CNY Holiday

I received many 'sms's, wishing a Happy Chinese New Year. That is the spirit of the Malaysians. We celebrate festivals, doesn't matter whose. We celebrate Thaipusam eventhough it belongs to the Hindus. We celebrate CNY. We celebrate Christmas. Sounds weird? No, it isn't. We brought up in a multi racial and multi cultural society. However, the way we celebrate is different depends on what race you are. I am a Malay Muslim. The way I celebrate CNY or Thaipusam or Christmas is by visiting and wishing friends their very best. Nothing related to religion. I modify the celebration based on my religion. Some people might say that by following the other religion's celebration makes you part of them. (BTW, CNY is not a religion based celebration) I differ. I am wearing cloths the Indians, Chinese, English, Jewish, Arabs wears. That doesn't make me more like them. I celebrate because simply I respect my friends, and it is fun! Its fun to celebrate. I celebrate birthdays. I celebrate anniversaries. I celebrate wins. I celebrate successes. It doesn't make me a Hindu when I celebrate Thaipusam. It makes me feel closer with my Hindu staff and I think I get their respect. Few years ago, I brought back a bagful of prizes on the eve of Christmas. I put everything under a palm tree at a corner of my house, as if the palm tree was a christmas tree, hehe. The tree was decorated with lights and gadgets. The children was so happy. I played Santa Clause. He he. I am looking for opportunity to play the dragon head in Lion Dance. Must be fun! To all my Chinese friends (Arthur, Michael, YB LGE, YB Tian Chua, Wong, TMC, Ooi, PFH, Nam Kiong, Bruce, Wai Ling, Bee Suan, JE, Sim, Ah Pek, Lin, Dolly, Sam, Chin Ngor, Foo, .... many more...) a very happy Chinese New Year. Let us be Malaysians!

8th Anniversary

Today is Amir-Husin Group of Companies 8th Anniversary. We have been through thick and thin, passing through difficulties in building what we have now. It is not a one man effort - it is team effort. The whole family of Amir-Husin. From Amir-Husin Holdings, Amir-Husin Corporation, Amir-Husin Holidays, Puncak Penchala Development, Mikraj Corporation, HMD Techology and Ethical Access. All of us. We are not going to stop here, we want to be here for as long as we can be. To all staff of Amir-Husin Group of Companies, thank you for making these years a wonderful years. I cannot be here without you. Thank you very much!

Go Bollywood!

While surfing, I found this video clip. I like Hindustani songs, particularly the upbeat ones. I remember the time when Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was the in thing somewhere in 1997-98, I keep the cassette of the soundtrack in my car. I love all the songs. Then came Dil To Pagal Hai. I can memorise the lyric. He he. But after that, I loose track of Bollywood's whatabout.

This is Chaiya Chaiya from Dil Se, composed by A.R Rahman, sung by Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi. The video was filmed on top of the Ooty train in mountainous area of Tamil Nadu. Amazing dance by who-else, Datuk Shah Rukh Khan.


The following is not an hindustani song. It is a Tamil song but produced also by A.R Rahman. (Ishwary, correct me if I am wrong :-) It is a soundtrack from En Swasa Kaatre. A very lively upbeat dance music. Love it!

What a good start!

2009 starts good, well at least to me! He he. Last night, Meet Uncle Husain won AJL 23 (Indie Rocks!). On 20 Jan, Barrack Hussein Obama will be swearing in as the 44th President of the USA. And here I am, on 26 Jan, we will be celebrating the 8th year of Amir-Husin Group of Companies. Wooo hoooo!

The Power of Play concept

This posting has been long overdue. I wanted to blog on this since we started to compose and design our Power of Play concept, but I was so busy on the ground. Maybe after reading this, people would say, ahh... nothing new. Yes, play is not new, but wait until you attend one of our team building program. You will see the new dimension in play. Most of us think of adult play as respite or indulgence, but having fun is no trivial pursuit. It is crucial to put mental creativity, health and happiness. A reality in the time-crunched, chaotic and competitive world today that somewhere along the way, “fun” seems to have become a four-letter word. Apparently, someone has decided that if employees are being spontaneous, creative, even playful, the real business at hand must not be getting accomplished.

At Power of Play, we see things a little differently. There is a growing mountain of evidence characterizing people who have fun at work as:
· more productive
· more creative
· healthier
· more motivated
· more flexible and resilient
· better able to meet job demands
· more adaptability
· better communication skill
· enthusiastic
· solution oriented

Why is ‘play’ such a wonderful learning tool
1. Involving. The best way to learn new skills is through action -- actually doing things.
2. Low Risk. Play offers participants a safe environment in which to explore, risk, try new ideas and make mistakes. Columbus was looking for India when he found America. Mistakes are simply an integral part of innovation.
3. Team Dynamics. Team play allows a group's dynamics to be examined and evaluated under controlled conditions.
4. Self-Awareness. Play gives team members the chance to view teammates in a new light. Greater awareness of ourselves, and of those around us, can dramatically improve team effectiveness.
5. Building Trust. Everyone within a group becomes more comfortable as members become familiar with teammates, sharpen their awareness of group dynamics, and begin to clearly understand where they fit in. Allowing people to work together in a play environment effectively builds trust within the team.
6. The Value of the Team. Play is an excellent tool for convincing the skeptics of teamwork's value. Fun team exercises afford skeptics the opportunity to see that sharing information and responsibilities can bring amazing results. Group play also affords participants an opportunity to discover the strong value of diversity.
7. Pleasure. The pleasure of learning through play can work wonders to revitalize a group and rebuild morale. Studies have shown that there is a direct correlation between pleasure and productivity.
8. Specific lessons. Each play delivers its own lessons, skills and experiences for participants. Many involve problem solving, while others tend to be more physical. Some are designed to enhance communication skills, with others focusing on organization. While some of these are group lessons, others are more individually targeted.

Play lift stress from us. It restores our optimism. It changes our perspective, stimulating creativity. It renews our ability to accomplish the work of the world. We are most human when we play, and just because we play. How we play is related, in myriad ways, to our core sense of self. We not only play because we are. We play the way we are. And the ways we could be. Play is our connection to pure possibilities.

Supplementary New Year Resolution

I just thought about it. A supplementary new year resolution is to be at home before 7.30 pm (its pm, not am) everyday. I will bring home my work. Emm... no, that will defeat the purpose. When I go back, I am not suppose to work at home. Ok, i will leave my laptop in the office. But wait... what happen if I need to attend to something very urgently, replying to urgent request, from Morocco for example, when their day is night here in Malaysia. Emmm.... ok, I can always browse through my mobile and see if anything urgent and reply from it. But wait, all data and information are in my laptop. If I don't have my laptop, i cannot do my work. And I am not supposed to work at home. Never mind, I just bring my laptop home and check my email from my mobile. ONLY if there is urgent need, then I switch on my laptop. But what if everyday I receive urgent email, like usual? That means I will be back home by 7.30pm, been checking my mails from my mobile, then switch my laptop to do the necessaries (that usually will take about 20 minutes) and reply to the mails. No no no. That won't happen. I am going to be at home everyday before 7.30pm, spend my time with my children, I am not going to check my mails so that I won't switch on my laptop, and I am not going back to the office before 9.00am the next morning. I am determined!

Dedicated to Mubarek

This posting is dedicated to fellow Arau friends. This one is during my visit to Mubarek's house on 30 December 2008, with Bute. And kebetulan juga, masa tu Yot call. Dapatlah dia cakap dengan Barek. Here goes.

Tony Fernandes and I

He was born 1964, so was I. He is an ambitious young handsome man, I am equally young and handsome ambitious man (my wife says so). He is an Accountant by profession, so do I. He loves music and plays instruments, I do, too. Probably I sing better than him. He is a crazy CEO with motto 'believe the unbelievable, dare to dream and never take no for an answer', I am a crazy CEO with motto 'play life seriously' (well, at least I, too, have a motto). He has a knack for service industry, I am not that distance away. In 2007, Forbes Asia valued his personal wealth at USD230 million ranking him at number 24 on the Forbes list of Malaysia's Richest, I, errr....hello, you must have missed my name, Mr. Forbes!

But I have this dream, to bring myself and my team, soaring far and high to international stage, marking our name in the history to be among Malaysians who is well recognised by leaders of the world. Just like him.

p/s. I hate traveling on Air Asia! Read my posting here.

Faces of 2009

Our latest family photo, to welcome 2009 and on Ngah's birthday.
Me - have a long list of ambition during school days - a pilot (fare my Physic badly during SPM), a police officer (errr... why is this traffic light still merah? honk honk from the car behind. oops, its alreadey green. Blame it on the gene carried in my X chromosome). Bang Teh - got the body from Ibu Chik, got the kememe from me. hehe. Bang Long - self proclaim metro, who spend 20 minutes before school every day to gel up his 'bachang kulum dek kobau' hair. Bang Ngah - a wizz, trying to be the youngest Law Of Attraction Trainer in the world. Mama - a full time home maker, driving around with an expired driving license. Kakak - my eldest kangkung, eying to go to Masterskill College for her study in medicine but wanted to be a farmer when she grows up. Kak Uda (front row, most left) - my very talented kangkung, second in her school in Best Hand Writing while she was in Primary 2, very calm and patient (I notice she swallows her tears whenever she is sad, but tears-come-out-alot-very-fast-one when I am the tutor). Anik - oh my little cute kangkung, talkative despite the name is Najwa (which means whisper is Arabic), so cute that the school bag is bigger than she is.

Happy Birthday Ngah!

Today is Bang Ngah's birthday. He is today 15. I had kept his name - Ahmad Azharuddin Azhari few months before he was born. I remember, when he was born, he gave quiet a difficulties to the mother that I had to donor my blood. When he was small, he use to be very 'ketegaq'. I remember one day, I was so mad at him. He was only about 3 that time. I sent him out from the house (child abuse...hehe) but his reaction? He was just enjoying himself playing with shoes. Another day, we went to a relative house, he was sleeping in our van when we arrived. So, I left him inside, don't want to disturb him, with the door open. I parked right infront of the house and we were chatting just beside the van. When he woke up, he yelled and shouted. He threatened to burn the house down. He really made a scene. He simply will not listen to you. I (and all of us, including the Tok Ayah, Mak Tok, Tok Wan and Tok) was so concerned that he will grow up to become an uncontrollable temperamental person. One day, Apak went to see this wise religious guy, Cikgu Sulaiman, seeking his advise. Cikgu Sulaiman did his ritual (the Quran, the keris, the bowl with water, etc) and told us that Apak had made a 'nazar' (because of my wife difficulties while delivering Bang Ngah), if my wife gave birth safely, he will read a surah in the Quran - Yaasin. Immediately on returning home, Apak did just that - read the Yaasin. God is Great, not long after that, Bang Ngah is no more shouting and yelling without purpose. He turn out to be just like any other boy. Apak call him Yasin since then.

He was born with G6PD - a glucosade deficiency in his blood. But that doesn't make him a sick boy. He grow up well, to be such a handsome boy. In fact, we will feel something missing if he is not around. He is the joker of the family. He made jokes, intelligent jokes that sometimes I just feel he is too matured for his age. He even debating on issues with his Pak Ngah (who dares to debate with Pak Ngah?). Bang Ngah is also very responsible boy. He is very caring that sometimes I had to say it's ok to let someone down when we had done our very best to help.

Ngah, Papa love you very much. Happy Birthday, son!

2009 New Year Resolution

Year in and year out, I have been renewing my solemn declaration of resolutions. Some, I have included in my 'vibrational bubble' and some still outside. I felt good with those which are already in my bubble. Isn't resolution is about making you feel good? You make achievable resolutions. You won't make one that is not within reach such as to be the next President of America (err... can a Malaysian be one?). One of the things that is still outside my bubble is aomething to do with tobacco - you can guess what. No, I don't chew tobacco! I love seeing myself free from it.

This year, 2 of my sons will be sitting for 2 major exams - SPM and PMR. My resolution is to assist them in preparing for the exams.

p/s. I will try to change my hare style. Oooops... I mean hair style. I have been with this stubble style since 2001. Pray to God I can stand the agony of waking up in the morning, rushing to the bathroom, do the normal bathroom errant, dress up and tidy the hare. Errr... hair. Tidy the what? Hair? Did I say that? Whoaaaa..! It has not been in my spell checker for many years! The thought of having to carry the hair-related stuff for my outstation traveling is already frightening. God, please help me to get through with this. Berilah aku kekuatan untuk mengahadapi ujian yang sangat getir ini. Amin...