Three minutes

I actually timed how long it takes for me to walk from the door of my home to the entrance of my office.

Three minutes!

And that's when I walk rather casually.

Never in my life would I imagine that I'd be working three minutes from where I live. Now... if only the contractor would speed up the renovation work, so that I have an office space to work from.

Agony of waiting

While the staff of Yayasan Ilmuwan has settled down (more or less) at the new office, I am still stuck at the old office. It has been three weeks since they moved. Despite reassurance from the contractor, work on Level 3 is still not completed, made worse by the unexpected leakage that occurred recently. All the damage carpet, floorboards and ceiling had to be replaced - and this only prolonged the agony of waiting.

It is most unproductive to have to operate from two premises, ridiculous even. I'm giving them till the end of the week. Come Monday, I will move in - whether my office is fully ready or not.

Ideas... ideas...

A few people wondered out loud how I got my ideas to write. Frankly, for a person who writes quite a bit, this is quite a difficult question to answer.

Ideas just come unexpectedly. I noticed that most times ideas would come when I drive on the highway or watch documentaries. And oft-times, ideas come at night. The unfortunate thing for me is that I don't jot down these ideas when they came. More often than not, I would commit these ideas to memory.

Of course, sources of ideas include books, documentaries and people. That is why when I have time to spare (and there's not much time for me to spare really), I would observe people at shopping complexes, parks, on the roads, etc.

And another source of ideas would have to be discussions or casual chats with friends. Sometimes you'd be inspired by a particular story or anecdote that someone relates. This would occasionally trigger new or fresh ideas that could then be used for writing.

Then, when I am in the mood to write (and this mood doesn't come every day), I would utilise my idea bank to incorporate ideas into my writing.

Back in KL

After returning from Kuala Terengganu on Friday, I left for Kedah on Saturday. My family organised an aqiqah ceremony for my second son on Sunday. While my family remains in Kedah, I am now back in Kuala Lumpur. The drive back from Kedah was quite pleasant, but I do feel somewhat exhausted after the accumulated mileage over the past ten days.

Sometimes I feel like I need a decent break. Alas, the time for that has yet to come.

Frankenstein science

In Greek mythology, there is a creature called "chimera." This monstrous creature is said to have the head of a lion, body of a goat and a dragon hinderpart. While this creature may be a myth, there is a worrying sign that genetic engineering has managed to open the doors towards the creation of creatures with hybrid DNAs.

I actually read this particular piece of news on the flight to Kuala Terengganu yesterday and find it most disturbing. The creation of human-animal embryos is a classic case of ethics versus research in science. While the backing of the British Parliament in allowing this research would keep Britain at the forefront of stem cell research, there are many ethical and religious concerns that must be addressed. Muslims and Christians are the two groups that would find the creation of "admixed embryos" most unethical. Christian groups have even dubbed this research as "Frankenstein science."

I can list a number of concerns that must be addressed when it comes to this kind of research:

1. Would the creation of human-animal embryos go against the natural order of things as created by God?
2. Where do we draw the line when it comes to embryonic research?
3. Should we allow research to be done for the sake of research without weighing in on ethical and religious concerns?
4. How vital is this research in finding cures for illnesses such as Parkinson's?
   
5. Is "finding cures for illnesses" just an excuse to conduct this research?
6. Is injecting human DNA into animal cells ethical?
7. What are the risks and dangers of this research?
8. What are the guidelines governing this research?
9. Could this technology be exploited, misused or abused by scientists?
10. How far could scientists go about conducting this research before they stop?
11. What is the legal status of the embryo - is it human or is it animal or is it considered something different entirely?
    

Certainly there are many more concerns that can be raised. But suffice to say I am very concerned with this development. While I support and understand the importance of conducting scientific research, I am a believer of the equally important role that ethics and religion play in providing guidance for researchers to conduct the research. To me, science does not exist in a vacuum. Science exists alongside other facets of our lives, and these include social norms, religious beliefs, local culture, time-honoured virtues and moral standings of particular individuals and societies. If we fail to acknowledge this and allow scientific research to be conducted without taking into account these matters, then I fear that scientific research would be subject to exploitation, misuse and abuse by irresponsible quarters.

Coincidentally, this is the very subject that I tackled in my second novel, Transgenesis: Bisikan Rimba. While the novel may be a piece of creative writing on my part, the questions that I raised in the novel are very much relevant to this issue. I just hope that what is depicted in my novel remains as science fiction. I dare not think what would happen if it indeed becomes a reality.

Full day in KT

I arrived in Kuala Terengganu as scheduled last night. There was no delay and the weather was fine even though it was raining very heavily in Kuala Lumpur when I was heading to KLIA. I am here in Kuala Terengganu as a facilitator and trainer for doctors, nurses, paramedics and health educators on the issue of organ donation.

Truth be told, while officially I am here to be part of this training of trainers (TOT) programme, I have managed to also squeeze in a number of informal, yet fruitful, discussions with doctors and health officers here. I hope to be able to follow up on these matters when I return to Kuala Lumpur.

The TOT programme for today began with my session. Originally, there were supposed to be three of us handling this session. The other two are from IKIM - both of whom were my colleagues when I was there. Unfortunately, one of them was hospitalised yesterday due to haemorrhoid. He has lost a lot of blood and fainted at Pantai Batu Burok. As a result, for the morning's session, there were only two of us left. But nonetheless, the session went very well.

After lunch, I went to Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah with the head of the National Transplant Resource Centre, Datin Dr Lela Yasmin Mansor, and Dr Hirman from the Ministry of Health to visit my former colleague who was hospitalised. He had just undergone treatment for the haemorrhoid when we arrived, and seemed to be somewhat dazed as a result of the anaesthesia. [He was discharged later in the afternoon, and is now resting at his hotel room].

Later at the hospital, I was fortunate to be able to tour the new ICU wing that is being built. And after that, the three of us went to the new Masjid Kristal at Pulau Wan Man. I had the opportunity to perform the Zuhur and Asar prayers at this mosque. Then from the masjid, I followed Datin Dr Lela and Dr Hirman to survey a possible venue for an upcoming conference located at Pulau Duyong. By the time we arrived back at the hotel, it was already six o'clock.

After dinner, I had planned to rest after a tiring day. Instead, I found myself having a lengthy discussion with Dr Hirman ranging from organ donation to stem cell research to genetic modification to cord blood banks. It was a very productive discussion, and I totally forgot that I was tired.

In any case, tomorrow is the last day of this TOT programme. I'll be flying back to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow afternoon. And I'll be driving back to Kedah on Saturday morning. I think I had better get enough rest for the journey this weekend.

Blogging from KLIA

I am now at KLIA with plenty of time to spare before my flight departs. It has actually been over two years since I flew. It's difficult to believe that it has been that long. Since I have time on my side, I thought that it'd probably be a good idea to try out the airport's wifi facility. At least, I have something to keep me occupied until my flight to Kuala Terengganu is ready to take off.

Dampened spirit

Talk about a damped (damned?) start to the day.

I was supposed to have a meeting at 10 a.m. at Angkasapuri. But my routine dictates that I stop by the office first. Initially I wanted to go straight to the old office, but then I changed my mind by stopping by the new office (where everyone is aside from me... but that's another story).

When I got to the office, one of my staff said that the second level was wet as water was dripping from the ceiling. When I heard that, blood rushed up my head. If water is dripping from the ceiling of Level 2, that means it must be coming from Level 3, which means that Level 3 must be drenched like crazy.

Level 3, by the way, is where my office is situated. I have not yet moved into the new office because renovation is still on-going. But I have already sent most of my books there. There are about 10 boxes of books that was put on the floor in my room.

Imagine my horror when I see water pouring down the roof of Level 3 soaking the new carpet, new floor boards and new furniture. The damage went all the way into my room, and soaked quite a number of my books. It's deja vu all over again as something similar had happened before at the old office.

I lost my mood to work upon seeing the damage done to my books and the office. I immediately made a phone call informing that I was giving the meeting a miss. Even if I did attend the meeting, my mind wouldn't be there.

One of the staff offered to remove the books to a dry place. Another staff started making phone calls. The contractor who is doing the renovation also came by to assess the damage. But most definitely, this is something that the developer of the building will have to take responsibility. My staff are taking care of all that.

At the moment, I am saddened because one of my most valuable possessions - my books - are already damaged. You could say that these books are my life. Just imagine my feelings upon seeing the state the books are in.

What a day..., and I still have to fly to Kuala Terengganu later this afternoon. *sigh*

Destination: Kuala Terengganu

I will be outstationed from tomorrow till Friday. It has been a while since I have been away for an outstation trip, so I'm really in two minds. While I look forward to the workshop on organ donation organised by the Ministry of Health in Kuala Terengganu, at the same time I feel a bit tired to travel.

Oh, well. Nothing that keropok lekor Losong can't fix.

Hopefully I can update the blog from the east coast. I'll be bringing my laptop along, and if time permits, I'll be sure to put up a couple of new entries from there.

Political interest, no more

Quite a few people asked me why my blog is non-political. And the following is my reply:

Everyone who follows Malaysian politics know that these are pretty exciting times. A lot of things are happening that are unseen or unheard of in the history of the country. And most definitely, many are following transpiring events with great interest.

And everyone who knows me well enough know that I used to be very much interested in politics. We are talking about the early 1990s, when yours truly was green, very much idealistic and has a specific notion of what politics should be. Some close friends even mentioned that they see me one day playing an active role in politics.

Alas, this has all come to past. My interest in politics have exponentially decline over the years. I have been somewhat disillusioned by politics (or to be more exact, politicians). And the idealist in me is gone, replaced by the realist and to a certain extent, the pessimist.

Don't get me wrong. Politics is still an important aspect of the nation. It is part and parcel of democracy. I am very close to a number of politicians. I would give my opinion when asked, but most of the times, I'd keep them to my own. Not everyone can swallow what I think about political issues.

That is why you'd notice that I tend to keep my blog virtually free of political rhetorics. And that is why I refrain from blogging about the last general elections and the political landscape that resulted after the political tsunami.

Of course, if my friends ask me to talk about this, I would do so. But only if asked.

And that bit about my going into politics... At this point in time, I don't see that happening as I am not interested at all. Whatever interest that may have existed nearly 15 years ago are non-existent today.

I am happier in my roles as an academic and researcher, and pursuing my interest in writing.

Sci-fi thriller

"Sci-fi thriller."

Apparently that's the description for Transgenesis: Bisikan Rimba. I don't have any problems with it. In fact, I'm very happy. According to my editor, Mat Jan, the story has so many twists and turns that he didn't want to give much away when he wrote the blurb (description of the novel at the back cover) for fear of spoiling it for the readers. The official blurb can be read here.

I really and sincerely hope that this novel will be well-received by readers. As a dear friend said to me yesterday, there are not really that many local science fiction novels out there. So I hope Transgenesis: Bisikan Rimba will be able to fill up part of the vacuum.

What's the story about?

All I can reveal at the moment is that the story revolves around an enigmatic girl named "Flora." The story begins with a murder..., and it's a roller-coaster ride from thereon. Believe you me, things at the beginning are not what they are at the end.

And I have a feeling by the end of the story, probably one would think twice before wearing ylang-ylang scented perfume!

Novel solicit

My second novel, Transgenesis: Bisikan Rimba is scheduled to be out on 31st May. And as promised, here is the cover of the novel.I may be bias, but personally, I like it very much. There's a certain air of mystery to it.

So, get a copy of Transgenesis: Bisikan Rimba when it hits the stand at the end of the month.

Subtitling horror

A friend just got back from watching the movie "Iron Man." He told me that the movie is perhaps the best comicbook adaptation that he has ever seen. And that comics fans who watch the movie are in for a treat. There were a lot of great moments, and the action was superb, and there were a lot of in-jokes. All in all, he said, it was a fun movie to watch.

But he was annoyed with one thing - the translation. He said that the translators who did the subtitles are simply not fit for the job. He cited one simple example. Jeff Bridges' character, Obadiah Stane, was talking to Robert Downey Jr's character, Tony Stark. Stane said to Stark, "I'll talk to the board."

The subtitles read, "Saya akan bercakap dengan papan."

Huh?

Obviously, Stane was referring to the board of directors. Therefore, "board" should be "lembaga" as in "lembaga pengarah" for "board of directors." I wonder if the translators translated "board of directors" into "papan pengarah-pengarah"? Talk about lousy translating.

However, I have to admit that we do see this happening quite a lot in the local movie theatres. Subtitles for television programmes are light years ahead in terms of quality. Unfortunately, this is not the case for movie theatres. It's high time they get professional translators who can do the job more accurately. It's a sad day when the translator does not know the difference between "papan" and "lembaga" when translating "board."

I forgot to ask my friend how they translated "Iron Man." Is it "Lelaki Besi" or "Lelaki Seterika"? Hmmm...

The write stuff

A few weeks ago, I was tasked with marking the answer scripts for the subject that I taught. There were more than 60 students in that class. All questions were essay questions. Each student was required to answer three questions out of six.

Anyway, when I received the answer scripts, I had a quick look - and I was shaking my head in disbelief. It wasn't so much that their answers were off the mark. In fact, most of them did very well. But the problem was that quite a number of them had - for lack of a better word - "bad" handwriting. [This problem is also shared by a blogger friend, Jie, who wrote her own account of this same subject matter recently].

While I enjoyed reading their answers, more often than not, bad handwriting influences my mood as an examiner. But most definitely I had to be fair to all of them, and as such, I had to persevere. [I wish I had scanned some of the worst cases of handwriting that I have ever seen, but alas I didn't].

If I lecture again in the future, I will most definitely remind the students of the importance of decent handwriting. Imagine having to mark answer scripts at the wee hours of the night, and having to read bad handwriting, surely that'd be an unenviable task.

I hope students realise that they too have to be fair to the examiners. While people say that handwriting is a manifestation of one's psychological state and character, it is perhaps fair to say that handwriting could also affect the reader's psychological state and mood.

Fortunately for us all, these days most things are computerised. So we don't have to endure bad handwriting in e-mails, blogs and websites.

Still at the old office

I am still located at the old office. The renovation on the third floor of the new office is still on-going. Fortunately (for me at least), the old office still has Internet access. Otherwise, I'd end up talking to myself.

Anyway, I don't expect to be here any later than this week. If the contractor's words are to be believed, then I should be moving in to the new office in the next few days.

Unexpected passing

I was resting at home today when I received a text message from my former colleague at IKIM informing me that a former deejay of Radio IKIM, Ahmad Alwani a.k.a. Riqbal, has passed away today.

Riqbal was one of the first four deejays of Radio IKIM when the radio went on air many years ago. While I wasn't too close to him, I did know him nonetheless. In fact, he left the radio to join RTM when I was acting director for the Radio.

My condolences to his family who will surely mourn his untimely passing. And I pray that his soul will be blessed.

Al-Fatihah!

The week to come

This coming week will be pretty hectic for me. I am planning to finish off a chapter of my PhD thesis to be submitted to my supervisor on Friday. I am also planning to finish off a story I'm writing for an upcoming anthology. I have a number of meetings to attend almost on a daily basis. I am also writing Fikri's memoir, Echoes of My Heart. I have a radio programme to record. And I am currently putting the final touches to a 600-page book that Yayasan Ilmuwan is publishing.

All these to be done in the coming week. Phew!

It's not yet Monday, and I'm already exhausted. Well, at least I have something to do.

Silent killer

On Thursday, I visited a friend who is a staff of the organisation I was attached to prior to joining Yayasan Ilmuwan. As there are four of us at the Yayasan who worked under the same roof with this friend before, we went to the hospital together. This friend is diagnosed with stage 1 cancer. She has had her uterus removed when doctors detected cancer cells there. She is now undergoing radiotherapy, and the doctors will continue to monitor her progress. Fortunately, she doesn't have to go for chemotherapy.

This is actually the first time that someone I personally know is diagnosed with cancer. She has lost a great deal of weight and looks somewhat frail. But her spirit remains strong and she is very upbeat. I can only pray that she will bounce back from this episode. And when she does, she should be proud that she is a survivor.

It is indeed scary when you think about it. Cancer is a silent killer. Most people do not realise that they have cancer until the cancer has reached stage 4. By then, more often than not, it is too late.

Let us all pray for our good health and well-being. And spare a thought and a prayer for those who are fighting this silent killer.

Totally forgotten

I just realised just now that this blog is already two years old on 27th March. Amazing! I never actually thought that I was able to maintain this blog for this long. In any case, as with most bloggers, there are times when I am not able to blog regularly. But rest assured that I will continue blogging when time and circumstance permit.

And please continue your support for this blog. Keep coming, and I'll keep blogging!

Baby pictures

Quite a few people requested that I post my second son's pictures on this blog. As much as I wanted to, I didn't actually got to do it... until today. As such, I apologise for the delay. So, without further ado, may I present you with a couple of Shaikh Ammar Qusyairi's latest pictures. By the way, he is going to be 8-month old this month.

Unplanned reunion

Yesterday, amidst the relocating exercise at the office, I attended a meeting at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in Shah Alam. For the past couple of years, I have been a member of the university's research ethics committee. All research proposals involving human subjects must get the green light from this committee before they can proceed.

In any case, that is not exactly what I want to blog on. Yesterday's meeting was an unplanned reunion when I bumped into an old friend whom I haven't seen since 1996. He was my senior in Glasgow, and was one of the first Malaysians I met there. In fact, we lived in the same neighbourhood for a few years. So it was kind of nice to have bumped into him in a rather somewhat awkward circumstance.

He did medicine at the University of Glasgow, and even after he graduated, he remained there. He only returned home a few years ago, and he joined UiTM's Faculty of Medicine. He is now one of the academics there and also a specialist in respiratory diseases.

In any case, I have come across his name in previous research proposals. As his name was somewhat unique (and almost similar to mine), I suspected that this was the same person I knew. Unfortunately, whenever the research proposals were presented in front of the research ethics committee, he wasn't there - simply because he was not the research team leader.

But yesterday was different. This was his own research that he initiated, and he had to present the proposal himself - which he did very well, and defended successfully.

Yesterday's chance encounter was very nostalgic. We managed to catch up with our latest developments in the short time that we had. It was interesting to know that he had noted my name as a member of the research ethics committee, but unfortunately none of us was able to meet up before this.

It is encounters like this that makes me feel very nostalgic about old times. I really cannot believe that I have left Glasgow for 12 years now. Has it really been that long? Wow!

Operation: Angkat Barang

And so my staff and office stuff have moved to the new office...

...aside from me and my boss.

It just so happens that Level 3, where we are located, is not ready yet. Looks like we have to wait till it's ready, hopefully by the end of the week. Or else, the two of us will ridiculously be operating away from the rest of the staff.

Now everyone is blogging

Blogs and bloggers have always been a subject of interest for many. Some say bloggers hide behind the mask of anonymity when criticising or condemning people, organisations or policies. Others say bloggers are irresponsible cowboys who "shoot" randomly at people. Others meanwhile want to regulate blogs. There are also those who called bloggers "goblok."

However, it is interesting to note that blogs started off as an alternative means to relay information and disseminate news from a different perspective - usually from the man-on-the-street's point of view. Most definitely, blogging has gained momentum in its popularity, so much so that it is now no longer considered to be an "alternative" or "underground" media, but instead it is regarded as "mainstream."

Certain quarters here fail to acknowledge this until the political Tsunami that hit Malaysia on the March 8th general election. Now, it seems everyone is blogging. Of course, a number of politicians (mainly from the opposition) have started blogging a long time ago. Lim Kit Siang for instance is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, to do so. Then there's Jeff Ooi with his famed Screenshots blog, although he started blogging way before he joined active politics. And there's also Tony Pua who blogs from Parliament. From PAS, the one that I am aware of that has a blog is Husam Musa. Then there is PKR's Che Gu Bard - who took on and lost to Khairy Jamaludin Abu Bakar - in Rembau in the general elections. And of course, the list wouldn't be complete without mentioning Anwar Ibrahim's blog.

Those from the Barisan Nasional government has also joined in the fray, although I must say that I wish they had done so much earlier. Former Selangor Menteri Besar, Dr. Mohd Khir Toyo has started blogging after BN lost in Selangor. Perhaps he now has a lot more free time to spare in the blogosphere. The Ketua Menteri of Melaka, Mohd Ali Rustam has also started blogging. Perhaps the earliest of the BN leaders to blog is the maverick politician, Shahrir Samad, who is now a minister in the current federal cabinet.

Retired politicians also have their blogs these days. One of the earliest retired politicians to blog is Ruhanie Ahmad. And don't forget the latest kid on the blog - Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad!

While Tun Mahathir may be new to the blogging world, his outspoken daughter is not. Marina Mahathir's ranting is as spicy as ever as her articles in The Star. And most certainly, there are many many more political blogs around. We are actually spoilt for choice. The only thing that I wish to state is that, it is best that we don't take what is written at face value without counterchecking the facts. What is presented may be one person's point of view. As with many things in this world, there are many views as there are people.

It is good to see that freedom of speech is alive and well in the blogosphere at least. While freedom of speech is much cherished, equally important is the wisdom that has to be coupled with the freedom. Wisdom must exist on the part of bloggers as well as blog-visitors. Nonetheless, it goes without saying that everyone is indeed blogging these days...

...including Amitabh Bachchan!

Moving office

The day has finally drawn closer. After viewing a number of places, we have finally decided to relocate to an office block not far from our current location. The postcode and phone numbers are still the same. The only thing that changes is the address.

In any case, renovation has been on-going since early mid-March. I have been visiting the new office on and off to monitor its progress. I would say that it is now 80% completed. In all probability, we will be shifting to the new place next week.

The staff are pretty much excited. I could sense it in the air. It's probably the excitement of moving into a brand new office compared to our current 20-year old problem-infested office. In any case, much packing needs to be done. And I hope the moving process will go smoothly.