Sri Hartamas outlet.

For the uninitiated, KK is a 24 hour convenience store where you can get almost everything minus the ikan and sayur. KK is a 711 plus more.

And yes, I just came back from KK and it is now 1:15 am.

So do I qualify to be in the vampire clan? But minus the fangs and cape. And I am not thirsty for blood and let me see… hmmm… biting the neck… hmmm… Certain things I will just keep to myself unless you plan to torture me, I will not reveal.

***************

Moving on, out of 10 (pardon my statistics…), yes, out of 10, I think only 3 people have what I would term as A+ social skill in “making strangers feel included in a members-only conversation”. And my good friend Rahmat is one of them.

Rahmat and I are two people who I would say have wonderful-weird frame of reference. Jung & Freud, would just fail to silo us in any category. Rahmat is a genius and his PR skills = A+.

Rahmat called when I was having dinner with Hafez at KLCC and asked me if I was free for our once a month Rahmat-SS-therapy session.

And I said of course, after my dinner with Hafez. And I did not tell Rahmat, I will bring Hafez along. I thought by knowing Rahmat, Hafez would see a different side of me and that would be good for the book that he is writing – yes, my pre-mature bio… no not premature ejaculation, you dirty minded primates!

And we met at my place at Dorchester, Plaza Damas. And the three of us went in my car for supper at Concorde KL.

On the way to Concorde we laughed and laughed as we talked about a story in one of the tabloids about someone who went for a ‘tanam susuk’ and then ‘cungkil susuk’. And this is ‘susuk diamond at RM150 per cucuk’. We were wondering what diamond would that be -- Zhulian or Swarovski? Or cubic Zirconia? And after the laugh we said, hmmm why not, lets go for a skin treatment, buang bintik-bintk hitam etc – hahaha.

Anyway, I have known Rahmat for about 10 years now – yes masa berlalu amat pantas.

We first met when I was in TV3 and specifically, I was the Marketing & Sales Manager of TV3’s film & animation subsidiary, Grand Brilliance.

We were at a tea party at Sri Pentas – occasion = Thanking all the stakeholders.

Rahmat introduced himself and from that day we have been good friends. Makan-makan, karaoke, play-shrink-session and all, we had fun. Rahmat has a wonderful mom and his family members have been so nice to me. I emceed Rahmat’s wedding, and Rahmat’s cousin’s wedding and macam-macamlah.

Rahmat knows how to include people in a conversation. And he did very well with Hafez. He started by asking Hafez his interests and other things that they have in common. And once Hafez said – Performing Arts, that’s when the magic started.

Rahmat travels at least 3 times a year to major film markets in Europe, US and Asia to buy films/movies. And Rahmat knows the movie business in and out. And both Hafez & Rahmat write scripts – Rahmat for his film (soon I hope…), and Hafez, for his play/drama/theatre assignments.

And from something common, Rahmat would move to other subjects and the flow was just so smooth. Now, that is what I mean by A+ social skill.

************

This is the second week in a row that Jef was not around. He was in Alor Setar for another rugby match. Normally we would lepak together either catching up with work/assignments at Starbucks (yes, making use of the internet), or movie or makan-makan untuk menggemokkan badan.

As I was kinda bored, I called Hafez and off we went to Melaka.

Hafez and I had a great time in Melaka makan kupang & ikan bakar. And of course, my favourite gerai is Gerai Ayu No.6 at Umbai/Serkam.

After consuming the gross looking kupang, we went to Jonker Street to experience Melaka’s version of Petaling street + culture.

We met artist Charles Cham, a really interesting guy. He said he used to watch me on Face-to-Face. Gosh… that was millions of years ago. I hosted that programme in mid 90s on TV3.

Charles Cham on the right.

Charles worked as an editorial artist for a few years in KL before he went to France to paint. He became a member of the Association des Artistes Independants in Aix-en-Provence and exhibited in the Salon des Independents in 1990 and 1991. In 1993, he set up his studio in Melaka and named it The Orangutan House. He has exhibited in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bali, Australia, France, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Portugal and Hungary.

I find him very refreshing, down-to-earth and intriguing.

If you happened to be in Melaka, yes, my kampung, do visit his gallery at 12, Jonker Street (Jalan Hang Jebat), Melaka.

**************
Both Jef and I berselimut at GSC Signature earlier today when we watched YES MAN. Teramatlah sejuk dalam cinema.

Easy story line. A comedy.

But Jef was not feeling well, so we decided to go home after that movie instead of the normal Sunday extended-makan-lepak session.

****************

Din has improved. But they will not let him out of the hospital until the fever-graph is almost flat. Now he still has high temperature from time to time.

He was in a jovial mood when I visited him this morning. His mom was there too. Spoke to his mom and like me, she was convinced that Din would be out of the hospital soon. It has been three weeks now. If I were hospitalized for 3 weeks, I would have formed a singing group in the ward and menari poco-poco. Gila beb duduk sepital lelamer.

*****************

Shah Matrock, Danguria, Jef & Me.

TOO MUCH TOO LITTLE TOO LATE...

2008-12-17T03:01:00.000-08:00

No, I will not write about that as I am not an expert on the subject.

I decided to put the picture to attract your attention. Gotcha...

************

Now, where do I start?

It has been a long time indeed.

I have been so busy with work and now that I am on leave I have some time to juggle between planning for new programmes for AWANI next year, write my book with Hafez & Enaarip, sort out my prorities in life -- being reasonable & all and of course update this blog.

And yes, reward myself silly with objects and more objects that will help me feel good about myself -- oh yes, humans not included because I can't own them!!!

Today after more than 2 weeks, Din is still in the hospital.

He has been transferred from Selangor Medical Centre to UMMC.

And the doctor said, he has a 'strange' illness that originated from Africa, short of just saying 'penyakit apa'. Oh yes, read my previous earlier.

He went through a minor operation. They sucked out some 'liquid' from his body and he should be out of the hospital within 3 days or so.

I hope he will recover really soon.

Met Syafique yesterday with Rozy.

Syafique is a very promising young man who has all the pre-req of an anchor. As a talent 'headhunter' I have been proven right like 75 percent of the time.

But the gruelling part is the training and the talent must be able to survive the very trying environment that he or she has to be in to carve a niche in the industry.

All the best Syafique.

And I am still undecided where I should go for a holiday.

As long as there is pancake it will be fine. French toast will be be fine too. And if the place has a kitchen, I will cook my sambal ikan bilis.

I just need to take a break and think.

And meet people and continue learning by observing.

*********************

And eating burger with 21 packets of Chilli Sauce? You are full of surprises... And I love surprises...

***************************

Is it Chikungunya?

2008-12-10T21:54:00.000-08:00

I can't help it and I just had to google 'Chikungunya'.

Din has been warded at the Medical Centre for a couple of days now and they still couldn't figure out what is wrong with him. I went to see him again yesterday and he was so weak.

Name it, from TB to HIV, and X-rays and Scan, every single test came out negative.

The doctor said, Din was given all the medication necessary.

But he still has high fever on and off again.

Din asked the doctor if it is Chikungunya. The doctor said no.

And people are talking about Chikungunya.

So I googled and got the following and Din has the symptoms in red:

The incubation period of Chikungunya disease is from two to four days. Symptoms of the disease include fever, a petechial or maculopapular rash of the trunk and occasionally the limbs, and arthralgia or arthritis affecting multiple joints. Other nonspecific symptoms can include headache, conjunctival infection, and slight photophobia. Typically, the fever lasts for two days and then ends abruptly. However, other symptoms, namely joint pain, intense headache, insomnia and an extreme degree of prostration last for a variable period; usually for about 5 to 7 days. Patients have complained of joint pains for much longer time periods depending on their age. Three months after the viral infection, patients were still suffering from severe joint pain in the morning, dyspepsia, relapsing fever, swelling in the joints. Doctors should also be alert for platelet count abnormalities suggestive of Dengue or Falci. Chikungunya virus is indigenous to tropical Africa and Asia, where it is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected mosquitoes, usually of the genus Aedes.

I hope Din will hang on and fight it.

*****************************

OF COMMON SENSE AND GUIDED TOUR

2008-11-29T02:48:00.000-08:00

Someone very dear to me asked me, why the big fuss and ‘ruling’ on pengkid and yoga, recently?

In his very early 20s he asked, isn’t it obvious?

According to him “kita pun tahulah uncle, tak payah a bunch of people yang a bit more lebai than us to tell us what is Islamic and what is not Islamic. Kalau semua nitty-gritty nak tunggu ada orang advise kita apa yang boleh buat dan apa yang tak boleh buat, susah lah….Abis tu orang non-Muslims mesti ingat kita ni tak boleh berfikir and agama kita tak lengkap. Guidelines kan dah clear. Islam ni banyak kena pakai common sense. Apasal tak ada ruling pasal rasuah and politik wang? Itu lagi teruk. I don’t want my leaders to be corrupt and jadi pemimpin sebab banyak duit nak tabur tapi tak reti berfikir and cakap omputih pun tak leh? Itu bigger umbrella issue. Kita malu lah uncle…Macamlah kita ni bodoh tak boleh berfikir… I am in university, I don’t do drugs and saving myself for sex later when it would mean a lot more… That’s very Islamic compared to tabur duit merata just to be elected. WTF… ”

And I said to myself, need I say more…

And sayang, you are only 21 years old and you can think already. I think our future is bright with people like you. Want to run for office at the age of 24? Boleh ker?

*********

Semalam, my former student who is now a famous anchor in RTM asked me kenapa lama tak update this blog and asik-asik macam frust cinta jer…

I said, kita ni adalah amalgamasi pelbagai perasaan. Kengkadang elok juga kongsi rasa and tak rugi orang tahu kita juga manusia vulnerable.

Orang boleh identify dengan kita dan lagi senang tanpa façade atau topeng macho yang entah apa-apa entah.

******************

Rambut baru

Roul

Rozy, Me, Wan Kamarudin, Dangsuria and Charles Mohan at Media Prima Screenings

Me & Jimmy Shanley at Gempak Astro

THE BOOK

2008-11-24T02:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, so sorry. Been busy working on a book project with Aarif. When I have spare time I will write more stories here. Enjoy the pix below:

AND TO CALM DOWN I GO FOR A DRIVE....

2008-11-17T03:40:00.000-08:00

Thank you Miss Rossa

Ku sedari
Semua jalanku tak berarah kepadamu
Mungkin salah diri ini memikirkanmu

Aku kini telah berdua...

Dan tak seindah cinta yang lalu
Yang jalan dan jalin tanpa restu
Ku akhiri namun tak berakhir
Ku hindari hati tak ingin berpisah

Bila kau dengan yang lain
Sesungguhnya aku tak rela

MY MCKK FAMILY

2008-11-10T00:50:00.000-08:00

Photographs that speak for themselves -- brotherhood of the MCKK old boys ...

Courtesy: Jef's Nikon.

From left: Shah Mat Rock, Alamak-dah lupa nama, Rafizi and Apek and me standing at the back.

My buddy and shrink and confidant -- Moqq

Me and my other shrink Dangsuria

Emcee -- Berkhidmat untuk negara

Lima dirham, lima dirham...

Dangsuria, me and Jef

Jef & Shah Mat Rock

Apek and me (what was it again ...)

Me & Rizal

Apek & Me

Raf & Apek

Dangsuria & Shah Mat Rock

Me & Jef

Me & Moqq

Milla a.k.a Mrs Moqq

Zef & Moqq

Zef, Moqq & Milla

Jef

Dangsuria

Datuk Khalid Ahmad & Shah Mat Rock

Shah Mat Rock, Dangsuria, Jef & Me

Jef, Dangsuria & Shah Mat Rock

Raf & Jef

Class of 96

Paparazzi

Raja SMS -- tak henti henti

Apek, Bullet & Raf

Moqq & me

Moqq & Me

Me & Rizal

Apek & Me

Shah Mat Rock & Me

THANK YOU

2008-11-05T03:01:00.000-08:00

Thank you for the flowers:

The card says "...brilliant interview, well done and keep it up ... your standard is just so high that ....."

How can I not love what I do ...

Love you too ...

ANKLE INJURY & RACE RELATIONS

2008-11-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

I was at Chawan in Bangsar enjoying tea and tahu bakar with the “movers and shakers” when Jef sent the text message “Uncle, I injured my ankle during the game, can you help me get an ankle guard?”

I rushed to the nearest pharmacy to get the ankle guard. And what do I know about ankle guards and sports injuries? Well, this is what life-long learning is all about.

At Guardian Pharmacy I bought two different ankle guards for Jef. By now, it's certain he will not be playing for NS Wanderers in the Cobra 10s tomorrow.

When I met him at PJ Hilton – where the team members were putting up, he could hardly walk.

The prelim check by the doctor indicated no major fracture or too serious an injury.

Nevertheless, Jef’s ego deflated and his spirit dented, as he wanted to help his team to win tomorrow.

We had dinner at Paya Serai at the Lobby of PJ Hilton and got him to retire for the day early. I hope this nephew of mine will feel better and get better tomorrow.

When I was young, when I hurt myself mom and dad would always give me words of encouragement so that the spirit within will help the body to heal faster.

Since Abang Mustafa and Kakak is far away, I'll be the 'surrogate' guardian angel. And I feel good doing it.

**************

Now back to the “movers and shakers” at Chawan.

There were 6 of us.

Rida – a Malay PR consultant who is married to a Ceylonese gentleman,

Eda – a beautiful Malay content developer who is seeing a Chinese sociologist,

Lenny – a sexy Malay lady who recently changed her status from married to divorced after she dumped her lazy Malay husband,

Kay – another recently divorced Malay lady who is still sore at her irresponsible ex-husband, a Malay,

Alvin – a cute Chinese guy who is an engineer and spends more time at the gym than at the dining table and he is into Malays,

And of course me, the listener extraordinaire.

This group is what the ‘Neo Malaysia’ is all about – yes, may be a minority but the number is growing, especially in urban areas – different races coming together celebrating both their similarities and differences.

It is when you are very different from one another that you get really attracted and curious to know how the other party lives and what makes them tick.

And some, like my movers+shakers group ended up marrying someone from a different race.

I would like to believe this was how and what it was like during the glory days of the Malacca Sultanate when Malacca was the centre of trade, power and culture.

Cosmopolitan Malacca was a place where people from the Malay Archipelago, China, India and Europe mingled and traded a variety of goods.

Life was good then – prosperous and culturally rich.

But today, sometimes I think we are moving backwards.

Due to the need to play to the gallery, politicians said things that promoted anger and hatred instead of promoting cooperation and collaboration among the various races.

Whatever happened to lateral thinking?

The same group of people would later talk about national integration. And some would translate all these into majlis tarian, pertunjukan budaya pelbagai kaum etc etc – like it’s not natural.

I just hope the next time when there is a need to play to the gallery, just go and see the “movers and shakers” and learn a thing or two from them.

Understand the adjustments they had to make and how they resolved conflicts in the best intelligent way.

When decisions are based on trust, love and honesty, the result will be just beautiful.

And mix marriages will create a new pool of great genes -- Beautiful people with strong DNA.

Of course there are other issues too, but then again, we can think of the best possible way to solve them…

Think…..

I AM NOW A REPTILE BUT I WANT TO BE A MAMMAL BACK...

2008-10-31T23:58:00.000-07:00

I got up
And I can’t go out and it's like my time is up..

I now have scales
I am no longer with the primates or whales
I am now a reptile

I want to be a mammal again
With lots to gain
With the mirror I am vain

I don’t want to glide
Or have large teeth to bite!!!

All I want is to be loved…