From Tebing Tinggi to the boilers of Borneo

I wasn’t the brightest in class.

I wasn’t born into wealth.

But I was the one who refused to let go of my dream — even when the road ahead was nothing but sweat, heat, and steel.

My name is Hasri Hasfa.

I was born in Kg. Tebing Tinggi, Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan, where the days smelled of sea breeze and the nights echoed with the sound of fishermen returning home. Life was simple, but dreams were expensive.

I studied harder than my friends, not because I was naturally gifted, but because I knew education was the only ticket out. That journey led me to MRSM Kuala Terengganu — a world away from my village. There, discipline and self-belief were forged. I learned what it meant to compete with the best, and more importantly, what it meant to compete with myself.

From there, I earned a place at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. While others dreamed of corporate suits and city skylines, I dreamt of turbines, boilers, and the rhythmic hiss of steam. Mechanical engineering wasn’t glamorous, but it felt like destiny.

After graduation, I stepped into the palm oil industry. The air was thick with the scent of crude palm oil, the boilers roared like beasts, and the heat could bend even the strongest will. Many quit within months. I stayed.

I learned every valve, every gauge, every hiss of escaping steam. I climbed the ranks — from junior engineer to Certified Steam Engineer. But I didn’t stop at mastering machines. I made it my mission to mentor the next generation — young technicians, fresh graduates, and cadet engineers who reminded me of myself years ago.

I worked in mills from Johor to Sabah, from estates hidden deep in the jungle to refineries at the edge of the sea. I slept in staff quarters where the nights were silent except for the distant hum of machinery. I shared meals with workers in the boiler shed and listened to their stories.

There were days of breakdowns, nights of emergency repairs, and months where the targets seemed impossible. But every time, I tightened my grip on the wheel and refused to let go.

Years later, when people see me now — a seasoned steam engineer, a mentor, and a leader in the industry — they only see the results. They don’t see the scars:

The burns on my hands from steam leaks.

The sleepless nights during shutdowns.

The times I doubted myself but kept going anyway.

I’ve learned this:

Success is not built in comfort.

It’s forged in heat, in noise, in the stubborn refusal to quit when everyone else walks away.

Hasri Hasfa wasn’t born in a boardroom.

He was built in the heat of a boiler room —

kept alive by hands that refused to stop turning the wheels.

And if there’s one thing I’d tell the next young engineer:

When the road gets impossible, don’t let go.

That’s when you’re closest to making it.