Month -3-07, Jun
The Installments
We were given the notice since May middle. It was like the immunisation installments: scary when warned, slightly pain when jabbed, slight fever over a few days, then things returned to normal that life must go on. Mothers calming advices and bed time myths are actually not necessary, especially knowing already the tales and fictions of the contents including that of the flying pig with a pair of chicken wings glued to the body. Everything is rushing to go up now; perhaps the rain water too. The next to be battled by the public would be the controlled essentials such as sugar, cooking oil, flour, rice. Chicken, meat and fish, and the cookies in 'pasar malam', the lunch and dinner in the eateries have their 'leisure' time long ago and in fact has passed their 'endurance' period. The people have adapted to them; they are no longer 'aliens';
Its Renovation Time, Will the Academic Renovation Follow?
   Renovation everywhere; the chemistry laboratory, age 24 years; |
   Even PUSANIKA; the building age 28 but it had been renovated everytime it changed officers and functions; |
  The academic had rotted beyond consumption? Will it be renovated? Yes, but not before a festival of watching the flying pigs; |
2006 Jun 3-5 Sat-Mon, Taking #6 and #7 to Taste the Sea Water; Revisiting Bidong
Taking a full week on leave, off to have 'fun' in the serenal east coast, the place I was born: Terengganu with its foods, the beach and the sea ...  My #6 and #7 by then have 'grown up' enough to join #3 and #4 in the 'mission': that we have the sea-goer blood; #8 perhaps have to wait for another 5 years. |
  The vessel docked at the LKIM dry jetty very close to where we parked. The jetty built on the ground every creature big or small, insects, fish or ghost knew I was growing up by the river among them in peace from I was a little boy; |
    Bidong was still in the welcoming mood. So, initially strolling around the Yu Besar, Yu Kecil and Geluk. Then from there to the man-made 'corals' towards the south east. Never mind the Redang and the Lang which were made 'marine parks'. Next time, perhaps. |
    Ready for action; |
          The first overnight was between Bidong and Yu Kecil. The sea was rather stormy, choppy water, in the evening. But calmed when the night moved deeper into the wee hours. Every one was in deep sleep till dawn. The second overnight was on the artificial coral further southward but nearer to the homebound route. It was a real fun here with a good variety of coral fishes; |
2006 Jun 8 Thu, Chitosan Mid-day Dream
     The Biro's CEOs who had undergone a chitosanic episode: Prof Dr Nik Rashid, Prof Dr Sharifah Mastura, Prof Dr Marzuki, Prof Dr Mohd Fauzi, ... and going to .., Prof Madya En Zainal Abidin; |
UKMP (previously known as BRK) called a meeting I could not attend; perhaps its new CEO wanted to have a clear sq of the Chito-Chem JVC; as had always been when a new CEO ascended. Chitin research is an "epic" in UKM, since its beginning in 1983, and leased to the Biro since 1986; from the tenure of its first corporate CEO Dr Nik Rashid Ismail, through to the many CEOs that followed, Dr Sharifah Mastura, Dr Marzuki, Dr Fauzi - all (and their deputies) had been professors; and currently En Zainal Abidin Hashim. I had a better 'pleasure' on that day by being the 'middle man' for my teen-mate En Hamzah et al of KETENGAH coming to UKM for a field demonstration of a possible installation of minihydro at every waterfall in Kenyir (one being installed in Engine Lake UKM); then to pursue what was being worked a long time ago for a UKM Research Station in Kenyir, rementioned by Prof Wahid in the recent PPSKTM Kenyir XPDC May 19-23; - unfortunately being 'entertained' only by PUSPA director Prof Yang Farina, while the relevent TNCs were away. The last time ChitoChem ticked was in 2001-2002 when MTDC awarded about 400kRM to chito-Chem, about 40% of it was 'sanctioned' for the researchers about which the managers said that would make the reasearchers very rich. Since then Chito-Chem was like a post-eruption quake. This is the only research project in UKM that had been successfully commercialised. I had learned a lot, tons of them, that technology and marketing are two different species of unrelated mammoth elephants. The time left is very thin indeed, please be very quick if anyone is intending for the last and final ride; lest if it is left to the roaming highwaymen.
In fact Jun was the commencement of a new phenomenon in UKM: the research season, supposedly a spit from RMK9; cut off for several years after the termination of IRPA. It was renamed into its own features; one is eScience Fund of the MOSTI and had to be submitted online. Believe it or not, like "life begin at 40", suddenly 'life' sprang up again, ironically at going to complete 56. First it was "the fine chemicals" things from chitosan; the one failed through SAGA last years 2003, which was the extract of my aborted RMK8 IRPA 2001. Prof Pauzi who is retiring 2007 Feb, pulled it with Dr Jumat. Then again the birth of Fundamental Research Grant Scheme of the IPT Ministry, set Dr Ambar et al, on XPS deacetylation of chitosan. Its university advisory team necessitated Dr Ishak et al to incorporate my chemistry, but on something blending which perhaps chitosanless. Anything at all, will be in Sep or Oct. The 'fever' died when Jun receded.
2006 Jun 12 Mon, One of the first Mondays;
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The school reopened today after two weeks break, the first day for the second semester. CB's re-first day, after a long break since Apr 14 Fri - SMK Jln 4 - where the whole of his contemporary SRK pies 2004 friends were 'deposited'. Since then the daily routine were adjusted accordingly to accomodate the additional chorus; obviously tighter.
The school has all the features of a SBP; its sanctioned admittance; no afternoon session; 'uniformed', etc; but a bonus in it that nobody bothers for a quota. It was opened several years ago as a smoke screen for the area, an extension for the "Sekolah Harapan" given to almost all the primary schools in the vicinity; thus made 'unaware' of the existence of TKC, SAS, SSP, STF, MCKK, etc. Nonetheless, like many other new schools, it was built on a site future expansion is very limited and surrounding development will keep on squeezing to become a momentary chaotic spot. The first week routine was learned and no major critical hurdle needed to be taken care of although it was indespensably dependable on logistics. Judging by the weekend mood whence everyone including Ridwan et al were visiting Alya in SESERI, it was not too despair of what was left behind - CB's agony since 2005, added by ours from Jan 2006.
But, was it a mala fide? It opened up into several options, and yes, any which way it was a mala fide, even from linguistic point of view. This thing happens thousands times and is this the standard phrase that guards legally? Perhaps because nobody pays attention to subtle detail like this: a feature that has to be addressed in order to get phased on to a more ordered entropic state;
The Sugary Show;
Reading from the 'history', this is the sounding alarm that the next to go up is the so-called controlled item: SUGAR, currently at 1.45 RM/kg. Remember diesel? This sugar hoarding is in Penang, said to be from an Acheh-bound boat. Is sugar in Acheh more expensive? Where do they keep the sugar which before then was mountainous in the super/hyper-markets? It was reported in 2005 that there was a human being died of drowning in the sugar pile. The furthest it would be made to endure the 'non-available' is to probably mid Jul. The 'plaintiff' and the 'defender' played their role very well while the sugar producer/importer sit peacefully waiting for the next step to move or to be told to move. Beyond that the people will get hurt and getting 'dangerous'. Then it would be allowed to go up and then the supply will 'normal itself' again. And life become sweety again. This is a capitalist traditional 'football game'. So far thousands times had been replayed, amazingly without the people having very clear picture that the next scene would be price increase. So far there is no need to change the stage setting. It could be kept on replayed whenever needed. Imagine when it happen to rice. It is a modern capitalist myths that when oil goes up, other DO NOT go up; when oil and electricity go up, inflation DOES NOT go up. It does not go up, in the breath of the sayer. It does, the minute the sayer full-stops his sentence and inhales for the next breath. If there is sugar, should it be sold by the MB? What happen when the MB had to go to chair the meeting? And outstation too? This is the essence of the historic statement: "The price increase do not affect the people's life";   Even as far as to religious 'reinforcement', or 'enrichment',  Epilogue ..., 2006 Oct 14 Sat Sugar back on the open shelf in the S-mart visited. Price the same 1.45/kg. Not limited to 2 kg.  |
  And moved nearer to HQ when flocks of 'customers' turned up;  |
The May second "mission", scheduled to be accomplished at the month end, was "deferred" by a month, waded out into the time buffer, completed only in Jun end. The outcome, not before the end of the year, would be in several shapes, depending on one's current 'sq'. The supreme shape is that of the kind of today that follows yesterday to be followed by tomorrow plus the difference. The worst was that of getting non-written words before submission. In between are those permutations among the time quanta of a month, three months, a year, two years, three years, and the renumeration figures of the colonial estate kind - take it or leave.
The drawing curtain of Jun was backgrounded with mosaic of news lines about the former 4th PM, TDM, who was not happy at all with the present admin. Many unexpected lyrics, rhythms and drum beats were heard. And many sang the songs, some that they never sing before. It was like "dikir karut" I watched at the wee hours in my kiddy days: very amusing.   |
 And a deeper background was visible. Perhaps to pair with the sugar which was waiting clearance to "take off". Well, "balancing" is about an equilibrium; in a simple lever system is wrt a fulcrum. Obviously "rebalancing" means that the fulcrum had been adjusted, ironically to which momentum? The load or the effort? The 'economist' changes words for similar phenomenon when a new momentum is needed. The latest was "modal insan" for the obsolete "sumber manusia" - manpower - in which ever new word conoted; A lull when both parties retreated to their own 'bases', perhaps in preparation for the next move; |
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Ending Jun, completed six solid months with an infinitesimal change; but in others, Asri inched on to 'catch up' his big brothers, along, or not, the same or similar route. He has about the same amount of time, come 2007, when the crest would be doubled.
In the campus, Jun ended nervously, bracing for the new session 2006/07, Jul 2 Sun (new intake), in which all first year papers with the lectures to commence Jul 10 Mon, will be delivered in english, about which no one, even the professors, wanted to talk about. It was like in an ice cave. A fraction of dB would leash the ice stalagtite, straight down piercing deep into whoever it strike. Every one thus chose to zero the dB in the fragile, desintegrating and self-annihilating existence;
Chapter dated Jun 30, 2006