Dear Members
This will be my last post in the President's corner as ISM president. Tomorrow will be held the International Surveyors' Congress until 18 June 2010. It will be followed by the divisional AGM in the evening of 18 June 2010. The next day will be ISM AGM and the nite we celebrate the 49th Annual Dinner where I will be handing the chain of office to the Deputy President Sr Elvin Fernandez.
It's been a blast and I love every minute of it. It's been a real hectic session - several friends had advised me to slow down. How can I slow down when I am enjoying what I am doing. Of course there were challenges and issues but I take it in my stride and whatever we have decided to do we "Just do it". Of course these were made easy for me cos I received such support from Katherine and the secretariat, the councilors that include the management committee. The icing to the cake is that within these hives of activities I completed my PhD and perform my Haj.
I am equally proud of all the activities that we had done. I set 3 targets when I took over the presidency namely (1)upgrade and modernization of ISM secretariat.
(2)Increase awareness and publicity of ISM and the profession (3)Increase international exposure. I am glad to report that we were able to achieve all the set goals. But the council's KPI is in the hand of the members. If members do not feel connected with ISM, or do not feel the impact of what we have done then I may have failed in my duty to represent the members. But before members judged us I hope you would attend the AGM to be held on 19 June 2010 and read the Annual Report that described all the activities, programs and events that we had organized in relation to the 3 set targets.
But if one was to ask me which particular events or programs carried out were my favourites I would say these - the Personalised diary, Climb Mt Kinabalu with the President charity event, Galaxy of Surveying stars, Jamborees for undergraduates, Young Achievers Award for secondary school students, ISM career day by Johor Branch, Sabah Surveyors congress by Sabah Branch, and the setting up of the ISM UK chapter. I held these dear to my heart. It's a powerful tool for the branding of the Surveyors and the impact of these goes a long way.
So I would like to give thanks to all these wonderful people Ms Katherine and the secretariat, Sr Elvin Fernandez, councilors, Past Presidents, Presidents of the Surveying Professional Boards, UK chapter pro-tem committee, consultant firms and ISM strategic partners CIMB, Akzonobel ICI Paint, and Bluescope.
Salam
Assoc Prof Sr Dr Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Update 17
Dear Members
We conquered Mount Kinabalu !!! Yeahhhhhhh. I never doubt for a second that some of us in the group would be able to do it but I did have doubts on whether I could do it. BUT I DID IT. The feeling upon reaching the summit was surreal. The climb was tougher than I thought and I've never been scared in my life than when I was on that narrow ledge and hanging on to the rope while descending the 4,095m and glancing down to see the ground down down below. At that moment I just blanked all my thoughts, fears and that feeling of hysteria.
The journey was ardous and I almost gave up several times. I was dead tired. Others have taken a shorter time but it took me 13 hours ascending and 12 hours descending. Part of it involved walking in the rain, slippery and rocky terrain, and in the dark. I just could not believe I was able to reach the peak. At 200m upon reaching the peak I had no more energy, I just could not take another step and nothing more to give. What kept me going ? - well-wishers from all over including the UK chapter, my friend Roznita's mantra of "Go for the peak", and the thought that I would not be able to face the council members who have spontaneously given financial pledge for the charity. Upon reaching the summit I heard shouts from my group who have reached much earlier "Madame President is here" - that gave me another boost of energy to take that last climb up the peak. I made it.
We love the article appeared in the classified of the NST on 24 May i.e. the day we did the climb. It reported about our special charity project and brief background on ISM. Roll call on climbers who reached the peak are Suzie, Jumin, Alice, Bernard, Anas, Victoria, Enny, Siti Khairina, Hadi and myself. Katherine, Jamilah, Wendy, and Hafizah achieved the 3,000+ m. I wished to thank all the members of the group and my big thank you and appreciation to Jumin and Abdul Hadi.
Now my body ached all over and I'm walking like a robot - but it was worth it. The feeling of euphoria of being able to accomplish the challenge is out of the world. And the icing to the cake is the financial pledges to the two organizations.
Take care
Salam
Sr Wan Maimun
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Update 16
Dear Members
In 4 days time a group of lady Surveyors will attempt to climb the Mt Kinabalu. The objective is clear - we've set a challenge to ourselves and we have to do it. This may be a case of putting your foot in your mouth or as the old saying says "Terlajak perahu boleh berundur tapi terlajak kata mesti dikota". I had always believe that once you have made up your mind, crazy as it maybe, then "Just do it". To take advantage of this crazy idea we decide it to be a charity event and have identified two organizations in need of financial assistance. The charity drive was only solicited from the council members, corporate partners and friends. But if anyone would like to donate you are most welcome and please contact Katherine.
In March I attended the Sabah Surveyor's congress and I took the opportunity to visit the Kinabalu park and the Timpohan gate to familiarise myself and see what I've gotten myself into. Before this visit I don't know what to expect as such it was a fear of the unknown. Now that I have seen the trail now it is a fear of the known!!
I've just recovered from a month of open wound dressing that is healing well. However ten days ago I again had a little accident when I cut my little finger while opening a tin, that needed 6 stitches which hopefully would healed for the stitches to be taken out today. My exercise regime is not going regularly well for the past 3 months due to work, family commitment, poor weather, and of course that awful little voice that keep giving excuses "not today, definitely tomorrow" - and like the James Bond movie "Tomorrow never come". During those time that I could, I did the treadmill in the gym, went to Bukit Gasing twice, and climb the stairs instead of the lift (unless I'm wearing high-heel). And to top that up I'm not too crazy about height and I've never climb a tree, I can't stand extreme cold weather, I have corns on the sole of my feet, I don't like taking vitamin pills and my right knee make some sound when I do my daily prayer.
So there you go - and your president want to climb the mountain!!! Please pray for us. I take comfort in having two experienced climbers in the group and I especially requested past secretary general Sr Abdul Hadi to tag along. So wish us good luck and say a prayer.
Salam
Sr Wan Maimun
In 4 days time a group of lady Surveyors will attempt to climb the Mt Kinabalu. The objective is clear - we've set a challenge to ourselves and we have to do it. This may be a case of putting your foot in your mouth or as the old saying says "Terlajak perahu boleh berundur tapi terlajak kata mesti dikota". I had always believe that once you have made up your mind, crazy as it maybe, then "Just do it". To take advantage of this crazy idea we decide it to be a charity event and have identified two organizations in need of financial assistance. The charity drive was only solicited from the council members, corporate partners and friends. But if anyone would like to donate you are most welcome and please contact Katherine.
In March I attended the Sabah Surveyor's congress and I took the opportunity to visit the Kinabalu park and the Timpohan gate to familiarise myself and see what I've gotten myself into. Before this visit I don't know what to expect as such it was a fear of the unknown. Now that I have seen the trail now it is a fear of the known!!
I've just recovered from a month of open wound dressing that is healing well. However ten days ago I again had a little accident when I cut my little finger while opening a tin, that needed 6 stitches which hopefully would healed for the stitches to be taken out today. My exercise regime is not going regularly well for the past 3 months due to work, family commitment, poor weather, and of course that awful little voice that keep giving excuses "not today, definitely tomorrow" - and like the James Bond movie "Tomorrow never come". During those time that I could, I did the treadmill in the gym, went to Bukit Gasing twice, and climb the stairs instead of the lift (unless I'm wearing high-heel). And to top that up I'm not too crazy about height and I've never climb a tree, I can't stand extreme cold weather, I have corns on the sole of my feet, I don't like taking vitamin pills and my right knee make some sound when I do my daily prayer.
So there you go - and your president want to climb the mountain!!! Please pray for us. I take comfort in having two experienced climbers in the group and I especially requested past secretary general Sr Abdul Hadi to tag along. So wish us good luck and say a prayer.
Salam
Sr Wan Maimun
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Update 15
Dear Members
We wished to convey our heartiest congratulation to Sr Ong See Lian, Sr Teo Chee Hai, Dato' Sr Abdul Kadir, and Dato' Sr Abdul Rahim. More of this detail in our website and eblast as mentioned in the bulletin of Past President Council.
It's been a month since I post the last message which was while I was in Bahrain enroute to London for the accreditation exercise for the Board of QS. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip - the work, the meetings, the reports and of course the shopping. I wished to convey my gratitude to the professors we met and the Surveyors working in UK for the hospitality accorded to us which was amazing.
While in London I took the opportunity to meet with the pro-tem committee of ISM UK chapter. The formation of ISM UK chapter is aptly timed and the meeting was indeed a historic and memorable day which would go down in ISM history as the inaugaural meeting of the ISM UK chapter. The meeting discussed on issues such as the formation, registration, finance, and their proposed activities and CPD events. We have been informed a week ago that ISM UK Chapter will be having its inaugaural seminar on 4 June 2010. Congratulations!!!!
I was still jet-lagged when I attended the BQSM dinner on 23 April. We were very very lucky as our flight was on the first day Heathrow airport re-opens. On 26 April I attended the launching of the Green Building Index for existing building and in the evening, the cocktail reception for guests of IRERS conference organised by INSPEN with ISM as one of the collaborators. I was again requested to sing at the karaoke sing-a-long which I yet again turned down as I just could not sing in public (I wish I could!!!). Someday I want to make it a point to learn to have the guts to sing in public.
27 April was a busy day for me which started with the IRERS opening ceremony in the morning, the ISM Excellent award meeting mid-morning, ISM management meeting in the afternoon and the FIG cocktail in the evening. On 28 April I meet up with CIMB corporate comms senior officers with regards to our charity activity, and in the afternoon an NST reporter interviewed me and I end the day with meeting in ISM to discuss on our charity event. We had our council meeting on 30 April. That wrapped up my ISM duties for the month of April.
The Young Achievers Award was successfully held on 7 & 8 May 2010. Our appreciation to Sr Fadillah and Sr Shazaly and the committee members. The students enjoyed themselves and we were able to convey to them with regards to the Surveying professions as a career in a fun manner. Other notable events scheduled in May are: courtesy visit to PAM scheduled on 17 May, Penang branch dinner on 21 May, the "Climb Mt Kinabalu with the President" charity event on 24 & 25 May, and Inter Institution Bowling competition on 29 May.
That's all for now. I hope to write more on the Mt Kinabalu climb before I "have enuf guts to do it" as Sr Roznita puts it. Take care
We wished to convey our heartiest congratulation to Sr Ong See Lian, Sr Teo Chee Hai, Dato' Sr Abdul Kadir, and Dato' Sr Abdul Rahim. More of this detail in our website and eblast as mentioned in the bulletin of Past President Council.
It's been a month since I post the last message which was while I was in Bahrain enroute to London for the accreditation exercise for the Board of QS. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip - the work, the meetings, the reports and of course the shopping. I wished to convey my gratitude to the professors we met and the Surveyors working in UK for the hospitality accorded to us which was amazing.
While in London I took the opportunity to meet with the pro-tem committee of ISM UK chapter. The formation of ISM UK chapter is aptly timed and the meeting was indeed a historic and memorable day which would go down in ISM history as the inaugaural meeting of the ISM UK chapter. The meeting discussed on issues such as the formation, registration, finance, and their proposed activities and CPD events. We have been informed a week ago that ISM UK Chapter will be having its inaugaural seminar on 4 June 2010. Congratulations!!!!
I was still jet-lagged when I attended the BQSM dinner on 23 April. We were very very lucky as our flight was on the first day Heathrow airport re-opens. On 26 April I attended the launching of the Green Building Index for existing building and in the evening, the cocktail reception for guests of IRERS conference organised by INSPEN with ISM as one of the collaborators. I was again requested to sing at the karaoke sing-a-long which I yet again turned down as I just could not sing in public (I wish I could!!!). Someday I want to make it a point to learn to have the guts to sing in public.
27 April was a busy day for me which started with the IRERS opening ceremony in the morning, the ISM Excellent award meeting mid-morning, ISM management meeting in the afternoon and the FIG cocktail in the evening. On 28 April I meet up with CIMB corporate comms senior officers with regards to our charity activity, and in the afternoon an NST reporter interviewed me and I end the day with meeting in ISM to discuss on our charity event. We had our council meeting on 30 April. That wrapped up my ISM duties for the month of April.
The Young Achievers Award was successfully held on 7 & 8 May 2010. Our appreciation to Sr Fadillah and Sr Shazaly and the committee members. The students enjoyed themselves and we were able to convey to them with regards to the Surveying professions as a career in a fun manner. Other notable events scheduled in May are: courtesy visit to PAM scheduled on 17 May, Penang branch dinner on 21 May, the "Climb Mt Kinabalu with the President" charity event on 24 & 25 May, and Inter Institution Bowling competition on 29 May.
That's all for now. I hope to write more on the Mt Kinabalu climb before I "have enuf guts to do it" as Sr Roznita puts it. Take care
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Update 14
Dear members,
I will be in UK from today until 22 April 2010 for the University accreditation visits on behalf of the Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia. I will be accompanied by Mr Chua Siow Leng and Assoc Prof Ainah of UITM. We would be going to UK with half a day transit in Bahrain. Originally I was looking forward to this visit as I always do when it comes to outstation assignments. But for this trip I was reluctant and hesitant as I am nursing an open wound that needs dressing everyday. So instead of focussing on the assignments I had to firstly think about which clinic in Bahrain and later in UK I had to have my dressing done. Then of course the pain oh the daily pain.
Anyway I was informed of wonderful news from Emi of ISM Sabah Branch that the activities organised i.e. Sabah Congress and the Dialogue between ISM Sabah Branch and the Board of Quantity Surveyors Malaysia in March were reported in the Borneo Post. Oh that indeed is good news.
I need to stop here. So we will talk again when I come back.
Salam.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Update 13
Hello
Wow March is a 'happening' month for ISM. Early March we had e-blasted to all members the activities for the whole month of March which we dubbed as "Blast in March". Every branches and divisions all over Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak had organized some kind of activities. These includes career day and career talks for students, International Students seminar, Jamboree for university undergraduates, CPD talks for members, dialogue with private and public institutions of higher learning, workshop on professional services, technical and social visit, Surveying congress, dialogue with Sabah branch and Sarawak branch members, Galaxy of Surveying stars, and Annual General Meeting of branches and divisions. We are glad to inform that all these activities were carried out with great success.
I received so many positive feedbacks on our first of a kind "Galaxy of Surveying stars" where we have fellow Surveyors who have gone beyond the boundaries of their professional background using Surveying as a foundation and platform to a more prestigious and high-profile careers to talk about their experience. We have such gems like "Don't do things that are interesting but things that interest you", "Passion, commitment and courage", "communication tool using language of diplomacy and humor", "Adjust and flexible are not weaknesses but courage to right a wrong", "Truthful and integrity maketh a man", "Retirement is not the end of your working life". "arrogance and invincibility will be your downfall", "Just do it", etc. It was amazing and insightful.
The CPD talks that are given FOC to members are not really free but being subsidized my the government based on the MIDA grant that ISM had received. So do take advantage of these talks as the grant is only one off and must be utilized by December 2010.
The dialogues that we had with the institutions of higher learning and members in Sabah and Sarawak made us realized how important it is to always always meet members as no amount of written information can beat eye to eye explaination. And the dialogue opens the channel for discussions. I am glad that we had also included activities for school students as it promote the Surveying professions as an option for their future career. The seminar, dialogue and jamboree with undergraduates also helped to strengthen their conviction that they have choosen the right profession.
I was in Sabah during the Sabah Surveying congress that I was informed by University Malaya that I had indeed passed my Phd and am a full fledge "Dr". Oh that is sheer happiness - 5 years of juggling my life between my family, study, work , and other commitments that I had involved myself in i.e. ISM, BQSM, CIDB, UTM etc.
I was so busy the whole month of March that I don't realised the small boil that was starting to grow on part of my body. I felt some slight pain but I dismissed it as just an insect bite. The next thing I know I'm not able to sit due to the boil that had grown and harden. I had to go to the clinic daily for the past 5 days to get it cleaned and daily dressing of the wounds. Oh my god the pain was so excruciating that I felt it as painful as going through labour. I unashamely cried everytime they did the dressing.
Well that's life - the highs and the lows all within the month of March!!. Okay bye for now.
Salam
Assoc Prof Sr Dr Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
Wow March is a 'happening' month for ISM. Early March we had e-blasted to all members the activities for the whole month of March which we dubbed as "Blast in March". Every branches and divisions all over Malaysia including Sabah and Sarawak had organized some kind of activities. These includes career day and career talks for students, International Students seminar, Jamboree for university undergraduates, CPD talks for members, dialogue with private and public institutions of higher learning, workshop on professional services, technical and social visit, Surveying congress, dialogue with Sabah branch and Sarawak branch members, Galaxy of Surveying stars, and Annual General Meeting of branches and divisions. We are glad to inform that all these activities were carried out with great success.
I received so many positive feedbacks on our first of a kind "Galaxy of Surveying stars" where we have fellow Surveyors who have gone beyond the boundaries of their professional background using Surveying as a foundation and platform to a more prestigious and high-profile careers to talk about their experience. We have such gems like "Don't do things that are interesting but things that interest you", "Passion, commitment and courage", "communication tool using language of diplomacy and humor", "Adjust and flexible are not weaknesses but courage to right a wrong", "Truthful and integrity maketh a man", "Retirement is not the end of your working life". "arrogance and invincibility will be your downfall", "Just do it", etc. It was amazing and insightful.
The CPD talks that are given FOC to members are not really free but being subsidized my the government based on the MIDA grant that ISM had received. So do take advantage of these talks as the grant is only one off and must be utilized by December 2010.
The dialogues that we had with the institutions of higher learning and members in Sabah and Sarawak made us realized how important it is to always always meet members as no amount of written information can beat eye to eye explaination. And the dialogue opens the channel for discussions. I am glad that we had also included activities for school students as it promote the Surveying professions as an option for their future career. The seminar, dialogue and jamboree with undergraduates also helped to strengthen their conviction that they have choosen the right profession.
I was in Sabah during the Sabah Surveying congress that I was informed by University Malaya that I had indeed passed my Phd and am a full fledge "Dr". Oh that is sheer happiness - 5 years of juggling my life between my family, study, work , and other commitments that I had involved myself in i.e. ISM, BQSM, CIDB, UTM etc.
I was so busy the whole month of March that I don't realised the small boil that was starting to grow on part of my body. I felt some slight pain but I dismissed it as just an insect bite. The next thing I know I'm not able to sit due to the boil that had grown and harden. I had to go to the clinic daily for the past 5 days to get it cleaned and daily dressing of the wounds. Oh my god the pain was so excruciating that I felt it as painful as going through labour. I unashamely cried everytime they did the dressing.
Well that's life - the highs and the lows all within the month of March!!. Okay bye for now.
Salam
Assoc Prof Sr Dr Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
Friday, February 26, 2010
Update 12
Hello dear members
How time just fly - its been a month since my last posting and I thought I had just update it until Hj Basar reminded me. Tried to rationalise why this month is exceptionally quick when I realise that February is only 28 not 31 days. As an employer its not "yeaaa payday!!" but "OMG another payday ??? I felt that I only see my staff for just a few days when I again realised that February consist of so many holidays including leaves due to FT day, Chinese New Year, & Maulidur Rasul. That is excluding MC submitted by some staff and extended leaves by all staff.
I started the month going about ISM duties when I attended the PAQS post-mortem meeting on 3 Feb to finalise the account and documenting lessons learnt. The next day on 4 Feb I chaired ISM Benevolent fund meeting. We amended and finalized the benefits for members under the benevolent fund namely medical relief of RM1,000 upon major sickness and contribution of benevolent token of RM3,000 to next of kin upon death of member. Please inform Ms Katherine of any members in such situation. In the afternoon I attended ISM 50th anniversary celebration meeting to discuss on activities and events in conjunction with ISM's 50th birthday in 2011.
On 5 Feb the councilors conduct a courtesy visit to the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) who is our next door neighbor. It seems that our visit is groundbreaking of sort cos although we are neighbors and we always bumped into each other in various governmental meetings but ISM and IEM had not sit down together in a meeting to discuss collaboration for mutual benefits. We decided to establish 3 joint working committees on Green Building & IBS, Property management services, and BS role in demolition of buildings. Other initiatives include ways to enhance relationship between the two professional institutions. IEM was also interested in the information presented by the GLS division on impact of earthquakes. It was a satisfying and fruitful visit which we both agreed need to be continued.
PSDC organized visit to East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Kuantan on 8 -9 February which I attended on behalf of ISM. Briefings were made with regards to objectives, incentives and the PFI effort to ensure national development and economic growth. But at the moment most of the ECER efforts are based on government's infrastructure to attract investments.
12 Feb was a busy day for me on ISM matters. In the morning I attended a meeting organized by CIDB to discuss on CIDB Project Management Module for the construction industry. In the afternoon a meeting was conducted in ISM to discuss on memorandum to be forwared to MITI. I had requested Sr John Loh to head this memorandum working committee. In the evening I had a discussion with a PR firm to further refine on ISM public relations efforts.
We had our Management committee meeting on 22 Feb and issues discussed include ISM activities, operational issues, income and expenses, membership etc. We agreed to form a task force chaired by Deputy President Sr Elvin with regards to measures to reduce expenses and to increase income. The proposals recommended were forwarded in the council meeting held on 23 Feb. Since its just a week after the Chinese New Year, Ms Katherine had prepared a big bowl of "Yee Sang" with the councilors happily Yee Saing the condiments. On the 24 Feb another groundbreaking effort materialises when we held the Council of Past Presidents comprising 16 Past Presidents who had responded to our invitation to serve in such council. The council members appointed Dato' Sr Abdul Rahman Abdullah as the chair. The rationale for the formation are: for the Concil to perform to the standards as set by the previous presidents and also to guide the Councilors on strategic planning for ISM to move forward, to stay current and maintain the relevance of ISM and the profession. On 25 Feb I attended two meetings representing ISM in the BQSM Registration committee and the BQSM dinner committee. BQSM dinner is scheduled on the 23 of April 2010.
I wished to highlight here two important issues
1) Take note of one of our activity in March i.e. "GALAXY OF SURVEYING STARS" to be held on 16 March. Do attend this interesting seminar that put forward surveyors who have gone beyond the surveying professions.
2) The Council has proposed that "The Malaysian Surveyor" will become e-journal with hardcopies for universities, government agencies and corporate customers only. Any comments??
3) Take note of outreach programs (talks and seminars) throughout 2010 that will be organised sponsored under MIDA grant. These will be e-blast to members.
So there you go for the month of February 2010. Watch out in ISM website with regards to activities for March that we compiled and named as "Blast in March".
Salam
Sr Hjjh Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
First and foremost I wish to offer ISM condolence to the family of Allahyarham Sr Hj Hashim Sikan who passed away on 8 Feb (Al-Fatihah)
I started the month going about ISM duties when I attended the PAQS post-mortem meeting on 3 Feb to finalise the account and documenting lessons learnt. The next day on 4 Feb I chaired ISM Benevolent fund meeting. We amended and finalized the benefits for members under the benevolent fund namely medical relief of RM1,000 upon major sickness and contribution of benevolent token of RM3,000 to next of kin upon death of member. Please inform Ms Katherine of any members in such situation. In the afternoon I attended ISM 50th anniversary celebration meeting to discuss on activities and events in conjunction with ISM's 50th birthday in 2011.
On 5 Feb the councilors conduct a courtesy visit to the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) who is our next door neighbor. It seems that our visit is groundbreaking of sort cos although we are neighbors and we always bumped into each other in various governmental meetings but ISM and IEM had not sit down together in a meeting to discuss collaboration for mutual benefits. We decided to establish 3 joint working committees on Green Building & IBS, Property management services, and BS role in demolition of buildings. Other initiatives include ways to enhance relationship between the two professional institutions. IEM was also interested in the information presented by the GLS division on impact of earthquakes. It was a satisfying and fruitful visit which we both agreed need to be continued.
PSDC organized visit to East Coast Economic Region (ECER) in Kuantan on 8 -9 February which I attended on behalf of ISM. Briefings were made with regards to objectives, incentives and the PFI effort to ensure national development and economic growth. But at the moment most of the ECER efforts are based on government's infrastructure to attract investments.
12 Feb was a busy day for me on ISM matters. In the morning I attended a meeting organized by CIDB to discuss on CIDB Project Management Module for the construction industry. In the afternoon a meeting was conducted in ISM to discuss on memorandum to be forwared to MITI. I had requested Sr John Loh to head this memorandum working committee. In the evening I had a discussion with a PR firm to further refine on ISM public relations efforts.
We had our Management committee meeting on 22 Feb and issues discussed include ISM activities, operational issues, income and expenses, membership etc. We agreed to form a task force chaired by Deputy President Sr Elvin with regards to measures to reduce expenses and to increase income. The proposals recommended were forwarded in the council meeting held on 23 Feb. Since its just a week after the Chinese New Year, Ms Katherine had prepared a big bowl of "Yee Sang" with the councilors happily Yee Saing the condiments. On the 24 Feb another groundbreaking effort materialises when we held the Council of Past Presidents comprising 16 Past Presidents who had responded to our invitation to serve in such council. The council members appointed Dato' Sr Abdul Rahman Abdullah as the chair. The rationale for the formation are: for the Concil to perform to the standards as set by the previous presidents and also to guide the Councilors on strategic planning for ISM to move forward, to stay current and maintain the relevance of ISM and the profession. On 25 Feb I attended two meetings representing ISM in the BQSM Registration committee and the BQSM dinner committee. BQSM dinner is scheduled on the 23 of April 2010.
I wished to highlight here two important issues
1) Take note of one of our activity in March i.e. "GALAXY OF SURVEYING STARS" to be held on 16 March. Do attend this interesting seminar that put forward surveyors who have gone beyond the surveying professions.
2) The Council has proposed that "The Malaysian Surveyor" will become e-journal with hardcopies for universities, government agencies and corporate customers only. Any comments??
3) Take note of outreach programs (talks and seminars) throughout 2010 that will be organised sponsored under MIDA grant. These will be e-blast to members.
So there you go for the month of February 2010. Watch out in ISM website with regards to activities for March that we compiled and named as "Blast in March".
Salam
Sr Hjjh Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Update 11
Dear members
Although the year started slowly but it built up towards the end of January to the extent that I had to push some of my commitent with a university to night classes and a few days ago to my embarrassment I totally forgot and missed two lectures when the students called me up as they were all waiting for me.
I met several ISM members who reminded me that I have not updated my blog - wow that is happiness. It seems that more and more members are reading my rambling and hope to see more current updates on ISM activities. It would make me more ecstatic if members could post comments on the blog. We also received glowing compliments with regards to the personalized diary given to fellows, members, graduate and probationer members. I'm so glad members loved it and appreciated it. It is part of branding ISM. My heart swelled when I saw members pulling out the diary from their bags either during internal ISM meetings or outside meetings.
I started the new year with ISM Management meeting on 8 Jan 2010. In the afternoon we arranged and escorted a group of Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) members for a technical visit and briefing to the smart tunnel project office. The next day we had a dialogue session with SISV that included discussion on strategic alliances, enhancing relationship through CPD events, data exchange, collaborative events, etc. A Memorandum of Cooperation was also signed between ISM and SISV.
On 12 Jan 2010 I had a discussion with the secretariat of the Board of QS with regards to the accreditation of QS qualifications. I was scheduled to have an accreditation visit to the University of Portsmouth and University of Reading, and discussion with Aston University on 9 - 16 Jan 2010 but was postponed due to the severe weather in UK. I was initially disappointed as everything had been arranged to the last detail and the secretariat had put in alot of effort on the visit. But as we very well know God works in mysterious ways - I was glad the visit was postponed as suddenly my mum was hospitalised due to acute diabetic attack. I immediately balik kampong and told my mum I postponed the UK visit to be by her side !!
I was invited by UTM on 14 Jan 2010 for their APA evaluation being UTM alumni and the president of ISM. I was only able to be there for a day trip as the next day on 15 Jan, the China Institute of Norms and Standard paid a visit to ISM to learn more about Malaysia's construction industry generally and cost estimates specifically. We had to engage a Mandarin-speaking member to communicate. I wished I had taken up that Mandarin class that I had always intended to but not making time to get around to doing it. On 18 Jan I attended the meeting organised by CIDB on the Construction Industry Master Plan - Strategic Thrust 1 - with regards to the implementation of Partnering framework in construction contracts.
I again was in Johor on 19 Jan as invited by UTM to meet their MBA students. Similarly it was just a day trip as the next day on 20 Jan I had an appointment with a PR firm to discuss on its offer on publicity of ISM. In the afternoon a group of us visited Mr Lim Kim Hoe and Tn Hj Hashim Sikan. We also visited Mr Yee Shin Cheong on 21 Jan. Let us all pray for the well-being and health of our fellow members.
The whole day on 22 Jan was attending meetings in the Board of QS with regards to registration and its annual dinner. Again on 25 Jan I was in the Board of QS representing ISM in the Board meeting. And on 26 Jan we held our ISM council meeting. On 28 Jan we made a courtesy visit to the Board of Land Surveyors, Peninsula Malaysia. I thanked the Board and Pejuta on their untiring support on ISM activities and highlighted issues with regards to the prefix Sr, Strata title Board, ISM Blast in March and ISM 50th Anniversary celebration, Board's authority in collection of fees etc.
So that's it for January 2010. I wished a prosperous and happy Chinese New Year to all my chinese friends and members.
Salam
Sr Hjjh Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
Although the year started slowly but it built up towards the end of January to the extent that I had to push some of my commitent with a university to night classes and a few days ago to my embarrassment I totally forgot and missed two lectures when the students called me up as they were all waiting for me.
I met several ISM members who reminded me that I have not updated my blog - wow that is happiness. It seems that more and more members are reading my rambling and hope to see more current updates on ISM activities. It would make me more ecstatic if members could post comments on the blog. We also received glowing compliments with regards to the personalized diary given to fellows, members, graduate and probationer members. I'm so glad members loved it and appreciated it. It is part of branding ISM. My heart swelled when I saw members pulling out the diary from their bags either during internal ISM meetings or outside meetings.
I started the new year with ISM Management meeting on 8 Jan 2010. In the afternoon we arranged and escorted a group of Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV) members for a technical visit and briefing to the smart tunnel project office. The next day we had a dialogue session with SISV that included discussion on strategic alliances, enhancing relationship through CPD events, data exchange, collaborative events, etc. A Memorandum of Cooperation was also signed between ISM and SISV.
On 12 Jan 2010 I had a discussion with the secretariat of the Board of QS with regards to the accreditation of QS qualifications. I was scheduled to have an accreditation visit to the University of Portsmouth and University of Reading, and discussion with Aston University on 9 - 16 Jan 2010 but was postponed due to the severe weather in UK. I was initially disappointed as everything had been arranged to the last detail and the secretariat had put in alot of effort on the visit. But as we very well know God works in mysterious ways - I was glad the visit was postponed as suddenly my mum was hospitalised due to acute diabetic attack. I immediately balik kampong and told my mum I postponed the UK visit to be by her side !!
I was invited by UTM on 14 Jan 2010 for their APA evaluation being UTM alumni and the president of ISM. I was only able to be there for a day trip as the next day on 15 Jan, the China Institute of Norms and Standard paid a visit to ISM to learn more about Malaysia's construction industry generally and cost estimates specifically. We had to engage a Mandarin-speaking member to communicate. I wished I had taken up that Mandarin class that I had always intended to but not making time to get around to doing it. On 18 Jan I attended the meeting organised by CIDB on the Construction Industry Master Plan - Strategic Thrust 1 - with regards to the implementation of Partnering framework in construction contracts.
I again was in Johor on 19 Jan as invited by UTM to meet their MBA students. Similarly it was just a day trip as the next day on 20 Jan I had an appointment with a PR firm to discuss on its offer on publicity of ISM. In the afternoon a group of us visited Mr Lim Kim Hoe and Tn Hj Hashim Sikan. We also visited Mr Yee Shin Cheong on 21 Jan. Let us all pray for the well-being and health of our fellow members.
The whole day on 22 Jan was attending meetings in the Board of QS with regards to registration and its annual dinner. Again on 25 Jan I was in the Board of QS representing ISM in the Board meeting. And on 26 Jan we held our ISM council meeting. On 28 Jan we made a courtesy visit to the Board of Land Surveyors, Peninsula Malaysia. I thanked the Board and Pejuta on their untiring support on ISM activities and highlighted issues with regards to the prefix Sr, Strata title Board, ISM Blast in March and ISM 50th Anniversary celebration, Board's authority in collection of fees etc.
So that's it for January 2010. I wished a prosperous and happy Chinese New Year to all my chinese friends and members.
Salam
Sr Hjjh Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
Friday, January 1, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
Update 10
Dear members,
I'm back home. I guess some of you may have known that I went for my Haj. It was very spiritual and one of my most memorable journey. My God - you won't believe how exhausting but fulfilling the months of October, November & December 2009 was for me. I completed by doctoral study, had my viva, made the required minor amendments & submitted to the university, and perform the Haj. In between carried out my duties in ISM, Board of QS and CIDB. Any spare time was for my firm, and oh yes - hahaha my family.
I have received many feedbacks from members. I really appreciate that and wished to thank all of you as at one point I did not know for sure if there was any interest from members. But I continue to ramble on and on as I did not receive any negative feedback so I consoled myself even if members did not read at least I tried to reach out. I did answer to all the comments but since I'm not 'blog' savvy some of the answers could not be sent. But if you wish to contact me my email add - wmaimun@yahoo.com.
By now members and fellows (sorry none for graduates and probationers) may have received your personal diary cum notebook. Do appreciate the hardwork by the secretariat. It's no mean task to personalise and get all those names right. The staff have been working through the holidays. If you have not received it - maybe its in the mail - or maybe check if you have paid the subscription.
I am happy to inform that the hard work we put in for the application for the MIDA grant for the institution has been rewarded. MIDA has given ISM the grant for outreach programs and also for modernising and upgrading the secretariat. I scheduled to end the year 2009 with a meeting to discuss with the 4 vice presidents of all the divisions on the programs to be carried out as required by the grant for the benefit of all ISM members.
So hoping that the new year 2010 will be more prosperous and bring in more good tidings.
Salam
Sr Hjjh Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
I'm back home. I guess some of you may have known that I went for my Haj. It was very spiritual and one of my most memorable journey. My God - you won't believe how exhausting but fulfilling the months of October, November & December 2009 was for me. I completed by doctoral study, had my viva, made the required minor amendments & submitted to the university, and perform the Haj. In between carried out my duties in ISM, Board of QS and CIDB. Any spare time was for my firm, and oh yes - hahaha my family.
I have received many feedbacks from members. I really appreciate that and wished to thank all of you as at one point I did not know for sure if there was any interest from members. But I continue to ramble on and on as I did not receive any negative feedback so I consoled myself even if members did not read at least I tried to reach out. I did answer to all the comments but since I'm not 'blog' savvy some of the answers could not be sent. But if you wish to contact me my email add - wmaimun@yahoo.com.
By now members and fellows (sorry none for graduates and probationers) may have received your personal diary cum notebook. Do appreciate the hardwork by the secretariat. It's no mean task to personalise and get all those names right. The staff have been working through the holidays. If you have not received it - maybe its in the mail - or maybe check if you have paid the subscription.
I am happy to inform that the hard work we put in for the application for the MIDA grant for the institution has been rewarded. MIDA has given ISM the grant for outreach programs and also for modernising and upgrading the secretariat. I scheduled to end the year 2009 with a meeting to discuss with the 4 vice presidents of all the divisions on the programs to be carried out as required by the grant for the benefit of all ISM members.
So hoping that the new year 2010 will be more prosperous and bring in more good tidings.
Salam
Sr Hjjh Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
Friday, November 20, 2009
Update 9
Hello
I chaired the QS accreditation council BQSM meeting on 13 nov to discuss issues with regards to the accreditation of QS qualifications, discussion with MQA & ISM, and the visit to several universities in UK in Jan 2009. In the afternoon I attended the 1st BQSM excellent award 2010 committee meeting to discuss criteria for the several awards by the BQSM. On 16 Nov I represented ISM in the Green Building Index consultative Panel chaired by PAM. We discuss issues with regards to the incentives of going green i.e. present incentives and new incentives under the newly presented Budget. The discussion also touches on other wish list incentives.In the evening there was a talk on the Green Building index.
The next three days from 17 Nov to 19 Nov was a whirlwind of personal errands for my impending month leave. I was suppose to chair the council meeting held this afternoon on 19 Nov but due to some other pressing commitments I had to, at the last minute, request the Deputy president Sr Elvin to take over the chair for the council meeting.
Tomorrow I will be on leave and will only be back on 21 Dec 2009. So I wish to take this opportunity to wish all of you happy holidays and a merry Christmas (I hope its not too early). For Muslims who will be going for Haj - let us all pray for forgiveness, easy passage, and we be bestowed by Allah (swt) Haji Mabrur.
That's it for now. I do hope I would be able to continue with this rambling in the President's corner when I come back later. Take care
Salam
Sr Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
I chaired the QS accreditation council BQSM meeting on 13 nov to discuss issues with regards to the accreditation of QS qualifications, discussion with MQA & ISM, and the visit to several universities in UK in Jan 2009. In the afternoon I attended the 1st BQSM excellent award 2010 committee meeting to discuss criteria for the several awards by the BQSM. On 16 Nov I represented ISM in the Green Building Index consultative Panel chaired by PAM. We discuss issues with regards to the incentives of going green i.e. present incentives and new incentives under the newly presented Budget. The discussion also touches on other wish list incentives.In the evening there was a talk on the Green Building index.
The next three days from 17 Nov to 19 Nov was a whirlwind of personal errands for my impending month leave. I was suppose to chair the council meeting held this afternoon on 19 Nov but due to some other pressing commitments I had to, at the last minute, request the Deputy president Sr Elvin to take over the chair for the council meeting.
Tomorrow I will be on leave and will only be back on 21 Dec 2009. So I wish to take this opportunity to wish all of you happy holidays and a merry Christmas (I hope its not too early). For Muslims who will be going for Haj - let us all pray for forgiveness, easy passage, and we be bestowed by Allah (swt) Haji Mabrur.
That's it for now. I do hope I would be able to continue with this rambling in the President's corner when I come back later. Take care
Salam
Sr Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Update 8
Hello dear members
First and foremost we wish to send our deepest condolences to the family of the late Sr Aloysius Choon Kok Sin. He had been a loyal ISM fellow and Past President session 1995 - 1996. May his soul rest in peace.
A day after coming back from an enjoyable ISM organised visit to Japan I had to immediately carry out my duties representing ISM. On 26 Oct 2009, I attended the opening ceremony of the National Asset and Facility Management Convention (NAFAM) 2009 in the morning. I was not able to stay on for long as I had to attend the Malaysian services development council - Focus group on "Busines and Professional services" meeting in the afternoon. The main discussion was with regards to the action plan to take advantage of market opening as a result of liberalisation of the services sector both for construction services and non-construction services. I've forwarded to all the vice presidents of all the four divisions for their comments. I'll request Katherine to also post this in ISM website. Should members have any comments do forward to the secretariat.
On 27 oct I attended the CIDB excellent award to finalise the recipients for the awards that I was appointed to evaluate. This year we underwent a very tough evaluation regime that include courtesy visits and all of us the panel of evaluators were impressed by the quality of the candidates. I was a very tough decision. The next day on the 28 Oct I was interviewed by a reporter for Berita Harian. I'm not used to this so I decided to type her my answer script. I don't know whether this was due to my nervousness or due to being a project manager thus the need to be in control. She may have gone back laughing !!. Of course there are additional impromptu questions and answers. So look out for your president on any thursday of Berita Harian a month from now - if it will ever be printed.
It was again a full day on 29 oct as I attended the revision Act committee of BQSM in the morning. Part of the amendments were required due to the instruction from the government on the liberalisation of the the services. Others include the changing of terms, prefix, consistency in drafting and increasing the amount for breach of the act. As this is still in the draft form I think BQSM consider this as confidential. In the afternoon we held our monthly Council meeting. The council conduct the first visit for the session to the Association of Banks on 30 oct. It was a fruitful meeting as part of the agenda was to discuss on the panel of Surveyors with banks, services of Surveyors that could be rendered to the banks and other pertinent issues. Sec gen Sr Ainon will be finalising the report on the discussion.
I attended a seminar on globalization and liberalisation - its impact on the property held on 4 nov. I was only able to catch the afternoon session that was the panel discussion. I must be either too tired, too old or not savvy enough as I was not able to fully follow the discussion. But I saw PCVS vice-president and Dato Mani there so I'm okay. On 5 nov I attended the Joint Board meeting comprising reps from the Board of QS, Bd of Architect and Bd of Engineers. The meeting was to discuss on recent developments and its on the professions and to inform each other of proposed revisions to the Act. In the afternoon of 5 nov I went to University Malaya to attend a talk on the collaboration of academic and the industry. During the Q&A I gave my two cents worth of thought with regards to ISM's partnering university programme, the list of research areas required of the university, quality of research by university for the industry and the need for research to be giving practical solutions.
On 12 nov, a meeting was held in PSDC to discuss on the Malaysian Services Exhibition to be held in April 2010 in Dubai. It seems that Matrade had agreed with my suggestion for PSDC to be the lead collaborator for the Professional services. So in the meeting I again reiterated the need to showcase a total solution for professional services for construction that include architects, engineers and surveyors. It should not be a showcase of individual services by different institutions. Hopefully ISM would be able to participate for next year's MSE. I also had an informal discussion with the officer of PSDC with regards to inquiries from Australia on the liberalisation of the services. In the afternoon I chaired the ISM monthly management meeting. And in the evening we conduct a discussion with regards to our proposed "Blast in March" i.e. a promotion and publicity blitz for ISM in the month of March.
So that's all for now. Again as I had always mentioned, if you need to see the minutes, paper presentation etc do request from Kat of ISM. If its not in ISM and still with me she will contact me for the copy. Hope to update you later.
Salam
Sr Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
First and foremost we wish to send our deepest condolences to the family of the late Sr Aloysius Choon Kok Sin. He had been a loyal ISM fellow and Past President session 1995 - 1996. May his soul rest in peace.
A day after coming back from an enjoyable ISM organised visit to Japan I had to immediately carry out my duties representing ISM. On 26 Oct 2009, I attended the opening ceremony of the National Asset and Facility Management Convention (NAFAM) 2009 in the morning. I was not able to stay on for long as I had to attend the Malaysian services development council - Focus group on "Busines and Professional services" meeting in the afternoon. The main discussion was with regards to the action plan to take advantage of market opening as a result of liberalisation of the services sector both for construction services and non-construction services. I've forwarded to all the vice presidents of all the four divisions for their comments. I'll request Katherine to also post this in ISM website. Should members have any comments do forward to the secretariat.
On 27 oct I attended the CIDB excellent award to finalise the recipients for the awards that I was appointed to evaluate. This year we underwent a very tough evaluation regime that include courtesy visits and all of us the panel of evaluators were impressed by the quality of the candidates. I was a very tough decision. The next day on the 28 Oct I was interviewed by a reporter for Berita Harian. I'm not used to this so I decided to type her my answer script. I don't know whether this was due to my nervousness or due to being a project manager thus the need to be in control. She may have gone back laughing !!. Of course there are additional impromptu questions and answers. So look out for your president on any thursday of Berita Harian a month from now - if it will ever be printed.
It was again a full day on 29 oct as I attended the revision Act committee of BQSM in the morning. Part of the amendments were required due to the instruction from the government on the liberalisation of the the services. Others include the changing of terms, prefix, consistency in drafting and increasing the amount for breach of the act. As this is still in the draft form I think BQSM consider this as confidential. In the afternoon we held our monthly Council meeting. The council conduct the first visit for the session to the Association of Banks on 30 oct. It was a fruitful meeting as part of the agenda was to discuss on the panel of Surveyors with banks, services of Surveyors that could be rendered to the banks and other pertinent issues. Sec gen Sr Ainon will be finalising the report on the discussion.
I attended a seminar on globalization and liberalisation - its impact on the property held on 4 nov. I was only able to catch the afternoon session that was the panel discussion. I must be either too tired, too old or not savvy enough as I was not able to fully follow the discussion. But I saw PCVS vice-president and Dato Mani there so I'm okay. On 5 nov I attended the Joint Board meeting comprising reps from the Board of QS, Bd of Architect and Bd of Engineers. The meeting was to discuss on recent developments and its on the professions and to inform each other of proposed revisions to the Act. In the afternoon of 5 nov I went to University Malaya to attend a talk on the collaboration of academic and the industry. During the Q&A I gave my two cents worth of thought with regards to ISM's partnering university programme, the list of research areas required of the university, quality of research by university for the industry and the need for research to be giving practical solutions.
On 12 nov, a meeting was held in PSDC to discuss on the Malaysian Services Exhibition to be held in April 2010 in Dubai. It seems that Matrade had agreed with my suggestion for PSDC to be the lead collaborator for the Professional services. So in the meeting I again reiterated the need to showcase a total solution for professional services for construction that include architects, engineers and surveyors. It should not be a showcase of individual services by different institutions. Hopefully ISM would be able to participate for next year's MSE. I also had an informal discussion with the officer of PSDC with regards to inquiries from Australia on the liberalisation of the services. In the afternoon I chaired the ISM monthly management meeting. And in the evening we conduct a discussion with regards to our proposed "Blast in March" i.e. a promotion and publicity blitz for ISM in the month of March.
So that's all for now. Again as I had always mentioned, if you need to see the minutes, paper presentation etc do request from Kat of ISM. If its not in ISM and still with me she will contact me for the copy. Hope to update you later.
Salam
Sr Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Update 7
Hello
We are back from Japan. It was such an interesting and enjoyable trip - technical visits and social - with a group of Surveyors whom we are all familiar. We covered so much ground from Tokyo to Lake Kawaguchi, Hakone, Toyohashi, to Kyoto and Osaka. But the itenary was carefully drawn up we did not feel tired or rushed. We ate authentic sushi, tempura and teppanyaki - but of course some of us, myself included, mixed these Japanese delicacies with our very own sambal, ikan bilis and rendang. The last night was a real Japanese fine dining complete with the ambiance of tatami mat, hushed whispering of pretty kimono-clad ladies, origami, and bonsai garden.
The technical visit included visit to Shibaura institute of technology to understand their programe for surveyors. While there we met up with several Malaysian students. Next we went to meet our counterpart the "Building Surveyors Institute of Japan" which also include talks on Japan latest software. We were lucky to be able to make a courtesy call to Matrade Tokyo office and next to the Malaysian embassy in Tokyo.
We enjoyed ourselves but my only regret was that I did not try the onsen bath.
Salam
Sr Wan Maimun
We are back from Japan. It was such an interesting and enjoyable trip - technical visits and social - with a group of Surveyors whom we are all familiar. We covered so much ground from Tokyo to Lake Kawaguchi, Hakone, Toyohashi, to Kyoto and Osaka. But the itenary was carefully drawn up we did not feel tired or rushed. We ate authentic sushi, tempura and teppanyaki - but of course some of us, myself included, mixed these Japanese delicacies with our very own sambal, ikan bilis and rendang. The last night was a real Japanese fine dining complete with the ambiance of tatami mat, hushed whispering of pretty kimono-clad ladies, origami, and bonsai garden.
The technical visit included visit to Shibaura institute of technology to understand their programe for surveyors. While there we met up with several Malaysian students. Next we went to meet our counterpart the "Building Surveyors Institute of Japan" which also include talks on Japan latest software. We were lucky to be able to make a courtesy call to Matrade Tokyo office and next to the Malaysian embassy in Tokyo.
Although Japan is not a shopping haven but I do believe our group somehow manage to increase Japan GDP by 0.1%. Many of us came back with Kimono, Yakuta, Japanese purses and dolls, seaweed, crackers & nuts, swatch, Japanese brand cosmetics, branded goods from premium outlets - I think most of us took Sr Han Hoe's holiday motto of "Better to regret buying than to regret not buying"!!. Do watch out for him in a leather jacket. Or go over to our Sec Gen's house for a quick snack cooked in her unique 3-in-1 pan. And drop by to our immediate past president's house for tea using the new bone china tea set.
All the towns and villages that we visited - are clean, clean and clean. The toilets are clean, clean, clean with push buttons for water shower. Not a single piece of litter eventhough there weren't many dustbins. It seems that the Japanese would just pocket any rubbish to throw it later in the bins at home. Everything works, and there are a lot of unspoken rules that they followed religously. Everything work within a system. As such although they are polite, but since everything has a fixed procedure, way and system, not much flexibility. Recycle is a way of life and dining is a art. The scenery is breathtaking - especially with Mt Fiji in the background. And my God, the amount of photos that all of us took!!
We enjoyed ourselves but my only regret was that I did not try the onsen bath.
Salam
Sr Wan Maimun
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Update 6
We are still in the month of Syawal and thus the one month celebration of open house still continues. ISM successfully held our open house at hotel Armada on 28 Sept 2009 with good food and good company. The council wished to thank all members young and old who came to share the celebration and catch up with old friends and colleagues. Other open houses where the President was invited were by PSDC on 2 Oct, BQSM on 6 Oct, CKUB JKR on 13 Oct and Matrade on 14 Oct 2009. Tonite I will be attending Datuk Sr Isahak's open house. Hope to see you all there tonite.
On 29 Sept, Fadilah Camaluddin and I were in Johor on the invitation of UTM to give talks to their QS students with regards to ISM, registration and panel forum on the challenges of QS. Fadilah was her usual lively and gutsy self taunting and teasing the students to participate. It was fun. On 30 Sept and 1 Oct, I was fully occupied with the CIDB excellent award evaluation panel and as such DP Sr Elvin and vice presidents were on hand to welcome HKIS young surveyors visit to ISM on the 1 Oct. On 6 Oct, I attended the BQSM Board meeting. On 12 Oct, we had ISM 50th anniversary meeting. I was again invited by another institution of higher learning (Taylor's College) to give a talk to their students on 14 Oct but this time the emphasis was on being a professional QS. It was hilarious as the students were lively.
In the afternoon of 14 Oct we had our ISM management committee meeting and amongst the issues discussed were feedbacks on survey with regards to ISM, publicity on ISM, proposed setting up of UK chapter, opening up of ISM membership to non-Malaysian, financial issues and administrative issues.
On the 15 Oct, the FIG international conference was successfully held. It was attended by over 250 participants comprising international members of FIG commission 7 and members from ISM, PEJUTA, JUPEM and LJT. I attended the opening and stayed on for the two keynotes which were brilliant and informative. The FIG Commission 7 - annual dinner was also held on the night with traditional dances which enthralled the foreign participants. Also on 15 Oct, CIDB held the forum on construction industry payment and adjudication act (CIPAA) which I attended after attending the FIG opening and keynotes. It is hoped that after this forum the industry's concerns highlighted would be addressed and subsequently the CIPAA would be able to be gazetted. It's about time Malaysia had its Payment Act considering that the effort had started way back in 2003.
This morning on 16 Oct, I attended the National Professional Services Export Council (NAPSEC) and presented a paper on the Internationalization effort of the Surveying professions to NAPSEC members. I informed the members with regards to the efforts by the QS on the KL Pact, the PCVS effort on the education promotion in India and ISM's technical and study tour with emphasis on GLS effort on their visits in Vietnam, Cambodia, Phillipines and Indonesia. I also touched on the Malaysian Services Exhibition by Matrade. I suggested for PSDC to showcase the integration of all the professional services within the construction industry that include the Surveyors, Architects and Engineers instead of each instituion showcasing their own services individually. The next MSE would be held in Dubai in 2010.
ISM has organized a technical cum social visit to Japan from 18 Oct - 25 Oct. I will blog you all with regards to the trip after I come back. So that's it for now. I'm off to Datuk Sri Sr Isahak open house.
On 29 Sept, Fadilah Camaluddin and I were in Johor on the invitation of UTM to give talks to their QS students with regards to ISM, registration and panel forum on the challenges of QS. Fadilah was her usual lively and gutsy self taunting and teasing the students to participate. It was fun. On 30 Sept and 1 Oct, I was fully occupied with the CIDB excellent award evaluation panel and as such DP Sr Elvin and vice presidents were on hand to welcome HKIS young surveyors visit to ISM on the 1 Oct. On 6 Oct, I attended the BQSM Board meeting. On 12 Oct, we had ISM 50th anniversary meeting. I was again invited by another institution of higher learning (Taylor's College) to give a talk to their students on 14 Oct but this time the emphasis was on being a professional QS. It was hilarious as the students were lively.
In the afternoon of 14 Oct we had our ISM management committee meeting and amongst the issues discussed were feedbacks on survey with regards to ISM, publicity on ISM, proposed setting up of UK chapter, opening up of ISM membership to non-Malaysian, financial issues and administrative issues.
On the 15 Oct, the FIG international conference was successfully held. It was attended by over 250 participants comprising international members of FIG commission 7 and members from ISM, PEJUTA, JUPEM and LJT. I attended the opening and stayed on for the two keynotes which were brilliant and informative. The FIG Commission 7 - annual dinner was also held on the night with traditional dances which enthralled the foreign participants. Also on 15 Oct, CIDB held the forum on construction industry payment and adjudication act (CIPAA) which I attended after attending the FIG opening and keynotes. It is hoped that after this forum the industry's concerns highlighted would be addressed and subsequently the CIPAA would be able to be gazetted. It's about time Malaysia had its Payment Act considering that the effort had started way back in 2003.
This morning on 16 Oct, I attended the National Professional Services Export Council (NAPSEC) and presented a paper on the Internationalization effort of the Surveying professions to NAPSEC members. I informed the members with regards to the efforts by the QS on the KL Pact, the PCVS effort on the education promotion in India and ISM's technical and study tour with emphasis on GLS effort on their visits in Vietnam, Cambodia, Phillipines and Indonesia. I also touched on the Malaysian Services Exhibition by Matrade. I suggested for PSDC to showcase the integration of all the professional services within the construction industry that include the Surveyors, Architects and Engineers instead of each instituion showcasing their own services individually. The next MSE would be held in Dubai in 2010.
ISM has organized a technical cum social visit to Japan from 18 Oct - 25 Oct. I will blog you all with regards to the trip after I come back. So that's it for now. I'm off to Datuk Sri Sr Isahak open house.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Update 5
Selamat Hari Raya - Maaf zahir dan batin. I received hundreds of Raya cards from members and as such wished to thank all of you for remembering us in ISM. It's touching as I have never received such many cards. I'm also glad for the messages and phone calls that thanked for the Raya card from the President and ISM.
It's been a week since Raya and its only today that I am able to write in. I've not been feeling well having a terrible bout of coughing that left me nausea and dizzy for weeks. But despite that the President's actitivities representing ISM still went on. I represented ISM for the meetings held by Board of QS Malaysia (BQSM) on 7 Sept for the BQSM Publicity and IT subcommittee, on 11 Sept the meeting for the BQSM registration subcommittee, and on 14 sept for the BQSM revision of the Act subcommittee, .
10 Sept was another hectic day where in the morning we had the Partnering Universities meeting. In the afternoon I attended the CIDB excellence award panel meeting and in the evening I joined the PCVS committee for a berbuka puasa at Hotel Istana. I thank the PCVS committee members for inviting the President. The next day on 11 Sept, I attended a meeting organised by RICS to discuss on the RICS/ISM student conference meeting tentatively to be held in January 2010. Two days before Hari Raya, on 16 Sept we held the ISM Management Committee meeting to discuss issues to be presented for the Council meeting. As if that is not enough and giving me no time to prepare my Rendang and Ketupat for Raya, we had a meeting with MIDA to discuss ISM's application for the 'Services Sector Capacity Development Fund' (SSDF). The meeting with MIDA officers was worth the 'Rendang and Ketupat time' as it gave us valuable information on revising ISM applications for the fund. In addition, on the eve Raya evening I had to go to CIDB to finalize my evaluation for the CIDB excellent awards. All these done in between the awful horrible coughing.
I was not able to enjoy the one week of the Raya holiday due to the coughing and not being able to sleep well. Hopefully all of you are not as miserable as I was and enjoy your holiday with family and friends.
Anyway on 26 Sept, together with Dr Ting and Katherine we finalized the revised ISM application for the SSDF as per the format required by MIDA. I do hope ISM members could join me to pray that our application would be approved and we would be able to organize the training & outreach programs, and the ISM upgrade & modernization programs.
Please note that on 28 Sept we scheduled the ISM council meeting together with ISM open house. Do attend the high-tea which we have organized for members to be held at Armada Hotel from 5.00 - 7.00 pm. I need to excuse myself by 6.30 pm to attend a launching by the edge magazine. Then on 29 Sept together with Sr Fadilah Camaluddin we have been invited by UTM Johor to give talks to their students with regards to ISM and challenges to the profession. Lastly on 30 Sept, CIDB scheduled the excellent award meeting.
So my dear members, again SELAMAT HARI RAYA and don't forget to attend the ISM open house to be held on 28 Sept at Armada Hotel from 5.00 - 7.00. See you there
Sr Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
26 Sept 2009
It's been a week since Raya and its only today that I am able to write in. I've not been feeling well having a terrible bout of coughing that left me nausea and dizzy for weeks. But despite that the President's actitivities representing ISM still went on. I represented ISM for the meetings held by Board of QS Malaysia (BQSM) on 7 Sept for the BQSM Publicity and IT subcommittee, on 11 Sept the meeting for the BQSM registration subcommittee, and on 14 sept for the BQSM revision of the Act subcommittee, .
10 Sept was another hectic day where in the morning we had the Partnering Universities meeting. In the afternoon I attended the CIDB excellence award panel meeting and in the evening I joined the PCVS committee for a berbuka puasa at Hotel Istana. I thank the PCVS committee members for inviting the President. The next day on 11 Sept, I attended a meeting organised by RICS to discuss on the RICS/ISM student conference meeting tentatively to be held in January 2010. Two days before Hari Raya, on 16 Sept we held the ISM Management Committee meeting to discuss issues to be presented for the Council meeting. As if that is not enough and giving me no time to prepare my Rendang and Ketupat for Raya, we had a meeting with MIDA to discuss ISM's application for the 'Services Sector Capacity Development Fund' (SSDF). The meeting with MIDA officers was worth the 'Rendang and Ketupat time' as it gave us valuable information on revising ISM applications for the fund. In addition, on the eve Raya evening I had to go to CIDB to finalize my evaluation for the CIDB excellent awards. All these done in between the awful horrible coughing.
I was not able to enjoy the one week of the Raya holiday due to the coughing and not being able to sleep well. Hopefully all of you are not as miserable as I was and enjoy your holiday with family and friends.
Anyway on 26 Sept, together with Dr Ting and Katherine we finalized the revised ISM application for the SSDF as per the format required by MIDA. I do hope ISM members could join me to pray that our application would be approved and we would be able to organize the training & outreach programs, and the ISM upgrade & modernization programs.
Please note that on 28 Sept we scheduled the ISM council meeting together with ISM open house. Do attend the high-tea which we have organized for members to be held at Armada Hotel from 5.00 - 7.00 pm. I need to excuse myself by 6.30 pm to attend a launching by the edge magazine. Then on 29 Sept together with Sr Fadilah Camaluddin we have been invited by UTM Johor to give talks to their students with regards to ISM and challenges to the profession. Lastly on 30 Sept, CIDB scheduled the excellent award meeting.
So my dear members, again SELAMAT HARI RAYA and don't forget to attend the ISM open house to be held on 28 Sept at Armada Hotel from 5.00 - 7.00. See you there
Sr Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
26 Sept 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Update 4
For the past 3 postings I have been reminiscing on the President's activities in the month of June and July. Similarly in Aug the activities continued and should have started with a Press conference of the Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS) on 5 Aug. But since I was outstation, DP Sr Elvin was there on hand together with the PAQS organising committee. On 7 Aug, I attended the Johor Branch annual dinner held in JB. It was a wonderful, fun and family-oriented dinner and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves. I did. Then on 11 Aug I attended the Board of QS subcommittee meeting to discuss on the revision of the Act.
12 Aug was a another busy day for me. In the morning we had a discussion with the newly appointed Managing Director of SPPK. In the afternoon I was off to the Board of QS to chair the Accreditation sub-committee and in the evening together with the BS divisional committee members we had a meeting with the KSU of Ministry of Works to discuss on the BS Act.
Two congresses organized by ISM were held in the month of August. I was told by DP Sr Elvin that the NREC held on 11 Aug was a success - congratulation to the organizing committee. The second congress was the PAQS congress held on 16 and 17 Aug. Prior to the congress on 15 Aug, the PAQS Board Meeting was held. The congress was also a success and the climax of it was the signing of the KL Pact between the various international Institutions and Councils representing QS, cost consultants and cost engineers around the world.
On 24 Aug we had two meetings - ISM 50th celebration sub-committee and the Management Committee meeting. Then on 27 Aug we had the council meeting. That ends the activities of the President in the month of August. Do call Ms Katherine if you wish to see the minutes of the discussion and meetings. The proceedings of the congresses are available in ISM Library.
Salam hormat
Sr Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
12 Aug was a another busy day for me. In the morning we had a discussion with the newly appointed Managing Director of SPPK. In the afternoon I was off to the Board of QS to chair the Accreditation sub-committee and in the evening together with the BS divisional committee members we had a meeting with the KSU of Ministry of Works to discuss on the BS Act.
Two congresses organized by ISM were held in the month of August. I was told by DP Sr Elvin that the NREC held on 11 Aug was a success - congratulation to the organizing committee. The second congress was the PAQS congress held on 16 and 17 Aug. Prior to the congress on 15 Aug, the PAQS Board Meeting was held. The congress was also a success and the climax of it was the signing of the KL Pact between the various international Institutions and Councils representing QS, cost consultants and cost engineers around the world.
On 24 Aug we had two meetings - ISM 50th celebration sub-committee and the Management Committee meeting. Then on 27 Aug we had the council meeting. That ends the activities of the President in the month of August. Do call Ms Katherine if you wish to see the minutes of the discussion and meetings. The proceedings of the congresses are available in ISM Library.
Salam hormat
Sr Wan Maimun Wan Abdullah
Friday, September 11, 2009
Update 3
Hello fellow members
Continuing with the President's activities in July it started off with BIPC dinner on 7 July at KL convention centre. I had just came back from Ipoh and was half an hour late for the dinner. Imagine my horror and embarrassment having to meekly smile to the guest of honor (KSU of Ministry of Works) and seated at the same VVIP table. The speech by the Chairman of BIPC (President of IEM) highlighted issues with regards to the memorandum that we forwarded to the government.
On 7 July I attended the meeting on the CIDB Excellence Award being in the committee for the CEO of the Year Award and Player of the Year Award. I was again in CIDB on 9 July for the discussion on the CIDB Strategic Thrust 1 of their Masterplan.
We had our Management committee meeting on the morning of 13 July and the afternoon we met P.E Chong of IEM who highlighted on the issues of concern by IEM on the construction industry Payment and Adjudication Act. On 16 July I had a brief discussion with ISM COO Katherine on secretariat issues. Then I was off to Australia on a personal business.
The 2nd council meeting was held on 27 July. It was a real bummer when at the last minute not even one of the management committee was able to attend the MITI dialogue held on 28 July. ISM forwarded a memorandum to MITI with regards to the surveying profession and the construction industry. On 29 & 30 July I represented ISM at the International Construction Conference held in Padang Indonesia as ISM was invited as one of the VVIP. I took the opportunity to discuss with QSs in Indonesia on their formation of Institusi QS Indonesia (IQSI).
So that wraps up the President's activities on behalf of ISM for the month of July. If you need to see the detail of the discussions, minutes and memorandum mentioned above, do call up our COO Katherine. Selamat berpuasa and take care
Continuing with the President's activities in July it started off with BIPC dinner on 7 July at KL convention centre. I had just came back from Ipoh and was half an hour late for the dinner. Imagine my horror and embarrassment having to meekly smile to the guest of honor (KSU of Ministry of Works) and seated at the same VVIP table. The speech by the Chairman of BIPC (President of IEM) highlighted issues with regards to the memorandum that we forwarded to the government.
On 7 July I attended the meeting on the CIDB Excellence Award being in the committee for the CEO of the Year Award and Player of the Year Award. I was again in CIDB on 9 July for the discussion on the CIDB Strategic Thrust 1 of their Masterplan.
We had our Management committee meeting on the morning of 13 July and the afternoon we met P.E Chong of IEM who highlighted on the issues of concern by IEM on the construction industry Payment and Adjudication Act. On 16 July I had a brief discussion with ISM COO Katherine on secretariat issues. Then I was off to Australia on a personal business.
The 2nd council meeting was held on 27 July. It was a real bummer when at the last minute not even one of the management committee was able to attend the MITI dialogue held on 28 July. ISM forwarded a memorandum to MITI with regards to the surveying profession and the construction industry. On 29 & 30 July I represented ISM at the International Construction Conference held in Padang Indonesia as ISM was invited as one of the VVIP. I took the opportunity to discuss with QSs in Indonesia on their formation of Institusi QS Indonesia (IQSI).
So that wraps up the President's activities on behalf of ISM for the month of July. If you need to see the detail of the discussions, minutes and memorandum mentioned above, do call up our COO Katherine. Selamat berpuasa and take care
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Update 2
Good morning to all -its been 14 days Muslims all over the world observe the fast refraining from eating, drinking, smoking, and indulging in anything that is in excess or ill-natured from dawn until sunset. A little bit of information for my non-Muslim friends -the fasting month of Ramadhan is believed by Muslims to be the holiest month of the entire year. Its reverence signifies the revelation of the Holy Quran to Prophet Muhammad (saw). Ramadhan is an opportunity for Muslims to cultivate a raised awareness of God (swt), a month of spiritual cleansing and trying to purify oursleves through self-restraint and good deeds. As such, although life goes on as usual but there are less worldly activities for the Muslims in Ramadhan.
In ISM there is also not as many activities apart from the normal routine activities of the monthly divisional, branches and council meetings. I now have the time to reminisce on the past two months since taking over the presidency in late June 2009.
I wished to informed members on activities carried out in the month of June 2009. Surveyors' Congress that marked the end of the last session held on 18 & 19 June 2009 was a blast with Tun Mahathir as our guest of honor and key note speaker. Tun was such a gentleman and a real statesman. He was not feeling well that morning having to undergo medical check-up but he had his man informed us of the possibility of a 10-minutes delay which at the end he was at the hotel right on time (I remember feeling my heart dropped on the floor and picking it back when he arrived!!). The response from members was overwhelmed surpassing the target set. The AGM held on 20 June 2009 with active participation from members and the dinner was meaningful because many senior members attended. As such I wish to thank all the members for the support. It makes all the hard work, every drop of sweat and heart burn worth it.
23 June was another hectic day. We had the Congress post-mortem meeting in the morning. Then in the afternoon together with Sr Elvin and his team a press conference for the NREC congress was held. In the evening I attended the Building Industry Presidents' Council (BIPC)comprising presidents of 7 main institutions in the construction industry (i.e. ISM, PAM, IEM, MIP, REHDA, MBAM and ACEM) to discuss on issues to forward to the government.
On 25 June, ISM played host to a group of French students who will be assimilated in several GLS companies and universities for a few months. Then on 26 June, I attended the MIEA dinner and was pleasantly surprise that their newly elected president is also a lady - we bonded. On 30 June I attended the discussion held in CIDB with regards to the issue of stamp duty which BIPC had forward a memorandum to the government.
So that sums up the activities of the President in June 2009. I hope to find time to sum up the activities in July and August 2009 for the members' information. Till we meet again salam hormat.
In ISM there is also not as many activities apart from the normal routine activities of the monthly divisional, branches and council meetings. I now have the time to reminisce on the past two months since taking over the presidency in late June 2009.
I wished to informed members on activities carried out in the month of June 2009. Surveyors' Congress that marked the end of the last session held on 18 & 19 June 2009 was a blast with Tun Mahathir as our guest of honor and key note speaker. Tun was such a gentleman and a real statesman. He was not feeling well that morning having to undergo medical check-up but he had his man informed us of the possibility of a 10-minutes delay which at the end he was at the hotel right on time (I remember feeling my heart dropped on the floor and picking it back when he arrived!!). The response from members was overwhelmed surpassing the target set. The AGM held on 20 June 2009 with active participation from members and the dinner was meaningful because many senior members attended. As such I wish to thank all the members for the support. It makes all the hard work, every drop of sweat and heart burn worth it.
23 June was another hectic day. We had the Congress post-mortem meeting in the morning. Then in the afternoon together with Sr Elvin and his team a press conference for the NREC congress was held. In the evening I attended the Building Industry Presidents' Council (BIPC)comprising presidents of 7 main institutions in the construction industry (i.e. ISM, PAM, IEM, MIP, REHDA, MBAM and ACEM) to discuss on issues to forward to the government.
On 25 June, ISM played host to a group of French students who will be assimilated in several GLS companies and universities for a few months. Then on 26 June, I attended the MIEA dinner and was pleasantly surprise that their newly elected president is also a lady - we bonded. On 30 June I attended the discussion held in CIDB with regards to the issue of stamp duty which BIPC had forward a memorandum to the government.
So that sums up the activities of the President in June 2009. I hope to find time to sum up the activities in July and August 2009 for the members' information. Till we meet again salam hormat.
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