Our version of "The Silver Book"

Last week we took Aliyah for her usual follow-up at HUKM. This time around, the waiting was horrendous. We arrived around 1.30 pm in the afternoon and by the time our number was called, it was almost 3.30 pm.

Whilst sitting in the waiting area, I noticed two families (obviously related since they came together with small children) arrived and took the seat across us. One of the ladies was holding a child in her arms. The child was slightly under one year old, and was obviously cleft.

Bored and tired of waiting, I took Aliyah for a walk around the waiting room. This was the moment when one of the ladies (with the cleft baby) took noticed of Aliyah and encouraged her family members (the guys) to approach me for information. Of all a sudden, the father of the baby stood up and approached my nicely.

He asked "Bila buat operation bang? Tak nampak ketara pun kesan dia!"

I answered "First operation tu buat bulan 4, tahun lepas. Second one buat bulan 11".

The introduction then began.

We began exchanging notes with each other on the surgery procedures, feeding methods and shared our experience with them. We later learned that the couple came from Mersing and have 3 daughters. The third daughter was born with cleft lip only (palate normal).

Herman, the father, works as a fisherman and tour operator (fishing trips to Tioman Island). The wife, Amelia, is a home-maker. Both are 29 years of age. Their daughter, Seira, was referred to HUKM under the Ronald McDonald's Gift of Smile Programme after HSA in Johor Bahru refused to perform the surgery for some particular reasons.

Amelia told Tai-tai that they had a tough time going through the situation back home in Mersing. Having to deal with negative perception from the neighbours was tough, but what made it worst was the attitude of the medical personnel towards them who were not understanding and supportive at all. They had very little access on information regarding cleft conditions, and had no single idea about CLAPAM and the Gift of Smile Programme.

Looking back at ourselves, I could say that Aliyah is very fortunate that her Mummy and Daddy had access to information on cleft (particularly from internet research), family support and good medical facilities.

Seira undergone her operation last Monday. Tai-tai and myself visited her at the hospital. Amelia and Herman did not expect the visit from us at all, and were very happy and delighted to see both of us. For me and Tai-tai, sharing our experiences and giving support to other families under the same circumstances are part of our adherence to The Silver Book. If we are unable to provide monetary help, at least we can give our support...


Daddy: The Silver Book was issued as a guide for Malaysian's GLCs for achieving value through social responsibilities

La-gon Phuket... till the next Sawasdee!

We had great family getaway to Phuket as planned between 28 Feb to 3 March 2010. It was not only the first holiday for Aliyah, but for the rest of us, it was a good getaway after the last one we had in Langkawi in March 2008.

I managed to play around under the sun at Patong Beach to get my body tanned as I was hoping for (thanks to Banana Boat tanning oil with Aloe Vera and carrot extract). To tell you the truth, I felt that our vacation this time around was really a short one. Perhaps the reason for me feeling so is because it was an enjoyable and memorable experience.

We landed in Phuket International Airport around 9.45 am on the first day and rented a car so that it would be easier for us to move around the island. At THB1100 per day, Toyota Vios seemed to be a good choice. The only drawback on this option was that it worked on manual transmission instead of automatic. But I took up the challenge as opting for the next available automatic transmission vehicle would cost me at least THB2500 per day.

It worked well in the beginning. Little did I know that the journey to Patong Beach, as well from one beach to another, would be hilly with winding roads (just like Batu Ferringhi in Penang). Plus, our hotel was located on the slope of a hill.

After checking in, we went out for sight seeing only to be caught in a traffic jam due to flood at one of Patong's important junction. We had to take an alternative route to our hotel, which took almost an hour. Tai-tai and the kids were so tired at the end of the day and we ordered room service dinner from the Malaysian restaurant located at the hotel lobby.

The second day was spent on Patong Beach. We arrived in the morning around 10 am and left around 2 pm. We had sandwiches, bananas and mangoes for beach snacks and later ice-cream to cool off the heat. After going up and down Patong Beach, we went back to the hotel and had the same dinner arrangement as the previous day. The only difference was on the food selection.

We spent the third day driving from one beach to another on south-west part of the Island, mostly for capturing the moments and beautiful landscapes on Tai-tai's DSLR camera. We found out that Surin Beach was much more beautiful than Patong Beach, and decided that it should be on the priority list for our next trip to Phuket. Our activities later during the day was restricted to souvenir shopping (at Jungceylon Shopping Mall), seafood hunting (for lunch) and foot massage (for relaxation).

The fourth and final day was spent for last minute shopping at Patong Beach. We left the hotel at 2 pm to catch our flight at 6.10 pm.

I am planning to visit Phuket again perhaps in another two or three years' time, and I'm glad that Tai-tai gave her concurrence on this. But one thing for sure, the next getaway destination for us could either be Bandung, Bali or Hong Kong, I hope.

Too late to usher in the new year...

It's almost the end of the second month of the year 2010, and yet my blog has not seen any postings for this year insofar. It never actually crossed my mind that my first entry this year would be in February!

It all came down to time availability. I was so swamped with work (and I believe it's the same case with Tai-tai also). As a matter of fact, my first half of February was actually spent in Ghana. Gosh... the travelling itself was so taxing. Coupled with the fact that I had to be away from Tai-tai and the kids for almost two weeks, my last trip was really dragging and appalling to some extent. The only good thing though was that I did not suffer from diarrhea when I reached home.

I am still busy with my work at the office, but I'm taking some time off next week to lie down under the blazing sun in Phuket. Yeah, you heard it right! We're leaving for Phuket this Sunday! I really can't wait for the day to come.

Perhaps there would be more blog postings during our stay in Phuket, who knows?