Scholars in a nutshell

This section serves as a guidance for those who want to apply for scholarships especially for SPM leavers (excluding state-funded scholars like FELDA,YT,YS and MAIK because it is state-specific and not open to students from other states/non-FELDA)

PNB
BNM
Khazanah

Petronas
YTN
YTM
UEM
JCORP
Sime Darby

JPA
MARA
YPPB

If you want to know the amount of allowance of each scholarship, you would have to comment or dm on my post in this blog before I give you the access link to it.

Monday, December 26, 2016

Kembara dunia


For this post, I shall write in Malay as I feel it is utmost suitable to write in this language.

Perjalanan singkat di dunia ini sering memberi makna kepada kita bahawa kehidupan kita teramatlah singkat.

Bayangkan jarak antara azan dan iqamat. Begitulah hampirnya kelahiran dan kematian di atas muka bumi ini. Secara jujurnya, aku sentiasa memikirkan perkara ini selepas aku habis SPM di Taiping. Seringkali aku menyangka, "Sampai bila aku akan berada di dunia ni? Kalau nak diikutkan, orang yang dilahirkan 60-70 tahun yang lepas dah mula meninggal satu persatu. Mungkin lagi 50 tahun (anggaran dari umur 18 tahun sehingga ke 68 tahun), aku akan berada di dunia ni. Ah, alangkah pendeknya masa ni. Kenapa sekejap sangat?" 

Ya, itulah yang sentiasa bermain di benak fikiran sehingga ke hari ini (24 tahun, saat aku mula menulis post ini pada Disember 2016). Walhal, aku antara insan yang kerap kali membuat dosa kepada manusia dan juga kepada Tuhanku. Aku insan yang sangat lemah, manakan tidak ada sahaja dosa yang aku lakukan sama ada secara sedar atau tidak sedar.

Solat, dan ibubapa dan keluarga adalah antara dosa yang pernah aku lakukan, dan aku amat berharap aku tidak sekali-kali mengulanginya lagi. Nafsu diri yang membelenggu diriku sepanjang masa membuat aku kadang-kadang berkata, "Ah, tak palah, buat dosa sekali sekala boleh bertaubat.

Betapa ironinya diriku ini. Seorang insan yang mengingati mati pada masa yang sama masih boleh membuat dosa untuk merendahkan saham di akhirat. 

Tapi, aku tegar untuk sentiasa mengingatkan pada diriku, bahawa selagi hidup kita bukan di hujung nyawa, kita masih boleh melakukan sesuatu. Sesuatu yang dinamakan sebagai "Taubat". Perkataan yang mudah tetapi bukanlah semudah yang disangka. Kerana, mana mungkin seorang manusia bukan maksum boleh terlepas melakukan dosa.

Mungkin apa yang diperlukan dalam hidup kita adalah masa. Kita semua tahu masa yang berlalu takkan kembali walau sedetik, tetapi sedikit yang mendatang boleh diubah, Andai kita hanya sentiasa meletakkan Dia sebagai Yang Pertama dalam hidup kita.

Aku sentiasa ingatkan pada diriku, ya aku seorang pendosa tapi itu bukan bermakna aku pendosa sepanjang masa. Untuk tidak menjadi pendosa sepanjang masa, aku fikir, "Apalah yang akan jadi dengan diriku di alam barzakh dan akhirat kelak? Mahukan aku ke Neraka-Nya?"

Melalui persoalan itu, aku sematkan dalam diriku. Ya, mungkin kita tidak boleh 100% bebas daripada dosa dan silap, tapi dengan cuba menilai apa yang kita lakukan setiap hari mampu untuk menjadikan diri aku insan yang lebih baik sehinggalah ke hari terkahir aku di bumi.

Kita semua boleh berubah menjadi lebih baik, asalakan kita diberi masa.

Monday, December 12, 2016

Reset button of the year


Well, it is the last month of the year. It has been such a challenging and trying year for me and also to others. Let me continue in Malay, dah berkarat nanti asyik tulis dalam BI je.

Ada kejayaan dan ada kepahitan dalam 12 bulan bagi tahun 2016. Sememangnya, itulah kehidupan sebagai seorang manusia yang sentiasa diduga dari masa ke masa. Gov application, Masters, overseas, writings, etc.

Rezeki di hujung tahun, aku berjaya menjadi "Winner" untuk "Letter of the Month" bagi majalah Malaysia Airlnies, Going Places. Ingatkan tak akan dapat dah masuk dalam majalah tu, rupanya dapat jugak, alhamdulillah.

Mungkin aku kena masuk lebih banyak pertandingan dan peraduan menulis ni, sebab aku suka menulis dan membaca. Yup, aku suka membaca sejak sekolah rendah, walhal aku bukanlah seorang pelajar yang cemerlang sangat. Sebabnya aku suka baca artikel umum berbanding bacaan ilmiah atau akademik yang terlalu spesifik dan tak mungkin dapat difahami oleh orang biasa atau "laymen". Aku boleh menghabiskan sepanjang hari hanya dengan membaca buku, surat khabar, majalah dan media online untuk mengetahui tentang sesuatu perkara. Book hard core katanya.

2017 akan menjadi tahun yang lebih sukar, percayalah. Keadaan ekonomi yang tidak menentu, pemanasan global yang berturusan, krisis pelarian dan konflik peperangan di seluruh dunia, akan terus terjadi secara berleluasa. 

Baru semalam aku menonton Years of Living Dangerously di saluran National Geographic dan kita secara tidak sedar sudah mengalami krisis kekurangan makanan dan perpindahan manusia yang berskala global di sesetengah tempat. Dokumentari tersebut sangat menarik dan sudah pasti aku akan menontonnya bagi episod-episod yang lain.

Pada hari ini juga sambutan Maulud Nabi dan Keberangkatan Pulang DYMM SPBA ke negeri Kedah setelah menjadi YDPA semenjak 2011. menjadikan satu-satunya YDPA yang dilantik sebanyak 2 kali sehingga ke saat ini.

Untuk penghujung 2016 dan seterusnya, aku akan pastikan minimum 24 post setahun akan dicapai kerana aku akan memperuntukkan sekurang-kurangnya 2 post bagi setiap bulan.

Disebabkan aku begitu hardcore dalam kewujudan internet, aku cuba search apakah laman web Malaysia yang paling awal yang masih dapat dilihat sehingga ke hari ini, rupa-rupanya, laman web yang paling lama adalah laman web pelajar MCKK pada tahun 1996!!!!!!. Dan juga laman web matzakaria.com yang sudah wujud semenjak tahun 1998 masih aktif sehingga ke hari ini. Saya percaya bahawa laman web matzakaria antara laman web peribadi yang terawal wujud di Malaysia.

20 tahun yang lepas!!!! Sedangkan aku hanya mula menggunakan internet seawal 2001/2002? dan hanya aktif sebenar-benarnya pada hujung 2009. Aku mula digging sejarah internet di Malaysia kerana aku ingin tahu apa yang terjadi pada masa lampau.

😐

p/s: Doakan supaya aku dapat menjadi insan yang lebih baik di dunia dan di akhirat.


Winner of the month. What else can you ask for? After this, there will be streaks of writing articles for the years to come


Monday, November 28, 2016

The state of happiness and sadness


Thinking on how much our parents have invested towards us since we were born is always full of tangible explanations. We deem that it is the responsibility of our father and mother to support our daily meal, shelter and clothes but in reality it is the other way round. We are the ones who are supposed to be responsible for our own beings and with that in mind, it is always our filial duties to contribute as much as possible, either financially or physically to our parents who have tirelessly raised us up to the state we are of today.

In all cases, we all grow up unnoticed of the fact that when we were still infants and children, all we could think of was playing all day round, mingling with other children that we all consider friends. But as we grew older, we did not longer do what we used to when we were young. Yup, it is life and that is how it works.

We never thought that life was so short until we loss someone that we dear so much. When the sad moment prevails, we can only recall lapses of wonderful moment that we used to experience. Again, that is life. We can never guarantee when is the high and low phases of our life might be at, and yet we could only remember the good moments since humans don't like to be at their rock bottom at any stage of the lives.

Recalling my life so far, it is nothing but full of surprises. Yes, there are certain ups and lows that I used to encounter but those are what keeps me strong for all the time. The good moments of travelling together with the family to several countries (Which I will post more in the upcoming months, latest by October 2017) and going to many eateries and festivities in the country have brought a long lasting memory to myself simply because I loved every single moment of it. If I were to list more, it would be endless. To my surprise, when I look at the old pictures, it seems that all the good memories suddenly get rekindled in an instant because I did not remember much when I was 2-8 years old. I mean who could remember everything at such age? 

The sad moment of going to residential school and not getting the scholarships that I always wanted were even more impactful because it had shaped to whom I am today. For that reason, I hope that I can sweep this sad moment under the carpet of internal memories so that I can recall only when I need it at the most important times.

One side note; You could never be wrong with your family, and for that I keep sticking to the fact that we can always support and believe each other because families are meant to be as one. We may not agree on certain things in life but in the end, we will still be seeing each other when we eat, celebrate our festivities and when we cheer and console over certain affairs that have been part of our lives.

Soon, we will be heading to 2017 and I would be a year older and that means one year closer to DEATH (as all Muslims believe). So, in the remaining times, I just hope that I could utilise my time and ensure that every single second is not wasted for nothing. I just want to make good memories with myself, families, friends and the people around me. Because I believe life is like a box full of chocolate, and you may never know what kind of chocolates that you will get.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

biasiswa spm (spm scholarship)

Blogpost ke-155 


Salam,

Sengaja bagi tajuk macam tu supaya blogpost ni jadi top kat google search. 

This blogpost serves as a guide for those who are searching for a list of compiled scholarships that SPM leavers and candidates can apply either using SPM Trial or using Real SPM results.

I don't put a link on this post sebab I dah letak link-link tu semua dalam blogpost sebelum ni. Cuma klik pada label "scholarships" untuk lebih senang cari.

In general, I dah buat several classification untuk korang senang nak pilih apa jenis bidang yang ditawarkan untuk setiap scholar.

But, korang boleh notice kebanyakan company hanya senaraikan courses yang business related atau engineering-related. 

Not much on pure science, applied science, medic/dentist/pharmacy, international relations and other kursus yang seangkatan dengannya.

Happy scholarship hunting!!!

P/s: This info is correct as of October 2016. Any changes will be updated on quarterly basis or ASAP.

Spm scholarship listing by course (don't click here, click below)

senarai biasiswa spm/spm scholarship listing




Sunday, October 30, 2016

SERATAS and KSAH website


Both were my alma mater's and both had given me lots of opportunities to become who I am today. For that, I shall give my dedication to posting a blog on these two great institutions that I once attended.



On SERATAS' web, I got the chance to view many pictures for each event that takes place in the school compound. Got to see Teacher Norasmah, Teacher Zuraidah, Cikgu Siti and many more. Well, the memories of the past start to rekindle when going through all these pictures.

Malaysia Housing Ownership aka Pemilikan rumah di Malaysia


Allow me to blog in Malay and English this time, or else my Malay will be hugely degraded over the time.

Disclaimer: Memandangkan penulis adalah daripada latar belakang Sains Tulen dan bukannya dari Ekonomi atau Kewangan, maka segala info dan maklumat yang diberikan mungkin tidak benar dan kurang tepat pada aspek literal dan kontekstual. Maka diharapkan pihak pembaca dapat memberikan penjelasan yang sebenar berhubung apa-apa perkara.

Assalamualaikum dan salam sejahtera,

Isu yang begitu mudah. Rumah atau dalam erti kata lain pemilikan rumah. Kerap kali kita mendengar isu pemilikan rumah di media massa dan corong radio melibatkan bukan hanya golongan bawahan atau B40 malahan golongan kelas pertengahan M40 di negara kita.

Untuk makluman, saya ada terbaca mengenai artikel pemilikan rumah di Malaysia daripada laman web BNM beberapa hari yang lepas dan juga beberapa jam yang lepas. You know what? 

More than 50%  houshold atau isi rumah di Malaysia masih belum mempunyai aset kekal (Kekal sebab rumah bukan boleh dipindah secara fizikal macam kereta atau smarthphone) ini, Alasan mengapa mereka tidak mempunyai rumah adalah mudah. 

Pertama, mereka mempunyai pendapatan daripada pekerjaan akan tetapi pihak bank tidak memberikan pinjaman perumahan kepada mereka. Gaji yang terlalu rendah dikatakan salah satu punca mengapa pihak bank akan menolak permohonan pinjaman pada peringkat awal.

Kedua, harga rumah terlalu MAHALLLLLLL!!!!!!!. Kita semua sedar bahawa harga rumah pada masa dulu dan sekarang adalah ibarat langit dan bumi. Sebagai contoh, kalau dulu (20-30 tahun yang lepas) rumah teres di lokasi A cuma RM 100,000 ,sekarang rumah yang sama pada tahun 2016 sudah mencecah RM 700,000. Kenaikan melebihi 100%. See? Belum kira rumah semi-D yang sememangnya sudah mencecah RM 1 juta ke atas di kebanyakan lokasi di  Lembah Kelang.

Oleh itu, banyak diskusi atau perbincangan meja bulat diadakan antara pihak institusi kewangan, Bank Negara Malaysia, institut penyelidikan seperti Khazanah Research Institute, pihak pemaju perumahan, dan agensi dan persatuan pemaju pembinaan seperti REHDA dalam tahun-tahun belakangan ini.

But you guess what, sudah banyak polisi sebenarnya telah dijalankan dan sudah banyak inisiatif yang dibentangkan oleh kerajaan dalam Bajet Tahunan untuk memastikan isu ini tidak akan berlarutan dan mengakibatkan masalah yang lebih besar kepada negara.


  • Antaranya, Pr1MA, PPRT, Selangorku dan pelbagai projek perumahan kos rendah dan sederhana telah dibangunkan but still masalah ini masih berlaku. 
  • Pengurangan cukai RGPT (Real Gain Property Tax) yang bertujuan untuk mengurangkan kos pembelian rumah serta pelbagai lagi pengurangan yuran yang berkaitan dengan pembelian rumah pertama.


Kenapa?

Dalam hal ini, mungkin banyak lagi "underlying factor" yang menjadi penyebab kepada isu pemilikan rumah ini.

Despite semua effort yamg dilakukan, the average price of a property akan meningkat saban tahun atas alasan kenaikan harga bahan binaan seperti simen, pasir dan batu bata.

Semestinya, para spekulator pasaran juga menjadi penyumbang kepada kenaikan harga hartanah di Malaysia sejak bertahun lamanya. Mungkin dasar sedia ada membolehkan orang yang sudah sedia berharta dan kaya mampu untuk membeli hartanah dan membelinya untuk tujuan pelaburan dan bukannya untuk kediaman pertama atau kekal.

Yang pasti, I will be talking more regarding this topic in next posts to come. Ini akan memberi lebih banyak input dan penekanan terhadap pelbagai aspek dan faktor yang mempengaruhi harga rumah di pasaran.



p/s 1: Ulasan Bajet 2017 akan dipost dalam masa akan datang. Selewat-lewatnya pertengahan November 2016
p/s 2: Isu pemilikan rumah akan lebih menjerumus dengan lebih spesifik dalam minggu-minggu mendatang.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

3 weeks and ongoing


Tarikh lapor diri: 4 Oktober 2017

A date that I will cherish and I will promise to make an autobiography if I had the chance to live beyond 60.

Sweet 24, joining the government workforce and who could ever predict 30 years down the road?

It has been a ride of fieldwork, seminars and everything else. Well, I just hope that everything can turn out well pretty easily. Starting to think of my own future paths, thinking about what if I take this? What if I take that? What will happen 10,20 years down the road? It seems that 10 years have passed so fast (2006, I was still in junior high school). Hoping that my dream of becoming a diplomat will not fade away easily despite all the challenges and tribulations that I have to encounter. 

Budget 2017 was announced recently and it was quite a surprise especially there is a new position scheme and training scheme for all 3 critical courses in Malaysia. Contract. Period. Well since I am not from this field I just have to say my sorry for everyone out there. Blessing-less in disguise.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Top A-Level Colleges in Malaysia


For most of you already know, Malaysia has a lot of A-level colleges and some colleges have huge amount of sponsored students, primarily from Government Agencies and GLC's. 

As such, this post in a brief overview of top colleges that provide top-notch quality for their students since their establishment.

KOLEJ YAYASAN UEM (KYUEM)

  •  KYUEM is located in Lembah Beringin, Selangor
  • It is a full boarding college, which means all students stay on campus all the time.
  • Sponsored students: PNB, Maybank, Yayasan Khazanah, Petronas, UEM, TNB, TM, Jcorp, Felda, MAIK, Yayasan Terengganu
  • Total fees approximation: RM 86,000 for two year programme and RM 50,000 for one and half year programme.
  • The intake consists of July intake (2 year progamme) and January intake (1 and half year programme)


KOLEJ TUANKU JAAFAR (KTJ)

  •  Located in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan
  • It is an international school, where local and international students (from expats' family) study together
  • Boarding provided although most of its students are staying outside/with family etc
  • Sponsored students: Petronas and Bank Negara
  • Total fees approximation: RM 106000 for 2 year programme (August intake) and RM 70000 for 1 and half year programme (January intake)

Epsom College in Malaysia

  •  EPSOM College is located in Bandar Enstek, Negeri Sembilan
  • An internation school, similar to KTJ, where it has British Curriculum for entire education year
  • Boarding is provided, similar to KTJ
  • Sponsored students: Bank Negara
  • Total fees approximation: RM 270000 for 1 and half year programme
    (January Intake) and RM 300000 for 2 year programme (September intake)

Taylors College Subang Jaya

  •  Located in Subang Jaya
  • A private college
  • Students stay outside and boarding is located at Taylor's University Lakeside Campus
  • Sponsored students: Bank Negara, YTM, Maybank
  • Total fees approximation: RM 60000-80000 for January and July intake

KYS International School

  •  An international school located in Malacca
  • Boarding is provided
  • Sponsored students: PNB, Jcorp
  • Total fees approximation RM 60000-70000 for July/August intake.

Intec

  •  Located in Seksyen 17 Shah Alam
  • Consists of self funded and sponsored students
  • Boarding is provided.
  • Sponsored students: YTN and others.
  • Total fees approximation: RM 50000 for 2 year programme (June/July intake)

Kolej Mara Seremban (KMS)

  • Located in Seremban
  • A full boarding college
  • Consists mostly Mara-sponsored students
  • Total fees approximation: Unknown.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

BNM Scholarship Pre Uni College



Here are the list as of 2016.
  1. Epsom College Malaysia
  2. Kolej Tuanku Jaafar
  3. Taylor's College Subang Jaya
Epsom College is quite a prestigious college, bearing its status as a prominent British Institution which dates back to 17th century. 
Kolej Tuanku Jaafar is another international school in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan and it was established in the 90's.
Taylor's College is also a top notch institution located in the busy township of Petaling Jaya.

Note that the place will change from time to time.

Past colleges:
  1. KYUEM
  2. Uniten
  3. Intec
  4. KMB

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Tracking down my ISKANDAR,KSAH,SERATAS,PASUM AND UM GEOLOGY whereabouts

I'm planning to make a list of where are they heading now;either working or furthering study.
Thus, it will surely take some time in order to make  list of all of them.
It will take about few months to do all this thing.


Saturday, September 3, 2016

Career that guarantees?

I put a question mark up there because this is just purely based on my own opinion. So lets make a list of how these careers can guide you to further growth in your entire working life


Engineering
Accounting/Finance/Actuary/Econs/Business/Banking
Law
Computers Science/It

Architecture
QS/Land Surveyour
Medicine/Dentistry/Pharmacy

Science
Pilot

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

To the juniors

It's another academic year at university in Malaysia. 2016/2017 academic session.

For those who are taking Geoscience at University of Malaya, I wish you guys all the best for the next 3.5 years of your life. Take this opportunity to explore about yourself and self-interest that you never thought before.

While I will be pursuing my career this coming October to serve the nation for as long as I am capable of.

If you guys need tips or lecture notes,just drop your comment below so that I can give you later.

P/s: While I was at university, I explored more on my artsy side of me, in which I entered a lot of music competition. Most importantly, I enjoyed every single moment of it.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Will I?


Thinking back on how fast we have changed, it makes us wonder that we somehow have to face certain adjustments from time to time. Be it good or bad, I always remind myself that I will have to keep myself going and strong.

For the past few weeks, I had started reading a book by Prof Kamil (If you don’t know, then I suggest you go to another planet if you are a Malay Malaysian) entitled “Hadiah Buat Anak” or something like that. From what I read, I could conclusively say that my life struggle is almost the same as him, maybe better than him slightly.

I wished to go to overseas ever since I was a boy. I am always fascinated by the grandeur architecture of historical monuments in Europe and North America. The opportunity to ride an aeroplane for 13-20 hours just to reach the ultimate destination. The natural view of the Alps and Cliff of Moher in IRELAND.

At the same time, I aspired to study at foreign universities. But, due to my own stupidity, carelessness and lack of attention of various applications, I did not manage to get one.
What makes me more disappointed was the fact that some other friends of mine whose results are similar to mine managed to land on a foreign scholarship, enabling them to travel other countries and ultimately posting pictures on their social medias and “Salam Perantauan” column.

I know that Allah will DETERMINE the fate for each of His followers, but the pain was just too difficult to bear on my own shoulders. Imagine your long-awaited visions since childhood just banished in the blink of an eye, no longer to be seen forever.

Going back to MKI, he encountered the same fate when he did not manage to obtain the sponsorship that he thought that he could get. Unfortunately, his own denial and arrogance paid a price for his future when he “failed” miserably (considering the current inflation of excellent results with 30 years of history) and did not get what he wanted, which was to pursue Law in the UK before becoming the Prime Minister of Malaysia in the future.

Due to his own negligence, he did not learn from his mistakes, costing him to enroll in multiple colleges before he finally managed to get the Young Tutors’ Scheme from UITM as a result of his impressive results in his undergraduate study. And 10 years later, he did go to overseas and pursued his study there with his family.

You see, life is somewhat mysterious. It is beyond our control by any means. However, there are 2 things that will help us to get what we want in life.
First, efforts after efforts. Second, always pray and ask to our Superior to grant what we always wish for. He knows what is his best for you, and sometimes with the power of doa, you can still get what you want.

So here am I, in the year of 2016, I am wondering, will I be able to study or work overseas someday? Of course, I want it. It will never be erased from my entire life’s memory for as long as I am still alive. For the time being, I am going to make full use of what I have so that I would not take it for granted when the opportunity is longer there. If the PTD thingy is still available in the future, I hope that I can be a diplomat so that I will fulfill one of my ambitions that I yet to become.

p/s: Insyallah, one fine day.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

List of interviews plus "forgot to apply" ones

Interview (updated as of 5 June 2018)

Scholarship
2010
JPA-reject
PETRONAS-reject
BNM-reject
YK-reject
YTM-reject

Not applied

JAD
ASEAN
PNB
SC
SHELL
UEM
YTN
YSD
KPM
MAHB
MEXT

Job

2013-2014
Shell Intern,Phone
Bosch Hangout-reject

2015
Kumon,Jalan Pegawai-Success
GNP-Success
Mext,Japan Embassy-reject
Chem2Hill,Mont Kiara-reject
Sl1m UEM,Mercu UEM-reject

Not applied
2015
Garuda Engineering-Decline
Public Bank-Star Talentcorp-Decline

2016
PTD-reject
Lafarge YEP-reject
AirAsia 1st round Exam-Decline
Muhaya Lasik-3rd round-Decline
Lee Motor 1st round IV-Decline
SPA-Accepted
Taps Jpa-Decline assessment centre

2017
Airasia 1st round exam-Decline
Lhdn- Did not go HAC
Atc- Did not go PAC at AOR airport

2018
Kurator-Decline iv

These are all my interviews that I was supposed to undergo right after my SPM. My tips are: Just apply every single scholarship that is available out there as we do not know which one of them can be ours. Well, it was not that impressive to some extent as I only managed to gain only a little of all that had been offered.

First impression counts. Thus, wear your best attire, complete with a full suite and blazer as to look more formal and professional when having an interview session with the assessors. Don't ever think of not wearing one just to ignore that statement such as "mamat poyo,berlagak lebih pakai blazer etc" because usually these kind of people always feel inferior when seeing others who are far better looking than them.  

Regardless of job interview or scholarship interview, remember to perform your best during that 10-30 minute session. It does not matter whether it is a group interview or an individual interview as the sole purpose of the interview is to evaluate your selling points and personal attributes that are deemed fit and suitable for the companies or the organizations. At the same time, don't try to look as if you are becoming too dictatorship as you need to listen to other's opinions as well. Life is not just about leading people, but also listening to them. Always heed to what your interviewers or your group members have to say regarding certain issues that are being discussed.

Besides, be yourself and don't try to fake into another person. The assessors will definitely know whether you try to hide something or not. That is why early preparation counts when it comes to knowing the background of the company that you will be interviewed. There are, however times when you need to make a little tweak in the way you speak to them so that you will be more outstanding than other candidates.

Besides technical knowledge, know and read a lot about current issues and national events like current economics, politics, governance , education and many more so that it will complement your answer when you are confronted with current issue questions from the interviewers. Newspapers and some light magazines like The Economist, Reader's Digest and NatGeo and Discovery Channel will make do for all. 

Insya-allah with a lot of effort and doa, it will pay off if you manage to impress the interviewers the moment you are asked by them regarding any sort of question.

Things that I need to blog


First of all, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir Batin 2016.

I believe that I have a lot of stuffs that I can blog about. As such, I will list this down for future reference


  1. Student exchange to Taiwan 2013
  2. Umrah 2014
  3. London Trip 2011 and 2012
  4. Previous family trips
  5. Singapore Trip 2013
  6. Interview Tips- Done
  7. Scholarship Tips- Done

Saturday, July 2, 2016

Lulus Kepujian Dengan Cemerlang


Now I know that it is so hard to obtain a CGPA of 3.7 and above in Geology. Here are the proof that I found so far. I received this info from the Convocation Book which you can view online on UM Convo website.

http://umconvo.um.edu.my/?pfct=umconvo&modul=convocation_book

Senarai Lulus Kepujian Dengan Cemerlang

2010-0
2011-0
2012-3
2013-0
2014-3
2015-1
2016-More than 1
2017
2018-5

Senarai nama pelajar terlibat:

2012

  1. Ling Hwei Chih-Applied
  2. Norzarifah Kamaruzaman-Applied
  3. Yong Joy Anne-Applied
2014
  1. Chong Karthy-Pure
  2. Fatin Nurdiana Basir-Pure
  3. Muhammad Asyraf Razali-Pure
2015
  1. Faherah Hidayah-Applied
2016
  1. Ariff Affandy-Pure
  2. To be updated.
2017
  1. To be updated
2018
  1. Hafizah Munirah Mat Raai
  2. Muhammad Hafiz Mohd Jaim
  3. Muhammad Hazman Muhammad Saleh
  4. Yugendran a/l Selvam
  5. Muhammad Baseer Khadim Hussain (Pk)

Friday, July 1, 2016

Government Path?

Here is the list as of current time.

PTD

  1. Abong-Naimuddin
  2. Mat-Rushdan
JMG

  1. Sarah
  2. Safwan
  3. Sya (simpanan)
  4. Zariq (simpanan)
Good luck to them for serving the nation in the future. I am sure that in years to come many more from our batch will join the civil service. 

Brexit 2016


This is my first post regarding a more serious event that occurs currently in the world and how it affects our lives altogether.

Most of us would have known, if not all, the Brexit frenzy that has happened recently and in Malaysia, we are not spared from the cascading effect that is caused by this event. To put into a much simpler perspective, Brexit is a set of referendum that is decided by several group of voters and members of parliament and government agencies to determine whether the UK should leave or remain in the membership of European Union, better known as EU. The result was “LEAVE”.

To Malaysians, we might think that it is quite a recent issue in the UK but it actually dates back to 2013 where the soon-to-leave PM of the UK, David Cameron had announced that he wanted to make a referendum to ensure that the voices of the people are heard and the people’s demands are fulfilled.
There are several factors that caused this referendum to arise. 

First, the UK citizens felt that it was time to leave EU as there are too many freedom and opportunities for outsiders to take advantage of what was previously offered for the locals. As EU practice free trade and movement across its members, many people especially from non-English speaking countries seek opportunities to have a better life for themselves and find jobs in the UK. Apparently, this effect was far too cataclysmic in which the locals themselves had to compete with the migrants to get the same level of jobs. This situation is further worsened with the current incoming batches of refugees from war-torn countries that have been afflicted with continuous conflicts like Syria, Iraq and other Middle East Countries.

Second, the currency of pound had declined quite significantly over the past few months that caused many to ponder upon the reliability of EU as an international union that ensures continuous wealth for each sovereign member. Therefore, traders, sellers and the public feel that it is better to leave the EU as the impact of the economic sluggishness could be less affected by being a “stand-alone” country. Since I am not an Economist by training, I cannot elaborate much on that and I can only describe things on the surface of the key issues.

What are the effects of this outcome?

It can be both negative and positive. From a Malaysian’s point of view, I see education and economy are two key issues that will have a significant impact on our country. I agree with our experts in Economics or other analysts saying that the effect would be far too minimal for us to see and feel. However, I have my own opinions as well since Malaysia does import and export with the UK as well and we send our students there to study at top-notch universities for brighter ROI for the future of our country.

Firstly, I see that we are likely to have higher costs for imported products and produce, especially from the UK. This is because the UK no longer relies on EU to do trading of the products and as such, they can set up their own ceiling price and they have the freedom to determine the CPI for each country that the UK exports to, based on the production and manufacturing costs that are devised by them. So, don’t be surprised if the previous cereals from England that you bought at hypermarkets can cost double than the previous ones.

Secondly, our education fees at the UK are likely to soar. Why? Because the funding that was previously done by EU is no longer available and the universities still need to seek its education fund and endowment for its R&D purpose. Thus, the universities have no other ways than to increase the fees for its international students to gain more revenues for the continuity of the institutions.

The issues of Brexit are all about immigration issues and economics’ sovereignty of its people. The people of the UK could no longer tolerate the influx of legal and illegal migrants coming to their country and stealing their jobs and other benefits that only natives are supposed to have. Indirectly, this shows that the people of the UK have a sense of racism towards people that originate from other countries. Even if there are some people who are considerate and thoughtful of the migrants’ hardships and background, they are, at a certain extent, have reached the ultimate maximum boiling point ever since the mass incoming of Syrian refugees due to the escalating violence in the Middle East.

If the UK leaves, the people presume that the country will implement much tighter and more stringent criteria to let people settle in the country. As such, the welfare of the locals are being uphold and taken care of.

I STILL has a lot to say on this issue, but for now, I will just leave the stone unturned and let the readers think of how we view this dramatic change in the political and administration scene of the UK. 

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Fate as it is


SPA offer: Berjaya Temuduga

The moment I knew the result, I immediately showed it up to my parents. This is the least that I can do. For now, I'm going to utilize every second of my time to do things that I consider beneficial not only for me but also to others as well.

I have been through multiple rounds of interviews ever since the heydays of SPM Scholarships. Rejections and rejections are immensely building up upon me. But, I just keep my faith and effort to the maximum and also learn from my previous mistakes during the interviews.

So I hope that I can utilize my bond period of 4 years to enhance and gather as much knowledge as possible in this scientific field and contribute to the nation one fine day. I do not know what the future holds for me throughout my whole life, but what I can assure is that I will try to grab as much options as possible so that I will not regret over them once they are gone from my control.

At the same time,I will try to write another post regarding the interview experience. I just try to provide everything based from my experience.

Thank you to everyone and alhamdulillah. This is the "hikmah" that I previously posted on Fb right after I knew that I was no selected for the next stage of PTD selection process.

p/s: hoping that someday, I will still be able to join the Central Bank as Geoeconomist at Economics or other policy-making departments. The terms exist though, but not econologist.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Ramadhan 2016



It’s the first day of ramadhan of 2016. It is the time of the year where most people, if not all will try to concentrate on doing their obligations to Allah for hereafter. It’s quite unprecedented that it has been exactly one year after I had my ramadhan of 2015 with my family. It just went too fast given the fact that I just celebrated my 24th birthday here in KL.

Insya-allah,I will make the most of it for my own good and insya-allah good news will keep coming during this month. I will always be waiting for good news all this while.

CGPA wise,leadership wise,interview wise, I did not screw up along the way and I had prayed my best and even made a nazar to myself which is end of year umrah. I even greeted them with the right salutation (Dato’ SPA and Tuan JMG). It was just the specimen part where I did not guess correctly but I correctly described them. You can’t just expect someone to know straight away in less than 10 seconds just by holding that specimen and not getting any clues whatsoever. Dato SPA gave a very good remarks, "Baguslah awak ni,tau pasal isu semasa". Well, I was just deeply interested with what is happening around Malaysia and the world, be it economy, politics, social, education, culture, entertainment, science and religions.

Dear Allah, give me this chance to repay all my parents’ sacrifice and financial assistance. I will perform my second umrah with my family this year if I got it. And I will treat my close friends as well for the day and for this iftar as well. Make this ramadhan one of the best moments of my life that 
I will truly vividly cherish for the rest of my life. Plus, I had never achieved much other than the Taiwan exchange program thingy and the Kong Zhi Music Competition thingy.

Dear Allah, only to you I surely rely and must get help.

Qoute of the day,

"One book,one pen, one table and one teacher can change the world"-Malala Yousofzai, UN Nobel Peace Prize Winner 2014

P/S: I hope I can be a geoeconomist one fine day and finally working at Bank Negara Malaysia in Economics Department, where most of the national policies and agendas are made by the experts.

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

INFO: SPM Scholarship

Note: Last updated on 31st May 2016. Will be updated from time to time,at least annually.

Hello, I have compiled every scholarship provider and I hope that it will be of good use to all. This is strictly for SPM leavers.

The list will be updated from time to time. (It will be updated at least annually). 

Sponsorhip includes:

Scholarships-You don't need to pay,but most sponsor will give a bond to work at that company/entity after you graduate. But it doesn't mean that you are confirmed with jobs because there will be cut off points or requirements as well in order to fulfill the contractual agreement.Depends on sponsors.

Convertible loan-Mara/JPA/petronas(you need to pay 20% if you don't get to work with petronas, correct me if I'm wrong). You need to pay back some,if not all amount. You pay back based on some conditions. Mara is based on academic performance. Jpa is based on whether you get to work with the government after you graduate etc.

In general there are:
Overseas and Local scholarships

The application can be either through:
Website portal of the scholarship provider
Email (as in JCORP)
Manual handwriting (download forms from the company's website and send by post, as in MAYBANK AND PNB)

For post SPM scholarships, most of the sponsors, if not all, will provide the preparatory college for the pre-university programme especially for its overseas programme.
For more details, you can inquire the staffs for each sponsor through phone or email as they will know more about the entire process of selection.

For MARA,JPA and YPM JAD, you guys can just google it up. Because those are some general scholarships where most people will apply. The list that I provide here is more towards other corporate or companies that you can get sponsorhips/scholarships as well.

Malaysia Government/Statuory Bodies/GLC/Private Malaysian Companies sponsorship (Mostly open few days before/on SPM result day/after result day), Only open for a short duration etc BNM/Petronas-only open 1 week after SPM result)


JPA (including JPJK,PPN,Bursary)

MARA (inculding MARA SPC,JPA-MARA)
YPM JAD

Bank Negara

Khazanah Nasional (Yayasan Khazanah)

Maybank (Maybank Foundation)

Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB)

Securities Commission

Petronas

United Engineers Malaysia (Yayasan UEM)

Telekom Malaysia (Yayasan TM/YTM)

Tenaga Nasional (Yayasan TN/YTN)

Sime Darby (Yayasan Sime Darby/YSD)

Yayasan Peneraju (YPPB/Peneraju Tunas Potensi)

Johor Corporation
jesp@jcorp.com.my
Look up at local newspapers for JCORP's ads and its website for more info.

Astro
Link will be provided later

Yayasan Dayadiri
Link will be provided later



Institution Scholarship

Taylor's World Class Scholarship
Link will be provided later

Taylor College High Achiever/President Scholarship Award

UWC-for MRSM students and Khazanah scholars???(unsure)


Foreign government sponsorship-for SPM LEAVERS AS WELL

Asean Scholarship(Singapore Government)
Link will be provided later

Japanese Government/Monbukagakusho/MEXT Scholarship
Link will be provided later

Turkish Government Scholarship (Turkish Burslari)
Link will be provided later


International school sponsorship-only cover for pre-u studies (A LEVEL/IB)

Epsom Libra Foundation
Link will be provided later

Penang International School Uplands
Link will be provided later

Sri Kdu International School
Link will be provided later

Iskl

Igb

Mckl

Ucsi

Nexus


Institution that accepts Trial SPM results(not scholarships)

UTP March intake
Link will be provided later

UWC
Link will be provided later

KYSB
Link will be provided later





STATE FOUNDATION/STATE ISLAMIC COUNCIL/YAYASAN NEGERI that offers overseas scholarship programmes
These only applies for candidates from each respective countries. Outsiders cannot apply)

YAYASAN TERENGGANU-for anak terenganu,send to KYUEM
Link will be provided later

YAYASAN SABAH-for sabahan,send to KYUEM
Link will be provided later

MAJLIS AGAMA ISLAM KELANTAN(MAIK)-for anak kelantan,send to KYUEM,
Link will be provided later

FELDA-for anak or cucu peneroka Felda,send to kyuem


TRIAL SPM SCHOLARSHIP

Malaysia National Reinsurance Berhad (MNRB)
Link will be provided later




Scholarships no longer available or at least remain mysterious.

Exxon Mobil Special Interships
Malaysia Airport
Axiata
MMC
Felda Global Venture-(only for pre-university leavers to apply for local undergraduate degree program)
KPLSPM-Program Pelajar Cemerlang-(language/maths/science/etc)

Time line of scholarship results

Usually the result of each scholarship using Actual Spm result will be announced as early as end of March and as late as early July.
For scholarships using Trial Spm result,it is usually announced as early as December until March the following year. However,these trial scholarships do have minimum expected requirements for actual Spm results. This is to ensure that the successful candidates have maintained the same consistency for every examination.

Here is the time line that I made based on the actual result related in 2016. Generally it will not change much over the years.

March
BNM Kijang Emas
Ypm Mjhep Jad

April
BNM Kijang
Petronas

May
Ytm
Ytm
Jcorp
Yppb
Uem
Mara
Jpa

June
Maybank
Pnb
Seccom
Astro

July
Sime Darby

Saturday, April 2, 2016

KE & PPN 2016

2016

KIJANG EMAS 2016
SPONSOR: CENTRAL BANK OF MALAYSIA

Total application: 146
Shortlisted candidates: 22
Final recipients: 3

PROGRAM PENAJAAN NASIONAL 2016
SPONSOR: PUBLIC SERVICE DEPARTMENT

Total straight A+ (approximate): 210
Shortlisted candidates: 100
Final recipients: 20

2017

KIJANG EMAS 2017
SPONSOR: CENTRAL BANK OF MALAYSIA

Total application: 80% out of 102 students (84 students)
Shortlisted candidates: 16
Final recipients: 3

PROGRAM PENAJAAN NASIONAL 2017
SPONSOR: PUBLIC SERVICE DEPARTMENT

Total straight A+: 102
Shortlisted candidates: 102
Final recipients: 20


It's not fixed all year round but you can see how tough it is even for top scorers nationwide. The world is getting tougher day by day.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Hoping and praying


Starting a new hijrah, at a new place called UKM. It was rather unprecedented as I myself just got back from the PAC assessment in Kemaman. Registering all by myself.

Nevertheless, I believe that the result will come out by few weeks, most likely on 16th of March 2016. The idea was that I need to spend some few days here for the lecture and related stuffs. I was hopeful of the cadet interview, which is the final stage for all this selection. 

I need to keep my head up and ask to Allah so that he could offer me the best that I can have. Insya-Allah, people always say, "Kalau rezeki tak kemana". So it was a simple and yet meaningful catchphrase which I believe that if others can get it, why not us?



Friday, February 19, 2016

PAC 2016

It was very heart palpitating because all the candidates there were very excellent in whatever things they ventured in. So far, what I could say is that I just hope for the best.

Held in INTIM, it was located in Kemaman and was by the beach of Monica Bay to be exact. I had tonnes of fun there as well. Accommodation wise and food wise, they were nothing but perfection. It was very comfy to be in an air-conditioned room to ensure that we had a good night sleep before the following activities on the next day.

Long story short, 

I manged to pass the UKJK or the National Physical Fitness Test and endured two days one night of essay writings, group discussion and public speaking session.
At first I was rather unsure of myself as I was skeptical of my BMI. Nevertheless, I kept praying to God and He granted my wish on that very day,

For the essay writings and public speaking, we could not simply be too arrogant yet too humble. I myself tried my best to remain calm and speak coherently to ensure that I did not stammer along the 5-minute period. For the group discussion, just don't be too dominant and overshadow other people's points. The assessors want to see a leader who can listen to others,not simply acting everything on his own. Just "pandai-pandai" on how to actively engage in a group discussion.

Here is my topic for essay and public speaking and group discussion:
Essay BM-Kesan negatif media sosial terhadap rakyat Malaysia
Essay BI-How oil prices affect Malaysian customers?

Public speaking BM- Impak kenaikan kos sara hidup
Public speaking BI- Home cooked food is more hygienic
Group Discussion-Urban Poverty

I enjoyed all of them as I was a debater before and debating will always be my passion for the rest of my life.

You could never underestimate all other candidates as they could speak both Malay and English pretty well.

p/s: from certain source, about 2800 managed to undergo the PAC program. Next stage, only 600 ROUGHLY will be selected for interview stage. Ya-Allah, do give me this very opportunity as I only want to make my parents and myself happy other than for the sake of Allah.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

My classmate 2

The one with the red scarf

Bunbun. She is the most excellent student in our batch with 3.91 CGPA. Well, it seems that she is the only one who could consistently obtained Dean's lists for every semester throughout the programme. She married with one of our batch mates as well in 2014. 

She is an avid kpop moviegoers. If not studying, she will be watching Korean dramas endlessly until she falls asleep in the thesis room at the department. She was active in PGCE or AAPG stuffs. Well, responsibilities come along with wit I guess. 

Currently she is preparing for her study at Bristol Uni under SLAB scheme for her PHD progamme in paleontology. Fast track student, no need to take master. I bet over the time, she will be the next head of department of geology at UM. I wonder if I could get in at that time, well at least in a more friendly way and yet having the qualifications at the same time.

p/s: I wonder if there are other batchmates who would end up in UM as lectures one fine day. There must be, because there are several students who had already started their Master research.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Miley is back


Needless to say, I still like to listen to her songs ever since Hannah Montana back in 2006. But, it seems that this girl proved that she can't be tamed up until now. With this song release, the Hands of Love music definitely proves that she is still a talent though tainted with numerous controversies.

p/s: 2006 to 2016. What a short 10 years time.

Monday, January 4, 2016

My classmate 1

As of 2016, I had decided to make a tribute or rather a snippet of all of my classmate, one person for a post. So, I'm gonna start with the first one as of today. Pehe, as everyone would call him.

The one on the right side
He is one of the "creme-de-le-creme" students of the batch. Academically gifted (second place in the batch, with CGPA 3.66), he is also pretty excellent and active in sports(Futsal primarily) and leadership activities. He is also a "Maahad" product, thus signifies his strong adherence to religious duties and responsibility for the "ummah". He preaches in a rather indirect way of relating time with death despite his humorous personality. Yet, he remains humble and acts as if he does not a clue about what he had studied in the class when he decided to ask something to someone. Being a Kelantanese, he insists in using his dialect whenever conversing in English and Malay.

Frankly speaking, he is a gamer of DOTA. Even with his gaming habit, it still does not deter him from having an excellent record in each semester, and emerging as 2nd best student of the program. Going back to academics, he got into Dean's list multiple times and he was good in any subject that he had taken in each semester. As of now, he is working with a Geotechnical and SI company (Geosolution, I believe) and he started his job right after his final examination. 

p/s: Done with first one.


Recap of 2015 and Hello 2016


2015 has ended and still I have not made any recaps of the year so far. As such I would describe 2015 in a very concise manner. 

  1. Graduated with top 4 of the Class of 2015
  2. Studying for a postgraduate program at UM,but ended up withdrawing from the program
  3. Working as a Kumon assistant, which I strongly felt that the education philosophy should change as it is not suitable for Malaysian students
  4. Going for multiple interviews and managed to land a job offer.
  5. Meeting a lot of excellent and superb people with diverse skills and professional acumen
However, 2015 was not that "all joy and fun" as there were setbacks due to mass slump in oil prices and the decline of Malaysian ringgit value against the greenback(US dolllars). Nevertheless, I would remain steadfast along the way and must hold true to reality as life is always harder than it seems. I would expect 2016 to be even tougher as the global conditions are always unstable and full of uncertainties.

I hope that 2016 will be better than previous year despite all the challenges that remain ahead which I must face inevitably. With all the PTD exams, interviews and UKM thingy, I do hope that I can make my future to be a better one.

p/s: 2016 is supposed to be the start of the so called "renaissance era" of myself.