CERITA 1168 HOTEL

Pada tahun 2008, ketika pertama kali saya tiba di Miri, Sarawak, saya telah ditugaskan untuk bekerja di kawasan pedalaman Sarawak, sekitar Long Lama. Isteri dan anak sulung kami yang ketika itu masih kecil dan belum bersekolah turut mengikuti saya tinggal di ladang.

Isteri saya telah banyak berkorban demi mengikuti ke mana sahaja perjalanan kerjaya saya membawanya. Dia tidak pernah benar-benar memikirkan untuk mencari pekerjaan sendiri. Sebaliknya, dia menumpukan sepenuh perhatian untuk menguruskan rumah tangga dan membesarkan anak-anak kami. Sejak mengandung anak pertama, dia perlu mempelajari segala-galanya tentang persediaan menjadi seorang ibu. Tahun demi tahun, dia terus belajar tentang cara terbaik untuk membesarkan dan mendidik anak-anak, sehinggalah hari ini, ketika mereka sudah semakin dewasa. Dia juga tidak pernah teragak-agak untuk menegur atau membetulkan saya apabila merasakan ada perkara yang tidak kena dengan cara saya melayan anak-anak.

Dengan anak sulung kami yang ketika itu baru berusia tiga tahun, hampir setiap hujung minggu kami akan berulang-alik ke Miri. Ada kalanya, kami juga perlu masuk ke bandar atas urusan syarikat seperti pengurusan gaji pekerja atau menghadiri mesyuarat. Setiap kali keadaan seperti itu berlaku, saya akan menempah sebuah bilik hotel di Miri.

Sepanjang beberapa tahun tersebut, rasanya sudah agak banyak hotel di sekitar Miri yang pernah kami inap. Apabila mempunyai anak kecil, bermalam di hotel terasa seperti pergi bercuti, walaupun hanya untuk satu malam. Membawa anak berenang di kolam renang hotel seolah-olah menjadi aktiviti wajib setiap kali menginap. Pada waktu pagi pula, sarapan sudah tersedia untuk kami. Tidak perlu saya katakan, mungkin isteri sayalah orang yang paling gembira kerana dia tidak perlu memikirkan soal menyediakan makanan.

Syarikat tempat saya bekerja ketika itu sering menganjurkan pelbagai aktiviti sepanjang tahun. Antara yang paling menarik ialah program yang melibatkan keluarga pekerja, khususnya aktiviti team building. Ahli keluarga turut digalakkan untuk menyertai program tersebut dan berkenalan antara satu sama lain. Mereka berkongsi pengalaman yang hampir sama, iaitu kehidupan di ladang kelapa sawit yang terletak jauh di kawasan pedalaman, termasuk segala cabaran dan pengorbanan yang terpaksa dilalui dalam menjalani kehidupan sedemikian.

Tidak kurang juga keluarga yang terpaksa menjalani kehidupan jarak jauh kerana suami masing-masing bekerja jauh di kawasan pedalaman.

Setiap kali syarikat menganjurkan program di mana-mana lokasi di seluruh negara, saya akan cuba sedaya upaya untuk membawa isteri bersama. Ketika itu, kami hanya mempunyai seorang anak yang masih kecil, jadi perjalanan bersama tidaklah begitu sukar. Namun, apabila anak-anak semakin membesar dan semakin ramai yang mula bersekolah, keadaan menjadi sedikit rumit. Tidak lagi praktikal untuk membawa semua ahli keluarga menyertai setiap program syarikat.

Pada masa itu, menginap di hotel seolah-olah menjadi percutian pendek buat keluarga kami.

Pada tahun 2009, isteri saya melahirkan anak kedua. Anak sulung kami pula sudah sampai masanya untuk memulakan alam prasekolah. Akhirnya, kami membuat keputusan untuk mencari sebuah rumah sewa di Miri. Saya masih akan keluar dari kawasan ladang setiap hujung minggu, tetapi rutin menginap di hotel setiap minggu akhirnya berakhir.

Sejujurnya, perjalanan keluar masuk hotel setiap hujung minggu agak memenatkan, lebih-lebih lagi apabila masa yang ada begitu terhad.

Apabila akhirnya kami berpindah ke rumah sewa pertama di Miri, kehidupan mula terasa sedikit lebih teratur. Setelah sekian lama menjalani kehidupan yang seolah-olah berpindah-randah, dari ladang ke hotel hampir setiap hujung minggu, akhirnya kami mempunyai sebuah rumah sendiri untuk didiami, walaupun hanya rumah sewa. Isteri saya boleh memasak di dapurnya sendiri dan kami juga berpeluang berkenalan dengan jiran-jiran baharu.

Tahun demi tahun berlalu. Keluarga kami semakin bertambah dan anak-anak semakin membesar. Apabila melakukan perjalanan jauh bersama keluarga, hotel bukan lagi menjadi pilihan utama. Kami mula mencari penginapan jenis homestay yang menawarkan ruang lebih luas dan keselesaan yang lebih sesuai untuk keluarga kami yang semakin besar.

Percutian keluarga kami juga mula berubah apabila anak-anak memasuki usia remaja.

Hari ini, merancang percutian bersama keluarga memerlukan banyak perkara untuk dipertimbangkan. Cuti persekolahan biasanya menjadi waktu yang paling sesuai untuk kami melancong bersama. Pada hujung minggu sekalipun, anak-anak yang sudah meningkat remaja tidak lagi begitu berminat untuk mengikuti kami ke mana-mana. Ada kalanya mereka lebih suka tinggal di rumah, terutamanya selepas menghabiskan beberapa minggu berjauhan dengan keluarga di sekolah berasrama.

Disebabkan itu, kebanyakan percutian keluarga kami sekarang biasanya hanya melibatkan dua orang anak yang lebih kecil dan masih bersekolah rendah.

Rasanya, keseronokan melancong bersama ketika anak-anak masih kecil dan menghabiskan malam di hotel sebagai sebuah keluarga muda merupakan pengalaman yang hanya dapat kita nikmati pada satu fasa tertentu dalam kehidupan. Apabila masa berlalu, semakin sukar untuk mengulangi semula detik-detik sederhana seperti itu.

Selepas menyewa sebuah rumah di Sumatera, Indonesia selama lebih kurang setahun, akhirnya beberapa minggu lalu saya membuat keputusan untuk berpindah dan tinggal di hotel pula.

Melihat keluarga-keluarga kecil membawa anak-anak mereka ke kolam renang dan menikmati sarapan bersama di hotel telah mengembalikan begitu banyak kenangan lama ketika kami sekeluarga berada di Miri dahulu.

Tanpa disedari, fikiran saya kembali kepada zaman ketika anak sulung kami masih kecil. Ketika itu, menginap di hotel untuk satu malam sahaja sudah cukup untuk menggembirakan seluruh keluarga.

Suasana itu terasa begitu biasa bagi saya. Sesuatu yang pernah saya lalui sendiri bertahun-tahun dahulu.

Itulah cerita saya hari ini.

STORY 1168 HOTEL

In 2008, when I first arrived in Miri, Sarawak, I was assigned to work in the interior of Sarawak, somewhere near Long Lama. My wife and our first child, who was still very young and had not yet started school, accompanied me to the plantation.

My wife had sacrificed a great deal to follow me wherever my career took me. She never really considered finding a job of her own. Instead, she devoted herself entirely to managing our home and raising our children. From the time she was pregnant with our first child, she had to learn everything about preparing for motherhood. Over the years, she continued learning the best ways to raise and educate our children, and she has done so until today, when they are already growing into adults. She has also never hesitated to advise or correct me whenever she felt that I was not treating the children properly.

With our first child, who was only three years old at the time, we would travel to Miri almost every weekend. Sometimes, we also had to go into town for company matters, such as salary administration or meetings. Whenever that happened, I would book a hotel in Miri.

Over the years, we probably stayed in quite a number of hotels around Miri. With a small child, spending a night in a hotel felt just like going on a holiday, even if it was only for one night. Taking our child for a swim in the hotel pool was almost a compulsory activity. In the morning, breakfast was already prepared and waiting for us. Needless to say, my wife was probably the happiest person because she did not have to worry about preparing meals.

The company I worked for at that time organised numerous activities throughout the year. Among the best were the programmes that involved employees' families, particularly the team-building activities. Family members were encouraged to participate and get to know one another. They shared the same experiences of living in remote palm oil plantations, including the challenges and sacrifices that came with such a lifestyle.

There were also many families who had to endure long-distance relationships because their husbands were working far away in the interior.

Whenever the company organised programmes anywhere in the country, I would make it a point to bring my wife along. Having only one child who was still very young made travelling together relatively easy. However, as the children grew older and more of them started going to school, things became more complicated. It was no longer practical to bring everyone along to every company programme.

Back then, staying in a hotel was like having a short family holiday.

In 2009, my wife gave birth to our second child. Our first child had also reached the age to start preschool. Eventually, we decided to look for a rented house in Miri. I would still travel out of the plantation every weekend, but our weekly hotel routine had finally come to an end.

To be honest, travelling in and out of hotels every weekend was quite exhausting, especially when time was limited.

When we finally moved into our first rented house in Miri, life began to feel a little more settled. After living what seemed like a nomadic lifestyle, moving from the plantation to hotels almost every weekend, we finally had a proper home. My wife could cook in her own kitchen, and we had the opportunity to get to know our new neighbours.

Years went by. Our family grew, and the children became older. Whenever we travelled long distances together, hotels were no longer our first choice. We started looking for homestays, which offered more space and greater comfort for our growing family.

Our family trips also began to change as the children entered their teenage years.

Nowadays, planning a family trip involves quite a number of considerations. School holidays are usually the best time to travel together. Even during weekends, our teenage children are no longer as willing to follow us everywhere. Sometimes, they prefer to stay home, especially after spending several weeks away at their boarding schools.

As a result, our family trips these days usually involve just the two younger children who are still in primary school.

It seems that the pleasure of travelling together as a young family and spending nights in hotels was something we could only enjoy for a certain period of our lives. As time passed, it gradually became more difficult to recreate those simple family moments.

After renting a house in Sumatra, Indonesia, for about a year, I finally decided a few weeks ago to move into a hotel.

Watching small families bringing their children to the swimming pool and enjoying breakfast together at the hotel brought back so many memories of our own experiences in Miri.

I found myself remembering those days when our first child was still small, when a simple overnight stay in a hotel was already enough to make the whole family happy.

It was quite a familiar scene, one that I had experienced many years ago.

That is my story for today.

STORY 1167 HOSPITAL

During my first three months working at a palm oil mill, I had an accident that injured one of my fingers on my right hand. The injury was quite serious, as it involved the bone.

It happened in my third month after arriving in Lahad Datu. At that time, I had no relatives or close friends in the area. After all, it was my first time setting foot in Sabah, back in 2004. The only people I knew were my colleagues at the palm oil mill, whom I had only known for a few months.

On my first day in the hospital, the feeling of loneliness began to overwhelm me. I deliberately kept the incident from my parents back in my hometown because I did not want them to worry. After all, I considered it a minor injury involving just one finger on my right hand. I was still single and had not yet married. The only person who knew about my condition was my girlfriend, who was living far away in Kuala Lumpur.

The days I spent at Lahad Datu Hospital were quite miserable. Not so much because of the pain, but because of the boredom and loneliness. During my five-day stay, I practically explored every corner of the hospital just to keep myself occupied.

On the fifth day, I finally received my first visitor. It was someone I knew from a supplier company that provided equipment to the mill. Perhaps they had heard about my hospitalisation from my colleagues at the mill.

I truly appreciated that brief visit. At the same time, I never blamed my other colleagues for not coming. I understood that they had their own responsibilities to attend to, and the considerable distance between the mill and the town made visiting me rather difficult.

On the sixth day, I was discharged and returned to the palm oil mill. I was given two weeks of medical leave. However, after spending just a few days confined at home, I decided to return to the office and resume work.

I simply could not bear staying at home doing nothing, especially after nearly a week of boredom in Lahad Datu Hospital. Being in an unfamiliar place, with nobody close to talk to or visit, was mentally exhausting.

In 2021, almost 17 years after my first hospitalisation at Lahad Datu Hospital, I found myself admitted to the same hospital once again. This time, it was due to a minor slipped disc.

Although I now had a family and children, the situation was different because Malaysia was under the Movement Control Order (MCO 2.0). My family was not allowed to visit me in the hospital.

For three consecutive days, I was confined to my hospital bed, unable to move my body properly. All I could do was lie there and stare at the ceiling of the hospital room. Once again, I had to go through the experience of being alone in a hospital, without anyone by my side.

Today, I visited a friend who had been admitted to the hospital due to a health problem. His family lived far away, and he too had nobody beside him during his hospital stay.

I started our conversation by asking about his health and how he was feeling. Then, I shared with him my two experiences of being hospitalised alone, without anyone coming to visit me.

I told him how those experiences had affected me mentally and how deeply they had made me feel the weight of loneliness.

I sincerely hoped he would not have to go through the same feelings. I encouraged him to stay in touch with his family back home, keep communicating with them, and remain positive throughout his recovery.

Eventually, he smiled.

He told me that he had not smiled for several days because of his illness, but today, I had managed to make him smile.

That simple remark meant a lot to me.

Perhaps I could not do much to ease his physical pain, but at least I had managed to bring a little happiness into his hospital room.

That is my story today.

The Best Leadership Quotes

1. When people feel trusted, they'll do almost anything under the sun not to disappoint the person who gave them the gift of trust.
2. There are three kinds of people; Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who ask, "What happened?"
3. Sometimes the most powerful and meaningful things come from words that touch our heart and lead us forward to our potential. Life is about discovering who we are; leading is about striving to become better than we are, and helping everything and everyone around us to become better too. let these words inspire you, motivate you, encourage you and empower you to be the best you can be.
4. Every time you have to speak, you are auditioning for leadership (James Humes)
5. You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand (Woodrom Wilson)
6. A good leader leads the people from above them. A great leader leads the people from within them. (M.D. Arnold)
7. Don't follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you. (Margaret Thatcher)
8. We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. (Kurt Vonnegut)
9. Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work. (Seth Godin)
10. The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets people to do the greatest things. (Ronald Reagan)
11. To add value to others, one must first value others. (John Maxwell)
12. A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. (Douglas MacArthur)
13. The task of the leader is to get their people form where they are to where they have not been. (Henry Kissinger)
14. Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of being. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
15. I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people. (Mahatma Gandhi)
16. There are no office hours for leaders. (Cardinal J. Gibbons)
17. When people talk, listen completely. (Ernest Hemingway)
18. I can give you a six-word for success; Think things through -- then follow through. (Edward Rickenbacker)
19. One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency. (Arnold Glasow)
20. The important thing is this; to able to give up in any given moment all that we are for what we can become. (DeSeaux)
21. The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves. (Ray Kroc)
22. Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you will be criticized anyway. (Eleanor Roosevelt)
23. I cannot give you the formula for success, but i can give you the formula for failure, which is; Try to please everybody. (Herbert Swope)
24. True leadership lies in guiding others to success -- in ensuring that everyone is performing at their best, doing the work they are pledged to do and doing it well. (Bill Owens)
25. Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple and it is also difficult. (Warren Bennis)
26. Wisdom is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it and virtue is doing it. (David Star Jordan)
27. Control is not leadership; management is not leadership; leadership is leadership. If you seek to lead, invest at least 50% of your time in leading yourself--your own purpose, ethics, principles, motivation, conduct. Invest at least 20% leading those with authority over you and 15% leading your peers. (Dee Hock)
28. Leaders don't inflict pain, they share pain. (Max Depree)
29. Wise leaders generally have wise counselors because it takes a wise person themselves to distinguish them. (Diogenes of Sinope)
30. The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership. (Harvey S. Firestone)
31. Management is going things right; leadership is doing the right thing. (Peter Drucker)
32. The functions of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. (Ralph Nader)
33. Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. (Warren G. Bennis)
34. There exist limitless opportunities in every industry. Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier. (Charles F. Kettering)
35. A leader is a person you will follow to a place you would not go by yourself. (Joel Barker)
36. A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less that his share of the credit. (Arnold Glasow)
37. Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes. (Peter F. Drucker)
38. A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and show the way. (John Maxwell)
39. Leaders think and talk about the solutions. Followers think and talk about the problems. (Brain Tracy)
40. Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he want to do it. (Dwight Elsenshower)
41. The things we fear most in organizations--fluctuations, disturbances, imbalances--are the primary sources of creativity. (Margaret Wheatley)
42. A leader is best when people barely know he exist. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say; we did ourselves. (Lao Tzu)
43. A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be. (Rosalynn Carter)
44. The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes. (Tony Blair)
45. The price of greatness is responsibility. (Winston Churchill)
46. A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. (Martin Luther King Jr.)
47. Today a reader, tomorrow a leader. (Margaret Fuller)
48. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. (Margaret Mead)
49. The highest of distinctions is service to others. (King George VI)
50. If you're not sure where you are going, you are liable to end up someplace else. (Robert F. Mager)
51. Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. (Publilius Syrus)
52. Become the kind of leader that would follow voluntarily, even if you have no title of position. (Brian Tracy)
53. You manage things, you lead people. (Grace Murray Hopper)
54. A great person attracts great people and know how to hold them together. (Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe)
55. Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another. (John C. Maxwell)
56. People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision. (John C. Maxwell) 
57. Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. (Jack Welch)
58. Leadership is lifting a person's vision to high sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations. (Peter Drucker)
59. Doing what is right isn't the problem. It is knowing what is right. (Lyndon B Johnson)
60. Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. (Winston Churchill)
61. Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. (Harold R. McAlindon)
62. Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others. (Robert Louis Stevenson)
63. There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. (Edith Whaton)
64. The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. (William Arthur Ward) 
65. Leaders are not born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard word. And that's the price we will have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal. (Vince Lombardi)
66. No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or get all the credit for doing it. (Andrew Carnegie)
67. You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing you think you cannot do. (Eleanor Roosevelt)
68. You take people as far as they will go, not as far as you would like them to go. (Jeonette Rankin)
69. Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. (John F. Kennedy)
70. The role of leadership is to transform the complex situation into small pieces and prioritize them. (Carlos Ghosn). 

STORY 1666 POLITICS, SEX & RELIGION

In 2008, I arrived in Miri, Sarawak, to begin a new chapter in my career as a Mill Manager at a palm oil mill owned by a Government-Linked Company (GLC).

The mill was located quite far from Miri, approximately 120 kilometres from the city. Travelling along the Miri–Bintulu Highway, I would reach Bekenu before turning towards Bakong, a small town. From there, the journey continued along gravel roads, passing through another small settlement, Lapok, before finally reaching the plantation located beside Loagan Bunut National Park.

Previously, I had spent several years in the interior of the Kinabatangan River in Sabah. Now, I was moving to another remote location, this time in the interior of the Baram River in Sarawak.

Having spent the previous four years working in the challenging environment of Lahad Datu, particularly with the notorious Jalan Jeroco, moving to Long Lama was nothing unusual. It was simply another journey in my life in the palm oil industry.

In 2009, my eldest child turned five and was ready to start preschool. My wife, who has always been very meticulous with her planning, began reminding me of the arrangements that needed to be made.

For many years, we had been living in plantations. Now that our children were growing up, their education had become an important consideration. We could no longer simply think about where I worked. We also had to think about where our children would go to school.

Early that year, I started looking for a rental house in Miri.

Alhamdulillah, I was fortunate to get to know Cikgu Hasan and his wife, who were both very friendly and welcoming. He had served at the Institute of Teacher Education (IPG) in Miri for more than 20 years. To many people who had moved to Miri, he was almost like a community leader, someone who helped newcomers find their way around the city.

Almost everyone who had spent some time in Miri would know Cikgu Hasan.

I managed to rent a house next to his. The following year, I moved into the house that he had previously rented to me, as he had retired and returned to Pasir Mas, Kelantan.

That first rental house marked another important milestone in my life.

For the first time, I had a home with an internet connection.

Between 2004 and 2009, I had spent most of my working life in remote plantation areas where internet access was either unavailable or extremely difficult to obtain. Having an internet connection at home was something I found incredibly exciting.

It opened up a completely new world for me.

In the same year, I started my blog, Kembara Insan, and opened my first Facebook account.

Through Facebook, I began reconnecting with many old friends from school and university whom I had not heard from for years. It was an opportunity to rebuild friendships that had been separated by distance, work and the passage of time.

I also reconnected with Cikgu Sabaraddin, my friend from matriculation, PALAPES and the Engineering Campus. At that time, he was serving in Belaga, Bintulu, Sarawak.

I was simply fascinated by the possibilities offered by the internet, social media and blogging.

However, like many people who were discovering social media for the first time, I became extremely active. Almost everything that crossed my mind was something I wanted to share. Every issue seemed worth discussing, and every subject appeared to deserve my opinion.

Politics, religion and almost every other topic became part of my conversations.

Sometimes, it felt as though I was an expert in every field.

Several years later, after moving back to Sabah in 2012, I met Salahuddin Abdul Majid. He was quite vocal during our preparation for the Steam Engineer examination at the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (JKKP) Sabah.

During one of our conversations, he gave me some advice.

He reminded me not to become too active in commenting on political issues.

His words were simple, but they left a deep impression on me.

In 2013, I joined Toastmasters Club in Sandakan. Interestingly, the club emphasised a similar principle when preparing speeches and selecting topics for public speaking.

Members were generally advised to avoid discussing three particularly sensitive subjects: Politics, Sex and Religion.

The idea was to create a comfortable and inclusive environment where people from different backgrounds, beliefs and perspectives could communicate, learn and develop their public speaking skills without unnecessary controversy.

Since then, I have gradually changed the way I use social media.

Instead of commenting on almost everything, I started focusing on subjects that I understood, had experience in and was genuinely passionate about.

I concentrated on writing about the palm oil industry, engineering, leadership, management, personal experiences and lessons from my journey through life.

I continued writing on my blog for the next 18 years.

Last month, the blog recorded more than 102,000 pageviews, bringing its cumulative total to approximately 2.3 million pageviews.

In September 2026, I published my first book, My Journey in Palm Oil Industry.

I have also created more than 260 songs, sharing them through several TikTok and YouTube channels.

Looking back, all these achievements began with something as simple as getting an internet connection at a rental house in Miri back in 2009.

More importantly, I have learned that having access to social media does not mean we need to comment on everything.

Whenever we open Facebook or other social media platforms, there is always something that catches our attention. Sometimes, our emotions encourage us to respond immediately. We feel the urge to express our opinions, correct others or become involved in discussions that may have very little relevance to our lives.

But have we ever stopped to ask ourselves a simple question?

Does our comment bring any benefit to ourselves or to the people reading it?

If the answer is no, perhaps it is better to pause and think before responding.

Not every issue deserves our attention. Not every disagreement requires our involvement. And not every opinion needs to be expressed publicly.

Sometimes, silence is a better decision.

Avoiding unnecessary discussions about Politics, Sex and Religion has had a significant impact on my life. It has allowed me to focus on what I know, what I enjoy doing and what I can contribute to others.

I would rather spend my time sharing knowledge, documenting experiences, writing stories and creating something meaningful for the next generation.

After all, social media should be a platform for sharing knowledge, building friendships and creating positive contributions, rather than a place where we constantly engage in unnecessary arguments.

Thank you, my friend, Salahuddin Abdul Majid, for the advice that changed the way I look at social media.

Sometimes, a simple piece of advice from a friend can change the direction of our lives.

That is my story for today.

STORY 1666 POLITIK, SEKS & AGAMA

Pada tahun 2008, saya tiba di Miri, Sarawak, untuk memulakan satu lagi lembaran baharu dalam kerjaya saya sebagai Pengurus Kilang di sebuah kilang sawit milik Government-Linked Company (GLC).

Kilang sawit tersebut terletak agak jauh dari bandar raya Miri, kira-kira 120 kilometer perjalanan. Melalui Jalan Miri–Bintulu, saya akan sampai ke Bekenu sebelum memasuki simpang menuju ke Bakong, sebuah pekan kecil. Dari situ, perjalanan diteruskan melalui jalan gravel, melewati sebuah lagi pekan kecil, Lapok, sebelum tiba di ladang sawit yang terletak bersebelahan dengan Taman Negara Loagan Bunut.

Jika sebelum ini saya menghabiskan beberapa tahun di kawasan pedalaman Sungai Kinabatangan, Sabah, kini saya berpindah ke satu lagi kawasan pedalaman, iaitu di sekitar Sungai Baram, Sarawak.

Setelah menghabiskan empat tahun sebelumnya bekerja dalam persekitaran yang mencabar di Lahad Datu, khususnya melalui Jalan Jeroco yang cukup terkenal dengan cabarannya, berpindah ke Long Lama bukanlah sesuatu yang asing bagi saya. Ia hanyalah satu lagi perjalanan dalam kehidupan saya di industri sawit.

Pada tahun 2009, anak sulung saya genap berusia lima tahun dan sudah tiba masanya untuk memasuki prasekolah. Isteri saya yang sememangnya sangat teliti dalam setiap perancangannya mula mengingatkan saya tentang beberapa perkara yang perlu diuruskan.

Setelah bertahun-tahun hidup di kawasan ladang, kini anak-anak semakin membesar dan pendidikan mereka menjadi satu keutamaan. Kami tidak boleh lagi hanya memikirkan tempat saya bekerja. Kami juga perlu memikirkan tempat anak-anak mendapatkan pendidikan.

Pada awal tahun tersebut, saya mula mencari rumah sewa di bandar raya Miri.

Alhamdulillah, saya berpeluang berkenalan dengan Cikgu Hasan dan isterinya yang sangat ramah dan mesra. Beliau telah berkhidmat lebih 20 tahun di Institut Pendidikan Guru (IPG), Miri. Bagi ramai perantau yang baru sampai ke Miri, beliau ibarat seorang penghulu yang banyak membantu mereka menyesuaikan diri dengan kehidupan di bandar tersebut.

Hampir semua orang yang pernah menetap di Miri pasti mengenali Cikgu Hasan.

Saya mendapat sebuah rumah sewa yang terletak bersebelahan dengan rumah beliau. Pada tahun berikutnya, saya berpindah ke rumah yang pernah disewakan oleh beliau kepada saya setelah beliau bersara dan pulang ke Pasir Mas, Kelantan.

Rumah sewa pertama itu sebenarnya menjadi satu titik permulaan yang cukup bermakna dalam kehidupan saya.

Buat pertama kalinya, saya mempunyai sebuah rumah yang dilengkapi talian internet.

Dari tahun 2004 hingga 2009, kebanyakan masa saya dihabiskan di kawasan pedalaman ladang sawit. Kemudahan internet ketika itu amat sukar diperoleh, malah ada tempat yang langsung tidak mempunyai kemudahan tersebut. Justeru, apabila mempunyai rumah dengan talian internet sendiri, saya berasa sangat teruja.

Ia seolah-olah membuka satu dunia baharu kepada saya.

Pada tahun yang sama, saya mula menulis blog Kembara Insan dan buat pertama kalinya membuka akaun Facebook.

Melalui Facebook, saya mula berhubung semula dengan ramai rakan sekolah dan universiti yang sudah lama terpisah. Ia menjadi peluang untuk mengeratkan kembali persahabatan yang terputus akibat jarak, pekerjaan dan perjalanan kehidupan masing-masing.

Saya turut bertemu semula dengan Cikgu Sabaraddin, rakan semasa matrikulasi, PALAPES dan Kampus Kejuruteraan. Ketika itu, beliau bertugas di Belaga, Bintulu, Sarawak.

Saya begitu teruja dengan kemudahan internet, media sosial dan dunia penulisan blog.

Namun, seperti kebanyakan orang yang baru mengenali dunia media sosial, saya mula menjadi terlalu aktif. Hampir semua perkara yang terlintas di fikiran ingin dikongsi. Setiap isu dirasakan menarik untuk dibincangkan dan setiap perkara seolah-olah memerlukan pandangan daripada saya.

Politik, agama dan pelbagai perkara lain menjadi bahan perbincangan saya.

Ada kalanya, seolah-olah kita merasakan diri ini pakar dalam semua bidang.

Beberapa tahun kemudian, selepas berpindah semula ke Sabah pada tahun 2012, saya berkenalan dengan Salahuddin Abdul Majid. Beliau juga seorang yang agak lantang bersuara semasa kami membuat persediaan menghadapi peperiksaan Jurutera Stim di Jabatan Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan (JKKP) Sabah.

Dalam salah satu perbualan kami, beliau memberikan satu nasihat.

Beliau mengingatkan saya supaya tidak terlalu aktif memberikan komen berkaitan isu politik.

Kata-katanya ringkas, tetapi cukup mendalam dan meninggalkan kesan kepada diri saya.

Pada tahun 2013, saya mula menyertai Toastmasters Club di Sandakan. Menariknya, kelab tersebut turut menekankan prinsip yang hampir sama ketika menyediakan ucapan dan memilih tajuk untuk aktiviti pengucapan awam.

Ahli-ahli lazimnya dinasihatkan supaya mengelakkan tiga topik yang agak sensitif, iaitu Politik, Seks dan Agama.

Tujuannya adalah untuk mewujudkan suasana yang selesa dan inklusif, membolehkan ahli daripada pelbagai latar belakang, kepercayaan dan pandangan berkomunikasi, belajar serta meningkatkan kemahiran pengucapan awam tanpa mencetuskan kontroversi yang tidak perlu.

Sejak itu, saya mula mengubah cara menggunakan media sosial.

Daripada memberikan komen terhadap hampir semua perkara, saya mula memberikan tumpuan kepada topik yang benar-benar saya fahami, mempunyai pengalaman dan minat yang mendalam.

Saya lebih menumpukan penulisan berkaitan industri sawit, kejuruteraan, kepimpinan, pengurusan, pengalaman peribadi serta pengajaran daripada perjalanan kehidupan saya.

Saya terus menulis di blog selama 18 tahun.

Bulan lepas, blog tersebut mencatatkan lebih 102,000 pageview, menjadikan jumlah keseluruhan kunjungan mencecah kira-kira 2.3 juta pageview.

Pada September 2026, saya menerbitkan buku pertama berjudul My Journey in Palm Oil Industry.

Saya juga telah menghasilkan lebih 260 buah lagu yang dikongsikan melalui beberapa saluran TikTok dan YouTube.

Apabila menoleh ke belakang, semua pencapaian ini sebenarnya bermula daripada sesuatu yang cukup sederhana, iaitu apabila saya mendapat kemudahan internet di sebuah rumah sewa di Miri pada tahun 2009.

Lebih penting lagi, saya belajar bahawa mempunyai akses kepada media sosial tidak bermakna kita perlu memberikan komen terhadap semua perkara.

Setiap kali membuka Facebook atau platform media sosial yang lain, pasti ada sesuatu yang menarik perhatian. Ada kalanya emosi mendorong kita untuk memberikan respons dengan segera. Kita berasa ingin menyuarakan pandangan, membetulkan pendapat orang lain atau melibatkan diri dalam perbincangan yang sebenarnya tidak mempunyai kaitan langsung dengan kehidupan kita.

Namun, pernahkah kita berhenti sejenak dan bertanya kepada diri sendiri?

Adakah komen yang kita berikan membawa sebarang kebaikan kepada diri sendiri atau kepada orang lain yang membacanya?

Jika jawapannya tidak, mungkin lebih baik kita berhenti seketika dan berfikir sebelum memberikan sebarang respons.

Bukan semua isu memerlukan perhatian kita. Bukan semua perbezaan pendapat perlu melibatkan kita. Dan bukan semua pandangan perlu diluahkan secara terbuka.

Ada kalanya, berdiam diri merupakan satu keputusan yang lebih baik.

Mengelakkan perbincangan yang tidak perlu berkaitan politik, seks dan agama telah memberikan kesan yang cukup besar dalam kehidupan saya. Saya dapat memberikan lebih banyak tumpuan kepada perkara yang saya tahu, perkara yang saya minati dan perkara yang mampu saya sumbangkan kepada orang lain.

Saya lebih suka menghabiskan masa berkongsi ilmu, mendokumentasikan pengalaman, menulis cerita dan menghasilkan sesuatu yang bermakna untuk generasi akan datang.

Akhirnya, media sosial sepatutnya menjadi platform untuk berkongsi ilmu, membina persahabatan dan memberikan sumbangan positif, bukannya tempat untuk kita terus terlibat dalam perbalahan yang tidak membawa sebarang manfaat.

Terima kasih kepada sahabat saya, Salahuddin Abdul Majid, atas nasihat yang telah mengubah cara saya melihat dan menggunakan media sosial.

Kadangkala, satu nasihat yang ringkas daripada seorang sahabat mampu mengubah arah perjalanan kehidupan kita.

Itulah cerita saya hari ini.

STORY 1165 – ACT OF GOD

The monsoon season arrives towards the end of every year. Thousands of hectares of oil palm plantations begin to receive continuous rainfall, sometimes lasting for days or even weeks. Gravel roads become muddy and slippery, while some develop potholes and eventually become impassable.

In oil palm plantations, the annual rainy season is one of the most challenging periods of the year. Almost every plantation operation begins to feel its impact.

The most critical issue is accessibility. Thousands of kilometres of plantation roads connect the office to every corner of the estate, stretching across valleys, lowlands, foothills and slopes. Even the main access roads to the plantations can be affected by floods. Bridges may collapse, roads may become submerged, and vehicles may break down or slide into roadside drains.

Palm oil mills are equally affected by these disruptions.

When roads become damaged or access is cut off, harvesting rounds become longer. Fresh fruit bunches (FFB) begin to over-ripen, and loose fruits fall to the ground. Even harvested FFB may take several days before they can be transported to the mill.

Eventually, rotten and deteriorated fruit bunches begin arriving at the mill.

At the mill, however, every tonne of FFB received still needs to be processed, whether fresh or unfresh. Decades ago, badly deteriorated fruit bunches might simply have been separated and discarded. Today, every single bunch represents money, and everyone wants to recover as much value as possible from the available crop.

Unfortunately, the quality of crude palm oil (CPO) begins to deteriorate.

Free Fatty Acid (FFA) levels increase, sometimes exceeding the 5% threshold specified by PORAM. When better-quality CPO is available, we try to blend it with the poorer-quality oil to minimise the overall impact before delivery to the refinery.

Any CPO with an FFA level exceeding 5% may attract a price penalty from the refinery.

However, not every quality parameter can be corrected through blending. One example is the Deterioration of Bleachability Index (DOBI). When CPO originates from severely deteriorated or rotten fruit, its DOBI value is affected, and blending alone cannot reliably restore it to an acceptable level.

Another challenge is the mill's limited CPO storage capacity.

Ironically, the monsoon season often coincides with the peak crop season. Just when harvesting activities are at their highest, transportation becomes increasingly difficult. Eventually, CPO storage tanks approach full capacity. Regardless of the quality, the CPO must still be sold and transported to the refinery to make room for continuous mill operations.

When the refinery imposes quality penalties, the pressure starts coming from another direction.

The Head Office, particularly the Marketing Department, begins questioning why the mill is delivering CPO with poor quality. As the mill manager, I inevitably become the person facing the pressure from both sides: the plantation teams struggling with harvesting and transportation, and the Head Office demanding better CPO quality.

To ease the situation, I decided to bring the issue to the attention of a Senior General Manager (Sr GM). I explained the challenges involving deteriorated FFB, high CPO FFA levels and the resulting penalties imposed by the refinery.

The Sr GM was known as a very strict and fierce senior management figure.

Without wasting much time, he immediately instructed the Marketing Department to visit the mill, together with all Estate Managers and the Plantation Controller.

One morning, the meeting began in the mill's meeting room. After the discussion, everyone was instructed to proceed to the FFB ramp.

There, hundreds of tonnes of fruit bunches had already been segregated and left for several days. Most of them came from plantations that had been severely affected by flooding.

All the Estate Managers stood quietly, looking at the piles of deteriorated fruit bunches.

Nobody said a word.

Suddenly, the Sr GM broke the silence.

"All of you, look at this!

It has been raining for weeks. Plantation roads are damaged. Bridges have collapsed. The fruits are rotten. CPO FFA is high.

There is nothing much we can do.

THIS IS AN ACT OF GOD!"

That was it.

Everyone returned to their respective plantations.

The Marketing Department, which had travelled all the way from Kuala Lumpur to visit a remote plantation area, approximately 90 kilometres from Lahad Datu town, was left somewhat speechless.

That is my story for today.

STORY 2222: PALM OIL MILL

 

After working for several months as a Sales Engineer at a newly established company, earning a net salary of RM700, I received an offer to work at a manufacturing plant in Subang Jaya, Selangor.

Towards the end of 2003, with the blessings of both my parents, I embarked on another journey in life.

Afis Mohamed, a fellow PALAPES member and university coursemate, kindly offered me a place to stay at his rented flat in Damansara Ara. I shared the house with him and his other housemates. At that time, Afis was working in the Development Division of University Malaya Hospital. Travelling by motorcycle, it took me only about 30 minutes to commute from our flat to my new workplace in Subang Jaya.

After several months working at the manufacturing plant, I received an unexpected piece of news from a fellow villager, Shahrizan Sulaiman. He informed me about a vacancy for a Cadet Engineer at a palm oil mill in Lahad Datu, Sabah, under the same company he was working for.

Without hesitation, I submitted my application and received an interview invitation the following week.

Using my Honda EX5 motorcycle, a gift from my elder brother during my university days, I travelled to the company's office in Puchong for the interview.

In early 2004, I received the call I had been waiting for. I was offered the position of Cadet Engineer at a palm oil mill that had only been operating for about a year. The mill was located deep in the interior, approximately 90 kilometres from Lahad Datu town.

Just a few months earlier, I had sought my mother's blessing to leave my hometown and venture into Selangor. Now, I had to seek her blessing once again, this time to travel much further, across the South China Sea to the island of Borneo, a place I had never set foot in before.

I was about to enter the palm oil industry, an industry I knew absolutely nothing about.

It was a major decision that would change the direction of my life. There were uncertainties ahead, unfamiliar surroundings and a completely new industry waiting for me.

Eventually, I made my choice. All I could do was take that first step, accompanied by a prayer that the path I had chosen would lead me towards something better.

Little did I know that this decision would become the beginning of a much longer journey in the palm oil industry.

That is my story today.

STORY 2221 BOILER

My First Encounter with the Boiler Industry

After graduating from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Engineering Campus, Nibong Tebal, Penang, in 2003, I started working at a steel manufacturing factory in Seberang Perai.

The factory produced various steel products, including 4' × 8' mild steel sheets, metal decking, flat bars, expanded metal and special-sized plates.

Within just three months, I experienced two workplace accidents. One injured my finger, while the other involved my neck. The wound on my neck required nine stitches, leaving a scar that remains with me to this day.

Following these two incidents, I was asked to leave the job. Fortunately, I had managed to save some money from my few months of employment, which was enough to cover the expenses for my graduation ceremony in August that year.

After the ceremony, my mother, who had missed having her son around after so many years of living away from home, asked me to return to our hometown and look for employment opportunities there.

I eventually returned to Kampung Tebing Tinggi, Pengkalan Chepa, just a ten-minute drive from Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Kota Bharu.

I had left home at the age of sixteen to further my studies at MRSM Kuala Terengganu. From there, I continued to matriculation before pursuing my first degree at university. After so many years of studying and living away from home, I was finally back where I started.

There was plenty to keep me occupied. I began doing various small projects around the house. As usual, whenever a light needed repairing, a pipe was leaking, or a table or chair needed fixing, I would be the one called upon to do the job. My mother and relatives knew that I could handle such things.

Around that time, my elder brother had recently married. His father-in-law was a fresh chicken businessman. This eventually gave us an idea: perhaps my mother could stop working as a trader at Pasar Siti Khadijah in Kota Bharu.

Every day, she had to travel from home to the town market to sell various products, including salted eggs made from the ducks raised by my father.

We decided to build a small roadside stall beside our house so that she could start selling fresh chicken from home.

It was a modest structure, built using whatever timber we could find around the house. Even the roofing was made from available recycled materials. Nothing fancy, just a simple little stall built with whatever resources we had.

While I spent my mornings helping the carpenter construct the stall, my afternoons and evenings were dedicated to searching for employment.

I submitted applications to various companies and made it a habit to buy newspapers, especially The Star, every Saturday. I particularly looked forward to the third Saturday of each month, hoping to find suitable job advertisements in the recruitment section.

Eventually, the stall was completed, and my mother started her new business.

As for me, I also managed to find some temporary work. A new housing development was being constructed directly opposite our house, with dozens of terrace houses and semi-detached units under construction.

I joined one of the construction workers as a general labourer, earning a daily wage. Interestingly, he was the same carpenter who had helped build my mother's chicken stall.

I cannot remember exactly how long I worked there, but I still remember the experience fondly. For someone who had just graduated with an engineering degree, earning a daily wage as a construction labourer was certainly a different experience.

Nevertheless, it provided me with some pocket money while I continued searching for a proper job. It also taught me that there was no shame in doing honest work while waiting for better opportunities.

A little while later, I received an offer to work as a Sales Engineer with a company in Panji, Kelantan.

During the interview, I met the CEO, a businessman involved in several different ventures. He was planning to establish a new business specialising in boiler servicing for ships.

At that time, there were discussions about the development of the shipping and maritime industry around Bachok and Tok Bali. Seeing a potential business opportunity, he wanted to establish a company that could provide the necessary boiler maintenance and servicing for vessels operating in the area.

That was when I first heard the word boiler again after my university days.

The last time I had encountered the subject was during my Thermodynamics lectures, where boilers were discussed as part of the engineering curriculum.

Little did I know that this familiar engineering term would eventually become such a significant part of my professional journey.

And that was how my story with boilers began.

WHY DO WE NEED TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER?

Engineering is a lifelong learning journey.

Why should we pursue Professional Engineer (PE) competency through the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) or Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) ?

In my opinion, the answer goes beyond obtaining the prestigious title of Ir. or adding professional credentials to our names.

I see it from a much broader perspective.

It is part of our continuous learning journey as engineers.

We may have spent 5, 10, 15 or even 20 years working in the engineering industry. We have managed projects, solved technical problems, handled operational challenges, managed people, dealt with equipment failures and made decisions that affect our organizations.

But one question remains:

Does having many years of experience automatically make us competent professional engineers?

I believe experience alone is not enough. We must continuously evaluate, improve and expand our knowledge, skills and professional judgement.

1. Understanding Our Legal and Professional Responsibilities

In Malaysia, the engineering profession is regulated under the Registration of Engineers Act 1967 (Act 138).

The Act is not merely about establishing registration requirements for engineers. It provides a regulatory framework to ensure that engineering practice is undertaken by appropriately qualified and registered individuals.

Under Section 10(2), eligible engineers may be registered as Professional Engineers, subject to the prescribed requirements, including practical experience and professional assessment.

Section 7 also establishes restrictions on engineering practice by unregistered persons, subject to the provisions and exemptions under the Act.

This sends an important message: engineering is not just a job. It is a profession that carries responsibilities towards public safety, health and welfare.

2. Reassessing Our Professional Competency

The journey towards becoming a Professional Engineer requires us to reflect on our own professional experience.

• What engineering problems have we successfully solved?

• How do we make decisions when facing technical risks?

• Are our decisions supported by data, engineering analysis and sound judgement?

• How do we balance operational requirements, cost, safety and environmental considerations?

• Do we understand the limitations of our own knowledge and expertise?

These questions require more than technical knowledge.

They require maturity, integrity, professional judgement and the ability to justify our decisions.

3. Developing a Broader Engineering Perspective

When we first started our engineering careers, our priorities might have been straightforward: ensuring machines operate properly, maintaining process efficiency, achieving production targets and resolving technical problems.

However, as we gain experience, our perspectives should also evolve.

Our responsibilities are not limited to machines and processes. They extend to people, occupational safety, environmental protection, organizational assets and business sustainability.

We must understand that a single engineering decision can have significant consequences for many stakeholders.

This is one of the important differences between someone who has engineering experience and someone who truly understands the responsibilities of the engineering profession.

4. Professional Ethics and Integrity

In engineering, making the right decision is not always easy.

Sometimes, we need to priorities safety even when there is pressure to reduce costs.

Sometimes, we need to communicate an uncomfortable truth, even when it is not what management wants to hear.

Sometimes, we need to acknowledge that our previous decisions were incorrect.

Being a Professional Engineer does not mean that we will never make mistakes.

Instead, it means having the courage to acknowledge mistakes, learn from them and ensure that corrective actions are taken.

Professional integrity is not demonstrated only when things go well. It is demonstrated most clearly when we face difficult decisions.

5. Lifelong Learning – Learning Never Ends

This is perhaps the point closest to my personal philosophy.

We should never stop learning after obtaining an engineering degree.

Neither should we stop learning after becoming a manager, department head or even a registered Professional Engineer.

Technology evolves. Standards change. Regulations are updated. Management approaches develop. Industry challenges become increasingly complex.

Therefore, engineers must remain willing to acquire new knowledge, listen to different perspectives and continuously improve themselves.

For me, pursuing Professional Engineer competency is also an opportunity to become a student again.

A student who learns from personal experiences, other people's experiences, failures, achievements, professional standards and technological developments.

MY PERSONAL REFLECTION

I believe that the journey of becoming an engineer is not about proving that we are better than others.

It is about proving to ourselves that we still have the willingness to learn, improve and accept greater responsibilities.

We may have accumulated many years of industry experience. However, yesterday's experience does not necessarily guarantee tomorrow's competency.

Do not make the professional title our final destination.

Instead, let it be a reminder that the higher the professional recognition we achieve, the greater the responsibility we must carry.

A degree gives us the foundation to become an engineer. Experience develops our judgement. Professional competency strengthens our responsibility. And lifelong learning keeps us relevant.

At the end of the day, the greatest achievement is not simply having the title of Professional Engineer.

It is becoming a better engineer, a better professional and, most importantly, a better human being.

LEARN. UNLEARN. RELEARN.

Because engineering is not just a career.

IT IS A LIFELONG LEARNING JOURNEY.

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