The 2019-nCov

Assalammualaikum.

[Source]

As a doctor, I can't help but keeping myself updated with the progress and spread of this newly found coronavirus.

I am not one who loudly and consistently advocates people on social media, unlike the big names in the country like Dr Amalina, Dr Rafidah, Dr Ben Rusani, Dr Rusyainie Ramli, Dr Musa Nordin, and many others. You can search for them on Facebook and Twitter and I strongly urge you to follow at least one of them on social media to get accurate and reliable information and sometimes, advice.

Even so, I can't stand irresponsible people creating fear, spreading fake news and belittling the Ministry of Health (MOH)'s effort in curbing this outbreak. The media is also not helping. They purposely put very catchy headlines, which may sometimes be misleading. They need you to click these headlines because when you click, they earn money.

Don't Worry, Malaysia IS Prepared

Even if you are not particularly proud of how Malaysia is doing in terms of media transparency or corruption rate or educational ranking or any other issue people might find with Malaysia, be it politically motivated or not, our healthcare system is actually something we can and should be proud of.

Did you know that Malaysia is ranked as one of the top countries when it comes to preparedness for a pandemic? Yes, a study was published in 2019 and they termed this "Epidemic Preparedness Index (EPI)". We are in Cluster 1; the highest possible cluster.

BMJ Global Health 2019

Another reputable assessment is by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) called The Global Health Security Index (GHSI) 2019 . It ranked Malaysia number 18 out of 195 countries; even beating Japan (21st) and Singapore (24th).

To make it even more obvious, Malaysia's index is at 62.2/100 while the world average is at 40.2/100 and high-income countries' average is 51.9/100.
That means we are even higher ranked than the average of high-income countries.

We have successfully dealt with the SARS outbreak, MersCov, Ebola outbreak and our very own Nipah outbreak in 1998/1999. Nipah was likely the most deadly of all, almost half of the infected patients die. We dealt with it successfully that time, and learned from the experience and became more prepared.

Formal, dry statistics aside, as someone who works in a government hospital, I know we have really good guidelines on curbing these infectious diseases.
Every year before the season of people start coming back from Hajj, lots of courses and workshops are done to remind and re-train everyone what to do in a suspected MersCov case. We have very specific guidelines and standard operating procedures to ensure we do the best and provide the safest care for the patient, other people and ourselves.

Even now, doctors and other allied healthcare personnel are being sent to Hospital Permai in Johor Bahru to help with the workload. Our hospital's Bilik Gerakan has already been activated. All the staff in ED are required to wear a surgical mask all the time.

How To Spot Fake News

Well, for one - fake news won't have fine details. Today I received a forwarded article, supposedly on a 22-year-old Indian national who died in Malaysia due to 2019-nCov. But the article didn't mention any comments from our top MOH speakers, neither did it mention in which hospital did the patient die in. The people who regularly update true statistics and findings are Dr Dzul, our health minister and Dr Hisham, our DG of Health. In fact, anyone who speaks on behalf of KKM can be trusted.

I believe the news to be fake but our KKM has not responded to it yet - I'll be waiting for the rebuttal.

Always ask, WHO? WHY? WHEN? HOW? to any news you came across.
If the article can't answer these questions; it is most likely fake so don't go spreading them. We don't want to end up like Zed Zaidi.

What is 2019 n-Cov?

Coronavirus is a family of viruses commonly found in animals such as cattle, camels, and bats. They usually cause the common cold and flu. 6 types of viruses have been known to infect humans, and this 2019 nCov is the seventh. MersCov and SARS are also under the coronavirus family. Read more on them from the CDC website.

How Does It Compare with Other Coronaviruses?

Well, for one it definitely is very contagious, even higher than Mers-Cov and in the same range with SARS. But it is less fatal.

[Source]

As of now, the death rate is 2.2% compared to SARS 9.6% and Nipah almost 50%. 

Why Is It So Hard To Get The Correct Statistics?

This outbreak is fairly new, numbers change every day - the number of people infected tomorrow will surely be more than yesterday and not necessarily in a predicted manner. There are still some cases that might not yet be diagnosed as 2019 nCov. That makes the total number of infected patients not yet very accurate.

So whatever data we have now, have to be interpreted with caution.

Why Is This Flu Might be Harder to Control than SARS?

This is due to the human-human transmission and the fact that people can be spreading this virus even when they are seemingly healthy.

During the SARS outbreak, patients who spread the virus are the ones who are already starting to fall ill hence it is easier to identify these patients; look for those with fever, cough, cold and isolate them from the crowd.

However, with this 2019 nCov, people who are still healthy are already spreading the virus, and then only they start to fall ill. That means, if you and I were exposed to anyone from Wuhan, China but is still feeling healthy now, we might already be spreading the virus to everyone near us before we even fall ill. Hence it's hard to identify people that are spreading the viruses.

That is one of the main reasons the Government has started to ban the entrance of Chinese tourists and foreign students from Wuhan, Hubei. They might all be carrying the virus and spreading them everywhere even though they are all perfectly healthy.

How Worried Should We Be? Should I Start Wearing Surgical Masks Outside?

My advice will be yes you can be worried but don't be panicked.
As Dr Mike stated again and again in his video, you should be ALERT, but NOT ANXIOUS.

Be alert with people around you, stay away from sick people; 6m away from coughing and sneezing person is safe.
Be alert with yourselves, routinely wash your hands with soap and don't touch your mouth, nose, and eyes unnecessarily; these are the routes the virus enters our body.

And no, I don't think we have to wear surgical masks yet in Malaysia.
We have only 8 cases positive so far and all those are Chinese citizens.

That means, if you are not at the place where there are a lot of Chinese citizens, especially those from Wuhan then you are unlikely to be infected with the virus. If you think you might be infected, please see the doctor and inform them early because every Govt facility has its own separate facility to isolate people with a suspected contagious disease.

Having said all these, I have to reiterate that these numbers are correct only at the time of writing and otherwise stated in the images. Should the situation change or we find that the 2019 nCov is more deadly than we thought it was - the advice might change rapidly.

Please keep yourself updated - follow KKM Twitter, Dr Musa Nordin on Twitter, Dr Noor Hisham and Dr Dzul both on Facebook and Twitter.

Let us all keep calm, keep ourselves and the people around us healthy.

Good global reading sources:
[WHO]
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The Resignation of Our Education Minister

Assalammualaikum.
*Disclaimer: This might sound like a Maszlee fangirl post, but I don't care*

I welcomed 2020 with a heavy heart.
My favourite minister, Dr. Maszlee Malik resigned from his post 😫😫

Dr. Maszlee is I believe, an educator first before he is a politician.
With his prestigious and excellent academic background, he is the most suitable person to hold the Education Minister post.

During the GE14 campaign, I was very thrilled that he competed and even more elated when he won the Simpang Renggam Parliament seat.
When he was appointed the Education Minister, I had nothing but compliments, praises, and hope for him and the future of our education.
But he then came under fire when he was seen and said to be too religious - some people feared he Islamifies the public schools.
However, when asked about his piousness, he replied: "What's wrong with being pious?" - And I admire that straightforward answer of his.

His journey sure wasn't easy. He is perhaps the most criticised minister in PH cabinet - simply because his ministry deals with sensitive issues; the Jawi, vernacular schools, Islamic teachings, History syllabus, etc.
These issues have always been there but perhaps they were not publicised in the past or the previous Ministers did not deal with them - avoiding criticism and denunciation.

Not coming from a political background (He won his first election and right away appointed as the Education Minister), he wasn't really good with gaining the public favours at first. Some experts say he scores an A in his work but C in his publicity.
Even his decision to change the school shoes from white to black gained him the nickname "Menteri Kasut Hitam" - isn't that rude?
So I started following him on Fb, I wanted to show my support to him publicly.
I shared many of his achievements and plans and inspirations through Facebook.
He is I think the first politician that I really follow.

Reading his work in Borneo - visiting the rural schools and making sure they get repaired for students (Sifar Sekolah Daif) and his efforts so that even state-less children (an issue never occurred to me before) can get formal education inspired me.
Reading his vision so that all OKU students can get access to education fascinated me - he tackles issues that not many people think of but is actually a big issue to those affected.
His tagline "Education for All" motivated me.
He started the Free Breakfast for All schoolers - a thoughtful move.
He even introduced the "Suka Sama Suka" teacher transfer program to make it easier for teachers to transfer back to their hometown / nearer to spouse / children / parents.

But suddenly, he resigned. Effective 3rd Jan 2020.
I am pretty sure there is some internal crisis going on.
And I sure hope it is not due to that bloody Jawi syllabus thing.
I hope it is not due to the racism Dong Zong is promoting.

And really, the news of his resignation demotivated me.
So much so that I lost hope in Malaysia.
Macam mana nak dapat "Malaysia Baru" if you drive good people away?
Menteri yang buat kerja bagus, did not come out with stupid comments (unlike some perpaduan minister, or makcik cakap berapi) - pun kena halau from Parlimen, apa lagi nasib rakyat marhaen macam kita ni?
He was on a roll, doing his work and suddenly he resigns. Mesti ada external / internal pressure.
Read: 'Atas nasihat Ayahanda Tun M, saya letak jawatan Menteri Pendidikan' - Maszlee

I have always regarded myself as someone patriotic.
But honestly, upon knowing about his resignation, I immediately feel like migrating from Malaysia.
It reminded me of the Anaesthesiology MO post in Brunei that was advertised to me a few days ago - minimum pay RM11k!
And I already fulfill their criteria.
I feel like taking MCAI and going to Ireland to work.
Or work in Canada, since my mother and sister are enjoying their holidays there and the things that are so cheap.
Perhaps this is what some nonBumis felt - not that they are ungrateful, but they felt hopeless.

Anyway, I signed this petition on Change.org to keep him as our Education Minister.
Not sure how effective this is, I doubt it is but at least it shows the number of people supporting him.


-Because life is a test-

-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

The Evolution of My Social Media Addiction

Assalammualaikum!
Let's talk about the social media addiction that really is plaguing our modern society so much so that families and friends aren't really connected anymore even when they are in the same room!
What better way to describe the addiction than my own addiction!

2005 - 2009
I can't exactly remember when was my first mobile phone but it was around 2005 / 2006.
That was during my Form 4 or 5 in high school.
The first phones were of course the solid Nokia phones.

At that time, I was addicted to SMS-es.
I SMS a lot of friends.
I always had my phone with me, sometimes even to toilet.
I reply SMS-es very fast, I can type without even looking at the screen - that's the beauty of having a proper keyboard.

At that time, Hotlink was the cheapest package. Only RM0.02 for each SMS.
I spent about RM30 per month for my phone prepaid. I barely call anyone. I only misscall my mum or dad, as a sign for them to call me back.

My mum and aunties were always scolding me for "melekat je kt handphone tu"
I had to be called for meals, and I will bring my phone to the dining table.
Thinking back, it was a very ridiculous behaviour.
I was there in the room with my family, but not there with them.

2009 - 2011
Then I entered IMU in 2009.
I reduced the SMS time significantly. But I was hooked with Facebook.
Pre-IMU, I used Friendster and MySpace. Yaw, sape igt lg Friendster and MySpace?
But in IMU, people started using Fb and I joined the bandwagon.
I replied comments very quickly, and I open Facebook everytime I am on my laptop. I remembered feeling so amazed with the ability of Facebook to connect so many people together. Many of my school and college friends were on Facebook and one friend leads to another and another and another. I can't stop commenting on their pictures and chatting with them.
Thankfully I can only do that on my laptop so it sort of limits my addiction time.
There were not much SMS-es around.

I was also obsessed with Yahoo Messenger and MSN Messenger.
The 3 platforms that I must open when my laptop is open were Facebook, YM and MSN.

2011 - 2014
I went to Manchester in 2011.
After a few months, I bought a Sony Xperia Ray - a contract phone with O2, the telecommunication company in the UK.
Don't be surprised, I bought the exact same phone with Akmal and we were only friends at that time 😅.
Xperia Ray was the cheapest in the market at that time, one that is available as a contract with O2.

That was my first smart phone.
It was so cool to be able to browse Facebook and emails through a phone.
But I still has not started using Whatsapp.
So then, I was addicted to mobile Facebook.

Somewhere in 2012 only I started using Whatsapp.
Then back in Malaysia, my mother bought her first smartphone and I asked Wasil to install Whatsapp for her so that I can chat with Mama easily.

My first Whatsapp group was between Mama, me and Wasil created on 17 Dec 2012 😱
The second group was between my housemates in Sharoe Green Lane, Preston. I created it on 25 Jan 2013.

So at that time, my social media addiction was Facebook and a little bit of WhatsApp with Akmal.
I don't really have a lot of Whatsapp groups yet.
Thankfully my addiction wasn't as bad when I was in high school.

9Gag was another major distraction at that time.
I can browse 9Gag for almost an hour, and laughing at most of their posts.
I told Akmal about it and he was actually surprised. He felt 9Gag is more of a man thing, not a lady website.

All the while, I was also engrossed with blogging.
Most of my blog entries were in 2010 and 2011.

2014 - 2019
I came back to Malaysia in 2014 after graduation.
I created my Instagram profile in the same year. My first Instagram post was on 2nd March 2014; it was a picture of me and Erni Dayana's son during my holiday trip back to Malaysia. Yo Neni, kau patut sangat berbangga.

But I did not have many Instagram friends / followers so I wasn't really active there.
Then I started my housemanship in late 2014.

That was when I started to have various WhatsApp groups!
I was added into Ortho HO group, then Ortho HO + MO group then Ortho HO + MO + Sp group, and Ortho Ward 7F group and the daily Oncall Ortho group and not to forget, the Orthoban group! (Orthoban was a group we created consisting of only us 8 first posters in the group - sort of the really junior babies HO ortho group where we lash and critic and talk bad about our seniors or MOs or specialists hikss)

After Ortho, there were also many groups in the subsequent postings.
Some postings we had groups for newbies, some not.
Most of the postings will need a group for HO only and for HO+MOs and some +Sp as well.

So from these groups, we had lots and lots of conversations.
We talk about the really important stuff, as well as gossips. Sometimes very hot gossips.

So I became fixated to Whatsapp groups.
I always read and many times, reply promptly in those groups.
Akmal will sometimes be angry at me for ignoring him and only focusing on my WhatsApp group (we were already married by then).
From his critics, I tried to reduce my WhatsApp time.
I learned to differentiate between urgent matters and non-urgent ones.
The ones that I need to reply now, and the ones that I can wait and reply later.

Somewhere along the line I started to be more active in Instagram.
And then Instagram story came around.

Now, apart from Facebook, I have Instagram to browse - which increased my screen time.

So I will take my phone out and scroll Facebook or Instagram while waiting for the lift, while in the lift, or while waiting for Akmal, or while walking to the laboratory from the ward.
Basically I scroll them all the time that I was not talking to a human being, or when I was with another person but do not know what to talk about.
It consumed my time a lot!

2019
This year, a whole new addiction appeared.
It is still in Facebook but it is now in the form of videos.

One video can lead to another interesting video and another interesting video.
The next video will automatically play and it made it harder for me to stop watching because I had to make an effort to not watch where else if I simply stare at my phone, videos will keep on playing.

And due to this nasty profiling technology, the videos that were played were all very tailored to me ie I get funny videos, baby videos, heart-warming good samaritans videos and so forth.
I can lie down and watch videos only for more than an hour!
Thats saying something!

Another addiction is Netflix.
I already have unlimited 100Mbps unlimited Unifi installed at home and with a Smart TV, I can watch Netflix anytime.
There is no advertisement within the episode and Netflox smartly play the next episode within 10 seconds.
Once the next episode starts, it really requires a great deal of effort and determination to hit the "Back" button and do other things.

And Netflix is also intelligently designed in such a way that they string related movies and dramas together and come up with a list of dramas and movies you probably like.
So far I have watched Doctors, Chief of Staff, Sky Castle, Designated Survivor, Arthdal Chronicles and many more that I couldn't even remember.
All these dramas are at least 16 hours long!

Social Disconnection
The trend is actually worrying - I am talking about my own addiction and perhaps this is happening to a significant percentage of people in the world.

We were at first addicted to SMS-es - we start to ignore those next to us, to communicate with those not with us.

We then got addicted to WhatsApp - where we can communicate with MANY MANY people at once, in real-time but in the expense of those next to us.

Then we also get addicted to Facebook and Instagrams - where we see updates from many of our family, friends, acquaintances, celebrities, politicians, influencers, online shops and reduced the quality time spent with real people nearest to us.

Now, we are addicted to videos and Netflix. Those are not even people. We aren't even communicating with people anymore.
We are being fed with such animated entertainment, that we are jeopardising the real communication with the real people in the real world.

I did not even touch the subject of video games. So many people are addicted to games be it on the phones, computers or dedicated devices like the Playstation or Wii. Akmal is also addicted to Hearthstone that many times he was unable to focus to me.

I wonder what will the next addiction and distraction be.
It is always a trial and a battle to fight these addictions, especially my latest videos diversion.
And in this crucial time of nearing my exam, the more I need to discipline myself.

With that, let's get back to study!



-Because life is a test-

-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

No, (Govt) Doctors are Not Rich

Assalammualaikum.
Well, we are not rich but we are comfortable.

My starting basic pay as a medical graduate was RM2777, and after adding all the other allowances, my take home pay was about RM3.5 - RM3.7k depending on how much was deducted for EPF.
That is definitely more than my other peers who started working as a non-doctor. It was even higher than my siblings' take home pay when they first graduated few years after me.

Almost 5 years down the road, my take home pay is a tad more than RM5k (sorry, salaries are such sensitive issues it's hard for me to disclose it in public here).
And my increment over these early years was more than some of my non-doctor peers, and even my siblings in the private sector.

But I get only RM500 bonus per year (when PH first ruled, I wasn't eligible for any bonus as the country was supposedly near the brink of bankruptcy) while some other people working in the oil and gas industry received one, two- or sometimes 6-months pay as their bonus. My sister Aisyah received her bonus of an undisclosable amount (even I don't know how much), and she can afford to treat our and my in-law families to a dinner celebrating my birthday in a fine-dining restaurant (it definitely was more than RM500 in total).

And yes, even though my increment was almost exponential these first few years, they will plateau over time.
After 10 years, I will earn less than those of my age in private sector. The trend is obvious. The more experienced you are, if you are hard working and smart, you will get paid more in the private sector. My brother is now being sought after by multiple companies for his barely 4 years experience and if all goes well, he might earn twice as much or even more as I will in 10 years time.
That is why also, many specialists are leaving the government hospitals to join private sectors.

But what government offers, which the privates can't is stability.
I know I will get my pay by the end of the month.
I will get all my allowances.
I can get my parents and hopefully children medical bills to be reduced so much, which still enjoying the first-class treatments should they ever need it.

Anyway back to my topic of doctors being not rich.
Yes, we are not rich but we are comfortable.
I can afford Sakae Sushi or hotel buffet every now and then.
I can afford a Macbook and an iPhone.
I can afford some TudungPeople shawls once in a while.
I have more than enough food in my fridge, a comfortable bed to lie on with many many comforter sets that my husband rolls his eyes every time I want to buy more beautiful comforter sets on sale.

But I am not rich because I still need to weigh and decide if I want to buy a pair of branded shoes or a handbag, or if I want to install a water heater in my bathroom because I can't afford all of them at the same time.
I have a course in KL some time this month and yes I received a complementary hotel room but if I want Akmal to come with me, I either pay for a separate hotel room, or I can use that money to buy the Tudung People tudungs that are on Merdeka Sale now, or again, install water heater in my shower. It's either one.

I gotta change my car battery anytime soon and it cost RM500, but I also want to install and air-cond for my brother's room in mum's house.
It's always a fight of luxury vs necessity and of course, necessity always have to win.
But even my necessities are luxuries to some people and I really really need to realise that and be thankful.

And now, my already-out-of-warranty macbook is giving my trouble.
The screen is flickering and it's impossible to do work on it.
I am now typing this on Akmal's computer.
I wonder how much it will cost me to get this repaired. Heck it wasn't even 3 years yet! Perhaps just passed the 2 years mark.
How can how can the macbook disappoint me like this?!

So many things to buy but also so many things to pay.
Being an adult is so difficult.
But then again, I lead this kind of life because I am still child-less.
Maybe I will learn to let my "wantings" go and work my way around my "needings" once I am with child.

-Because life is a test-

-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

Of Dr Zakir Naik and Malaysiakini

Assalammualaikum.
I rarely talk about political issues nowadays. But I just need a place to pin them down for now.
Lately, there have been many racial conflicts within the people of Malaysia.
And I hate them. I think these issues are brought up by certain irresponsible parties to purposely create the tension and fear among Malaysians and hence in return, these people will feel they have someone fighting for them and thus, supporting these people.

Other than the teachings of khat/calligraphy, the usage of Jawi writings, the talks about the abolishment of vernacular schools as well as the UEC exam, Dr Zakir Naik has lately become the talks of the town.

I was familiarised with Dr Zakir Naik since my A-Level years, circa 2008-2009.
We had a Friendly Comparative Religion (FCR) talk in INTEC and Mr Shah Kirit was the Muslim representative in the debate.
From then on, I was introduced to Brother MY who then introduced me to the FCR community and I went to the part 1 training course.
And I was absolutely enchanted. I was amazed by these people who have Quranic verses at the tips of their fingers and can easily quote them. Dr Zakir Naik was also heavily quoted, and he was dubbed the "Master of Comparative Religion"

Around the same period of time, my mother was also heavily involved in Malaysian Chinese Muslim Assc (MACMA) and we had a few encounters with Mr Shah Kirit as well. From there, I found out that Mr Shah Kirit is the disciple of Dr Zakir Naik. He underwent intense training in India. There were talks that there were 5 Malaysian men sent to study with Dr ZN but only 2 or 3 made it and Shah Kirit was one of them.
So yeah I was introduced to Dr ZN from my academic as well as family involvements.

I used to listen to his talks and read books on comparative religion. Then I went to the UK.
Then it came to a halt. I lost contact with these things.
But I still believe in him. Occasionally I read some horrible news about Dr Zakir Naik, but I didn't pay much attention to it.
In fact, I wasn't really interested in finding out. At that time, I thought it was either 1) People are really trying to bring him down or 2) He really was a big-time deceiver. The second option was more depressing hence I hoped the former was true. But I did nothing to find out.
News about him comes and goes.
Then he came to Malaysia, something about he is trying to run from unfair treatment in India or something.

Then, past few weeks he became the talks of Malaysian.
Malaysiakini has deceivingly quoted his sentences out of context and made him sound very politically incorrect and racist, and provocative. When I first saw the news by Malaysiakini, I immediately felt I must stand by his side.
I lost trust in Malaysiakini many years back after I started working.

When I was in the UK, Malaysiakini used to be my homepage. Yes, Malaysiakini INSTEAD OF Google or Yahoo was my homepage.
I didn't wanna miss things happening in Malaysia, as I was thousands of miles away.
But over time I find Malaysiakini very disturbing and offensive. They blow issues out of proportion and sometimes even their headlines are very misleading. Especially political and racial ones. Hence I stopped reading them entirely - out of my own judgment.

Then this happened.
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/487902

See la, see the headline.
Outrageously provocative. Equivalent to Utusan Malaysia's "Apa Lagi Cina Mahu?"
This headline obviously tried to spark anger among the Chinese in Malaysia.
And as expected, BOOM.
Even Syed Saddiq the minister wanted to chase Dr ZN out, despite the PM, Dr M adamantly states he will not deport Dr ZN out of Malaysia.

Thank God for the advanced technology.
There is a full recording of Dr ZN's talk that night and no, he didn't mean to tell Malaysians to chase Chinese out before thinking of deporting him. But the damage is done. Jumpy people jumped, people already started cursing, the boat has sailed.
And so Dr ZN publicly apologised for the hurtings some people felt.
And walaah, some people took it as him admitting to his mistakes of chasing the Chinese out of Malaysia.
See how some people twist and turn words to make it politically advantageous to them?

Thank God also, our Muftis stand by him.
Muftis of Pahang, Perlis, WPKL, Pulau Pinang, Hadi Awang of PAS and many other renowned ulama' of Malaysia stood by him.

And so will I.
Oh, I just found out that Dr Zakir Naik is a medical doctor 😁😁

-Because life is a test-


Imam as-Syafi'i pernah berkata: Nanti di akhir zaman banyak Ulama yang membingungkan Ummat, sehingga Ummat bingung memilih mana Ulama Warosatul Anbiya dan mana Ulama Suu yang menyesatkan.

Lantas murid Imam as-Syafi'i bertanya "Ulama seperti apa yg kami harus ikuti di akhir zaman wahai guru?"

Beliau menjawab: "Ikutilah ulama yang dibenci kaum kafir, kaum munafiq, dan kaum fasik. Dan jauhilah ulama yg disenangi kaum kafir, kaum munafiq, dan kaum fasik."

وسئل الإمام الشافعي رحمه الله تعالى: كيف تعرف أهل الحق في زمن الفتن؟! فقال: اتبع سهام العدو فهي ترشدك إليهم

Imam as-Syafi'i pernah ditanya oleh muridnya tentang bagaimana caranya kita mengetahui pengikut kebenaran di akhir zaman yang penuh fitnah?

Jawab beliau: "Perhatikanlah panah-panah musuh (ditujukan kepada siapa) maka ia akan menunjukmu siapa pengikut kebenaran."

Jadi pilihlah dan ikutlah ulama dengan ciri berikut agar selamat di zaman penuh fitnah ini:

➖ Ulama yang paling dibenci dan tidak disukai orang kafir
➖ Ulama yang paling tidak disukai orang munafik
➖ Ulama yang keras terhadap orang kafir yang mengganggu
➖ Ulama yang lemah lembut terhadap orang Islam
➖ Ulama yang tidak peduli dengan caci maki orang kafir sepanjang menyuarakan kebenaran
➖ Ulama yang jika kita memandangnya dan mendengar nasihatnya semakin membuat hati kita semangat untuk lebih rajin beribadah

Semoga kita diselamatkan dari fitnah dunia dan fitnah dajjal yang seperti semakin dekat kemunculannya..
-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

Strawberry Doctors

Assalammualaikum.

I spoke about Strawberry Doctors 5 years ago here.
Do I see them now?
Erm, not much.

I do see some of my colleagues who can't make it through housemanship due to the stress, but I won't call them strawberries.
Yes, I see whiners.
I see complainers.
But I don't really see wilters.

I have shouted at some houseman (sorry adiks2), but none of them cried in front of me.
I have seen my friends getting shouted at, but none of us wilted.

But whiners, oh yes there are many.
In fact, they are so many of them that the government had to constantly change and adjust the houseman working hours.
The fight never ends.



-Because life is a test-

14 Aug 2019

-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

Book Review: Have A Little Faith

Assalammualaikum.

I've always loved Mitch Albom's work.
I feel that they are always very inspiring, funny and resonates well with our real lives.
And they are usually expensive - relatively, compared to other thicker books.

In every bookfair, I will always look for Albom's books.
I'll buy them if they aren't too expensive.
And during the last Big Bad Wolf book fair in Mines, I managed to get hold of one; titled Have A Little Faith - which cost me RM12.
Not too bad.

This book is well written, and it teaches a lot of life values.
However, it is so very Jewish and Judaism-ish.

Albom's previous works are stories about his dying professor Morrie and his last words and life lessons. This book talks about his Rabbi - affectionately known as "the Reb" whom he knew from when he was a little boy but only recently reconnected with, when the Reb asked Albom to write his eulogy.
Let me give you a little bit of spoiler - it spans for more than 8 years, this book.
He describes how he grew closer and fonder of the Rabbi, the very being he was so afraid of and always avoided when he was young.

He described how well mannered, patient, peaceful, determined and kind hearted his Rabbi was.
The Man of God - that's how he always describe this man.
And I really really admired this Rabbi character - and I silently wish we have more Islamic preachers with these characteristics.
He keeps track of people in his congregation, made phone calls to the respective families when he heard of any weddings / child birth / deaths within, if he cannot attend the function.
He does house visits until he was too old to do so.
And he was well educated as well.

I like it that he MAKES phone calls, a rather dying trend of our society nowadays.
We WhatsApp, message, emails - which are actually not real conversations.
We can misunderstood and hid emotions with written conversations. We can always add "Haha" at the end of any sentence, to make it sound better, even if the sentence before might break our or the receiver's heart.
But when you call, you can hear the person's laughter, sorrow or even silence when the person at the end of the line tried to swallow her tears.

And anyone who have read my blog long enough will have noticed - I hate Zionism.
I hate them for oppressing and occupying the Palestinian lands illegally - and they hide behind the name "Israel" - which also equals to Jewish.
But not all Jews are Zionists though.
And the main character of this book is the Reb - someone of a different religion with me.
Someone of the religion that the Zionists hide behind.
Anyway, this sentence of mine can be politically challenged - lets put that aside for now.

The writer also talked about Pastor Henry Covington.
A determined, dedicated Christian pastor who was involved with lots of crime during his younger days - including drugs and was also jailed for some time.
And he formed and became the pastor of the My Brothers Keeper's Church - and has turned a new leaf. He described the man very well, and I believe Pastor Covington IS a miracle and a living proof  of what determination and faith can bring into a person's life.

Albom managed to make me fall in love with the characters, but of course, not the religions.
Most of the teachings are the same anyway, the Abrahamic religions.
Hence there was no reason for me to fall in love with the religions.

I hesitated though during the process of reading the book.
It took me more than one week, not because of the hesitations but rather due to the limited time I had.
And I thought of stopping myself from reading this book as it was too Jewish.
Will it benefit me more if read a more Islamic book instead?
Will this put me in the danger of Shirk?
I kept my mind open though - I am reading this book for the sake of reading it, and I already buy it anyway.
I will not let the book shakes my faith in whatever way.
And of course, it didn't.

I was very much absorbed into the story half way thru the book.
In fact, it taught me a lot about life and perseverance and having and keeping that strong faith.
And I am glad I did not stop reading it - just because I am scared it might make me turn my back towards Islam or, what will other people say if they know I read these kinds of books?
I was quite disappointed - oh why is Albom, the writer I admired is a Jew? I can accept him being a Christian or Hindu or Taoist. But Jewish?

But, come to think of it again, that was silly ain't it?
To think that my faith can be shattered from reading a non-fiction, non-biased book?
How thin was my faith?
If anything, after reading this book I felt my faith towards Islam just grew stronger.
I now have a better and more imaginable character to adopt into my life.
And I look forward to Albom's other works.

Let me end with a quote from the Reb

“Mitch, that's what faith is. If they spit in your face, you say it must be raining. But you still come back tomorrow.” 

-Because life is a test-

 -AkMaR-
 http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

Korean Dramas and Their InfluenceS

Assalammualaikum.

I'm not proud of it but I have to admit that I am a fan of Korean dramas.
I must say, it has taken my free time away. I used to use them to read books.
This Halyu wave first came to Malaysia in 2004 I think.
I was form 3 at that time. The first few K-dramas were Full House, Stairways to Heaven and Winter Sonata.
I remembered SIGNING a contract with Mama - I get 3 hours of TV time per day but if I don't do well in my PMR trial, I will be left with only 1 hour.

Those 3 hours were for:
2 -3 pm Korean Drama at 8TV. Jewel in The Palace was aired at this time.
6 - 7pm Cantonese Drama on TV3
7 - 8pm Cantonese Drama on either TV2 or TV3; whichever more interesting. Later on, 8TV started airing Korean drama during this slot.

I did manage to keep my 3 hour TV time that year ✌

Korean dramas have their own attractions - those good looking actors and actresses are definitely their biggest magnet but they also have good scripts and storyline.
The plot - although sometimes predictable, is good and always some form of lessons in it.

The Theme

Each drama has its own theme and the story is made up revolving around this theme.
Descendants of The Sun - soldiers
Goblin -  supernatural world within our world
Jewel in The Palace - herbs, medicine and the kitchen of the palace

And each theme has substance.
Although they sometimes don't make sense eg the drama Emergency Couple where they made intern doctors working in the ED as the theme (I can assure you we don't have time to brawl over petty things in the hospital cafe if we're in our ED shift) but they are not vague either.
They showed the hours spent in the kitchen / military training / lectures and stuff.

The Script and Acting

Efforts are also put in to make the scripts real
The dialogues were carefully strung together.
And the actors actresses were convincing when they said it (of course, not ALL of them).

The Cons?

But let's face it.
The story itself is unreal.
How can they have so much time, to always hang out in a cafe (each drama will have its own cafe sponsor hence ALL the cafe scenes will be in that cafe, dal.komm cafe for instance - it appears million times in Goblin / DOTS )

The actresses don't do dieting - they eat everything from fried chicken delivery in the middle of the night to soju and BBQ chicken in the middle of the day - yet they are all so slim and thin and some were even muscular.

They are always doing exciting things. They are not even glued to the screen, watching K-dramas.
I always think, is this how life is in Korea?
They have time to go grab coffee en route to work?
They ride buses and tubes to work - only the rich has cars.
They walk around the beautiful parks.
They cry at the Han River banks at night when they are sad?

But how come I don't get to do that?
How come I am just so lazy to go out of the house to have a nice and peaceful tea time at the nearest cafe?
I rather stay at home - and watch Korean dramas, and watch them do all the things I wish I can do. The irony 😒

Anyway, I think I have to reduce my TV time now.
I have more than 3 hours per day of TV time nowadays, on my off days - which is really not good.

But then, with the increasing price of everything won't it be cheaper to just stay at home?
I pay a certain amount for my internet bills, no matter how many hours I stream every day.

Oh well
Til then,

-Because life is a test-

 -AkMaR- http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

Book Review: Leaving Time

Assalammualaikum.

I saw this notice on the board at my condo lobby two nights ago.

That means I will be living in the Stone Age for 3hrs on the 20th.
Why did they have to pick THAT day?
The day that I get to spend my day at home, since I will only start work at 9 at night.

I thought of millions things I wanted to do but couldn't.
The thoughts of not having a rotating fan above my head, can't switch my TV on, my WiFi will be off, I can't charge my phone, if I watch movie on my Mac- before I could finish the movie, the battery might have died - they all almost suck the life out of me (this is clearly an exaggeration).

So I imagined bringing my Macbook to Dal Komm in IOI City Mall - so that I can sit there and have a cup of (overpriced) coffee and look cool - perhaps with my erphones on. But I was too lazy.
I also texted Shuhada, asking her out. She can't make it.
Heck I even considered going to the hospital and help Alia screen little babies.

Instead, I made one of the wisest decision I made this week.
I picked up this Leaving Time book I bought from Big Bad Wolf last week.
And walla~ 36hrs passed and I finished it.

I have so many things to write about.
This is my list:
1/ Big Bad Wolf book fair
2/ My 2 years as a house officer
3/ My extension - one of the many things that made me doubt my career choice at the moment
4/ Shopping and cosmetics - a trend I see nowadays
5/ Korean dramas
and a lot other things

But since I have just finished the book about an hour ago, it still very fresh within me I feel so manic now.
For the past 36hrs, I almost feel like I'm living in the world Judi Picoult describes.
I long to read and explore further, and finish the book - to know what happens to each and every characters.
If not for my night shift last night, I might have finished the book in less than 10hrs.

This is a story told from the perspective of 4 people - Alice, Jenna, Serenity and Virgil.
And it amazed me how Picoult managed to wrap the stories nicely with lots of academical facts about guess what - elephants.
Alice is a woman who took Neuroscience for her undergrad degree - and later on became a scientist studying elephants.
This is her story, and Jenna's and Serenity's and Virgil's - and how their fates intertwined with each other. How they see each other and the events that occur around them.
This book not only made me feel like wanting to be an elephant researcher, it made me long to go to Africa and touch those elephants.
It talks about how elephants interact very much the same way as we humans interact with each other.
And the science and debate behind it since we can't actually quantify emotions.

It astonished me the amount of work - researches and readings that were needed to produce this book.
If Malaysian community can produce these kinds of authors / books, we would be very blessed.
- I see most of our artworks now are plain imagination without any substantial effort put in it. Even CPR is portrayed so wrongly in our Malay dramas - enough to make me shudder in embarrassment just by watching it.

I can go on and on talking about this book.
But I dont want to give any spoilers here.
You should read the book, and you'll agree with me.
The amount of work put was enormous.

Btw, why did I write about this?
While I was going thru my previous blog posts, I stumbled upon this .
The post I wrote on The Lost Daughter book, by Diane Chamberlain - in June 2014.
Truthfully speaking, I can't really recall the storyline but since I wrote about it, I figure it must have been a good book. Hence I looked for other Chamberlain's book during the Big Bad Wolf book sale 2 weeks ago.

Therefore writing about this book now not only introduce this book to my readers (if I still have any) - it will also help to remind me in years to come that I was once captivated by this story - Leaving Time.
The ending totally blown me away and I literally had goosebumps while reading the last chapter.

I don't usually read a novel twice - but if I had gone out of fresh unread book supply, I shall remind myself that I might want to read this again.


-Because life is a test-


-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

I am sorry I can't save your baby

Assalammualaikum.
Okay so now I am almost at the end of my 3rd posting; Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Obstetrics is when women pregnant more than 23 weeks are concerned, while Gynaecology deals with all women (physical) women-health problems, and if their pregnancy is less than 23 weeks old.

Get it?

You know in the movies and dramas where when a woman lost her pregnancy in an accident or something, the doctor will come up to her and say, "I am sorry we lost your baby" - in a solemn, empathic, guilty face?

I am very sorry to say it doesn't happen like that in real life.

Most women I met during my Gynaecology posting are women who have just had a miscarriage.
The foetus they carried just died - like that. Gone.

Most of the time, these women might be pregnant for 8 - 10 weeks (that is 2 months you know) and then they had a PV bleed and when we scanned, there is no foetal heart. The foetus died.
And we simply say, "The foetus doesn't make it" or in Malay, "Baby ni tak jadi"
And we take it scientifically - the sperm and ovum met, fertilised and divided. But the mitosis that happened may have gone wrong, the chromosomes that resulted is not compatible with life and the cells degenerate. That is the most common cause of miscarriages.

But to the woman, the thing that have died are not just cells.
The thing they carried in them were their babies - who they might have been very excited about. Who they might have imagined what gender could it be, how to call the babies, how should the babies call them - Mama? Papa? Daddy ummi abi?

To avoid having to deal with their emotions, I noticed that we tend to shut our emotions away from it. And by "we", I meant doctors.
What do I do if this woman in front of me broke into tears?
I have like 3 other women waiting outside the door, that might have had a miscarriage as well.
Can I afford to tackle this woman's tears? And all the women after this?

So I noticed that what "we" usually do is to say - "the baby doesn't make it"
And let the woman's family deal with her emotions - usually her husband is outside the door as well. We will call the husband in and explain.
We give them an appointment date - to rescan and the foetal heart is still absent, offer her a treatment - to remove the dead cells surgically or medically.

It's all so scientific.
There is no emotion.
But if i were to put emotions in dealing with all my patients - won't it be too tiring for me?
I will be sharing emotions with 20 sad women a day - everyday.


I am sorry your baby died, there is nothing I can do to save the baby, I know this is hard for you but you have to accept this, you can try again.

-Because life is a test-

*This was originally written on 8th Dec 2015. The time when I lost access to this blog, hence I created another blog.


-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

My Definition of Feminism

Assalammualaikum.

So that day I watched this one advert in the tele, and it went like this....

A girl, with oily, dull face and some pimple scars was trying to park her car in front of a building.
There were some men outside, nearby to where she was and were looking at her.
Then, she came out of the car and one of the man shouted at her "Hoi, x boleh parking sini laaa. Pergi! Pergi"
(I can't remember the EXACT dialogue but u get the message)

So she was sad and annoyed and went back into her car with some revengeful intentions.
She took out her cosmetic set, put on her make up there and then in the car (nevermind the fact her face was really oily at that time and girls, you should wash your face before applying any make up!).

After her makeover, she came out of the car and one of the men who were looking at her with disgust just now, rushed to her car and get her car keys frm her, to valet park her car!

And she walked into the building with pride~

And so, I was disgusted with the motion the advert brings.

Like seriously?
Serendah macam tu ke martabat seorg perempuan yg diorg nk bawak skrg?
Kalau cantik, apa pun bolehhh... Klo x cantik, "Eh hello..get lost from here!"

So klo prmpn x cantik, muka tgh oily accident tepi jalan, tayar letup ke apa ke, mmg sekian la x pyh harap ada white knight dtg selamatkan?
IMHO, bkn white knight yg patut selamatkn, mmg all lelaki shd help women in distress - to HELP, not to flirt.

I know now that may not be the case, ada je prmpn yg x berapa nk fashionable but still get help and fair treatment from people. But if this is the concept of adverts, in the future we will start to think this way; you want help? Be pretty!

I think the feminism force in Malaysia especially should focus to counter these types of advertisements.
The adverts that focus that a woman must use their products to be beautiful to get people's attention and be seen.
I know women like beauty, but I think the beauty should be used to boost her own confidence, and be able to walk head held high in the public.
Not to get a man, get a parking space or simply getting a fair treatment.

Mmg, I can't deny that during some occasions, I tend to dress more, or perhaps more precisely, more appropriate.
I went to KKM to ask about my job intake and I wear very nice attire and made myself up a little bit. I had a feeling if I look better, then the KKM officer will not be annoyed with my thousands of questions so easily.
Sometimes, when a person looks not-too-good, syaitan berbisik and ckp "Dh, x suka la tgk muka dia. Cpt2, halau dia pegi"
So, klo kita pkai cantik skit, org tu boleh la layan soalan2 kita yg beribu2 ni lama2 skit.

Feminism should not focus on getting a woman everything a man gets.
Feminism should be on striving to get what a woman should get.

Dulu waktu KTM bru introduce ladies coach; tu yg pink comel2 tu, I can't understand why a certain feminism champion organisation rejects the idea.
The reason given was kenapa nak perkecilkan kudrat seorang perempuan? Perempuan pun boleh tahan la nk dduk koc dengan lelaki. Ingat perempuan ni lemah sgt ke?
Haaaa...tu la hujah yang diberikan oleh seorang wanita ni, yang mewakili satu persatuan wanita ni.

I really felt like biting her head off.

Makcik, cuba pi naik ktm tu pkul 5 ptg on hari bekerja.
From KL balik Serdang.
Tgk makcik diri kt dalam coach tu ngn sape.
Tgk ketiak sape yg ada dekattt ngn our face at that time.
Tgk mcm mana punya sesakkk berhimpit2 until we are not even sure "Ni aku ni tgh kena raba ke org ni tergesel je ni?"

Dh ada org nk protect kita from benda2 mcm ni, baguih la tu.
Why did she feel the women's coach is actually seeing a woman as being weak that we need our own coach?
GRRRR~

Having said all these, I am not sure if men face the same problem.
Ada ke perempuan2 di luar sana yg tgk "Eh mamat ni x hensem la, rambut leperr je... x pyh la kasi dia discount"?

Kbai!

-Because life is a test-

-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

Kerja oh Kerja

Assalammualaikum.

Tangan tengah gatal nak menaip, even though there are sooo many things I have to do in the kitchen; kupas bawang putih, bawang merah seguni tu, kemas pinggan mangkuk semua.. haih.

Ok anyway, let's talk briefly about my employment status.
So I had my SPA interview on Sept 3rd (two months ago now!), after having gone through all the procedures.
I registered with MMC, received my provisional registration number, sent my personal details form to KKM in Putrajaya (personally, mind you. Xnak post2 nih. Bahaya).
And till now, I am still waiting for panggilan penempatan.

There was an intake in late August, and I found out from Atikah that UKM students will be in that intake.
There were 740 names in that intake.
Then I found out from my interviewer that the next intake is going to be in late October. That was early Sept, so I was really hoping I can get into this late October intake because the next one after that will be late Dec (I asked KKM officer).

A month ago; one day after my KYUEM visit, KKM released the names enlisted for October intake.
And my name wasn't in =[
So that means I will be in the late December list, which will be released late November.
Sigh~

Some three weeks ago, I called KKM to ask if I REALLY am going to be in the Dec list, and they said "WE CANNOT SAY YET, WE DO NOT KNOW. IT DEPENDS ON OUR BOSS"
I was devastated.
I thought I WILL get the December panggilan for SURE.
But at that time, the October intake is not settled yet i.e the appeal process and all, they are still quite tied up and they have not started listing the names for December.

So last week I called again, since last week is the week the October intake have their induction course.
And they said "Well, our bosses have not had their meeting yet and we cannot say if those who were interviewed in September will be enlisted in this Dec list. Those who received their surat lantikan in August, will be in the list"

So that means, they take people by the interview dates.
That means, had I had my SPA interview earlier, I would have been in the August list!
And why did I not have my SPA interview earlier even though I completed the paperwork very early?
Because I did not know we have to call SPA to be put in the waiting list for interview!
I thought we have to just fill in the online SPA application form!
But no, WE HAVE TO CALL THEM AND TELL THEM....

"HELLO, I'VE COMPLETED MY FORM ONLINE. CAN YOU PUT ME IN THE WAITING LIST NOW?"
Since I am an overseas graduate, and there weren't many instructions lying around for us (mind you, the instructions given by MMC, JPA or SPA DID NOT mention calling SPA at all), we were left in a limbo. We did not if we have completed EVERYTHING required.

So Kiew and I called and called SPA Hotline.
And as people might have guessed, no one answered the phone.
We called, and called many many times a day, and many many days a week.
Until it was raya holiday.
So we called again after the one week raya holiday.
Until at last Kiew filed the ePertanyaan (or was it ePengaduan?) in SPA website. She then received a prompt reply, giving her the EXACT number for the dept that manages our interview.
And only then did we know we have to call to list our name in the waiting list.

So I wish my juniors will not do the same mistake as I did.
Call SPA to get ur names in the interview waiting list.
MMC registration can be done in a day or two (if you send your application personally and pick your certificate yourself).
SPA is the slow bit.
CALL THEMM!!

Ok lah, tu je.

Bye~

-Because life is a test- -AkMaR- http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

Travel: Lembah Beringin, Tg Malim and Sg Klah

Assalammualaikum!
It's already October 1st! Time rockets, doesn't it?
I didn't write anything in September. Hmmph!

Anyway, let me talk about my latest cuti2 Malaysia.
On Sept 24th, Hui Fong and I went to Kolej Yayasan UEM (KYUEM in short), to give an informal talk to some A-Levels students there.
We were invited by Mr Allan, our Chemistry lecturer in INTEC.

It was actually very easy to get to KYUEM, just go onto PLUS highway, come out of the Lembah Beringin exit and go straight ahead. There will be plenty signposts in that area. The toll fare is RM8 if you come from Jalan Duta.

The first sight of KYUEM as we drove towards the compound, before entering the guardhouse

The main entrance

Mr Allan invited us for an informal sharing session with his tutorial group.
I think this is something like the mentor mentee concept.

He even gave my car plate number and names to the guard house.
When I got there, the guard showed me a paper with my car registration number and Dr Siti Nur Akmar and Dr Tee Hui Fong written on it.
As usual (sadly), the guards aren't Malaysians hence they could not converse properly in Bahasa. One of them simply showed me the paper and pointed to my name "Ini? Ini?"

The first part of the talk was done in a lecture hall, and we then continued the second part in the chemistry lab because the hall will be used for another function.

Most of the students will be doing Medicine after this hence they had quite a lot of questions about medical school.

I think one of the issues that worry them most is "the life as a medical student". We always read those jokes where they say medical people don't usually have proper lives, because we are just too busy mugging up our books.
Well truthfully, I think those are exaggerations. Any field you decide to study in, will have their own challenges, esp before the exam. I enjoyed my student life very much.

One thing about KYUEM: they are very luxurious!

Hui Fong and I arrived more than an hour earlier than we should. I overestimated the distance (and perhaps my driving speed too), so we had plenty of time to drive around the campus before parking at the surau.

The students hostel are either chalets or apartments.
Mr Allan mentioned that each chalet accommodate 2 students. Wow...

We saw gardeners and cleaners everywhere in the compound hence the surroundings are very clean and well maintained.

There were also a sports complex which apparently houses an Olympic size swimming pool, tennis courts many other sporting facilities.
KYUEM is a perfect place for nerds!
They can focus in their study and do some sports.
But for someone who likes to shop, or perhaps a pure blood city kid, they might go crazy after a while.
KYUEM is so far from any city centre, the nearest town is Tanjung Malim (I've not been to Kerling, which is even nearer but after seeing Tg Malim, I don't think Kerling can offer much).

Cantik rumah2 dorg kn?

These are the boys hostels (or perhaps hotel?!)

After the talk, Hui Fong and I headed to Tg Malim in search of a hotel.
The night stay was sponsored :D

We went into Tg Malim, but could not find the actual town.
There were no internet coverage hence google maps was useless, I can't locate where I was.
Armoured with half tank of petrol, ability to read the signboards and determination (cewah), we explored Tg Malim (yet still could't find the actual town) and found this hotel; the LP Hotel.
It looked posh in the night, with its lighting and all.

At first we wanted to just survey a few hotels before finally deciding to stay in one, but because this LP Hotel man was very friendly and we were also quite tired and wanted to settle down, we quickly paid RM138 for a room with two single beds.

Two beds, quite cosy. Enough for the two of us

Two doors; the left is the entrance, the right door is the toilet

Mr Allan mentioned Garden Seafood, and even the friendly receptionist man suggested the restaurant.
It was actually very easy to get to the restaurant from LP Hotel; they were only 1km apart.
The hotel is on the left side of the road while the restaurant is on the right side, we needed to make a U-turn.
I am writing about this because I googled about Tg Malim before my trip there, and found quite a few bloggers writing about their journey here. They were quite helpful since Tg Malim is such a small town, there were not much info on it on the conventional tourism pages.

Garden Seafood is a halal Chinese seafood restaurant, but just like any other seafood restaurant (supposedly), the price is quite erm.....throat-cutting.
I've not actually been to a proper Chinese seafood restaurant in KL hence I could not say whether the price here is cheaper than in KL, but high chance it is.
Nevertheless, Hui Fong and I was quite in a "tourist" mood, we didn't mind spending for good food.

Without realising it, both of us ordered Mango juice. My God, the juice was so thick, almost like a smoothie. The man behind Hui Fong wasn't Caucasian. He's a Chinese with white hair, speaks English in his own weird accent but very friendly. He kept asking us to come again. I think he makes a good customer service liaison

I forgot what was this dish called. Something to do with lobster and cheese. There were no price in the menu, so we asked how much will it cost. The white-haired man said 100g lobster is about RM10. And a usual lobster is 400g and above. Oh well, it seems we will need to depend on him to choose "the appropriate size" lobster for only the two of us. Turns out this lobster cost RM50. The cheese sauce was very nice, and as an avid prawn lover, I did not regret the RM50. Although.....I really hope it can be cheaper!

This is asparagus cooked with garlic. Simple and plain looking. The veggie itself is tasty. But I think this veggie is really overpriced. RM10 for that plate! Asparagus cooked with belacan will cost us about RM7 extra if I am not mistaken

In the menu book, this was Udang Lipan (what?!) I've not tried this before but Hui Fong said this is quite a famous dish in a chinese seafood restaurant so we gave it a try. The prawns are coated with something, something like battered prawn?

And there you go.....RM84.60 *cry cry cry* We need more people in a group if we want to go to this kind of restaurant, so that we can order more dishes but able to share the cost with even more people

How the restaurant looked like from outside, at night. Yes, it was raining that night

Anyway, our night there was very peaceful.
Our room was in the second floor, with a window, a flat screen TV (quite small but it doesn't matter. We didn't even use it), but only two wall sockets! Fortunately we didn't use the TV, or we will have only one socket. They should provide extensions!
There were water heater in the toilet for shower, but no electric kettle facilities.

I brought some breads so we had that for breakfast the next morning.
In desperate need of a hot drink, we went down as there were some cafes in the same row.
To our disappointment, the cafe were still closed. It was about 9am.
The hotel can only provide us hot water, not hot drinks.
We switched our "UK mode" on, and walked towards the nearest petrol station; the BHP. There was a KFC there. We wanted to buy a cup of hot coffee there but one small cup of coffee cost RM3.30 even before all the stupid taxes!
Thankfully the BHP convenience store sold SUPER instant coffee. You know, the maggi cup look-alike? Well, that cost us only RM2.50 Hmmph!

The view from my room

The view of the hotel from outside during the day. Well, it doesn't look AS IMPRESSIVE as it did last night. At night, the LP Hotel wordings were lit up so nicely

The hotel sent us a hot water flask up to our room and we get to enjoy the coffee comfortably in our room.
Before checking out, I managed to take some pictures of the interior of the hotel. I think the hotel is very well decorated! The "antique" feeling is definitely there!

The first floor

The first floor

The first floor

I like this notice. There was one at the reception and another one in the "living room" upstair

To the second floor

Near the reception

After checking out. Well, Hui Fong said she looked ugly in this picture

The exterior

The exterior

Well now, comes the most exciting part: the hot springs!!
Yes, alang alang we already in Tg Malim, let's go to a hot springs!
I googled and found out that Hot Springs Sg Klah was one of the hottest attraction near Tg Malim.

It took us about an hour to reach there using the old road i.e non-toll road.
When I googled, the place was called Hot Springs Sg Klah.
As I drive there, two kinds of signboards appeared; Hot Springs Sg Klah and Felda Residences Hot Springs Sg Klah.
I did not know that they were the same place!
We drove very far into the villages, to the point that I was very glad that there were hot springs advertisement banners every 100m, reassuring me that I was driving to the right place.

And little did I know too, I have actually been to this place with my family 2 years back.
2 years back, I slept during the journey hence didn't notice the road. I only know that it was in Sungkai.
I didn't even pay attention to the name of the place =.="

Since I've stayed in the hotel there (2 yrs back), let me talk a little bit about it.

The hotel comes in either chalet or a double bed room.
The double bed room has two doors, one to the entrance and the other one as a connection to the adjacent room. That means if you have a bigger family, you can book two double bed rooms adjacent to each other and keep the connecting door ajar. So you will get a "bigger house" with two rooms. Get what I mean?

The room was nice.
With each room, you get two free tickets into the hot springs, which will have cost RM12 for adults and RM10 for children.
There was also complimentary breakfast; I do not know how much does that cost but the food was quite nice and there were lots of variety too. From Msian breakfast eg nasi lemak, roti canai, beehoon goreng to western breakfast eg cereals and toast.

The hot springs itself is also open to public with some entrance fee.
Once we paid, a little tram will drive us to the centre. The place is sign-posted very well, with maps.

The first picture upon arrival

The little tram which drove us to the centre

We have our bathing attire on from hotel hence we do not need to change when we arrive.
All we needed to do was to find a locker to put our things.
The locker cost RM3 everytime we open it! Haih.. So we need to put everything into the locker and will not be able to take anything out again unless we want to pay the second RM3.

So things to make sure u have with you:

Money:: I had RM20 with me to buy eggs to boil! :D I spent only RM5 though
Slippers:: It was verryy hot to walk barefooted in the compound. And you will destroy your nice shoes if you wear it with wet feet

And that's all.
That means, I had to keep my camera and handphone in the locker. Hence I could not take pictures of the pools, the egg boiling activity we did. *sayang betul*

We cannot bring eggs from outside (the lifeguard said sometimes the guard at the entrance inspect our bags. But our bags weren't checked on that day. But because there were only 2 of us at the egg boiling area, the person will definitely know we didn't buy eggs from them if we were to bring our own eggs).

Anyway, we get 6 eggs + a packet of soy sauce + a packet of white pepper + a bowl + a plastic spoon for RM5.
We even get another bowl and plastic spoon for free.
I really enjoyed the egg boiling. For some reason the eggs were a lot tastier haha.

There were one main hot springs pool, one big "cool" pool and a few small "jacuzzi style" pool.
There were also a private jacuzzi area, which cost RM75 per hour.
Since there were no one in there, we asked to go in and see.
I think it is a very nice area, and perhaps even worth it if we have many people that we can share the cost with.
5 will be enough though, or the area will be a little bit too crowded.
There were toilet, shower, a small shed with benches and a mirror in each private area. You get to be in there for an hour, which I think will be enough, considering we should not be in the jacuzzi for long.

One of the public jacuzzi style pool. 40-45°C! I can't even stand putting one foot in. I am not sure how people can put half their body in

And there we are. With our wrist bracelets

Now, it's time to drive home back to KL and traffic jam! :D


-Because life is a test-

This is how the private jacuzzi looks like. Nice kan? Cepat pergi honeymoon situ! Photo Credit

-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com