Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Is he Malaysian??? What a shame...

Assalamualaikum,

I am writing something serious this time.


I can't really understand why some Malaysian cannot speak our national language - Malay language. Yesterday, a friend of mine, an Orthopaedic surgeon, Yazid Kassim, wrote in his Facebook status about this. It reminds me of an incident back in 2005 when I was working in Hospital Mentakab.


That morning, a 17 year old chinese man was admitted to the ward following a motorvehicle accident. He had a closed fracture of his left tibia (shin bone). Looking at his xray, the fracture was so comminuted that we need to internally fix the fracture with an interlocking nail - dengan kata lain, 'nak kena masuk besi'.


So, I tried to explain to him about his injury and what we planned for him. To my surprise, he looked so blurred and he can't understand a single thing about what I said. It really pissed me off... really. So, I asked my houseman, "Is he from Malaysia or from mainland China or Taiwan??" Then, my houseman passed his IC to me. Yes, he is a Malaysian, living in Triang, Pahang.


"Lahir kat Malaysia, besar kat sini, sepatah haram pun tak boleh cakap Bahasa Melayu". I expressed my anger and dissapointment.


And next to him was a Bangladeshi with a finger tip injury following an industrial accident. "Berapa lama kerja kat Malaysia?" He said, "5 bulan". "Mana sakit?" I asked him another question. He showed me his index finger. After examining him, I explained to him what we planned to do. And, he nodded.."faham dokter".


Now, how come a Bangladeshi who just came to Malaysia 5 months ago can understand and even speak Malay much better that a Malaysian Chinese who was born and raised in Malaysia since 17 years ago??? What a shame to be living in Malaysia but can't speak our national language.


And incident like these occur again and again, in each and every hospital that I have worked in - Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan (HTAA), Hospital Mentakab, Hospital Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (HoSHAS) Temerloh, Hospital Selayang, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Pusat Perubatan UKM Cheras and now, in Hospital Sungai Buloh, Selangor. I other words, it is not exclusive to certain places only.


I am not a racist. I have many close chinese and indian friends. You can even peep at my friend list on my facebook account if you like. Many of my chinese friends can speak Malay fluently. My close companion and an orthopaedic colleague, Dr Wan KL in Hospital Sungai Buloh even commonly mistaken by his patient as a Malay because of his fluency in articulating the language.


Of course it is multi-factorials, Is it the Education system to be blamed? It is some of the Chinese community itself that appears to be comfortable living in their closed community? Or, maybe the Malays also play a part of the puzzle. If the Malays are not proud of our Malay language and put English as more important that the national language that, don't complaint if others can't speak Malay.


I have encountered one orthopaedic consultant who was so worried that her 10-year-old daughter cannot speak Malay at all. She can understand, but refuse to speak in Malay. On another occasion, a long-lost friend of my wife brought her 2 children, aged 8 and 5 years, to my house in Cheras 6 months ago. She is an English tutor. She proudly communicated with her daughter and son in English. And they can't speak Malay. What is this??? I don't respect this kind of people. For me, our own national language, Malay, should comes first, then English. What is there to be proud of if you can't speak your own language??


We don't ask the Malaysian Chinese and Indian to forget their mother-tongue language. Learn and speak your language, be it Mandarin, Cantonese, Tamil etc. I think it's a waste and a pity if you lost your mother tongue. But by all means, I feel that the national language should be mastered by all Malaysian - Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sabahan, Sarawakian, etc. It's a mean of uniting us. Without communicating with each other we are doom. The future of Malaysia will be uncertain.


PS. I am excited listening to national athlete, Bryan Nickson Lomas speaks in national language on TV3 Buletin Utama last night. True MALAYSIAN.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Toy Story!

Assalamualaikum,


I'm very excited! Thank you very,very,very much to my beloved wife for the best ever birthday present (so far...)! Even though I have to wait for 2 months before I got this special present from you, it's worth it. Love you so much baby!


Are you ready??


This is my new toy!    *Jeng, Jeng, Jeng!*



It's like a dream comes true...


We bought it at Low Yatt Plaza. I am aiming for a compact camera with multi-tasking and excellent picture quality. Initially, after doing some homework, we went to the plaza to buy Canon IXUS 130, but after a lengthy discussion, explanation and demonstration by the camera promoter, we ended up with Panasonic LUMIX DC Vario, with 14 MP, 8 times Optical Zoom and 4G memory card. It has all the criteria that I look for in a compact camera.



Excellent stuff!!

Thanks sayang!!!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Another light chat with my beloved daughter...

Assalamualaikum,

Recently I had this conversation with my 5 year old daughter...Nabila.



Nabila: Papa, kenapa nanti hari kiamat Papa? Kenapa nanti bukit semua jadi habuk, manusia semua mati...kenapa Papa?

(Nabila ni suka betul tanya soalan2 macam ni...Ni mesti baru dapat cerita dari Kak Long Maisarah ni)


Papa: Hmmm...sampai masa nanti, memang dunia ni akan kiamat Na... semua manusia mati. Bukit dan gunung semua hancur, langit pun runtuh semua...

Nabila: Bila Kiamat tu Papa?


Papa: Allah aje yang tau Na, takde siapa yang lain tau...

Nabila: Tapi Na taknak Papa mati....Na sayang Papa...

(mata Nabila dah mula merah dan berair...kadang2 Nabila ni memang emo sikit)
Nabila time mood nak pakai tudung...

Ni time mood nak nyanyi 'bila larut malam'...

1,2,3....eksyen!!


Papa: Semua benda hidup akan mati tau Na, manusia, binatang, pokok...Papa, Mama, Kak Long...Na...Hasif...Allah sahaja yang tak akan mati. Malaikat, Jin dan Syaitan pun mati tau Na (aku cuba untuk terangkan dengan cara yang paling mudah untuk Nabila faham)

Nabila: Tapi Na tak nak mati Papa....



Papa: Kenapa Na tak nak mati? Na takut yer??

Nabila: Tak, Na tak takut...Na berani (hehehe...tak mengaku takut dia...)



Papa: Dah tu?

Nabila: Na tak nak mati...sebab...Nanti kalau Na mati, Na tak boleh dah la nak tengok Ceria. Na nak tengok Hagemaru, SinChan, Ultraman, Geng Bas Sekolah, Kapten Boleh.....bla, bla, bla....


Papa: ???? $#%*&^
(Sabar jer la....ingatkan sebab apa tadi...)

Monday, September 19, 2011

Gearing Up...1,2,3 !!

Assalamualaikum,

Today, during the weekly Grand Ward Round of the Orthopaedic department, Hospital Sungai Buloh, Dato' Zamyn himself, has tested Sazali, Kamarul and I for the first time. We have been studying and practicing for the past 3 months since our arrival in this hospital.


I felt the adrenaline rush, the sweat ran down my neck and my heart was pumping....trying to supply my brain with vital oxygen supply to perform in front of Dato' and other specialists. It was an excellent moment. I really appreciate his passion in teaching, not only the post-graduate students, but the house officers and medical officers. Above all, he is also guiding the spine-fellowship candidates in their training. What a tremendous task!!


We are all gearing up now...focusing on the written as well as clinical part of the exam. May Allah grants Dato' and all my specialists, especially my mentor, Mr Shahrid, his barakah and nikmah for their good deeds and help me and my colleagues to go pass thru this 'little' hurdle. Ameen.

Friday, September 16, 2011

16th of September - A Happy Day!

Assalamualaikum,

16 September 2011

Today is a very special day. Today, all Malaysians all over the world celebrate the 2-in-1 Merdeka and Malaysia Day celebration. I feel so proud to watch the parade on TV3 just now. So proud to see all the races gathered together in the Dataran Merdeka waving the Malaysia flag, singing the national anthem, performing their respective cultural and traditional dance, and so excited to watch our security forces in their uniforms - the Malaysian Police (PDRM), the Malaysian Army (TD), Navy (TLDM), Airforce (TUDM) and the Maritimes (APMM).


What so special about today is that today is also the birthday of my beloved daughter - Nur Yasmin Maisarah. It's her 8th bithday. My wife told me yesterday that she was crowned as the 'Pelajar Contoh Award' in her afternoon Fardu Ain school yesterday. "Congrats Kak Long, Papa is so proud of you!!"


When we asked her what birthday present that she wishes for, she said...

"Kak Long nak yang murah ajer, Kak Long tak nak menyusahkan Mama dan Papa"....sejuk perut Mama mengandung, sejuk jugak perut papa hehehe

"Baiknya anak aku ni...." - aku cakap dalam hati la...padahal dalam hati rasa lega hehehe      *laugh*

Happy 8th Birthday Kak Long!!

Dengan gaya ayu nya yang tersendiri...

During Eidul Fitri 2011...


I sang her a birthday song this morning thru the phone (I'm in Sungai Buloh and she is in Temerloh). I promised her to bring her to a bookstore where she can choose books that she wants as her birthday present. And, I'll buy her a birthday cake too...and she's thrilled!!       *yeay!!*

Okay...wanna study now. Bye2


Happy Malaysia Day!
Happy Merdeka Day!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Holiday!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Six weeks away!!

Assalamualaikum,

I am six week away from my final CBO (Conjoint Board of Orthopaedic) Postgraduate Exam. Hmmm...this is gonna be my 4th attempt already. During the last 3 attempts, I passed all the components of theory part that include the BAQ (Best Answer Question) as well as 2 essay questions.


During the clinical part of the exam, I failed my long-case component. Even though I passed the other components of the clinical parts - OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination), VIVA VOCE (Verbal Objective Clinical Examination) and Short case clinical examination, I have to sit for all the components once again, for the 4th time that is....Excellent huh?!         *sigh*


If you ask anybody on how to pass the exam, the answer will be the same:

Usaha + Doa + Tawakkal


Following the last failure, me and 3 other colleagues were 'exiled' to Hospital Sungai Buloh. For me, personally, this is a blessing in disguise. I thank Allah for this opportunity to know great surgeons - Dato' Zamyn Zuki, Mr. Shahrid, Mr. Salleh, Mr. Hazrin, Mr. Chong, Mr. Roshan and Ms. Jayamalar. We've learnt a lot from them. Not only orthopaedic-related knowledge, but also about LIFE. The Ortho-Lifer in Hospital Sungai Buloh can share this with you...ask them what LIFE means...


The 4 registrars during HOST 1

Dr. Kamarul...non stop body-and-knowledge-building

Dr. Sazali, Mr. Fairudz and Dr. Kamarul during OSA trip


Dr. Sabaruddin in action...tunjuk power kat sisters...

The Blogger, The Guitarist and Mr. Universe AKA the filmstar

With CEO of OSA Technology, Prof.Haizan and Mr. Hazrin

Please pray for me and my fellow colleagues - Dr. Kamarul, Dr. Sabaruddin and Dr. Sazali. I hope we'll get through the exam this time, ameen.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Colouring competition!

Assalamualaikum,

Setibanya aku di Temerloh daripada Hospital Sungai Buloh pagi tadi lebih kurang jam 11 pagi, aku terus bergegas ke Hospital Temerloh, atau lebih dikenali sebagai Hospital Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (HoSHAS). Aku oncall semalam, so, terpaksa bertolak balik after 8am, selepas habis tempoh oncall tu...


Kak Long Maisarah rupa2 nyer masuk pertandingan mewarna sempena bulan kemerdekaan negara anjuran Bank Rakyat. Baru tau pagi tadi rupanya...terus my wife fetch her from home and enter the competition. Masa aku sampai tu, pertandingan dah pun selesai. 1130 pagi nak announce result....


AlhamdulilLah...Maisarah dapat second place! Hadiah nyer ialah RM100, tapi nak kena bukak akaun Bank Rakyat dulu, baru boleh dapat duit tu...strategi jugak la ni...

Cantiknyer gambar yg Kak Long warna...

Sijil Kak Long

Tahniah Kak Long!!


Aku bersyukur sangat2 atas kemenangan ini. Ni kali kedua Maisarah memenangi pertandingan mewarna...2 bulan lepas Maisarah menang tempat pertama di sempena Pameran Kolej Komuniti di Taman Rekreasi Kubang Gajah.


Harap2 lepas dimurahkan lagi rezeki kami sekeluarga!! Ameen.