The Good Samaritan

This is a photograph of a family friend, Yakob Abdul Rahman Wilhelm Scholer, who flew back for good to his homeland in Germany last Sunday, 13 December 2009. We came to know him through HNP-SDN BHD, a home nursing provider when his services were needed during the last few months of my late father-in-law a few years ago.

I believe he was the first home nursing provider that really provide professional nursing services at affordable cost to many who otherwise could not find reasonable alternatives to put the sick and the elderly in nursing homes.

When I met him at first, he impressed me with his tall physique and an earnest fellow who knew his profession with dedication and commitment. Yakob Abdul Rahman Scholer came to this country in 1963. He had been in and out of this country as his involvement in caring and nursing as well in treatment of alcoholism, drug addiction and AIDS led him to upgrade his skills in his own country.

Recently he published a book entitled " Guide to Home Nursing " and Nasimah and her siblings were present during the launch. Though he stands tall in his field, but he is full of humility and whenever he was free he never declined our invitation for a "makan". Now he is back in Germany for treatment and we pray that he makes a speedy recovery.

The Class of '64

This is a continuation of my previous posting on reminiscence of my days in Royal Military College and this time I am writing on my sixth form years from 1963 to 1964. The photos above were taken during our class reunion, the top being taken in 2006 and the bottom taken several years before that.

There were nineteen of us in the class and their names are as follows:- 1. Abdul Rahman Hj Embong. 2. Abdullah Abdul Rahman. 3. Azzat Kamaluddin. 4. Amin Nordin Abdul Rahman. 5. Abdul Halim Shah. 6. Mohamad Akbar Baba. 7. Mohd. Shaharuddin Bahaudin. 8. Mazlan Hashim. 9. Lawrence Teoh. 10.Hamzah Pilus. 11. Mohd. Noor Harun. 12. Gnanalingam. 13. Gurdial Singh. 14. Chua Jui Leng. 15. Haron Siraj. 16. Khalidas ( Hamzah Abdullah). 17. Ong Ah Hing. 18. Ridzuan Md. Piah. 19. Zawawi Mahmuddin.

In the photo which was taken during the first reunion organised by Hamzah Pilus, Allahyarham Ridzuan Md Piah was still around. Lawrence Teoh was already deceased and Ong Ah Hing could not be traced. On both occasions there were those who could not attend the reunion, especially Abdullah Abdul Rahman or fondly known as Dolet. We are all indebted to Hamzah for making the effort to organise both reunions.

When we gathered for the 2006 reunion, Gnanalingam made a promise that he would like to have a gathering in 2010 on his ship which is berthed at Westport, and he would like to see all of us again, God willing.

I found that the Budak Boys of the Class of '64 were a noisy lot but fun. With classmates such as Gurdial Singh, Chua Jui Leng,Shaharuddin , Ridzuan and Haron Siraj there could never be a dull moment for they were full of mirth. The serious ones like Azzat, Dolet , Rahman Embong, Amin Nordin and Mazlan Hashim, they always made learning a pleasure.In one of the plays where Azzat acted as the Chinese Emperor, it was amusing whenever the dialogue which goes " Go and commit suicide " was uttered to the audience delight.He also acted in the Shakespearean play, "Julius Ceasar " and it was little wonder that he ended up going to Cambridge University. Dolet always took pride with his long essays which I commented that for every ten sentence that he wrote I could shorten it to just one sentence. Ong Ah Hing provided the comic relief though he looked tense. Ridzuan Md Piah always wore his pullover as he was asthmatic and nicknamed the " Polar Bear ". Sadly he passed away a few years ago after being in a coma for several days. Whenever he was hospitalised at the University Malaya Hospital, he would let me know and as far as I could remember I never failed to visit him in hospital. Mohd.Akbar Baba who now lives in Seremban, my hometown, made us laugh with his funny remarks.Hamzah Pilus gave me the impression as the class singer with him strumming the guitar.Gnanalingam made his presence felt by his towering figure and Ridzuan liked to call him " Anak Adam " for reasons only known to himself.Khalidas ( now known as Hamzah Abdullah ) was amongst those who always made himself heard despite his small stature. Lanky Lawrence Teoh who practised as a lawyer (now deceased)appeared preoccupied in his own world and it was a wonder how he could have presented himself before the bench as his daily uniform when in class looked somewhat unkempt. As for Amin Nordin he was immersed in reading Mohd. Iqbal's writings and today he has written many books on his favourite subject mostly inspired by his readings when he was in our class.

As for the teachers, I recalled that except for two Europeans, the rest were all Asians. They were Flt. Lt. Mc Connon, Capt. Underwood, OP Balakrishnan, Mr. Seow Bin Hak, Mr. Subramaniam, Mr. Lee Lye Hock, Mr. Lee Shau Kong and En. Idris Tain. It was surprising that it was the Asian teachers who left a lasting impression on me though the expatriates were no less dedicated and excellent teachers.

During one of the College term holidays Cikgu Idris Tain led a large group of Budak Boys to the so-called " East Coast Expedition ". For me it was my first experience visiting Kelantan and Trengganu.Mazlan Hashim was kind enough to invite some members of the group with Cikgu Idris to his house in Ledang for a makan and later we were taken to see the " Rodat " which is a special cultural presentation in Trengganu.It was not surprising therefore when the PAS State Government chose him to be the State Secretary even though he was on the verge of retirement. Mohd. Noor Harun and I went to venture into that famous Biaritz Park in Kota Bharu and managed to avoid Cikgu Idris Tain who left the place just as we were about to enter.I wrote a "Sajak " based on the experience and Mohd. Noor's " Sajak " too came out as a response and it appeared in our Malay magazine published by the Persatuan Kebudayaan Kebangsaan which flourished under the leadership of Abdul Rahman Embong ( also known by his nickname as Aji )

When I had to revise for the Higher School Certificate Examination, I was fortunate to do it with Zawawi in the latter part of the weekdays when there were no field activities. We went for discussions at the block which housed the classrooms on the first floor and that helped me a lot in the final preparations. Our class was the first to sit for Malay paper at principal level for the HSC and though not many opted for it( as we were divided into those taking History & Government at principal level and Malay as a principal subject )all who took Malay attained a principal "A" and Mr.Wallwork the Director of Studies was quite impressed. Of course we owed a lot to Cikgu Idris Tain who gave his heart and soul to ensure that we scored.

So when he was critically ill and hospitalised at Ampang Puteri Hospital I went with Mohd. Noor Harun to pay him a visit. It was rather sad that I learned of his passing away some time later and I could not attend to pay my last respects. When I served the Ministry of Education he became the Director of Schools and he was a Dato' by then. Typical of his style he gave me a lot of encouragement and advice when the chips were down to which I am still grateful to this day. May ALLAH Bless his Soul and place him amongst the pious.

To all my ex-classmates, I offer my sincere apologies if I offend any of them with my statements of which I have no intention of doing so, as I regard our friendship to be the most satisfying and hope they are everlasting.

Reminiscence of an Old Putera

This is the College's Crest whose Motto is " Serve to Lead"

The recent postings and e-mails from OP Shuhud , OP Shaharudin as well as comments on my blog from OP Hamzah et al, had triggered my yearning to write about some past memories as a Putera ( previously known as Budak Boy ) in the Royal Military College ( formerly known as Federation Military College ).

What motivated me to apply for entry into the Military College was the publicity given in the newspapers about the achievements of the FMC in the field of sports and also scholastically as evident from the number of first graders in the Overseas Cambridge School Certificate Exams also published in the press. I used to watch their teams playing against the KGV on the school padang in Seremban and they seemed to have lots of stamina and I guessed it must have been the training they received on the field as well as the parade ground.

Though I was not much of a sportsman but I somehow liked to follow the news of sprinters like Shaharuddin Ali who was a record holder in the sprints at National meets. Furthermore Port Dickson, the first home of the College was just about less than an hour from Seremban and I used to pass the College whenever I go to Teluk Kemang. In fact I was only successful on my second interview after the LCE.

What made my life different from KGV School was of course the military discipline. The moment you wake up until bedtime, life is governed by the clock and the famous phrase which still sticks to my mind is " Punctuality is essential ". On looking back, not many who upon leaving the College to join civilian life continued the good habits of time keeping and being disciplined in everything they do.

I owed a lot to many friends in College for the wonderful lessons in life which prepared me for the world. It would be too many to name them and I hope they do not feel offended if I forget to mention them. The people who are the closest to you are normally your dormitory mates and those who are in the same " Company " or " Coy" for short. The " Budak Boys " who were in the same " Coy " with me included my cousin OP Mohd Basri Hamzah and OP Habibur Rahman who once served as President of the Old Putera Association.

Even when I attend recent functions at the OPA Penthouse I come across OP Hashim Hj Abu and OP Sheikh Taufik from "D" Coy. Both of them joined the Cadet Wing and graduated as Officers, the latter went on to Sandhurst, that prestigious Military Academy in the UK. OP Sheik Taufik despite having a "transplanted kidney" which he had it done in China is still his "funnybone" self whenever I meet him.What made that strong bonds of comradeship or esprit de corps amongst us was the common experience that shaped our life beginning from the "drawers" that were issued as part of our uniform and the barracks to the food in the Dining Hall right up to bashing up the Parade Square on every Saturday. Military training which followed the Drill on Saturdays and in the evening was the film show. Prep hours from Sunday to Friday started about 8.00 pm till 9.30 pm and lights out 10.00 pm.

One of the characters whom I remembered very well was Allahyarham Zakaria Aziz, whose father was Minister of Agriculture, YB Dato' Aziz Ishak. His bed was just next to mine in RMC in Sungei Besi and he always depended on my Kiwi polish every friday evening when we would be busy preparing for the Saturday Drill. The " Chaplis " or sandals which we had to wear everyday to the classroom had to be polished too, and my kiwi would last at the most was just a few weeks.

Normally in the first year as a new boy, we had to take up boxing. Somehow I had to continue boxing even to the second year. In Sg.Besi I had the late Thomas Mathews as my trainer and he was a good boxer. During the sparring sessions which I had, Habibur Rahman and the late Aloysius Choong had a bloody nose from me. But I could not win any championship even though I reached the finals for my weight and my opponent then was Raja Aman Shah ( who became the CEO of Affin Bank ).

One of the annual camps that I attended was in Kamunting, near Taiping. At a night march we lost our way and had to spend a night near a cowshed. The next morning many of us were furiously scratching our bodies and found that many had the cow ticks. Finally we came out far away from what it should have been and the leader was scolded by the others for the poor map reading.

I have to stop now and continue later since the Azan for Asar prayer is already heard on my laptop.

Reward System in the Works

I came across the by-line in an English daily today after my good friend Nik Mahmood who had also retired as Director of the Mechanical Engineering Division with the JKR many years ago mentioned to me this morning about what the PM said in the monthly gathering of all the departments under his charge in Putrajaya. The report in the daily said that the Government is considering a reward system to encourage performance in public administration which will be different from the "vertical and horizontal" system which is not working. He is quoted by the daily, " It will be a system that is effective and will motivate civil servants not only to perform but to perform excellently."

The PM must be to all intent and purpose referring to the Sistem Saraan Malaysia or SSM which had been introduced to replace the SSB which was the remuneration system for the public service of the federal government and the respective public service of the State Governments in Malaysia. CUEPACS which is the umbrella organisation of the various unions of government employees had been calling for its abolition many years ago because of the exam-oriented evaluation of efficiency apart from the annual assessments made on each individual employees for the movement in salaries and also promotions which was supposed to be performance driven.

Since it is only at the thinking stage, therefore it would be interesting what would be the new reward system that will motivate public servants to perform with excellence.

In my view, whatever system that would replace the SSM, it should not be a carry over of the present one which is claimed by the unions as being stultifying to many in the lower categories due to the many impediments such as competency level examinations and the unfair evaluations given by Departmental Committees in giving the salary increments whether "diagonal", "Vertical" or " Horizontal" in accordance to the scores which are of course highly subjective.

In reality many in the public service such as those in the teaching profession and other closed schemes of service in areas such as medical and health, public works, agriculture, security, customs and a host of revenue generating schemes of service had expressed their long dissatisfaction over the reward system which they claimed as being lopsided.

To be fair to all sides it is high time for another Royal Commission on Remuneration for the Public Service to be established to look into the critical areas of dissatisfaction and the proposal to fix the problem once and for all. The last Royal Commission appointed to look into the remuneration of the public service of the Federation was the Ibrahim Ali Commission whose recommendations were rejected by the Government. The present remuneration system is mostly devised by the Public Services Department with no wider inputs although the Cabinet Committee on Salaries deliberated and approved it.

Furthermore whatever system that is going to be adopted by the government, the key to excellence is on the leadership at all levels of the organisation at the Federal, State and Local Authorities. There must be a clear line of responsibility as who should be accountable on performance or non-performance. The boundary between what is administrative and what is politics must be made as clear as daylight and there should not be any overlapping of functions and role between politicians and public servants. The rules and procedures which had been in place to ensure proper checks and balance must be reinforced and maintained without any compromise. If the top echelons in the public service are unable to perform their duties and responsibilities without fear or favour and putting personal interests above the public interests, than no matter which system is applied to enhance performance to the highest level will just be an exercise in futility.

Solat Hajat & Doa on 29 October 2009

The announcement for the Solat Hajat & Doa on Thursday night of 29 October came from the Old Putra Association's executive secretary, OP Azudin Fuad when I received the notice through the mail in mid-October.

As usual I made the arrangement with my ex-classmate of the Class of '64, OP Hamzah Pilus to pick me up from the house at 6.15 p.m. on the designated day to attend the " Solat Hajat & Doa " at the OPA Secretariat, off the Old Airport road near Saujana Resort. OP Shaharudin Bahaudin also came along, and it was a pleasant surprise as I have not met him for quite some time. When we reached the OPA building we met OP Mike Tan at the basement car-park and he told us that OP Dato' Termidzi , the OPA President was already upstairs and talking with OP Shuhud in London via Skype connection. We were the early birds to arrive for the function and with the rain, quite a number were caught up in the traffic congestion on their way to the Saujana.

The Old Putera Association informed us that OP Shuhud had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and he made the request for the Solat Hajat and the President had consented. I met OP Shuhud in 2007 when the book " The Port Dickson Years " was launched by OP Dato' Radzi Sheikh Ahmad who was then Home Minister. He was requested by the OPA to write the book about the early years of the formation of the College and he spent six months in Malaysia to complete it, because he is a permanent resident in the UK.

In early October this year OP Abdul Kadir Kassim and OP Che Md Noor Mat Arshad visited him in London and they came back with the sad news . When he was speaking to OP Shaharudin and OP Hamzah on the Skype I could see that he put up a lively conversation despite his illness and he was pleased to see that his request is being entertained. I did not have the heart to continue the chat because only God knows what is running in his thoughts because I have read the tone of his mail which he sent to his contemporaries namely OP Wahab Nawi and OP Muslim Ayob requesting their presence for this function.

After the recital of the Yasin following the Maghrib prayer, OP Azudin brought the laptop to the front row of the congregation and asked OP Shuhud to speak and see his close friends. It was a touching scene, and OP Shuhud just could not hold back his tears. He spent about ten minutes expressing his gratitude and appreciation to all present for being able to spare the time to perform the Solat Hajat and Doa.

I could see the emotions and eyes brimmed with tears from his colleagues who knew him well, and they were mostly retired generals. I could also feel the depth of their comradeship which most Old Puteras have for one another because the experience of sharing the joys and sorrows of life in a Military College could never be understood by those who studied in other day or residential schools in the country.

From what he had written in the book " The Port Dickson Years " it was not only about his life but also of others, his colleagues, teachers, instructors and all those who made and shaped his life and for that matter all of us who went through the portals of the FMC/RMC. OP Shuhud is the hallmark of the vintage product of the FMC years in Port Dickson and his courage and example as an upright and a man of integrity shall forever be remembered. We pray that you have the strength in facing your illness and May ALLAH S.W.T. bestow His Mercies and Blessings on you always.

Perak in The Limelight

The Silver State is in the news again this time not so much as having a sitting of the State Assembly under a tree opposite the building where the august chamber is housed but about the tragedy involving schoolchildren who were attending the 1 Malaysia camp just across the Kampar river not far from the school in Kuala Dipang near Ipoh, Perak.

Some years ago Kuala Dipang was also in the news where an orang Asli settlement was swept by a swollen river, perhaps by the same name, and by coincidence the swift currents caused havoc where precious lives were lost. When that incident took place, my good friend Dato' Yusop Yahaya was the DO of Batu Gajah and Kuala Dipang came under his jurisdiction. Since Perakians love to be in the limelight, now the focus is how did the suspension bridge which straddle across the Kampar river came to an abrupt end.

The Minister of Education as usual had directed an investigation be carried out and even the Raja Muda of Perak had visited the site where the bridge had collapsed. I am sure the people responsible for organising the 1Malaysia camp are now very worried about as to who would become the scapegoat. In the first place, I just could not see the reason why the children had to cross the bridge at night, since the camp is sited just not far from the school. Under normal circumstances the camp commandant should ensure that all participants be in their tents after dark, unless there was a night march activity going on and if there was such, it should be under strict supervision because the participants are primary schoolchildren. The teacher-in-charge should now be answerable.

What is most perplexing is that the suspension bridge was not built from government funds but from somebody's or a group of people who were kind enough to defray the costs. But most important of all since it is built near the school, it should be under the responsibility of the school headmaster.

In many instances where such a tragic incident happened resulting in loss of life, the aggrieved party can sue the authority who is responsible and in this case is the headmaster and the Education Department. Since this is a clear example of lack of supervision it would not be difficult for the investigation team to finish its work and submit a report to the Minister within a short time. It would be interesting to know its outcome, because by and large most Perakians or for that matter all Malaysians have very short memory.

Public Service Reforms

I would like to continue my conversation with Datuk Z last sunday with regard to the delivery system which had always attracted a lot of criticism from the public in the past as well as at present and perhaps in the future.

What intrigued him most is the state of reforms that had been started in the eighties with the issuance of government circulars on the improvement of all government agencies especially those serving the public directly. The period of the nineties saw a torrent of PKPA circulars which focused on the "Quality" improvement and the at the turn of the new millennium saw the adoption of ISO certification of the delivery system. The pace of reforms was such that before these circulars could be implemented at the departmental level in the whole public service of the Federation, new ones were launched.

In fairness government departmental heads tried their level best to keep up with tempo set by MAMPU, that government department which issue and oversees the implementation of the reforms contained in the circulars, but somehow only some of the departments could really show positive results.

From what Datuk Z told me, it seemed that what was introduced during his time with MAMPU had lost its momentum from what he experienced in trying to get a report in order to make claims for health insurance which could only be delivered in four weeks. He just could not believe that it could take that length of time just to obtain a report, which would normally take at most a week! What happened to all those reforms which were introduced by MAMPU he wondered.

From my past experience in implementing change in any organisation, the most critical factor in ensuring success is the rationale and methodology to be applied, since dealing with human beings necessitate a change in the mind-set followed by the behaviour. If it is just changing one type of form to another in any transaction of government it is simple and easy. But to change attitudes is the most difficult, unless drastic measures are instituted but it would be short-lived and in the end little would be achieved. A time-table must be drawn up in implementing change and continuous monitoring is essential so as to see whether the steps taken are practical or otherwise and thus modifications might be required. Since the Public Service is huge and unwieldy, one circular cannot cover all the peculiarities of the people and the needs of every department and thus the importance of leadership is vital at all levels of the organisation.

Unfortunately owing to the varying nature of departmental needs and requirements which sometimes involve frequent transfers of officers, this could become a serious obstacle in ensuring the success of any improvements being carried out. Thus we find that whatever reforms being introduced and implemented during the tenure of the Head of the Public Service may not be assiduously pursued by his successor. And this is part of the reason for the failure of any initiative towards reforms.

However all is not lost as yet because we do see improvements in the departments delivering direct services to the public such as the National Registration Department, The Immigration Department and the Road Transport Department.

I believe if the top leadership in the Public Service is dedicated to continue the reforms until the end , we should be able to do much more provided a running audit of performance is done annually and the reward system is not flawed by cronyism or worst by corruption.

Blogging and Public Opinion

Yesterday I met Datuk Z who served as a fellow PSC Member at a wedding invitation in Putrajaya. In our conversation with the host, I told him that we should try blogging as an avenue to express our thoughts and share past experiences as public servants and in so doing contribute to a platform for " Public Opinion " based not just on perceptions but on facts which were once privy to us without breaking the law.

Of course there are those who abuse this new found freedom and liberty to put across views which sometimes can be categorised as "fitnah" and lies to vent out venom and vexations to the extent of being slanderous. In a plural society like ours the inherent dangers of racial incitement and prejudices if given much latitude in cyberspace are always there and could be damaging but those who go beyond the boundary of our laws would have to face the music as evidently made clear by the authorities in recent reports where a few were charged for sedition.

The "Blogs" when used as a platform in developing a " Public Opinion " where "bloggers" can make themselves heard is becoming a powerful tool to check the excesses of the authorities in the performance of their role and functions and also acts as a feedback for the improvement of the delivery system. It is just an extension of the print media but in an electronic form. The idea of setting up an electronic government should also incorporate blogging by members of the public.

One must be selective as to distinguish which blogs are beneficial to read and just ignore the blogs which are detrimental and destructive to the development of a moral and civil society. Being ex-civil servants who once contributed their services for the well-being of the country, it would be a disaster if we allow the good work of the past be destroyed by those who lack the integrity and competency in moving the country to higher planes of achievement with honour and dignity amongst the sovereign nations of the world. Let us not waste the noble efforts of our past Statesmen in making Malaysia a shining example of a developing country steeped in a proud tradition of a civilised society with the Federal Constitution as the sound basis of good governance for posterity.

Are We Prepared for Crisis?

I spoke to Azudin Fuad yesterday about the unfortunate fate of KD Sri Inderapura, the Royal Malaysian Navy's vessel which caught fire at the Naval Base in Lumut and now lies at the bottom of the sea presumably within our waters, still laden with its cargo supposedly made up of spares for the military to be sent to Sabah. What is worse there is still millions of litres of fuel in it just waiting to spill into the ocean.

What is appalling nobody seemed to have the sense of urgency to re float the vessel and siphon out the fuel before a catastrophe happens. It appears that nobody cared as to what the consequences be on the environment, especially to the livelihood of the fisherman around Pangkor and Lumut.By right all the relevant agencies such as the DOE, The Maritime Authority, RMN and the Fisheries Department should form a task force and monitor the situation 24 hours daily. Azudin who has friends in the Navy informed me that Lumut Naval Base is not properly equipped to deal with fire and this is mind-boggling. How can we afford to acquire assets like submarines but the Naval Base does not have the capability of putting out fires should any of the vessels catch fire? Furthermore the Command structure to tackle such an emergency must be unambigious and clear-cut.

This reminds me of my short tenure of nine months as Deputy-Secretary General of the Ministry of Information in 1992 where I was shocked to know that nobody was entrusted with the responsibility of managing safety in case of fire occurring within the Angkasapuri. Without further ado I revived the non-functioning comittee on fire-prevention as stipulated for installations which has a high risk, such as a radio and TV stations. As safety was under my charge at that time, I quickly appointed a senior engineer with RTM to be responsible for ensuring that preventive measures are taken and also to ensure fire drills are instituted. Everyone from the bottom of the ladder right up to the Secretary-General should be conscious of the fact that owing to the nature of work which the staff of Angkasapuri is involved in, safety should be our top priority. I was also disappointed with the lackadaisical attitude of the auxiliary police who were stationed at the entrance and at the strategic perimeters of the facility and beat them up into shape. For my concern and the measures which I adopted to make the personnel working in Angkasapuri be mindful of safety, I was nicknamed " The IGP" by Tok Mat, then Minister of Information.

The issue which I would like to raise here is that where safety and lives are concerned, our government servants are too complacent and this is a reflection of the public in general. A clear evidence of this is our "Ops Sikap" which had been in operation for donkey years and very little ground is achieved. I shudder to think what would happen if we have another "tsunami-like" disaster hitting us again. Crisis management should be inculcated right from primary stage of our public right up to the senior citizens as how to cope in emergencies or disasters such as fire, floods and major disasters. I do not think many of us know even how to deal with kitchen fire and very few install fire detectors in their homes or kitchens, what more to have fire extinguishers.

I have been given to understand that should we are confronted with war, this country could be easily be defeated within a matter of days because our state of preparedness to meet such a contingency is severely lacking.For that matter even a small incident such as the landslide at Bukit Antarabangsa sometime ago had proven to us that our Government emergency response was chaotic and lacked urgency. May ALLAH S.W.T. save us from much greater calamity.

Hj Amin Nordin, My Friend

Sunday 11 October 2009 was not only the D-day for the electorate of the state constituency N31 Bagan Pinang but also happened to be a two in one gathering of my ex-classmates of the HSC class of '64 in Seremban, hosted by Haji Mohamad Akbar Baba at his house in Jalan Padang Golf, Ampangan, Seremban. I left the house in Petaling Jaya together with my wife, Nasimah at 10.57 a.m. and followed the route to Seremban via the new Kajang-Seremban highway or LEKAS for short.

I arrived at 12 noon in Ampangan and as my car went up the steep slope after the entrance of Akbar's house, he was ready to guide me to a vacant lot to park my car. What a wonderful host, I thought and later on I profusely apologised to his wfe, Hajjah Azizan for almost knocking down her flower pot as I was reversing into the vacant lot.

As I joined the guests who came for the Hari Raya gathering at the table, I shook hands with Zam, Haron Siraj, Haron Awal, Mazni and Hamzah who arrived earlier than me. Of course Hamzah only had to drive from his house in Seremban 2, which is his weekend retreat, as his other house is in Tropicana Country club precint. Later we were joined by Zawawi Mahmuddin. He came with his wife.

Of course the food was simply mouth-watering beginning with the soup or "rebusan" which I remember vividly would be served at all "kenduri doa selamat"and Hari Rayas at my Kampong in Terachi, Kuala Pilah. But I started with the "lemang" and "rendang" which I liked better. The table conversation revolved round the current politics, especially the one related to Negeri Sembilan.

But what I want to write about is this friend and ex-classmate by the name of Haji Amin Nordin bin Haji Abdul Rahman. To me he is an enigma, and I could recall as clear as day that he was so talkative when we were hospitalised at the RMAF base hospital near Sungei Besi , that left me wondering whether he was sick or not. He told me that the doctor was going to extract a certain amount of fluid from his spine and he was wearing a funny type of spectacles which had a bluish tint. I could not remember what was the reason he was wearing that funny spectacles but he was as fit as a fiddle. Those who were close to him, nicknamed him Amin Jerry presumably after the comedian Jerry Lewis.When we entered University Malaya campus in Pantai Valley in 1965, he was a non-hostelite and he cycled to campus, and if I was not mistaken he was putting up with a relative in Kampong Datok Keramat. We graduated together in 1968 and he joined FELDA after I left to join the MCS. I learned that he did not stay there for long.

When we were in sixth form, he was known for his preoccupation with readings on Muhammad Iqbal works, the famous philosopher who was associated with the founding of the State of Pakistan. Mohamad Noor ( Gear ) and others liked to tease him and whenever he saw Amin, he would always say, " Here comes the fan of Iqbal, the philosopher and if you do not mind listening to his lecture on Iqbal, then you can talk to him for hours".Unfortunately Gear did not turn up for this Raya do at Akbar's house after confirming with Hamzah that he would come. Just a fortnight before Ramadhan, I received a photostat copy sent by Amin about the remarks or comments about his book being written in a Malay tabloid. Hamzah did mention that he would to get a set of the books that Amin wrote.

Amin however does not know the direction to Akbar's house and he went straight to the Seremban Railway Station following Hamzah's instructions to the letter and only then phoned Hamzah. Hamzah obligingly drove to the Station and led Amin to Gedong Lalang, Ampangan.While we were enjoying our food and at the same time getting into the mood for some serious discussion, I wittingly told those around the table that Amin's writings predict that the glory of Islamic civilisation would be emerging in our part of the world. Of course that only opened the floodgates for Amin and he went into a lenghty discourse.

Personally I admire Amin's guts for going into the realm of freelance journalism and that's probably his only source of income. I bought the books that he brought and now I am in the midst of reading them. Amin, I salute you for your steadfastness and convictions to write on what you believed in. Perhaps one day, your writings will be used as a reference point and what you foresee as to the future of Islamic civilisation in the twenty first century will materialise, InshaALLAH. I am sure then that if Cikgu Idris Tain is still alive, he would be very proud of you.

Neutrality of the Public Service

One of the most important institutions created for the purpose of good governance is the "Public Service" and owing to this fact, our Federal Constitution provides in part X beginning from Article 132 right up to Article 148, a comprehensive array of provisions so that our country shall be served by those who are qualified, competent and professional. Thus the " Public Service" also includes not just civilians but also the Police and The Armed Forces.

Since the promulgation of the Federal Constitution and its beginnings in 1957 it is synonymous with Merdeka and when Malaysia was formed in 1963, it was amended to incorporate the States of Sabah and Sarawak ( Singapore left the Federation ). The tremendous emphasis laid by the Government on development was made possible with the implementation of programs and policies by the public servants. The move from just maintenance of law and order to higher levels of commitment to achieve progress made the role and function of the public service in manning the government agencies to be a vital component of development.

After more than half a century, the public service should have moved up the ladder in terms of maturity, finesse and quality. The expectations of the people on the public service to deliver the promises of Government is getting higher by the day and most important of all is fair play and justice.

Unfortunately the public service instead of being neutral in the context of partisan politics has degenerated into being servile to politicians and some openly sided with party politics. This is unbecoming for a nation which aimed at becoming a developed country with a strong sense of morality and ethical conduct of its public servants. In the recent political campaign of the bye-election in Bagan Pinang, even the military is not spared, where campaigning in the guise of Hari Raya celebrations took place in the military garrison. The powers that be should have not allowed this to happen and this reflects badly on the top leadership of our Armed Forces. We must go back to the basics and extol the virtues of neutrality of the Public Service.