The Reader

Chaos at Heathrow Airport-T5

Murphy's Law is proven correct,again and again...

Let's read the excerpt from Wikipedia on Terminal 5:

Queen Elizabeth II officially opened Terminal 5 in a ceremony on 14 March 2008.^[68] The first flights to and from Terminal 5 occured on 27 March 2008^[69]. The first flight to use the terminal was British Airways flight 26 from Hong Kong. Flight 302 to Paris was the first flight departure from Terminal 5 at 06:20 GMT.

On the day of the terminal opening, British Airways cancelled 34 flights due to "teething problems" and was later forced to suspend passenger check-in.^[70] A malfunction in the new high-tech baggage handling system meant that flights had taken off with no bags and people were facing delays of up to 4 hours waiting for their baggage.^[71][72] On Thursday 27 March and Friday 28 March, 100 flights were cancelled whilst delays continued for a third day on the following Saturday.^[73]

As a practising project manager,I am shocked at the extent of the problems!By the way, this is 4.3 billions pounds transport hub.I don't really know what is the real problems that have resulted in the mulfunction of the baggage handling system,so I don't have any comments yet.

^{However, this incident reminded me of the case study of Denver International Airport as mentioned by Aaron J Shenhar & Dov Dvir in their book REINVENTING PROJECT MANAGEMENT.(HBS Press).According to the book, simple Diamond Analysis indicated that there was a gap in special needs required to manage  high-tech baggage handling system in the case study.}

^{By the way,I have written about a similar case when our KLIA has some problem of similar nature but of different magnitude in Jan,2004.This reminded me to take note of any lessons learned.}

^{PS:Let me quote an interview reported in PM Network magazine,March 2008.Below I append an answer by Dr David Hillson,Ph D,PMP when he was asked:Why is risk management is important to project management?}

^{Projects are all about uncertainty.They're complex.They include interfaces and dependencies,and they are also based on assumptions and we do not know how those are going  to turn out.Sometimes,we even made false assumptions. Project are also done by people,and that brings added uncertainty.So risk management has to be at the centre of the way that we manage projects.}

^{Latest news of T5}

^{Link to KLIA}

ViP bloggers

Yesterday,I came to know that the ex-Chief Minister of Selangor has started blogging.As an old blogger,a member of Pak Bloggers,I welcome you,Dato' Seri to the world of blogging.And I wish you well.By the way,one good example of VIP blogger is Pena Mufti Perlis.

From my observation, in the blogging world, there is no VIP.The only differentiator is the content.What you write and how you respond to the comments from the readers really matters.Personally,I have been blogging for almost a decade,in my own way.And I am not here to give advice or guidelines to anyone but you shall learn a lot along the way- with a few rough rides sometimes.

"The prime minister has acknowledged the power of the Internet, saying that Barisan Nasional lost the online war and it was a serious misjudgment "to dismiss the alternative media as unimportant" ("Internet served a painful lesson" - NST, March 26)."

One interesting feature about blogging is that it is two-way traffic.What we write do matter, but to engage into  CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER is more interesting and meaningful.

Happy blogging to all.

Boycott Dutch products

As a muslim, I am sick of what is happening in Netherlands when it comes attack on Islam and on my beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad.Let's support the call by Tun Mahathir,ex-PM of Malaysia TO BOYCOTT DUTCH PRODUCTS beginning today.NEVER BE HUMBLE TO THE ARROGANT.

Mahathir calls on Muslims worldwide to boycott Dutch products

By BERNAMA

29 March, 2008

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad called upon Muslims worldwide to boycott Dutch products in protest of a film released Monday on the Internet which criticised Islam’s holy book, the Quran. He said such a boycottt could result in The Netherlands having to “close shop”, as Muslims made up the wealthiest portion of the world’s population and were also the biggest importers.

However, in order to be effective, all 1.3 billion Muslims in the world must unite in the boycott and put the interest of Islam and Muslims over that of individual needs.

“We must not be afraid of losing trade with them. If we do, then we won’t be thinking as Muslims, but more for our own self intersts,” he told reporters after opening the Malaysian Islamic Welfare Organisation’s (Perkim) 46th annual general meeting at a hotel here, today.

    Dr Mahathir was referring to Fitna, a 15-minute film posted on a website on Thursday that highly criticised Islam, setting verses of the Quran against a background of violent images from terrorist attacks.

Dutch legislator Geert Wilders created the film, which also shows statements from radical clerics and cited verses from the Quran interspersed with images of the Sept 11 attack on the United States, the 2004 commuter train bombings in Spain and the murder later that year of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh on an Amsterdam street.

Earlier, Dr Mahathir had said the film was a result of misconceptions about Islam and there was also a “critical motive behind it”.

“They will continue to do this until we show to them Islam is a good religion, that we are not violent people, that we don’t tell lies to people...but this must be shown in practice by the Muslim community,” he said.

On the home front, Dr Mahathir who is also Perkim president, said it was very important for Perkim to give the right impression of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims alike so that there would be no misunderstanding on the religion, which could lead to fear, suspicion or hostility against Islam. — BERNAMA

---

© Copyright 2008 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.

Fish all day..

Fish all day,brag all night...

The above is a caption I saw last night at Manhattan Restaurant.I seldom enter this restaurant  despite my love for fish,especially salmon steak.But somehow,last night my wife pulled my hands(and also my legs;-) to this expensive restaurant.What immediately came to mind is the delicious fishy dishes and the hefty bill thereafter!

After we ordered our choices, my eyes wandered around the walls of the cool restaurant and saw the caption Fish all day,brag all night.I took out my moleskine notebook and made a note of it.Another nice phrase is: May your fish always be bigger than the holes in your net.This note made me smile.How do I share these beautiful notes with my friends? As an old geek(excuse me for my confession),I took out my Treo680 and began Twittering.It is one of my miniblogging tools(other than Pownce.com) that I subscribed for fun.

I though it was going to be a romantic dinner for pensioner like me and my wife, but a few girls  two tables away from me really @#$%^:-( They didnot talk at all-they just giggled.My wife got fed up and left me alone to wait for the orders to arrive.She went shopping for some short breads.

Now, where am I? I am supposed to talk about something fishy...

A few pictures on the walls reminded me of the book The Perfect Storm-written by Sebastian Junger. I really enjoyed reading it and later my wife and me went to watch the movie.My thought suddenly moved away from Glouchester to Kuala Terengganu's storm in the Monsoon Cuppa.Thank God, the coast is now clear..By the way,Awang Goneng has a story on Monsoon Cuppa.

Suddenly, I heard no more noise from the giggling girls.When I turned around, I saw all of them eating.To keep some people to shut up,just give them food and then they can't talk so much;-).Next is my turn to enjoy my salmon steak.When my food arrived, my wife was still not back yet from buying short breads for me. I believe ,she took a longer winding route passing through shops selling shoes,lady bags etc,etc..

Lest I forget..

After the solat suboh this morning,the imam led the jemaah to recite the following ayats.Let me share this with you so that we should never forget that all the blessings we received comes\ from His Mercy and not from our efforts.

From Surah Al-Fussilat:

[50] When We give him a taste of some Mercy from Ourselves, after some adversity has touched him, he is sure to say, "This is due to my (merit): I think not that the Hour (of Judgment) will (ever) be established; but if I am brought back to my Lord, I have (much) good (stored) in His sight!" but We will show the Unbelievers the truth of all that they did, and We shall give them the taste of a severe Penalty. [51] When We bestow favours on man, he turns away, and gets himself remote on his side (instead of coming to Us); and when evil seizes him, (he comes) full of prolonged prayer!

Last week, my guru told us  the meaning of al-Abrar.

Surah Al-Mutafaffifin:

[22] Truly the Righteous will be in Bliss: [23] On Thrones (of Dignity) will they command a sight (of all things): [24] Thou wilt recognise in their Faces the beaming brightness of Bliss.

Surah Al-Baqarah:

[177] It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards East or West; but it is righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practise regular charity, to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing.

Only One Choice

  BN advertisement 
  Originally uploaded by Adibi

The photo shown is a BN advertisement in my neighbourhood.I am writing this posting today is NOT about politics but more from the business angle.What I had learnt is that as a business person,I must not say to my potential clients that they have only one once choice.What I must do is to inform them(anyway they also know) that they have a few choices but I must present and show the evidence that my company/organisation could offer the best services.

As a student of general management, I am also taking notes of what happened and the outcome of the last GE especially in communication management during the campaign period.

How smart is SMART TUNNEL?

Below is the latest news and it is still closed for traffic.

Sunday March 23, 2008
MYT 10:21:16 PM

SMART tunnel closed until further notice

PETALING JAYA: The SMART Tunnel has been closed since 6pm Saturday for flood-mitigation works because of heavy rains, and its management is unsure when it will be re-opened.

Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel Sdn Bhd experts will meet Monday to determine when the tunnel can be reopened, a spokesman told The Star.

The company is a joint venture between Gamuda Bhd and Malaysian Mining Corporation Bhd.

Call 1300-88-7188 for further information.-The Star

The test of the pudding is in the eating.Likewise,how smart is this tunnel to meet its main objectives:

....primarily to mitigate the recurring floods in the city of Kuala Lumpur, the financial, business and commercial hub of Malaysia. However, at the design stage of SMART, the dual purpose concept was born from the ingenuity of the project proponents and the motorway tunnel was integrated into the system to relieve traffic congestion at the main Southern Gateway to the city centre.(taken from SMART WEBSITE).

From the last few days traffic news,it appears that the two objectives can only be met one without the other.And the primary objective of flood mitigation over-ride the relief of traffic congestion as the traffic users like me now having to suffer without knowing when it shall be opened?IMHO, the management should inform the public how long it will take to de-water the tunnel after each flood so that we the road users can plan our routes.Below is a comment from a motorist reported by The Star:

Motorist C.S Tan said he was stuck in a crawl for almost 40 minutes along the TUDM stretch at 9am. 

“Traffic was moving very slowly and it was frustrating,” said Tan, who had left his house in Happy Garden at 8am. 

“When we needed the Smart tunnel it was not operational,” an irate Tan said.

From the project perspectives of success,it has three levels:

1.Construction success-meeting quality,time and cost budget(plus profit to project sponsors)

2.Operational success of the tunnel to meet the main objectives of the project.

3.Business success to meet the requirements and expectations of all the stakeholders-the government,the rakyat and the project sponsors.

 

 

Book:Brida by Paulo Coelho

During my normal weekly browsing at Kinokuniya Bookshop yesterday,I saw a new book with a title Brida by my favourite author Paulo Coelho on offer of 20% dsicount.As usual,I can't resist the temptation and bought a copy and immediately started reading it.To Peter Drucker,my apologies for playing truant at your A Class with Drucker for the next few days.Let me roam the spiritual journey with Paulo Coelho and when I am tired,I shall come back to join your intellectual discourse.

So far,I have read 9 books written by Paulo Coelho and I enjoyed reading all of them except one(The Witch of Portobello).IMHO, the best book for me is the book Like The Flowing River.I bought two copies because my sister wanted my original copy.

Here is the link to his website.

Penulis & Blog

  Penulis & Blog 
  Originally uploaded by Firdaus Ibnu Ariff

Last Saturday morning,Firdaus and me went  to DBP to participate in a seminar with the above title(Writers & Blogs).There,I met Fauzi Shafie,my schoolmate and my friend Jiwarasa who is one of the panel speakers.(My thanks to Firdaus for the photo shown on the right)

First,let me congratulate DBP for taking this initiative.Jiwarasa has articulated very well about his experience in blogging and showed the landscape,terrains and landmarks in the cyberworld and blogsphere.
Puan Nisah Hj Harun also elaborated very well about the roles of blog for writers.For more detailed report on the event,please read this.

I am grateful that I have met new friends and learnt a lot from the two speakers.By the way,I was sitting next to the senior officer of DBP and I managed to whisper to her that this is a good event that needs follow through and action plan to increase more blogs written in Bahasa Melayu.Rightly used, blogs can be utilised to achieve a few objectives of DBP.

By the way, the new minister of Information and Sport/Youth have recently acknowledged the  importance of blogs.

Friend and friendship..

A few weeks ago, I got the shock of my life when someone I called or assumed to be my friend,has decided to stop being friendly.That reminds me what the Malay proverb says: Buat baik berpada-pada, buat jahat jangan sekali.It also reminds me of what Tun Mahathir said that in politics, there is no permanent friend or enemy.And lately Tun Mahathir supported Ku Li.

What is friendship? Basically, it is a relationship.It could be terminated or started by either one.

Most of us have friends.We all have some good and bad experience.Whatever happens,it depends on our we respond to the situation.When my friend attacked me, I have to give an equal reciprocal action.C'est la vie..

By the way let me share with you what poet Kahlil Gibran wrote about friends:-

“Your friend is the field where you sow with love and harvest with gratitude. He is your home, he is your table”.

“Even when he is silent, two hearts continue to talk”.

“When you have to leave him, don’t suffer, for you will see the importance of the friendship all the better because of this absence, just as a mountain climber sees the landscape around him better when he is far from the plains”.

“May you be able to share with your friend all that is good”.

“Let him know and share not only your moments of joy but also your moments of sorrow”.

“And know that a friend is not by your side to help you kill the time, but rather to help you enjoy life in all its fullness”.