And now... shattered glass

The way my office is designed is such that all the rooms for senior executives have glass walls. This is, according to the boss, to allow for a "transparent" working environment.

I don't have a problem with that policy. However, never in my mind would I ever imagine that one of the glass walls would shatter. But this is exactly what happened yesterday afternoon. Shortly after I left the office to run some errands outside, my colleagues on the second floor heard a sound akin to an explosion. They rushed up to the third floor where my office is located, and to their horror, found one of the glass walls of the room next to mine shattered into a million pieces.

The wall is still standing as I write this entry, but instead of a clean slab of glass, it is now broken into a million pieces, just waiting to crumble. The contractor has been contacted, and he said that there could be a few reasons that caused the glass to shatter. One reason is due to heat. Another reason could be because someone smashed or tried to smash the glass.

The first reason I find to be illogical, because if that was the cause, then all the glass walls in the office would shatter as well. Why only one of the glass walls? Or is this the first of the shattering of other glass walls? If so, then it is certainly cause for worry.

The second reason is unacceptable because I am the only occupant on the third floor at the moment. I certainly did not smash the wall, nor did anybody else. When I leave the office, I would lock the door. Only a handful has access to the third floor which is secured by a security camera. If anyone smashes the glass wall, it would be picked up by the camera.

The contractor did offer a third possible cause. And that is the glass wall had a small crack when they fitted it. That crack was like a time bomb waiting to explode. Many months later, the crack finally shattered the whole glass. I am more inclined towards this explanation. It is more logical and acceptable.

It is certainly strange because the third floor has been problematic many times over. I have blogged about the problems besetting the third floor before. The list of strange and sometimes unexplained occurrences at the office are listed below:

• Flooded floor
  
• Missing watch turning up at the office
  
• Missing electricity supply
  
• Blackout on Level 3
  
• Inaccessible entrance

And all these happened this year since we moved into the new office. While I believe that each occurrence has a logical and scientific explanation, there are those here at the office who offer a more supernatural explanation.

Whatever it is, I hope that these problems would not recur. Not only are these problems causing a headache, some incidents like this shattered glass incident could result in unwanted accidents and may cause injury if one is not careful.

[I will post the picture of the shattered glass wall as soon as I can].

Call for action

It took a while, but finally the United Nations (UN) has called for action against the Somali pirates who are terrorising the Gulf of Aden. The UN resolution was adopted unanimously by all members calling on "States with naval vessels and military aircraft operating off the Somali coast to use all necessary means against acts of piracy".

Normally, I do not agree with the use of military force. However, in this case, the surge of piracy in the busy waters of the Gulf of Aden, has provided a serious cause for concern. Attacks on trade vessels carrying civilians of various nationalities, hijacking these ships and putting the hostages at gunpoint are, to me at least, uncivilised and uncalled for. Not only are trading countries affected, but lives of these civilians who work on board these vessels are also at risk.

It is even more worrying when these pirates managed to hijack a vessel carrying tanks and weaponry. I hope that with this UN resolution, the threat posed by the pirates could be negated or at least, reduced. And more importantly, at the same time, the UN must also look at the root cause of it all. Lawlessness, poverty and lack of an effective government in Somalia should also be taken care of. Somalis turn to piracy in part because the activity is lucrative. Unless this is changed, I doubt we'll really see the end of the Somali pirates.

Full plate

When it comes to writing and editing, I practically have my plate full, so to speak.

I am currently editing a compilation of articles written by my former boss, Professor Dato' Dr Ismail Haji Ibrahim. This, I believe, will be his fourth book which compiled articles that he has written. I had the opportunity to edit his very first compilation of articles way back in 1999, entitled Isu-isu Semasa dari Perspektif Islam: Koleksi Tulisan Dr Ismail Haji Ibrahim. And I am particularly happy that he has once again entrusted me to edit his latest endeavour. If everything goes well, this new compilation (of which the title has yet to be finalised) would be out by the end of the year.

Another priority for me is to fast-track the writing of Fikri's memoir, Echoes of My Heart. I hope to be able to sit down with Fikri and his mother some time next week so that we could expedite the publication of this important memoir. Any book tackling the issue of organ donation should be seen as an important addition to the library of knowledge in our society.

Of course, aside from this work-related writing and editing tasks, I also have my PhD thesis to write. I will be submitting the first chapter to my supervisor this Friday. After which I will start with the second chapter. As I have most of the materials required for the thesis in hand already, I plan to speed up the writing process. My intention is to have the draft for the whole thesis done by May 2009. Ambitious, I know but I have to set my targets and datelines, lest I procrastinate.

And in between all of these, I am writing the sequel to Transgenesis: Bisikan Rimba. The basic plot is basically set in stone. But my only worry is that it will be too long. Frankly, after a number of rewriting exercises, I find that I can actually break that one story into three parts. Arghhh! I wish I have clones to write these novels for me. Anyway, in all seriousness, I am reassessing and relooking at what I have plotted and what I have written in order to rationalise on what to do. Some plot points may not see the light of day in the final version of the sequel. Some may have to be shifted to the third part of the trilogy. While others may (and this is "a big may") just end up in a spin-off of sorts. This, of course, could only be done if I have the energy to write.

There are several other tasks in the pipeline. I have one thick book to edit, two monographs to consider for publication, and a number of articles and working papers to write. But these are all for next week...

Nearly sold out

I am pleased when I was informed by the Sales Department of PTS Publications and Distributors that within a period of less than four months, my second novel Transgenesis: Bisikan Rimba is nearly sold out.

Truth be told, it is difficult to penetrate the market with a book with a different genre other than romance. Somehow, most novels that sell well in the country are romance-themed stories. The local science fiction segment is very much an untested and unchartered territory.

While it wasn't exactly a megahit when it hit bookstores last June, I am happy of the fact that my humble attempt at writing science fiction is well-received, if the online comments that the novel generated and the sale figures are any indication. Only about 140 copies are left in the store of PTS at this point in time (and this figure, I was told, is inclusive of returned copies from bookstores).

I hope that the publisher will decide to go for second printing. And in the meantime, I have promised to deliver the manuscript of the sequel to Transgenesis: Bisikan Rimba by January 2009, so that it'll make it just in time for next year's Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair (KLIBF).

Here's hoping for the best.

Back to business as usual

The week-long break for most people is now over. Most of us are back at work after the Aidilfitri break. My family and I returned to Kuala Lumpur on Saturday morning. In spite of the high number of cars on the expressway, the traffic was smooth. We arrived in the afternoon without having to experience the notorious holiday jam. However, I heard that the North-South Expressway was jam-packed in the afternoon. Apparently, a friend's friend took two hours to drive from Taiping to Ipoh.

Both my sons' health condition are improving. My eldest son seems to have fully recovered, while his brother is steadily improving. At least, no more bothersome cold and fever to worry about, just the occasional coughs. With the wet weather we're having lately, you never know what you're going to catch.

Nonetheless, in some ways, I am glad to be back at work. Strange as it may seem, I have been looking forward to working since last weekend. Probably, the Aidilfitri break gave me the much needed rest and succeeded in rejuvenating my spirit. Well, whatever it is, let's hope it stays that way.

It's business as usual from this week onwards.

Time to catch up

We are back in Kuala Lumpur. And strangely, while we have been away for one week, it's as if we never left.

We spent our Sunday visiting a couple of our close friends. First, we visited Kak Sabrizah - whom I blogged about before - to see how she's doing. She looks well for someone who underwent chemotherapy for colon cancer. And I'm personally happy to see her upbeat despite her illness.

Then we headed to Azri's house. Azri was my housemate in Glasgow, and I have been one of my closest friends since the Glasgow days. My sons seem particularly happy and cheerful to be at his house.

On a more personal note, I hope to be able to catch up with old friends whom I have not seen in a while during this Hari Raya period. One of the things I hate most is to lose contact with friends. While it may be difficult to meet up with friends on a regular basis due to various commitments and constraints, occasions such as Aidilfitri present us with the opportunity to catch up with one another. While these occasions may be somewhat brief, it is certainly better than not meeting at all. After all, it is the quality that matters, and not the quantity.

Hectic third day

If the second day of Aidilfitri was quiet, things on Friday were somewhat hectic. On Friday morning, my family and I visited an old friend from school, Nazaril. By the way, do visit his blog here.

After Friday prayers, we were at home as we were expecting some people to come over. First to arrive was one of the staff of Yayasan Ilmuwan, Megat along with his family. Shortly after, another old friend from my school days, Syed Razif dropped by with his family. And not long after, my mother-in-law and two of my sisters-in-law and their family came over. My only regret was that I forgot to capture pictures this time around. I should have my camera in my hand at all times.

Nevertheless, that Friday afternoon was indeed interesting. Too bad, we were leaving for Kuala Lumpur already in a few hours time. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure we would be able to catch up with more family members and friends.

Despite the relatively "short" Aidilfitri break this year, the spirit of Aidilfitri is ever-present with people visiting one another.

Quiet second day

Since my second son, Ammar Qusyairi, is not well, we took him to the paediatrician today. He is down with the usual concoction of cold, cough and fever. As such, today has been rather quiet second day for us. We decided to stay at home to allow Qusyairi to get some rest in the hope that his health will improve quickly. In the past, the second day is the day that we would usually go out to visit family and friends. But this year, my son's health has to be given the priority. No point going out when he is not well.

And since we didn't go anywhere, I took this opportunity to begin the optional six-day fasting in Syawal. However, I doubt that I'll be able to complete all the six days at one go like last year. Nonetheless, I hope to get the six days done as soon as possible in the next couple of weeks, insya-Allah.

Uniquely Malaysian culture

The days running up to Aidilfitri has certainly been wet. Some places were flooded spoiling the festive mood somewhat. It rained for more than 24 hours beginning Monday morning, followed by intermittent rain on Tuesday afternoon. Fortunately, the weather was kinder on the 1st of Syawal.

I spend my Aidilfitri morning at my mother-in-law's house. Unfortunately my two sons are both down with cold, cough and fever. This has somehow spoilt my sons' moods. In the afternoon, we went to my parents' place. [I'm fortunate as my parents and mother-in-law live in the same town. Their homes are less than 15 minutes apart].

Later in the afternoon, I was visited by Rizal who is one of the staff of Yayasan Ilmuwan, the organisation that I am attached to. Rizal's wife is also from my hometown, and they're spending their Aidilfitri here. [After chatting, I found out that Rizal's wife happened to be my junior from secondary school. Talk about how small the world really is].

A short while later, two old friends of mine from my school days, Chee Hong and Mei Ying, came by for a visit. It is almost a ritual for Chee Hong to visit me during Aidilfitri. He only missed this ritual of his when he was away in Australia for a few years. This, I believe, is the second time Mei Ying came over for Aidilfitri. The first was about a decade ago, if my memory serves me right.

From left: Chee Hong, yours truly, Ammar Qusyairi, my wife and Mei Ying

In any case, visits from family and friends certainly brighten up Aidilfitri. It makes Hari Raya all the more meaningful in spite of our different and diverse background (race, religion, belief, etc.). And I firmly believe that this is what makes Malaysians truly unique.

Syawal joy

My brother phoned my mother on the morning of the 1st of Syawal. His ship has safely made it across the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden. He is currently in Egypt en route to Europe via the Suez Canal. His ship and three others owned by MISC were escorted in a convoy by the Royal Malaysian Navy.

While the ships managed to get through, the Somali pirates certainly tried to hijack the Malaysian ships. However, the presence of the navy put them off. I can't write too much about the strategy employed by MISC to fend off the pirates, nor can I write in detail what happened (as told by my brother). This is because as the Chairman of MISC was quoted to say, "I cannot tell what we plan to do, then the pirates will know - they are very Internet-savvy."

It goes without saying that the situation is indeed tensed at the Gulf of Aden with the standoff between pirates and warships. Nonetheless, whatever plans that MISC put in motion did work this time around, and let's hope that things will improve in the troubled waters. My brother's phone call certainly brought shine to my family's Aidilfitri celebration.

On another related note, the news of the release of all the crew members of the hijacked ships owned by MISC on the run-up to Aidilfitri was certainly a happy one, especially to the family members of the hostages. This news certainly is something to be thankful for as we celebrate this important day in the Muslim calendar.

Aidilfitri is here

Please accept my apologies for not being able to update this blog regularly during this festive season.

Nonetheless, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone, especially my Muslim friends, a warm and happy Aidilfitri. May this season of forgiving bring forge a stronger friendship between us all.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir dan batin.

[I will be back in Kuala Lumpur this weekend, and this blog should be back to its usual activitiy by then, insya-Allah. In the meantime, between today and Sunday, I will try to blog at any possible opportunity].

New blogs of interest

I have added two new links to two blogs - both of children growing up.

The first is my second son's blog. The link is http://ammar-qusyairi.blogspot.com and can be found under the heading My Other Aspects found on the sidebar.

The second is a very special blog called "Kojiq's World", which is about growing up with autism. Have a look at the blog (http://kojiq.blogspot.com) and the link can be found under the heading Frequent Stops.

Caring, sharing and giving

In this auspicious month of Ramadhan al-Mubarak, my organisation organises a weekly tazkirah for our staff every Thursday. For this week, we invited Ustaz Mohd Ali Sarbini who is the Imam of Masjid Negara. [Info on Masjid Negara can be read here].

Ustaz Ali had earlier in the day attended a function at Hospital Kuala Lumpur to give away hampers and duit raya to the patients at Wards 23 and 24 of the hospital. Most of them at the wards are elderly people. [Info on Hospital Kuala Lumpur can be read here].

He related to me that this experience was indeed rewarding for a number of reasons. The first is that one would be thankful for being fortunate and healthy. The second is the satisfaction of helping others in need. And the third is that one could see the happiness in the eyes of those in need of help when they receive the aid - no matter how small the aid may be.

Doctors may be able to prescribe physical medication. But in order for the sick to get well, spiritual and emotional medications must also be prescribed. This is where people like religious scholars, volunteers, philanthropists and more importantly family members come in. Unfortunately, most of us are quite oblivious to these people in need, unless and until one of our family members or even our own selves, are in that very position of needing help.

I believe that Ramadhan not only trains us to be patient and strong in the face of hardship, but we are also trained to be caring, sharing and giving. These traits should be made a habit even after this auspicious month has ended.

That is the challenge for us all - to inculcate these traits in ourselves and made them a habit.

Aidilfitri mood

I noticed that many people are already in their Hari Raya mood. At this point in time however, I still don't feel the festivity of Aidilfitri. Perhaps, when I return to my kampung on Saturday, the feeling would be greater.

I am reminded of the time I spent Aidilfitri in Glasgow. The last Aidilfitri I celebrated there was in 1996, and it was perhaps the most memorable one. As we recite the takbir on the eve of Aidilfitri, suddenly snow started falling rather heavily. This was certainly odd because heavy snowfall was quite rare in Glasgow. Sure, sleet was normal but snow on the other hand, was not.

The next morning, as we were getting ready to go to the masjid to perform the Aidilfitri prayers, the snow on the ground was quite thick. In a way, it was a good parting give for me who was leaving Glasgow a few months later. I left Glasgow with memories of a white Aidilfitri.

I hope this year's Aidilfitri will be memorable. This will be the first time that my youngest son would be old enough to be taken along when we visit family and friends. Last year, he was 25 days old when we celebrated Aidilfitri.

Nonetheless, may I take this opportunity (since many will be away from this weekend), to wish all Muslim friends and visitors, a joyous and meaningful Aidilfitri. May the madrasah of Ramadhan improves our character and quality. And may the first of Syawal brings forth happiness and strengthen our ties, insya-Allah.

Eid Mubarak!

Access denied

Level 3 of my office is proving to be problematic.

Yesterday's electricity outage was resolved today. Apparently, the wiring of one of the air-conditioning units was faulty. When someone switched on any of the lights or air-conditioners, that particular air-conditioning unit would switch on by itself. This was caused by a short circuit in the wiring, and thus resulting the electrical overload that brought about yesterday's blackout.

And when I thought one problem was solved, out came another problem.

After the electrical problem was taken care of, I remained in my office to do my work. At around noon, I had to go down to the Ground Floor to take care of some matters. I left Level 3 by swiping the access card to unlock the door.

When I returned to Level 3, I swiped my access card again, this time to enter the office. Unfortunately, the device could not read my access card. Nor could it read any of the other access cards used by the other staff members. This problem had actually happened before, and both times it occurred right after an electrical supply problem.

We had to call in the subcontractor who undertook the security aspects of the office. When they came in at about 3 p.m., they restored the programming of the security access device. When further tests were done, they told me that the problem was caused by a faulty chip in the device.

With all these problems on Level 3, I wonder what will happen next?

In the dark

I was out of the office for the whole morning. Since I am the only regular occupant of Level 3 (the other is my boss who comes in only when he's in Kuala Lumpur), I have to unlock the doors, as well as switching on the lights and air-conditioner every time I arrive. [And switching them off and locking everything up before I leave].

I only arrived back at the office just after 2 p.m., and as usual I would do all the above. I went into my room, switched on my computer, and just as I was about to settle down, the electricity supply suddenly went off. I heard a "weird" sound just before everything went dark.

I notified my staff of the problem asking them to check what went wrong. I was literally in the dark for a good ten minutes or so. My staff checked the fuse box and noticed that one of the switches had kicked in. So most probably there was an electrical overload at Level 3. My staff switched on the master supply to Level 3 just as my boss arrived. Coincidentally, I went out to take care of some matters at the Ground Floor. And shortly after, the supply was again cut off by the fuse box. According to my boss, he noticed a spark.

We didn't dare to switch on the main supply again for fear of an electrical short circuit or worse still, an electrical fire. We had called the electrician, but he'll only be coming tomorrow morning. Till the problem is solved, I won't be able to operate from my office. I hope the electrician could identify what caused the fuse switch to kick in. Hopefully, it isn't anything serious or major.

Sigh.

I have actually lost track of how many times problems have struck my office rendering me helpless. The new office seems to be problematic from day one. Talk about poor workmanship on the part of the contractor and his subcontractors.

And if the current problem persists, I may just have to work from home tomorrow. Fortunately, my home is just a three-minute walk away.

Poor man's meal

Yesterday, my wife and I broke fast at one of my favourite restaurants in Ampang. When I made the reservation, I was asked whether I wanted buffet or a la carte. Since it was only the two of us, and since both of us are not "big eaters", I chose a la carte.

We got to the restaurant at about half past six. About half an hour before iftar (breaking fast), the waiter took our orders. I glanced at the others and noticed that many chose the buffet menu. And people started to flock the buffet table to "gather" as much food as they can eat - or at least, as much as they thought they can eat. I was astounded by the amount of food some people took from the buffet table. I wondered quietly whether they could actually finish all the food that they took or was it that they took that much food only to justify the price of the buffet?

Nonetheless, I assume they could actually consume all the food that they took from the buffet table. About ten minutes before iftar, our orders came. I had lamb shank nasi briyani and lemon tea, while my wife had nasi briyani with ayam masak merah and sirap bandung. Aside from our orders, there were two complimentary tamar (dates) on our table.

When it was time for iftar, we ate our food. After finished eating, I went to the counter to pay for the meal. It was around this time that my wife heard the people sitting next to our table (an elderly couple) making a rather cynical remark. "Poor man's meal," exclaimed the elderly man to his wife, after the wife gestured to him what we had for iftar. On their table, of course, was food aplenty taken from the buffet table. And I guess, the buffet meal was a "rich man's meal".

Naturally, when my wife told me about this as we were walking to the car, I was critical of the remark. To me, the remark was uncalled for, especially in this auspicious month of Ramadhan when Muslims are supposed to learn to be moderate (including in the consumption of food) as well as not be wasteful. Frankly, we chose a la carte because we knew that it would be wasteful for us to choose buffet. We would be paying more than what we could actually eat. So, it was more practical and realistic for us to choose a la carte.

Friends of mine know pretty well that I should never be taken along for buffet meals, simply because I don't eat that much. It's not cost-effective for me to have a buffet meal. And I definitely do not like to waste any food.

If an a la carte meal is considered a poor man's meal, then so be it. At least, deep in my heart, I know that I did not waste any food that would probably be better if given to the poor, rather than be wasted and thrown away by the so-called rich.

Sad news

I was taken aback when I read this piece of news sent by one of my former classmates through e-mail to my batch's mailing list. Our alma mater's current principal, Puan Azizah Rasol, lost her eldest son on the first day of Ramadhan. Her son was 27 years old, and drew his last breath at Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

Upon receiving the e-mail, I immediately called up one of my former teachers to verify the news. It is unfortunate that we only found about this sad news today. While Puan Azizah never actually taught me, I know her quite well way back when I was in school and she was teaching Form Six.

On behalf of my friends, I would like to offer our deepest condolences to Puan Azizah and her family.

Al-Fatihah!

[This is unfortunately the third death in the month of Ramadhan that I have blogged about].

New addition

In the wee hours of today, I received a text message from a good friend and ex-colleague, Shahriza, informing me of the birth of his fourth child - a daughter.

Congratulations to Shahriza on this joyous news. May this Ramadhan baby bring forth good fortunes to Shahriza's family.
Update: I have been informed by Shahriza that he has named the baby, Siti Nur Shahindah. Unique name, I must say.

Scientist in me

This semester, I have been attending compulsory classes at the university as part of my PhD exercise. Prior to this semester, the last time I attended any class was way back in 1996. The 12-year gap certainly made me forget how interesting a life's student is.

And today, upon attending the latest class, I am reminded how much I actually enjoyed doing chemistry lab work. I even had goosebumps when old memories of labouring in the chemistry lab during the winter at the University of Glasgow suddenly flashed before my eyes.

I guess the scientist in me still lives.