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TIPS MEMILIH PENGINAPAN DI JEPUN

Dah beli tiket flight? Kan tengah sale sekarang. Saya dah beli 2 tiket malam tadi ke Osaka dan Hokkaido untuk 2 confirmed trips. 

 Lepas beli tiket flight, sampai masanya untuk pilih tempat penginapan. Bagi yang pergi pada musim puncak, sila tempah penginapan seawal mungkin untuk mengelakkan harga yang melambung pada saat akhir, atau paling teruk lagi, tiada penginapan yang kosong pada tarikh yang diingini. Ok, sekarang saya nak bagi tips memilih penginapan di Jepun. 

1. Bina itinerari terlebih dahulu. Ini sesuai jika anda memang ada target ke mana nak pergi untuk dilawati. Lebih detail lebih baik kalau yang newbies, kalau dah otai, tak detail sangat pun tak apa.
2. Kenalpasti laluan (line) tren/subway yang paling banyak digunakan dalam itinerari. Ini membolehkan anda mengoptimakan penggunaan pas tren yang sesuai. 
3. Kenalpasti stesen yang paling convenient dalam laluan tren yang banyak digunakan itu. Maksud convenient ialah, tidak banyak pertukaran untuk ke lapangan terbang, atau yang dekat dengan kedai/masjid dan sebagainya (ini terpulang kepada individu) 
4. Pilih tempat penginapan (hotel/apartment/airbnb) yang berdekatan dengan stesen tersebut. Paling baik jika ia terletak kurang daripada 8 minit berjalan kaki (ini sifir saya). Ini kerana 1 minit jalan kaki bersamaan 80 meter (ini standard Jepun). 10 minit bersamaan 800m. Saya bukan tak suka jalan jauh, tapi tak suka nak heret beg jauh-jauh. Bising. Tu belum kalau winter lagi. Beku. So kalau saya, 8min jalan kaki tu (640m) tu dah kira maksimumlah. Clients saya pun saya akan pilihkan penginapan ikut sifir ni. 
5. Pilih penginapan yang sesuai dengan kehendak kita. Kalau nak masak, mesti ada dapur dan peralatan, kalau beg berat, mesti ada lif, nak basuh baju kena ada mesin basuh, kalau suka iron baju dan tudung kena ada iron (unless bawa sendiri). Harga tak semestinya paling murah. Mestilah padan dengan kehendak kita. 
6. Satu lagi saya nak ingatkan, di Jepun, penginapan dikira per pax. Maksudnya harga ikut jumlah orang sebilik/apartment. Bukan sumbat 9 orang satu apartment tapi masa booking letak 1 orang je. Memanglah nak kena halau. Di sana mereka tidak teragak-agak untuk memanggil polis jika tetamu buat hal, contohnya buat bising, berparti, mengganggu ketenteraman orang lain, merosakkan barang dalam rumah dah sebagainya. 

 Oh ya, lupa nak bagitau. Ini cara saya. Mungkin lain orang ada cara yang lain. Tapi mesti sistematik dan ambil maklum pelbagai perkara. Jangan lupa baca review sebelum buat penempahan sebab kadang-kadang memang gambar lagi cantik dari yang realiti, atau tuan rumah memang ada hajat menipu, paling tidak pun cancel last minute.

Penting juga diingatkan bahawa kita mesti ada sense of give and take bila pilih penginapan. Kadang-kadang tak semua yang kita nak, kita dapat. Pandai2 lah buat pertimbangan. 

Kalau tak ada masa atau tak tahu nak pilih penginapan, boleh contact saya. Kalau nak explore sendiri, ground arrangement sahaja pun #teamichigo buat. Virtual guide services pun ada. Ramai juga yang pergi conference di Jepun guna perkhidmatan kami. Yang pergi holiday tapi nak adventure pun ada. Tak payah pening kepala. 

 *Gambar ini adalah apartment yang saya book untuk diri sendiri di antara 2 trips bulan April lalu. 400m dari stesen tren dan supermarket, lengkap dengan dapur, mesin basuh dan sistem pengering dalam rumah. Iron pun disediakan. Harga ngam tapi tak ada lif. It's ok for me sebab I always travel light. 😊 #teamichigo #ichigoservices #tipskejepun

Tips untuk memudahkan urusan masuk di Imigresen dan Kastam Jepun

Apa yang saya akan kongsikan ini berkaitan dengan pengalaman yang pernah saya lalui secara personal dan juga sebagai guide/penterjemah.

2 "pagar" utama yang perlu dilepasi untuk memasuki negara Jepun, iaitu Imigresen dan juga Kastam. Tersilap langkah boleh ditahan untuk disoalsiasat. Dan kalau lebih teruk lagi akan dihantar pulang atau ditahan di lokap!

Sebelum ke Jepun

1. Pastikan anda tidak membawa apa-apa barang yang menyalahi undang-undang atau barang yang mencurigakan. Contohnya dadah, barang-barang tiruan, senjata, produk berasaskan daging* dan sebagainya.

2. Sila pastikan anda mempunyai wang bekalan yang mencukupi untuk perbelanjaan di Jepun. Bawa cash yang secukupnya, bawa kad kredit/debit (jika ada), aktifkan pengeluaran ATM luar negara.

3. Anda tidak perlu memohon visa untuk memasuki Jepun sekiranya anda mempunyai passport Malaysia, tetapi pastikan passport anda jenis bercip dan tarikh sah sekurang-kurangnya 6 bulan selepas tarikh pulang dari Jepun.

Sebelum mendarat di Jepun

1. Pastikan anda mengisi borang pendaratan terlebih dahulu dengan betul. Pastikan anda mempunyai butiran tempat menginap iaitu alamat dan nombor telefon hotel/apartment/Airbnb. Sekiranya menginap di Airbnb, pastikan anda menyatakan sekali nama tuan rumah.

2. Sekiranya anda datang dengan jemputan, sama ada untuk company training, konferens atau jemputan keluarga, pastikan anda membawa sekali surat jemputan dari pihak yang berkenaan.  Sekiranya anda datang untuk melancong, itu lebih mudah.

Ketika mendarat di Jepun

1. Lalui prosedur seperti yang ditentukan. Beratur di imigresen untuk diambil cap jari, gambar muka serta dokumen. Passport dan borang pendaratan diperlukan di sini.

2. Ambil beg dan terus beratur untuk pemeriksaan kastam. Serahkan borang kastam di sini. Jika datang dalam satu kumpulan, anda boleh gunakan 1 sahaja borang kastam untuk mewakili semua.

3. Pastikan anda ingat nombor kunci beg atau mempunyai kunci beg yang anda bawa. Ini memudahkan urusan apabila diminta untuk membuka beg untuk pemeriksaan.

Setelah selesai pemeriksaan di kastam, sila keluar ke balai ketibaan. Anda tidak dibenarkan menunggu rakan-rakan/keluarga selepas pemeriksaan kastam. Sekiranya ingin menunggu, buatlah sebelum pemeriksaan kastam dijalankan.

Berikut adalah pengalaman sebenar yang pernah saya lalui.

Kisah pertama :  Dibawa ke bilik soal siasat kerana disyaki membawa dadah.

Kisah ini berlaku ketika saya belajar di tahun kedua prasiswazah di Jepun. Saya kembali ke Jepun setelah pulang bercuti di Malaysia. Saya masuk melalui Lapangan Terbang Narita. Ketika menunggu beg (selepas imigresen), saya diminta untuk ke bilik kecil untuk disoalsiasat.

Pegawai bertanya sama ada saya tahu undang-undang Jepun terhadap kesalahan membawa masuk dadah ke negara itu. Saya pun jadi cuak memikirkan kemungkinan ada orang yang meletakkan dadah dalam bagasi saya tanpa saya ketahui. Namun saya cuba untuk menjawab semua soalan dengan tenang.

Pegawai meminta izin untuk membuka dan memeriksa beg saya. Saya semakin cemas. Bagaimana kalau memang betul-betul ada? Adakah saya akan masuk lokap? Bagaimana kalau keluarga di Malaysia tahu?

Beliau telah memeriksa segenap sudut dalam beg saya. Tapi yang beliau jumpa (yang lain daripada yang lain) ialah sebungkus cili kering merah yang saya bawa dari Malaysia. Maklumlah, orang Melaka sentiasa nak makan yang pedas-pedas. Nak dapatkan cili yang just nice kepedasannya memanglah kena beli di Malaysia. Cili kering di Jepun yang ada di pasaran semuanya pedas sangat!

Rupa-rupanya anjing pengesan polis telah tersilap! Atau mungkin polis yang tersilap sangka tindak balas anjing terhadap cili kering saya itu. Maka beriya-iyalah pegawai tersebut meminta maaf daripada saya. Walaupun rasa sedikit marah, tetapi perasaan lega mengatasi semuanya. Alhamdulillah, saya dijauhi daripada perbuatan khianat atau yang seumpamanya.

Kisah kedua : Disoalsiasat kerana membawa barang berunsur keganasan.

Perkara ini berlaku baru-baru ini ketika saya membawa rombongan pelajar ke Jepun. Hampir kesemua ahli rombongan telah keluar ke balai ketibaan kecuali 2 orang. Kami menunggu agak lama, namun masih tiada bayang lagi. Tiba-tiba seorang lagi pelajar dipanggil masuk oleh pegawai kastam. Pada mulanya saya mengagak mereka ditahan kerana membawa produk makanan yang tidak dibenarkan. Tetapi setelah agak lama masa berlalu, saya pun menjadi syak. Saya masuk semula ke dalam (apabila pintu terbuka) dan bertanya kepada pegawai di situ.

Beliau telah menyatakan bahawa pelajar-pelajar tersebut sedang disoalsiat dan akan menghubungi saya sekiranya ada apa-apa yang diperlukan kerana saya boleh berbahasa Jepun. Beliau meminta untuk saya menunggu di luar. Sekiranya ada apa-apa, mereka akan mencari saya.

Agak sejam juga berlalu. Akhirnya pelajar-pelajar yang disoalsiat itu keluar. Apabila ditanya, rupanya salah seorang pelajar telah membawa buku yang berkisarkan tentang TERRORISME. Walaupun buku tersebut dalam Bahasa Melayu, namun perkataan "Terrorisme" sangat sensitif buat masyarakat Jepun yang mementingkan keamanan. Lebih-lebih lagi apabila Jepun akan menjadi tuan rumah kepada beberapa event penting tahun ini dan akan datang, seperti Persidangan G20, Kejohanan Ragbi Antarabangsa dan tahun depan Tokyo Olimpik.

Pemgajarannya di sini, jangan sekali-kali bawa barang yang berunsur keganasan. Sudahlah kita sebagai Muslim selalu disalahtafsir sebagai pengganas, kalau kita bawa pula barangan seumpamanya, memang dijadikan modal lah untuk disoalsiasat. Sudah beberapa kali saya dipanggil untuk pemeriksaan khas, hanya kerana saya memakai hijab. Geram pun ada kadang-kadang tu.

Kisah ketiga : Kesalahan membawa masuk najis dadah

Kali ini bukan main-main. Memang betul kes rakyat Malaysia membawa masuk dadah ke Jepun. Ada 2 kes. Kes pertama pesalah menjadi keldai dadah. Dia telah menyembunyikan sejumlah dadah di dalam seluar dalamnya untuk dibawa masuk. Kami mengenalinya kerana diminta menjadi penterjemah oleh keluarganya.

Dipendekkan cerita, dia telah dijatuhi hukuman penjara 10 tahun dan denda yang banyak. Kasihan keluarganya yang terpaksa bergolok bergadai untuk dia.

Kes kedua pula, seorang lagi rakyat Malaysia yang telah ditahan kerana membawa masuk dadah. Kali ini saya sendiri yang menjadi penterjemah. Untuk kes ini, saya menjadi lebih faham tentang undang-undang dan prosedur yang berkaitan dengan kesalahan ini kerana ada sesi dengan peguam.

Dalam kes ini, tertuduh membawa dadah untuk kegunaan sendiri dalam kuantiti yang sangat sedikit. Sekali pandang, kes ini tampak seolah-olah ringan kerana ia tidak bertujuan untuk mendapatkan keuntungan. Namun, sesi bersama peguam telah menunjukkan yang sebaliknya.

Di Jepun, kesalahan yang berkaitan dengan dadah ialah a) memiliki dadah (untuk kegunaan sendiri) b) memiliki dadah untuk tujuan mendapatkan keuntungan. c) membawa masuk dadah ke dalam negara untuk salah satu atau kedua-dua tujuan berikut.

Sekiranya anda membawa masuk dadah ke negara Jepun dan ditangkap, anda perlu "menunggu" di lokap balai selama 19 hari (maksimum) sebelum pihak pendakwaraya memutuskan untuk mendakwa anda di mahkamah. Dalam masa 19 hari itu, anda akan disoalsiasat oleh pihak polis dan pendakwaraya. Anda juga akan diberikan peguam yang dilantik oleh kerajaan Jepun.

Sekiranya pihak pendakwaraya memutuskan untuk mendakwa anda, anda terpaksa menunggu lagi sebelum kes pertama disebut, paling cepat 1 bulan. Menurut peguam, matlamat tidak akan menghalalkan cara. Maksudnya, walaupun anda membawa dadah dalam kuantiti yang sangat sedikit pun, anda tetap akan didakwa. Walaupun anda menggunakannya untuk tujuan merangsang motivasi diri untuk kerja (contohnya) tetapi itu semua tidak dikira. Yang penting anda ditangkap ketika memiliki najis dadah tersebut. Kalau cubaan bawa masuk ke negara Jepun, lagilah tinggi pemberatnya. Apatah lagi jika ia adalah untuk tujuan mendapatkan keuntungan.

Apa pun sebagai penterjemah, saya terpaksa mengawal perasaan. Kasihan kepada keluarga yang terpaksa mengeluarkan belanja yang banyak untuk datang melawat dan membayar penterjemah yang mahal. Satu lagi, apabila ada masalah bahasa, tidak semua yang kita nak sampaikan dapat disampaikan. Tak sama dengan berbahasa sendiri. Kemudian, anda terpaksa masuk di tempat tahanan di negara asing. Janganlah berharap dengan kedutaan. Mereka banyak perkara lain yang perlu diselesaikan.

Oh ya, peguam Jepun yang saya jumpa tempoh hari sangat tinggi integritinya. Beliau tidak mahu menerima apa-apa jua hadiah, mengingatkan kami undang-undang itu adalah undang-undang, yang perlu dibezakan dengan perasaan dan emosi. Juga, beliau tidak akan berkata bohong semata-mata untuk menyelamatkan keadaan.

Kesimpulannya, hati-hatilah sebelum ke negara orang. Jangan tertipu dengan orang yang cuba memperdayakan kita dengan menjanjikan wang yang banyak dengan menjadi keldai dadah. Fikir-fikirkanlah tentang orang yang tersayang.

REIWA : Era Maharaja Jepun yang baru, era diri sendiri?

Dah lamaa saya tak blog.
Walaupun setiap semester mengajar dan "memaksa" pelajar-pelajar saya buat blog untuk assignment kelas. Haha.

Dan hari berganti hari, profesion saya pun sudah berubah. Dari menjadi pelajar, kembali mengajar dan berhenti sebagai pensyarah sepenuh masa dan menjalankan perniagaan sendiri. Masa berlalu amat pantas, saya tak sangka dah bertahun saya tinggalkan blog ini tanpa catatan yang konkrit. Sehinggalah pemergian Imam Hamanaka baru-baru ini (siapa dia Imam Hamanaka, saya akan tulis dalam catatan yang lain), saya tersedar bahawa jika saya tidak menulis, kenangan itu hanya tinggal kenangan. Dan tiada apa yang boleh dilakukan dengan kenangan yang tidak ditinggalkan.

Tahun ini, tahun yang amat bermakna buat saya.
Satu cita-cita yang dah lama saya pendam, iaitu untuk "bekerja dari rumah" sudah tercapai.
Ada satu lagi cita-cita yang belum tercapai, tapi jangan tanya apa dia sebab cita-cita saya pelik belaka. Haha.

Tahun ini era baru untuk Jepun. Maharaja baru yang perlu menangani cabaran yang lain daripada yang dulu. Sama juga seperti saya, perlu menghadapi cabaran baru setelah keluar dari zon selesa. Perkara pertama yang saya nak buat ialah, saya mahu lebih banyak menulis. Tak kisahlah kat mana pun. I just want to keep my ideas, thoughts flowing.

Perkara kedua, saya nak kongsikan refleksi daripada apa yang saya pelajari melalui pengalaman saya di Jepun. Dulu bila handle banyak kelas, saya ada peluang bercerita dengan pelajar-pelajar saya. Sekarang, dah kurang peluang tu sebab cuma mengajar seminggu sekali. Sebelum saya terlupa, lebih baik saya kongsikan. Mungkin pernah dikongsikan di facebook dan sebagainya, tapi saya akan simpan juga di sini.

Perkara ketiga, saya rasa seru itu sudah sampai. Dulu saya tak nak buat, dan saya benci bila buat. Sekarang saya rasa masanya sudah tiba. Apa benda tu? Tak nak bagitau. Hahaha.

Oh ya, gambar ini diambil di Dogo Onsen syotengai, iaitu deretan kedai-kedai di menuju ke arah Dogo Onsen, iaitu onsen (kolam air panas) tertua di Jepun. Dogo onsen ini telah bemula 1000 tahun yang lalu, dan ada disebut di dalam Manyoshu (iaitu koleksi puisi dalam bahasa Jepun klasik yang tertua). Perkataan "Reiwa" juga dipetik daripada Manyoshu ini.

A Journey to be Missed

When I was younger, I was relatively an anti-social. As a kid, I did mix around with my peers (especially boys) but I always find reasons not to attend weddings, and visit relatives. I was not really into engineering, but when I was offered a scholarship to study engineering in Japan, I took it up because I thought I would not end up working with people (but machines instead).

But gradually, that bad attitude changed when I was in Japan. My Japanese friends treated me well and thought me the importance of trust in a whatever relationship. When I returned home to work as an engineer, I came to realize that machines are only tools to get the job done, but it is human interaction that enriches the work experience. It is also the Japanese who taught me to use senses; see, hear, touch, taste, feel, when we are at "genba" (site). When you "feel" what you are doing, you will have deeper understanding and that will make things work easier.

So when I changed my career to become an educator, in a business faculty, there is no more room for me to deny the value of networking. And I believe that it is my responsibility to nurture the students with this value. To understand them, I must "feel" them. When I can "feel" them, troubleshooting should come easy. I can see how my parents (both teachers) and my teachers did that to theirs. May Allah bless them.

And throughout this short 3 years, I have learnt that to feel and understand them, it takes a lot of time and energy. I make myself available off and online so that we can get in touch whenever they need me (or sometimes vice-versa, LOL). I invite them for tea or meal to talk about other things than textbook or lecture slides, I attend their functions whenever possible, I brought them to my Mom's to have some decent meal (thanks Mak :)), I took them out for activities like picking rambutan and collecting durians or shopping, watching movies, and even to the zoo! haha. I brought them to Japan to see what I saw as a student. I visited their houses during several occasions (so far 5 homes) to get to know their families. Or just as simple as sending a hi message. I know I cannot treat everybody the same, but I just do what I can.

It is nice when once in a while they drop by just to say hi, or sending messages telling their whereabouts. Sometimes they would resort to me to ease their anxiousness in some issues, or just to get somebody to listen to their thoughts and feelings. In some cases, I had to punish them for what they did, so that they won't do the same to other people.

Why I did all this? Because I believe that each and everyone of them has their own potential and that they have someone to refer to if they cannot stay focused. And that life is not all about textbooks. They should nurture their potential through the network they have built at least with me or through me.

So I will be missing all these soon. I hope they will be strong and have all the willingness to improve themselves to a greater height. My prayers will always be with them.

Alumni. What does it mean to you?

Not knowing what to do tonight, I flipped through papers and letters on the coffee table. Suddenly I saw this...

"Oh, a letter from Kyudai!"

Feeling so excited, I opened it harshly..

2 pamphlets on Kyudai News.

They still remember me! 

and they took all the hassle to send me the news (even when they can just send it by email?)

That's why I always say to my students- half of my heart is left there.

Alumni is a crucial platform for ex-students to give back to their school. But just giving back is not enough. The school MUST remember the ex-students as well, otherwise, they will forget their way "home".

It should be a GIVE and TAKE, and WIN-WIN relationship.

Come August, the September. Convocation is approaching and I can't help wondering what UKM Alumni does for its members.. 

When was the last time your teacher touched your heart?

This entry is gonna be long. It is a combination of experiences I had over the weekend that really touches my heart. "Touches" not "touched". It touches me every time I recall.

29/1 I went to SMAPK to attend our alumni meeting. After the meeting, we chit-chatted with the Principal.

She told us this.

"Kalau setakat mengajar dalam kelas, itu bukanlah dipanggil "guru", tapi pekerja dalam bidang pendidikan. Pelajar tak ingat pun apa yang dia belajar dalam kelas. Tapi dia ingat ketika gurunya membelikan sebungkus nasi lemak kepadanya . Apa sahaja yang menyentuh perasaannya. Orang yang boleh menyentuh perasaan pelajar dengan berbuat sesuatu demi kebaikan mereka, dialah yang layak dipanggil "guru"."

Her words struck me.

All the way home, these words kept on repeating in my head.

Reason being, today (29th), I was supposed to go to my ex-class teacher's house, to attend his son's wedding. I was very close to this teacher, because he was responsible of developing the foundations of  me, and I haven't met him since graduating from primary school; which is 23 years ago.

A brief description about this teacher:

• He drove a red Volkswagen -- JG245
• Sangat macho, kategori handsome yang berjanggut kambing.
• He was my class teacher, taught us Maths and never failed to amaze us with his stories. 
• He built that sprinter in me -- tiap-tiap pagi sampai sekolah je kena lari keliling sekolah a few rounds, berlatih sprint sampai penat -- but at the end there was always hot milo and biskut kering (syoknyaaa)
• He was also one of our netball trainers -- like any other sports; football, badminton, etc.
• He would listen to us. Fulfill our request to bring our "teater tepi padang" to the stage -- and still remember who played what role (aku pun dah lupa)
• He wiped my tears and drive away fear of hurting myself during my first days training gymnastics.
• He was the only teacher who had ever caned me (and everybody else in the class!) 

His name is Cikgu Rashid Mohd Salleh.

My mother, who attended the wedding, told me that Cikgu Rashid was really looking forward to see me.

Aku telah menjadi sangat tak sampai hati......

sebabnya...when I was at matriculation, I had a chemistry lecturer yang garang but so passionate.

After graduating from my first degree, I heard the news that he was suffering from cancer. Somebody told me that he wanted to see me, but I kept on procrastinating the visit.

Until one day, I received a shocking news that he had passed away....and I regretted for not fulfilling his wish until now....

So back to the story, after finishing the house chores, we drove home to Melaka. Soon as I arrived, I asked my mother the invitation card and saw Cikgu Rashid's hp number.

I smsed him.

"Assalamualaikum Cikgu, Shazlinda ni. Maaf tak dapat datang tadi, ada meeting. Kalau tak keberatan, boleh saya datang rumah Cikgu esok?"

And instantaneously..

"Waalaikumsalam. Jemput datang ke rumah. Saya mmg nak jumpa sangat. Esok datang pukul berapa?"

And so there I was in front of his house the next day at 12 noon.

It was so nice to see him in good shape after 23 years.

We exchanged stories about each other, reminiscing the past memories.

Cerita 1: Drama

"Pada Cikgu, zaman korang la yang paling Cikgu enjoy sekali. Geng Cikgu ; Cikgu Ramli, Cikgu Bahari, Abah awak masih ada. Budak-budak pun tak menunggu disuap. Sekali ajar dah reti buat sendiri. Saya ingat lagi kamu dan Linda datang minta izin nak buat drama. Nazlah, anak Cikgu Muharam, haa..dialah yang jadi permaisuri dalam Ulik Mayang kamu tu. Kamu ingat lagi? ....Patutnya si Lin anak Cikgu Zabidi yang pendiam tu kamu pilih jadi permaisuri..hahahaha"

Cerita 2 : Pontianak

"Kamu pernah nampak pontianak tak?"

"Err~tak pernah Cikgu. Kat mana,kat sekolah ke?"

"Ha'ah, masa tu kami buat perkhemahan kat sekolah"

"Cikgu sendiri nampak?"

"Yee~saya nampak dia melompat dari pokok ke pokok. Tapi bukan pontianak la, penanggal.."

"Haa! Penanggal? So Cikgu nampak la tali perut dia?"

"Nampak~ berjurai2 bermanik2"...Alhamdulillah, dia tak masuk kawasan khemah kita, dah "dipagar" siap2"

"Huuuuuu~"

Cerita 3 : Cerita

"Balik2 pada cerita Lin anak Cikgu Zabidi. Bapak dia SK Tedung, mak dia sekolah ...(aku xingat)..

Mak dia dok fikir kat mana nak sekolahkan..akhirnya dia dia masukkan SRKM2.

Si Lin ni diam je, saya pun tak tahu dia ni ok ke tidak ke...Mak dia pujuk dia, kata lepas seminggu kalau dia tak rasa tak selesa, Mak dia akan tukarkan dia"

Tapi, biasala, saya rasa saya tahu ubat dia."

"Apa dia Cikgu?"

"Cerita! Kamu taulah Cikgu kan suka bercerita. Si Lin yang diam, tunduk je tu, bila time cerita, bukan main lagi mendengar. Dan lepas seminggu bila Mak dia tanya balik, dia kata; tak payahlah tukar sekolah--sebab nak dengar cerita Cikgu!"

--Hah korang, dah Darjah 6 pun ternganga dengar cerita cikgu!--

"Mmmphh, jangan kata Darjah 6, Cikgu,  dah naik U pun, kalau time cerita--ternganga juga!"

Cerita 4 : Rotan

"Saya ingat lagi, cikgulah satu-satunya guru yang pernah rotan saya :). Tapi sebenarnya saya taklah takut sangat pada Cikgu. Saya lagi takut kat Cikgu Ramli"

"Hahaha~Cikgu Ramli tu garang sampai habis. Kalau saya, garang tu garang juga, tapi lepas pukul tu saya pujuk balik.  Awak dan kawan2 awak pun saya dah anggap macam anak-anak saya sendiri.. Alhamdulillah, anak2 murid saya semua jadi orang."

"Sham, kat mana awak jumpa si Lin ni?"

"Abang nak bawak balik tak kucing ni?"

Family + Cikgu

"Takpe ke Cikgu pakai camni aje?"

"Lepas ni ajak kawan-kawan semua buat perjumpaan kat rumah saya"

I was so happy to see him happy. And he even said that he is gonna find my house in Nilai the next time he travels to his relative's house in Bukit Mahkota.

(Tapi Cikgu kena bagitau awal-awal ya sebab kadang-kadang saya kena pergi bengkel---padahal dalam hati nak selamatkan rumah yang macam tongkang pecah sebelum Cikgu tiba!)

What I did on my 35th birthday

2.30 am : Woke up to check FB posts and open birthday presents from my students :)

Thank you Iffah!!

  

Thank you Shafika & Wanie!!

3.30 am : Solat Hajat sempena birthday
4.30 am : Drafting final QM exam questions while sipping a cup of hot coffee
6.30 am : Solat Subuh + took a nap
8:00 am : Woke up and prepare kids for taekwondo
9:00 am : Breakfast @ mamak and went to the wet market
9:50 am : Played badminton with husband
10:15 am : Fetch the kids from taekwondo
11:00 am : Left for SMAPK Alumni Meeting @ SMAPK
                 Nominated as Vice President 2
2.30pm  : Left SMAPK for home +Zohor
5:00pm  : Watched Spongebob with kids while having kuetiaw goreng yg dimasak oleh Ustaz Wan Akashah.      (Sedap giler!!) + Asar

8:00pm : Maghrib + left for ALPS Electric (M) Sdn Bhd
9:00pm : Left for Melaka
10:15pm : Arrived in Melaka
10:30pm : late dinner + borak2 dengan Mak + online till now

Tomorrow I will be meeting Cikgu Rashid, cikgu kesayangan aku dulu yg dah tak jumpa for about 23 years.  

Kesimpulannya, my 35th birthday was just an ordinary day of which I would run around doing things. Tapi aku bersyukur sebab Allah masih membenarkan aku hidup to read bedtime stories to my children and hug them whenever they need it. I know that I am created for few good causes, if not many. 

And to my husband who is always understanding (although keep forgetting my birthdays hehe, but not this year), I am glad that I have you.

Lastly, this is a song I love to listen during birthdays. From my  favourite star, Koji Tamaki --HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Enjoy :) 

Japanese grads are Second Class?

I had a hectic schedule last week. 22/12, immersed in marking and grading, 23/12 attended meeting with JICA consultants-Pusat Inovasi Kolaboratif-UKMTech in the morning and then off to Look East Policy Symposium at PWTC. 24/12 submitted grades, 25-26/12 participated in Malaysia-Indonesia International Conference on Economics, Management and Accounting. The schedule was so hard I had to send my kids to their grandmother's.

Oh, back to the title. This was a part of a speech by a minister who officiated the Look East Policy Symposium. He mentioned that there is this perception that students who are sent to Japan are second class students, but actually it is not. Whomever gets a scholarship to study abroad are equally excellent; regardless of where they go. 

But in reality, I think it is true. I am not saying that Japanese grads are of second class, but the perception does. Why do people think so? The reasons might be

1. UK and US are always the first choice. The rich and famous send their kids there to study, so if you are selected to go there, you must be the luckiest person on earth.
2. UK and US have the top (or should I say toppest? :p) universities in global ranking, but Tokyo University, the toughest univ in Japan never topped the chart.
3. UK and US grads are the nation's decision makers. Japanese grads? Do tell me if you know anyone.

Based on my experience, I applaud those who have successfully graduated from Japanese universities. Can you imagine, with zero knowledge of Japanese language, you have to master it in less than 2 years before entering a university that teaches everything (including English) in their language? Not only that, your actual purpose is to master the knowledge but how can you master the knowledge before mastering the language? At the end of the 2nd year of matriculation we had to sit for the  highest level in Japanese language proficiency test (JLPT1) before sitting for another 2-3 exams before qualifying ourselves to enter a university. It was quite painful, but what I learnt from this experience was that we should never underestimate the ability of our brain. All we need is patience and persistence.

On the other hand, those who are sent to English speaking countries are just so lucky. You have learnt English like your entire life and then just learn new things, new technology there. Your probability of passing with flying colors are higher than ours! But this is just a minor concern.

The real issue for me is the third one. Although the program to Japan started in 1983, only 27 years ago, Japanese grads have yet to appeal their presence to the society. We have yet to become the nation's key decision makers. Not many of us are entrepreneurs; what more technopreneurs (the nearest field besides being a technical person at the shopfloor). That is why people think we are of second class.

That is also why I would try my best not to turn down important invitations by the alumni (I belong to JMC/JAD* Alumni). I remembered the first one was to give a motivational talk to JAD first year students who were camping at Gombak (near Perkampungan Orang Asli) and the second one was to attend the symposium as participant cum interpreter. I believe a strong alumni will further enhance the capability of the graduates.

My dream is to see the Japanese grads stand tall, as tall as other overseas graduates and of course local grads, and together contribute to the country. We should be everywhere, just anywhere; private or government, manufacturing or service, having a boss or being the boss, and from there, little by little we should climb that ladder to the top.

None of us are second class unless we tell ourselves that we are. Full-stop.

Meeting sambil berdiri..Ada berani??

Meeting and eating has become a regime in government departments. You can get a full meal if your meeting stretches the whole day. Meeting rooms are so cozy, you can doze off if the meeting is boring.

This culture has never been a practice in a Japanese company (oh should I mention, manufacturing company).  When I was working as an engineer in a Japanese MNC, meeting is usually conducted in meeting rooms in each building you are in. RF Design section was in Building 2, which has 1 meeting room. Meeting is done accordingly, short if everything is ok, a bit long if there is a problem. But never it surpassed 2 hours.

And, eating? NEVER. We were not even served a cup of coffee. If you have a meeting with customer in Building 1, where the General Manager is in, then you will be lucky enough to be served with one. Other than that, you bring your own mineral water la.

You knowla how the Japanese companies are very particular about "Muda" (wastage).They will try their best to reduce wastage in terms of money, energy, time and whatever.According to my husband, the company now is moving a step forward.

To reduce meeting time, make faster decisions, meetings are done standing.The meeting rooms are now locked, only opened for trainings for new staff.Another meeting area will only have a table, if they need to use projector and laptop.And this includes managers meeting which is held every Wednesday. (No wonder my husband looks so tired after work on this day).

They have been implemented this kaizen for about  a couple of months now. I am not sure how they quantify the results of this kaizen effort, but I am pretty sure everybody would want to end the meeting quickly.

Who wants to stand up and argue for more than an hour??

It is time for new DIARY!

Today we spent some time at Low Yat and KLCC. Had lunch at KLCC and then singgah PetroSains, then off to Kinokuniya.

As usual I will go to the stationery corner first and then only the book section.

Hah! The diaries & schedulers for 2011 is out!

Only God knows how fussy I am about diaries. Well, I used to keep the 365days diary during my early years in Japan. Later when I got busier, I turned to scheduler, in which I will plan and record my daily activities.

In Japan, scheduler is a must for nearly everyone. Even the teenagers keep their scheduler. And the new designs would come out as early as October, because usually the calender will start from December the previous year. And the design...oh...just can't help it. Sooo many!! A variety of choice on the sizes too! ( I will upload the photos of my previous schedulers later..no time now lah)

So, what is the design of my choice? Whatever the cover is, the internal part must have

1) Large monthly view, where I can see my overall schedule of the month (this is the reason why I don't use scheduler provided by UKM)

2) No week views. No need for that. I plan by month

3) Ample pages at the back to jot down prompt ideas.

4) The scheduler must be easily opened, meaning that it is flat when I am writing on it.

Oh ya, back to the Kinokuniya story, too bad the imported diaries and schedulers from Japan are way too expensive. And the locally produced ones, not attractive at all. I will wait  until more designs come out (which is unlikely for the local product) tapi takpelah.

Uhh..tak sabarnya nak dapatkan scheduler 2011. New scheduler will bring new spirit of the new year..:))

Program Knowing ASEAN+3, Tokyo-Yokohama 2009 (PART 1)

I was called to our Centre Chairman’s room a few months before to help the students finding funds for this project. The project, Knowing ASEAN, is a program where students travel to ASEAN countries to establish network and learn more about the country they visited. This year, they are extending it to Japan, so that is why it is called Knowing ASEAN+3 (+3 is Japan, Korea and Taiwan). And when it comes to Japan, there is none other in the centre but me ;).

This program was realized last week, after rigorous efforts made by the students (and me, lol). Finding fund was so difficult in this time of economic crisis, so besides cutting the itinerary short, I have asked Matsuzaka-san, one of my good friends in Fukuoka, to introduce me to someone in Hatobus (he worked in the company before). So he introduced me to Yoneda-san whom later I realized is one of the managing directors of the company. Yoneda-san really listened to our needs, and even gave us some discounts on the whole charges. Matsuzaka-san told me that Yoneda-san arranged everything on his own-which task he can always handover to his staff.

So, there we were, on a plane to Narita, on 6^th Dec, 2009. For many of the students, it was their first trip overseas-and of course, their first flight. For me, it was a homecoming, although I only spent 3 months of my total stay in Japan in Tokyo.

We arrived at about 7.30am in Narita, but the immigration queue was so long we finally got out at about 8.30am. After buying Tokyo Metro Pass which is cheaper for Narita users (Yen710 --> Yen600) and rented Japan sim card for 105yen perday (which is much cheaper compared to roaming), we took off to Tokyo Keizai University(TKU) by Hatobus. We were very fortunate because the weather was very clear we could see Mt Fuji from afar.  We finally arrived at TKU at 11:20am due to the traffic jam. Prof. Tajima and his colleagues welcomed us with a speech and a lecture on SUICA-how it helps in retaining customers. Then we went on a campus tour and lunch with the Japanese students. There was an “ikemen” in the group and I saw how interested the girls were on him ;). Finally, we moved on the next destination, ASEAN-Japan Center. Like others, I was so tired but the topic presented during this visit was very interesting to me because it was quite related to my phd research proposal theme. Obviously, most questions during the session came from me. Oh, I just wished I had more time there. The session ended at about 5pm and as we went out of the building we saw Tokyo Tower standing proudly not far from us. Apalagi, keluarlah semua jenis kamera!

Finally (nilah baru final), we arrived at Ginza Capital Hotel for check-in. The room was small, as expected, but for me, ok aje. Sangat letih, but I wanted to wait for SMAPxSMAP at 10pm. Meanwhile, as usual, there was Hey3x and on that day it was ARASHI special. At 9, I could not bear it anymore so I thought of getting a nap for an hour before 10. Bangun-bangun aje dah 1am…Missed SMAPxSMAP..GERAM!!!   

Majlis Perjumpaan Maahad Muar OB/OG 2009- A lesson to learn

Kenapa Maahad Muar? Bukan takde kena-mengena ke?
Heheh..well, I was a Sharodzian & SMAPKian, but my husband was a Maahadian (mls nak tulis pjg2) before he became a SMAPKian.It happened that my sister-in-law and her husband were also former students of this school.


So, last weekend all of us + the kids went to this event held at the school. I have been here once before, on a debate competition.


Not many people came, because there was another gathering by one batch of ex-students yesterday. However, what I noticed was that those yang dulu nakal-nakal are now heading the committee. In spite of carrying a title of 'bekas pelajar sekolah agama', they were all gila-gila, and the meeting was alive, but they still buat this one tradition (xtau namanya) they usually do in Maahad.
And without them knowing, I quietly sit at the back of the hall, jotting down a few things & ideas brought forward by the committee & members of the floor.


Last week or so, Cikgu Shimah, my teacher in SMAPK asked me to revive our alumni. There are so many things I would like to contribute to the school, but it happened that after the initial meetings, nearly all of the committee members went overseas to further their studies. And next year, who knows I would not be here to help them?


I think it is time to let the energetic youngsters to take over. We have been wasting a lot of time doing nothing while we are actually capable of helping not only our brothers and sisters in school- the alumni should also look after the kebajikan (tak terlintas pulak english wordnya) of the teachers. And I believe, each batch has their own strong connection - they must be meeting elsewhere, informally - well, at least through facebook.


I guess one good time to do a gathering, informal pun takpe, (potluck pun ok ape-kita datang bukan utk mkn), is during the university students' semester break after the final exams which is around the corner -definitely after SPM (around 16/12-20/12 ke). Yang penting, we get to know new friends and meet our old friends & teachers AND serah kuasa kepada yang muda.


As for the database I keep from the first meeting, it is still with me. Softcopy I am not sure where, tapi hardcopy ada lagi.


So SMAPKians, WHAT SAY YOU??


Oh ya, kawan2ku of Sharodz, this idea applies to all of us too. Selalu lalu kat tepi bukit dok tgk jela ke atas. Rindu pulak nak menjenguk masuk!


p/s We were served with nasi lemak before meeting and nasi beriyani after the meeting. Semua termasuk kuih-muihnya sangat sedap. Taukehnya warden Maahad sekarang and dia cerita nasi beriyani & kuih2 nya dapat tempahan dari Sultan Johor!

Prof Shutto and the gang at my house!

The most awaited day finally arrived.
Last Saturday, I received a visit by my supervisor when I was in QBS, Prof. Shutto to my parents house in Melaka. He came with 2 of my seniors from the same course, Nagano-san and Kashiwagi-san. They have been planning for this trip since a month ago.

I booked them straits view rooms at Holiday Inn Melaka and reserved a car with driver from my uncle's. It happened that my aunt who was the driver that day, but we didn't tell our guests about that because we wanted to keep it professional :p

They departed at 10am from Ritz Carlton KL to Melaka, as planned, and arrived at about 11:45am. My aunt brought them to a curry house for lunch and searched for stalls selling durians (upon their request) but could not find one. I went there at about 2pm and we quickly went on a short course around Banda Hilir.

Firstly, we went on a riverboat cruise along Sungai Melaka. Basically I would recommend a night cruise because it would be hot during the day, plus you won't be able to watch the beautiful illuminations only available at night. Anyway, kudos to the guide, Mr Bernard whose explanation on the historical buildings was very comprehensive and interesting.

Then we went to a nearby spa, which I recommended them to try fish spa. First time, so they were quite excited. Yang kelakarnya, the spa is surrounded by glass walls so people outside the spa can see us with our kaki dikerumuni oleh ikan-ikan tu..heheh.

Later we took a beca ride to A Famosa. Kesian pakcik yang kayuh beca Prof & Kashiwagi-san, dahle inclined road, pakcik tu tak larat terus turun and tolak beca tu.

After A Famosa, we went to the Independence Memorial Building. I told Prof that there was a painting that really touched my heart: people in UMNO general meeting giving away whatever they have-money, jewelleries they wear and put it on a big white cloth tied to the piles of the building- to support Tunku Abd Rahman expenses to London in his quest for the country's independence. We went in and searched for the painting while learning about other things/events leading to 31/8/1957. I was surprised to learn that these guys do not know about the duit daun pisang (or the Japanese notes in Malaya during occupation). Prof also revealed that he was in Indonesia, as an expatriate in 1970s and know very much about Soeharto and Sukarno.

5.30pm, I brought them to Pasar ramadan Telok Mas. Thought of Pasar Ramadan Taman Cempaka, but I am afraid if any one would get lost in the midst of the crowd, it would be hard to find them. It was quite an experience to them..Yang kelakarnya, everybody noticed that they are foreigners. Twice they got free kuih just by watching it being prepared..heheh. I met my class teacher, Puan Hamidah - which was a big surprise because we both are working in UKM but never stumble upon each other.

Nearly 7, we reached home. Finally Prof got to see Nani, but she didn't remember him! Then we buka puasa together with chicken rice (mak buat), some kuihs and fruits like durian, duku and langsat. I hope they enjoyed the meal.

Later, at about 9, we went to Tesco. It was quite crowded. Seemed like a new experience for them because shops in Japan close after dark. Did some shopping, we went to Secret Recipe for coffee. Prof ordered a durian cheese cake-not for him but for the other two to 'taste' for him because he was already full!.

At about 10, we sent them to the hotel and headed home.

Next day, we went to Holiday Inn again to say goodbye and pass some souvenirs for them. Prof promised me invitations to AdAsia09 (http://www.adasia09.com/) -yess!!

Hopefully I would be able to visit them in Tokyo this December on a project with UKM students.

And I hope they would come to Malaysia again some time.

Ramadhan - my favorite month

It's Ramadhan again! I was a little anxious about how the fasting month in Malaysia would be after 3 years experiencing it in Japan. Would it be hot? Would I be eating more than I should?

The 4th day now, and alhamdulillah, the weather is not too hot, rainy at night, breezy during the day. I had a terrible sorethroat since the last few days so I didn't (couldn't!) eat much.

The first day was in Melaka, had an all-red (chilli-based) break-fast. Appetite was happy but the throat suffer. Second day, we break-fast in Muar and again..all hot and spicy. A painful headache started to develop on this day and it is a good sign, my body is fighting the toxic accumulations and perhaps trying to get rid of them.

Today I feel lighter and happier- no more headaches, relieved sorethroats..

Some quran readings at work also make things work out.

By the end of the month, I expect a healthier me (physically and spiritually) with a reduction of 2-3kgs of body weight.

To go or not to go..

An e-mail came from Japan yesterday saying,


"Dear md yusof shazlinda,
I will take you, md yusof shazlinda, as a Ph.D. candidate of Graduate School of Technology Management, XXXX University starting in the spring semester of 2010 with a condition that you will take the entrance examination held on Feb. 13, 2010 in Japan."


I am half-way through my PhD application!
It is unlikely that I would not pass the entrance exams if the prof has already agreed to accept me to be my supervisor -- well, that is what he said..


But, the question is, am I prepared to do a longer journey than my MBA away from my family-again?


Lubang sudah dikorek, nak masuk atau tidak aje...


Oh well, Istikharah is always the best way to solve. But for now, I do not have another choice yet to do that!


Time will tell, and for the time being, I want to enjoy a Japanese lunch today with Prof Miki Toshio from Sapporo Gakuin Univ who is in UKM on a sabbatical leave.


Nak pegi kemas-kemas kereta sikit...

Missing Japan...

My husband brought back a Toyota Wish from Japan last year. It happened that my workplace is outside Nilai, so he let me drive his car everyday except Fridays. The car is so comfortable for the driver and the passengers, but the radio can only catch frequencies of 90MHz and below. Meaning, I can only listen to Muzik.fm, radio IKIM, and some minor stations while driving.

Whenever the programme is boring, I would switch on the CD. I don't have a lot of CD collections so I would turn to the self-made J-pop collection CD I have always listened to in this particular car when I was in Japan.

Every time the songs are heard, I felt as if I was driving the roads of Kitahara towards either Furukawa or Naruko. The winding roads and crystal clear rivers of Naruko, the paddy fields along the way, the bakery we have always visited during the weekends...everything comes out at each and everyone of the song I heard.

I can never forget the sereneness of country living in Japan. I am always thankful to my chemistry lecturer when I was in Japanese Matriculation Center (JMC), Mr. Fukunaga, who insisted my to choose Kyushu Univ.(Fukuoka) over Waseda Univ (Tokyo). His reason was that my personality fits 'kampung' life. And he was correct!

Tourists may aim big cities like Tokyo or Osaka but for me they mean less compared to the breathtaking sceneries of the countryside.

And I am really missing them, I do.