29 November 2008
Kitchen Duty :-S
ngaaaaa :S kepale pening being disturbed from my sleep by the annoying sister. i slept at 3.45am and had to wake up at 8.45am. the thing is, once i am awake, i rarely can sleep again. the conclusion is, i will be annoyed and cranky for the rest of the day. already i am annoyed coz i dont feel like doing anything but i had been ordered to cook fish and rice. i said i dont want to cook. but the annoying sister and mother had left to visit father at the hospital and the two rascals is left in my care. if i am too cranky i might just feed them maggi for lunch coz i pretty much will do what i said. however, i am a bit happy that i had the house to myself and nobody will disturb me for the rest of the day, so i felt obliged to cook real food for the kids. so once thats decided, i think i might as well do it right. went online just to find the simplest yet kick ass recipe for fried fish. found one. and then felt like writing a bit so here i am. i might as well get started now before their mother came back coz once she's back the two rascals wont follow my orders anymore. off to kitchen!
28 November 2008
News on EPF monthly circulation rate
Members of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will be able to benefit from the reduction of the employees’ monthly statutory contribution rate by three per cent, from 11 per cent to 8 per cent, effective from January 2009 wage for a period of two years.
However if members wish to maintain the contribution rate at 11 per cent may choose to do so by filling up Form KWSP 17A (AHL). Once completed, the forms can be submitted to the members’ respective employers for submission to the EPF.
In the meantime, the EPF will be issuing a new monthly contributions schedule accordingly. Members and employers may obtain the new schedule and Form KWSP 17A (AHL) from all EPF branches or download them from our website, myEPF, at www.kwsp.gov.my from 1 December 2008 onwards.
For full article - EPF - Lower EPF Employees’ Contribution Rate Starting January 2009 Wage.
This doesn’t affect employer’s contribution to the employee.
In an email circulation:
Assume monthly basic salary is RM4000.
- If your monthly EPF contribution is 11% ( RM440 ), taxable income = RM3560, income tax payable = RM77.
- If your monthly EPF contribution is 8% ( RM320 ), taxable income = RM3680, income tax payable = RM109.Conclusion: If you choose to contribute 8%, you will end up paying more income tax to the government, which will make the government richer. Finance Minister Najib said this measure is meant to boost up the slow-down market, but from this example wee see that the money does not go into the market. Instead the money goes direct into the government’s pocket through the greater amount of income tax that we will have to pay.
How we benefit the additional 3% (not counting tax, if needed) would depend on if/when we can get back more than 3%.
You can calculate the salary in http://payroll.my
source: http://pasim.wordpress.com/2008/11/20/epf-cut-3-from-11-to-8/
21 November 2008
Back from the wild?
Spent 5 days in Inter-civilizational youth engagement prgramme 2008 (IYEP2) http://www.just-international.org/iyep2008.cfm . I had so much to tell, experienced a lot that i dont have words to sum up everything. all i can say is i feel and experienced enough to make up for one month holiday til next semester. the fact is i dont feel like writing. but one of my best friend already reminded me not to forget to write about it once i'm back. well lets start with bad news first: i didnt participate much like i anticipated before. lets just attribute that to culture shock. lol.
Day 1
i was the first to arrive at the JUST office in PJ (punctuality is my middle name. lol). had to wait for some time before everyone and the bus arrived. then it took forever for the bus to move (impatience is also my middle name). then i was so excited to see kuala selangor again after so many years that i thought it took ages to get there. i noticed the driver detoured into KL from PJ then to KS. once arrived, we went into the ballroom- listening to briefing and had lunch. it was my first time seeing Dr. Chandra Muzaffar in person so i was kinda shy to went and speak to him. he was very friendly to everybody though. after that the discussion started. i just dont want to elaborate further on this because i get tired of it after five days. suffice to say that i learned a lot about people during the discussions. quoting Adel and Hassanal 'information overload'. i would like to add 'discussion overload'. haha. i was kinda lost on every topic because i wasnt involved in any particular association and done anything about environment. my last minute application is also the cause that i came unprepared. however, i did come to learn. and learned i did become.
Day 2
one of my best day because i love the activity. i was pleasantly surprised at the sight of the funny looking 'bus' after breakfast:
the bus took us to the Kuala Selangor Nature Park: http://www.nature-escapes-kuala-lumpur.com/Kuala-Selangor-Nature-Park.html
i love the park because i fit in so well with the nature and i feel a lot at ease by myself. it kinda remind me of my childhood where i play in the jungle much thicker than the park:
Later in the morning, it rained quite heavily. luckily i borrowed a quite broken umbrella from the hotel (it was the only umbrella from the hotel). so i wasnt drenched. but i feel uncomfortable with the dampness of my jeans and shirt. when we went back to the hotel the rain hasnt stopped. i showered again and changed into dry clothes. but once i reached the ballroom (i prefer to call it brain lab) i got dampen by the puddles. i was quite cranky for the whole day after that that at the end of the day i skipped the Walk to the Lighthouse. i feel unhappy about having not gone to the lighthouse because sight-seeing is the highlight of my day there but when i'm cranky i am tired and its better if i dont communicate much. so i just stayed in the room. later that night had dinner and amused myself with free performances and went to bed earlier than everyone.
Day 3
Feel like i have reached the end of my wits and have nothing more to contribute to the brain lab. feel happy that some people must prepare the solar cooker. so i am the first to took off for the making of solar cooker. now this i can relate to. lol. i pretty much had fun doing everything other than be part of brain lab. but after that had to be back to brain lab. feel sad that it was so easy building the solar cooker. i wish it was more difficult so i can play longer. anyway, i forgot to mention another activity that i prefer than brain lab is eating five times a day. now, i didnt say that i am used to eating five times a day. by myself, i only ate 3 times max a day. but even eating here sometimes disappoint me because the food was weird and when its not weird and tasteless its just plain tasteless. but there are times i enjoyed it too and there are times when they are tasty. but all in all, i just enjoyed eating for the meeting people part. and it doesnt stopped me from eating a lot too. i think i had an addition of at least 1kg per day. today, the highlight of the day was the trip to fireflies park/river: http://www.journeymalaysia.com/MR_kampungkuantan.htm
for the first time of my life i climbed into the sampan. to sum things up, i had a really amusing companions in the sampan and pretty much laughed all the way to and fro. i catched one firefly. i let everyone on the sampan see it inside my hand and after that half-intentionally let it go. i didnt take much pics because it was pitch black and i dont have high definition camera.
Day 4
brain lab as usual and also time to make use of the solar cooker. i had a dream the night before that we successfully cooked fish soup with the cooker which i told Irfan that it means we will not successfully cook anything. it was pretty cloudy that day and we put the solar cooker at the tennis court. i forgot to mention that we practically live with two species of monkeys so when we came back to check the rice that we tried to environmental-friendly cook one of other group's solar cooker was already attacked by monkeys. i saw their hand prints everywhere. later that day, it rained. to sum up, none of us successfully cooked any rice. which also goes to show that trying to be environmental-friendly is a trying journey. plus, costly to be successfully implemented. i'm talking about having a workable solar system in each homes to cook etc.
Day 5
In total agreement with the speech by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar on spirituality. this is the one element of the programme that i can relate to and his speech was the only thing on spirituality that i agreed. however, i didnt participate during actual discussion on this element because i didnt agree on some people's view on Islam, plus we're having diversity of faith here. I purposely avoid talking about faith because i feel that if we didnt know about other people's faith we shouldnt talk about it, when we are of different faith but know a lot about other faith we musnt also talk too much on that other faith either, and when we are of that faith but having not completed our knowledge on it we should not brag...we shall only explain when asked. this is very important because faith is a delicate issue and being careful means to avoid insulting and be insulted back. i was personally insulted when a particular person babble alot about my faith when such person is not even a believer let alone practiced my faith and i noticed that such person was sometimes wrong in facts. i was also annoyed when one person claimed directly and indirectly that such person was a devout muslim that he is qualified to be a wali but in practice i saw a lot of discrepancies in action. Islam embodies the element of humility. but all i saw is vanity. in Surah al-Najm (Verse 32) Allah said, what can be translated as, "Do not complement yourself, He (Allah) knows best of those who are pious."
i feel i have the right to comment on this issue because i have at least some legal background on the Shariah. although some people say education is a waste of money and refused to educate his/her self in the 'conventional way;, at least i made RM26,000 loan for my legal studies knowing that i learned about Islam and Shariah from legitimate and certified sources and once i graduated i shall receive a certification that shows i can talk on Islam more profoundly that people who dont have it. some people may say that this is of trivial nature. but for me, with regards of my faith nothing is trivial. and every little hiccups goes into establishing a prima facie case against 'the accused'. hence i rest my case.
so on the last day there is no longer brain lab but we all sat down to check the 'cover letter' of our soon to be memorandum on the outcome of our five days discussion that embodies our opinions on what should be done to save the environment. i dont exactly have any idea to whom this shall be addressed but i guess its for the government, business org and the public at large.
later that day, we checked out of the hotel and detoured to Sekinchan to see paddy field. i took a lot of pictures there. then we're off to PJ.
Day 1
i was the first to arrive at the JUST office in PJ (punctuality is my middle name. lol). had to wait for some time before everyone and the bus arrived. then it took forever for the bus to move (impatience is also my middle name). then i was so excited to see kuala selangor again after so many years that i thought it took ages to get there. i noticed the driver detoured into KL from PJ then to KS. once arrived, we went into the ballroom- listening to briefing and had lunch. it was my first time seeing Dr. Chandra Muzaffar in person so i was kinda shy to went and speak to him. he was very friendly to everybody though. after that the discussion started. i just dont want to elaborate further on this because i get tired of it after five days. suffice to say that i learned a lot about people during the discussions. quoting Adel and Hassanal 'information overload'. i would like to add 'discussion overload'. haha. i was kinda lost on every topic because i wasnt involved in any particular association and done anything about environment. my last minute application is also the cause that i came unprepared. however, i did come to learn. and learned i did become.
Day 2
one of my best day because i love the activity. i was pleasantly surprised at the sight of the funny looking 'bus' after breakfast:
the bus took us to the Kuala Selangor Nature Park: http://www.nature-escapes-kuala-lumpur.com/Kuala-Selangor-Nature-Park.html
i love the park because i fit in so well with the nature and i feel a lot at ease by myself. it kinda remind me of my childhood where i play in the jungle much thicker than the park:
Later in the morning, it rained quite heavily. luckily i borrowed a quite broken umbrella from the hotel (it was the only umbrella from the hotel). so i wasnt drenched. but i feel uncomfortable with the dampness of my jeans and shirt. when we went back to the hotel the rain hasnt stopped. i showered again and changed into dry clothes. but once i reached the ballroom (i prefer to call it brain lab) i got dampen by the puddles. i was quite cranky for the whole day after that that at the end of the day i skipped the Walk to the Lighthouse. i feel unhappy about having not gone to the lighthouse because sight-seeing is the highlight of my day there but when i'm cranky i am tired and its better if i dont communicate much. so i just stayed in the room. later that night had dinner and amused myself with free performances and went to bed earlier than everyone.Day 3
Feel like i have reached the end of my wits and have nothing more to contribute to the brain lab. feel happy that some people must prepare the solar cooker. so i am the first to took off for the making of solar cooker. now this i can relate to. lol. i pretty much had fun doing everything other than be part of brain lab. but after that had to be back to brain lab. feel sad that it was so easy building the solar cooker. i wish it was more difficult so i can play longer. anyway, i forgot to mention another activity that i prefer than brain lab is eating five times a day. now, i didnt say that i am used to eating five times a day. by myself, i only ate 3 times max a day. but even eating here sometimes disappoint me because the food was weird and when its not weird and tasteless its just plain tasteless. but there are times i enjoyed it too and there are times when they are tasty. but all in all, i just enjoyed eating for the meeting people part. and it doesnt stopped me from eating a lot too. i think i had an addition of at least 1kg per day. today, the highlight of the day was the trip to fireflies park/river: http://www.journeymalaysia.com/MR_kampungkuantan.htm
for the first time of my life i climbed into the sampan. to sum things up, i had a really amusing companions in the sampan and pretty much laughed all the way to and fro. i catched one firefly. i let everyone on the sampan see it inside my hand and after that half-intentionally let it go. i didnt take much pics because it was pitch black and i dont have high definition camera.
Day 4
brain lab as usual and also time to make use of the solar cooker. i had a dream the night before that we successfully cooked fish soup with the cooker which i told Irfan that it means we will not successfully cook anything. it was pretty cloudy that day and we put the solar cooker at the tennis court. i forgot to mention that we practically live with two species of monkeys so when we came back to check the rice that we tried to environmental-friendly cook one of other group's solar cooker was already attacked by monkeys. i saw their hand prints everywhere. later that day, it rained. to sum up, none of us successfully cooked any rice. which also goes to show that trying to be environmental-friendly is a trying journey. plus, costly to be successfully implemented. i'm talking about having a workable solar system in each homes to cook etc.
Day 5
In total agreement with the speech by Dr. Chandra Muzaffar on spirituality. this is the one element of the programme that i can relate to and his speech was the only thing on spirituality that i agreed. however, i didnt participate during actual discussion on this element because i didnt agree on some people's view on Islam, plus we're having diversity of faith here. I purposely avoid talking about faith because i feel that if we didnt know about other people's faith we shouldnt talk about it, when we are of different faith but know a lot about other faith we musnt also talk too much on that other faith either, and when we are of that faith but having not completed our knowledge on it we should not brag...we shall only explain when asked. this is very important because faith is a delicate issue and being careful means to avoid insulting and be insulted back. i was personally insulted when a particular person babble alot about my faith when such person is not even a believer let alone practiced my faith and i noticed that such person was sometimes wrong in facts. i was also annoyed when one person claimed directly and indirectly that such person was a devout muslim that he is qualified to be a wali but in practice i saw a lot of discrepancies in action. Islam embodies the element of humility. but all i saw is vanity. in Surah al-Najm (Verse 32) Allah said, what can be translated as, "Do not complement yourself, He (Allah) knows best of those who are pious."
Quote: http://members.cox.net/ameer1/mannerst.htmlIslam has legislated a number of rules that a Muslim should abide by when he talks to others, while always remembering with unshaken belief that everything he says is accounted for and he will be rewarded if what he says is good and will be punished if what he says is evil. Allah (S.W.T.) says in Surat Quaaf, (Verse 18), what can be translated as, "Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)."
The Messenger (S.A.W.) warned us that talk is very dangerous. In an authentic hadith reported by Imam At-tirmithi and Ibn-Majah, that he said, "A person may say a word that is pleasing to Allah (S.W.T.) and he may not think much of it, but Allah (S.W.T.) will, (because of that word), bestow his pleasure upon him on the Day of Judgment, and a person may say a word that is displeasing to Allah (S.W.T.), and he may not think much of it, but Allah will have, (because of that word) his wrath and anger on him on the Day of Judgment."
Talk can be dangerous. So, we should control it within the limits of Islam, guided by Allah (S.W.T.) and his Messenger Mohammed (S.A.W.).
i feel i have the right to comment on this issue because i have at least some legal background on the Shariah. although some people say education is a waste of money and refused to educate his/her self in the 'conventional way;, at least i made RM26,000 loan for my legal studies knowing that i learned about Islam and Shariah from legitimate and certified sources and once i graduated i shall receive a certification that shows i can talk on Islam more profoundly that people who dont have it. some people may say that this is of trivial nature. but for me, with regards of my faith nothing is trivial. and every little hiccups goes into establishing a prima facie case against 'the accused'. hence i rest my case.
so on the last day there is no longer brain lab but we all sat down to check the 'cover letter' of our soon to be memorandum on the outcome of our five days discussion that embodies our opinions on what should be done to save the environment. i dont exactly have any idea to whom this shall be addressed but i guess its for the government, business org and the public at large.
later that day, we checked out of the hotel and detoured to Sekinchan to see paddy field. i took a lot of pictures there. then we're off to PJ.
13 November 2008
In da Holiday
I'm online now coz i want to find maps to Just office in PJ, to kuala selangor and to de palma k.selangor. me and Sha will drive there for environmental programme of four days. all my best friends seems to be surprised that i am in this programme. i said to fiza once, i dont know what i'm gonna be in the future, perhaps some activist. and i said that because myself is like that. its my nature. what i can do best is to fight for something. yep dats me. and contrary to popular beliefs, environment can be my cause because a) i love nature, b) i grow trees and flowers, c) i dont litter, d) me and my family practice recycling and e) i am sarah and i am nice. haha. so i am hoping that this programme will be an eye opener and well be something for me to do this holiday. i am very positive towards this and have a good feeling that i'm gonna be participative. so i was looking at de palma website just now and saw that the accommodation is in chalets. cant help to think that this is holiday. i feel guilty to the environment already. checked my email and got another mail from organizer. they gave me map but i cant open it in this computer. no hal, will look for maps anyway.
back to my activities while waiting for the 'holiday' = nothing much
i got bored watching tv coz i am not used to commercials anymore. i get annoyed easily. and my fav programmes dont get aired so often. i cant watch anime at animax coz i dont follow the series and get anoyed coz i'm lost. so after a few days trying to catch up with tv i gave up and resort to watching on laptop from my external hardisk. last monday, i got so bored that suddenly i just went to iron my tudung and everything coz i just wanna go out. my bro asked me where i'm goin and i said 'mines'. he told me he wanna tag along and brought his bowling ball and shoe. we went our own ways there but after trying to find FOS to no avail i went to see him at the bowling alley. i got bored just watching so i told him dat i wanna try playing one frame. he taught me how to play, i guess i had no beginners luck. i only got 51 pins for one frame. other than dat is just the usuals.
i finished reading Man in the Iron Mask, Alexandre Dumas last tuesday. i shed a few tears reading that book. Fiza said she cant understand me because i cried for the rarest things and dont cry for what people usually cry at. let me tell one or two things about me....my weakness is gallantry. so if i saw pure gallantry i can cry. that book is all about gallantry. haha my soft spot. and another secret is....i can cry if i read newspaper. thats why i dont like reading newspaper. it just made me sad. borrowed some Stephen Kings and Hemingway from the library. will read it later.
back to my activities while waiting for the 'holiday' = nothing much
i got bored watching tv coz i am not used to commercials anymore. i get annoyed easily. and my fav programmes dont get aired so often. i cant watch anime at animax coz i dont follow the series and get anoyed coz i'm lost. so after a few days trying to catch up with tv i gave up and resort to watching on laptop from my external hardisk. last monday, i got so bored that suddenly i just went to iron my tudung and everything coz i just wanna go out. my bro asked me where i'm goin and i said 'mines'. he told me he wanna tag along and brought his bowling ball and shoe. we went our own ways there but after trying to find FOS to no avail i went to see him at the bowling alley. i got bored just watching so i told him dat i wanna try playing one frame. he taught me how to play, i guess i had no beginners luck. i only got 51 pins for one frame. other than dat is just the usuals.
i finished reading Man in the Iron Mask, Alexandre Dumas last tuesday. i shed a few tears reading that book. Fiza said she cant understand me because i cried for the rarest things and dont cry for what people usually cry at. let me tell one or two things about me....my weakness is gallantry. so if i saw pure gallantry i can cry. that book is all about gallantry. haha my soft spot. and another secret is....i can cry if i read newspaper. thats why i dont like reading newspaper. it just made me sad. borrowed some Stephen Kings and Hemingway from the library. will read it later.
04 November 2008
to study or not to study?
Hark O my dear friends, verily i am done reading the Chronicles of Narnia and verily i was quite influenced by the style of writing but not quite for this style was only featured in a few pages while for the rest of the story it was just like reading bedtime story to children. Nonetheless i was content with the story. Its amazing that while i am still in my exam period i can still start and finish a chronicle. what i meant by 'amazing' is that it is apparent that i did waste a lot of precious scanty times.
lets see how we stand in the world:
UM = 230
USM = 250
UPM = 320
UITM = 356
well not so bad.
UIAM = ?????
what? no UIA? hahahaha....well. whatever man. plus, serve them right for many reasons that only we the students know and also for making us sit for exams on three consecutive days while they gave us only three days revision days.
now back to myself. Thankfully for the first time since i was 19 i didnt suffer from my annual exam syndrome that i had to endure every time its exam. somehow my defensive measure this whole semester worked. when i dont hope. when i enjoy friendship more. i was set free. i am saved. the only time i was down was on the Nov 2nd after my company law paper. the straight exams was very stressful and i became emotionally weak the moment i was safe in my room. the fact that i didnt get to eat rice the whole day contribute to that too. and when i finally went to eat rice that night all the small things nearly brought tears to my cheeks...things like watching Amazing Race contestants reading letters from their families.
the straight papers is not without the good side (albeit very little of it) = we will end the exam sooner than most people. i cant wait for the exam to be over. my last paper was on the 5th. planning on what to do after last paper is very exciting. now i just enjoy the planning and leave the workability later. so what i have in mind?
1) to go to warehouse sale with my mother
2) to join environmental programme in Selangor that a friend graciously invited me to (for 4 days).
3) to Penang
4) to Malacca
5) to read Alexandre Dumas
6) to finish Research Asst task
7) to apply for internship in big law firm
8) to sleep all day
9) watch tv all day
okay okay thats basically most of it. the thing is before i can reach into the doing of all that. i must do my last paper first which as far as i myself see...i didnt study the tiniest bit. u see, those straight exams took my sanity away. the last paper would be LAnd Law ii. quite a dry subject if i must say.now if thy hast hearken my story, i shall take my leave and bade thee farewell. must study!
Today i went just for fun to check the result of world top university ranking. it was featured on LKS blog. According to wikipedia.org
The THES - QS World University Rankings is an annual publication that ranks the "Top 200 World Universities", and is published by The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The full listings feature on the QS website and on the THES website. They have been running since 2004 and are broken down by subject and region.
The ranking weights are:
- Peer Review Score (40%)
- Recruiter Review (10%)
- International Faculty Score (5%)
- International Students Score (5%)
- Faculty/Student Score (20%)
- Citations/Faculty Score (20%).
lets see how we stand in the world:
UM = 230
USM = 250
UPM = 320
UITM = 356
well not so bad.
UIAM = ?????
what? no UIA? hahahaha....well. whatever man. plus, serve them right for many reasons that only we the students know and also for making us sit for exams on three consecutive days while they gave us only three days revision days.
now back to myself. Thankfully for the first time since i was 19 i didnt suffer from my annual exam syndrome that i had to endure every time its exam. somehow my defensive measure this whole semester worked. when i dont hope. when i enjoy friendship more. i was set free. i am saved. the only time i was down was on the Nov 2nd after my company law paper. the straight exams was very stressful and i became emotionally weak the moment i was safe in my room. the fact that i didnt get to eat rice the whole day contribute to that too. and when i finally went to eat rice that night all the small things nearly brought tears to my cheeks...things like watching Amazing Race contestants reading letters from their families.
the straight papers is not without the good side (albeit very little of it) = we will end the exam sooner than most people. i cant wait for the exam to be over. my last paper was on the 5th. planning on what to do after last paper is very exciting. now i just enjoy the planning and leave the workability later. so what i have in mind?
1) to go to warehouse sale with my mother
2) to join environmental programme in Selangor that a friend graciously invited me to (for 4 days).
3) to Penang
4) to Malacca
5) to read Alexandre Dumas
6) to finish Research Asst task
7) to apply for internship in big law firm
8) to sleep all day
9) watch tv all day
okay okay thats basically most of it. the thing is before i can reach into the doing of all that. i must do my last paper first which as far as i myself see...i didnt study the tiniest bit. u see, those straight exams took my sanity away. the last paper would be LAnd Law ii. quite a dry subject if i must say.now if thy hast hearken my story, i shall take my leave and bade thee farewell. must study!
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