Part 1 - Apa Khabar Orang Kampung?

Apa Khabar Orang Kampung or AKOK is a festive carnival like community get together event organized by a local television station. Frankly speaking, I have never heard nor watched this program before. Apparently, this event has traveled all around the country, touching folks from all walks of life – the farmers, the fishermen, the village heads, from near and far. Multiple agencies both from the government and corporate sectors have teamed up in putting up a good show. With live telecasts and the opening gigs graced by prominent politicians, this event has been a hit, I was told. And when I appeared puzzled on site last week, obviously I had a lot to catch up with and to do it fast.

Yup…that was how it started. Even when I was in Jakarta, text messages came in non stop on my mobile, bearing the AKOK title. Ishhhh…tak senang kita nak bershopping tau!!! My girl at the office explained to me what was required by the client. Such a simple do, I thought to myself and my staff would be able to oversee the task assigned to us. We have been asked to carry out a training session to selected school children from the Kampung Tengah, Gemencheh area. Simple mahhh…nothing my boys and girls in the office couldn’t do.

So there I was enjoying myself in the streets of Jakarta – mall, spa and bajaj hopping, savouring nasi padang till I could feel my pants tighten on the waist line. Little that I knew, pressure and duress over AKOK were sputtering back home, both in my office and the client’s.

When I got into the office on Thursday (was away from Monday till Wednesday), I was not even at my work station yet, when my girl hijacked me and spilled out everything I needed to know about AKOK’s development. Rasa nak melenting ada, rasa nak pi serang orang pun ada. But, I must have been on cloud nine still after my retail therapy. No one got any shelling and after a quick meeting with my staff, things became pretty much under control. Tasks were reassigned and everyone was smiling again.


There was one issue still pending though; who was to go do the training in Gemencheh. In my email, I proposed one of my junior trainers to conduct the session. Unfortunately, it was no deal with the client. They wanted yours truly jugak untuk turun padang. Reason being, this was a big do, it was to go live on national tv and the Yang Berhormat was to do the launch. Ohhhh….penat travel to LA pun belum hilang lagi, have to go to Gemencheh pulak?? All that 150 kms? Nak buat macamana kan, client first, self second. Well, at least, that’s how my life has been revolving in the past few weeks. Leaving me with no choice, it was unquestionable that Gemencheh was my immediate destination for the weekend.

Me on TV

I went live on tv9 this morning. Am posting this from Kg Tengah in Gemencheh, NS. Apo kobar org kampung? Kobau tu leh tambek tak?

On The Move Again

I'm back!!! Yes, I'm back, and so glad to be home. Although the trip was just for four days, it felt terribly long. I guess it must be due to the long journey - by air, land and water to get to the work place. Many must have known by now that I was in Lubok Antu in Batang Ai since last Thursday. Wasn't involved in the election campaign or what not. I was in one of the schools doing an ICT training program for the school community, both teachers and students. I could have gotten my trainers to do the program. But, LA was no ordinary turf - language challenge (most kids speak Iban), minimal or zero ICT knowledge and skills plus not to mention the distractions from campaigning for the election. So, kena turun padang lah nampaknya. Just like the country’s top leaders, everyone wants to be seen in LA. Interesting place and I must admit, I've never been so up close and personal with nature before. And during this trip, nature was just within reach.

Hilton Batang Ai Long House Resort

The long corridors, just as what one would see in the long houses


Lampu...woo..have not see these things for the longest time!!!

I have many stories to share about this trip and there are many pictures to post in the blog too. However, those will have to wait till I return from ANOTHER trip. Yessss....I'll be on the move again. Penat travel gi LA pun tak habis lagi, dah nak travel lagi esok. Busy nyer lah kan....Our new PM pun, I bet you doesn't have a travel schedule as hectic as mine kan??

Long house on the hill...pit stop to catch breath, plus pic stop

I've just finished unpacking the luggage I took to LA and packed a new one for tomorrow's trip. So esok gi mana pulak??? Ehem...ehem.....nak bagi tau gak ker???

Well, some of the MBs (Makcik Bloggers) know of my next destination. Siapa dapat teka, kita bagi hadiah...hehe..hehe :)

Sunset from the long house

Okay lah..okay lah, since that day when I mentioned that I was going to LA ader yang almost jatuh kerusi kan?? This time around, you gurls for sure tak jatuh one lah..heh..heh. I know..I know, I could almost hear your question, where am I heading this time???

Boats at the jetty and our boat crossing the dam lake to long house

The correct answer is yezzzaaa....Jakarta here I come (again!!!) Yessss...it's that time again....it's retail therapy time. April is here and it's our (my girlfriends) retail therapy time. I am so much in need of a breakway, away from the bosses, work stress, deadlines, reports...and the list can be very longggg. I just wanna go enjoy myself for a while and come home felling fully recharged and all ready to venture work in the 2nd quarter.

Haaa...kempen jangan sik campaign!!!

It will just be Muni and I this time. Our other friend, Jupe will not be following us. But she is kind enough to send us to the airport tomorrow morning. (Tak pe eh, Jupe....we'll try do another one in July / Aug OK....if ader rezeki)

No promises if I could post any stories from Jakarta. We'll see how lah OK. Ohhh boy...my eyes are almost closed, and before I go type anything funny or non comprehensible, I'd better go get some sleep, esok have to be up early jugak.

So....enjoy your week girls, I'll be back on Wednesday.

Greetings from Lubok Antu

Greetings from LA…errr Lubok Antu lah. Cannot play that April fools trick anymore eh :)

Yess…I survived the trip here. Two hrs fright from KL, then 5 hours by van to LA. Sakit pinggang as the roads are winding and bumpy. I pun tak tau nak panggil this place Batang Ai (eee…sounds so obscene kan…takut nak sebut…kot-kot…lepas sebut org pi tengok kat “SITU” je) or Lubok Antu.

I’m posting this from one of the schools here. Nasib baik lah got Internet, if not memang dapat kejutan kot coz sepi Internet for more than a day.

As for LA, okay lah tempat ni….no MALLS yer. Posters BN & PKR are lined up along the roads. Words on the streets have it that it’s 60-40, favouring the MATA. What ever lah…I just wanna do my stuff here and baliikkkkkkk secepat mungkin.

Oh..yes, am staying at Hilton Batang Ai (laaa..batang lagiiiii!!!). Nice resort, Cuma we have to take a boat across the Batang Ai dam lake to get there. Ya ampun….rasa gerun dok cross the big lake. Bujang senang pun ader kot in the pitch mossy green waters. It takes a good 20 mins to get to the long house, okay (cheh…ni mmg kena check dgn ABE polisi insurance ku berapa juta lah ni….).

This will be all for now. Will post pics later. Cantikk lah but me counting hours to challo from here lah. Missing my kids, the cats, ASTRO, Internet, FB and segala tok nenek di rumah.

Take care girls and have a good weekend.

LA Here I Come

All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go… and I’ll be leavin’ on a jet plane. That’s how it is with me now. I’ll be off early in the morning.



Destination this time?? LA folks, mana lagi!!! This will be my first trip and I’m pretty anxious to get there. Mental calculations had it that I would arrive sometime late evening. Sure penat punyer lah ni…..and when I’m too exhausted, I doubt I’d be able to sleep.

I feel a cold coming. I have been sneezing on and off in the office earlier. Ohhh…I don’t want to be sick, not when I have so much to do, and so much to see. Stacked very nicely in my luggage is my medication - the usual stuffs ubat gastric lah, postan lah, plus my good ole Vicks Vaporub.

Luckily me huh? You guys must be thinking, tak de angin, tak de ribut, all of a sudden nak pi LA…heh..heh :)

Chopppp....before ader yang nak jatuh kerusi with envy, forget it. There is no need to do so. LA is Lubok Antu in Sarawak, and that's where I'll be till Sunday. Purpose of this trip, one may ask. Well, it's kinda complicate to explain it here. Suffice to say, it has to do with the upcoming country's important event at the two bukits and one batang on April 7th.

I do hope there is Internet access in Lubok Antu....if not, haiya...mati kutu ler or harus kah nak pi jadi (pengundi) hantu..heh..heh. Ehhh..mana ade, tak main lah dengan hantu-hantu ni kan!!

Bonding, Laughter and Intimacy

The story on the Makcik Bloggers meet went onto cyberspace a few days back. I think it was Kak Ezza who first wrote about the do and a few other ladies followed suit. I have been wanting to say something about the joyous event, but my busy schedule has completely kept me away from blogging.

Work front has been a challenge off late. Tough times call for tougher acts to keep going - where business is concern. I've been in out of meetings for the past two days. Some meetings had good outcomes, while some ended with a not so nice taste to wrap up the day with. But we must all stay resilient and brave the storm. I believe the rainbow is somewhere out there, waiting to appear when the time is right.

Anyway, on a much happier note, I'm still ecstatic and excited from our Makcik Blogger meet last Saturday. It was a blast. Nothing deterred us from enjoying ourselves, not even the heavy downpour that came halfway during our meet. Hujan rahmat, I’d put it, as it helped cool the hot and humid afternoon and permitted us to enjoy the scrumptious food spread.

One word to describe the afternoon. It was totally AWESOME. The bonding, laughter and intimacy was apparent in everyone.

To the Makcik Bloggers:

Wanshana - sedapnya kway tiau goreng & sambal tochu, makan tak nampak sesiapa lalu belakang
MrsN - anggun sungguh in that green kurung and yesss…lurv the new hair do
Zai - ayooo…both fruit tart and cheese cake were mind blowing!!
Silent reader, Zay - hey…now you have been officially accepted into the group
Madam Principal - thank you for the umbrella, Bibik & Nissa have put it to good use yesterday morning when it rained
Chahaya - you are so petite and so young, plus orang kampong…..I LIKE!!
Kak Ezza - what can I say, you show love and lots, lots of love
Bella - wooo…the roast chicken was mouth watering and you are pretty cool, sis
Jabishah - you are so sweeettttt, se sweet dessert that you brought and got dimples some more!!!
Waterlily - really, really glad you made it, mana taknya even after di “bomb” many times, still you made it to my place
Aida & daughter Ainul - so happy that you managed to join us, all the effort, despite the long detour and last but not least,
my sister TM - thanks for the t-shirt, ABE complimented on it, so pass QC Inspector Sahab.

Thank you, everyone!!! Thank you for the lovely afternoon.

Observing Earth Hour

Three, Two, One.....lights off!!!

I must say it was kinda fun during the one hour when we sat in our dimly lit living room. We lit candles of all sorts, you name it, yang scented, tak scented and even those from the mamak shop – those blackout candles. The girls were excited about the whole jazz of helping to save the earth. In school they said there were talks about appreciating Mother Nature and why everyone should be united in observing Earth Hour.

So how was the one hour spent? Bibik, as usual, was busy with her cleaning in the kitchen. The girls were occupied with their cameras, taking pictures of each other in the dark. Me?? If only the mosquitoes were a little kind towards me, I suppose I would have had a good time observing the Earth Hour. Nonetheless, it was pretty cool just chilling in the dark, catching up with ABE on what happened earlier today and hoping that ABE would get “ideas” from the sort of romantic ambiance. But….ABE being ABE, hah..hah…dream on!!!