Minggu Kembara

Pada 27 Mac 2010 yang lalu, kami sekeluarga telah keluar mengembara ke utara Malaysia bagi menghadiri majlis konvokesyen.

Secara peribadi, saya sendiri tidak pernah sampai ke sana. Paling jauh pun yang pernah saya jejakkan kaki ialah di Kelantan. Jadi, sudah tentu saya akan mengambil peluang ini untuk pergi ke sana. Di samping berkongsi kegembiraan bersama adik tersayang, dapatlah saya melihat keadaan negeri orang.

Memang mencabar pengembaraan kali ini. Banyak adjustmnet yang perlu dilakukan sebelum bertolak. Kami terpaksa menangguhkan perjalanan kami kerana adik dan kakak ipar perlu menghadiri Mtest pada hari Sabtu (27 Mac) dan konvokesyen pula diadakan keesokan harinya (28 Mac). Memang mencabar.

Alhamdulillah kami selamat tiba ke rumah penginapan yang telah kami tempah di Kangar, Perlis jam 2 pagi. Bayangkan, seawal jam 6.30 pagi kami perlu pergi ke dewan pula. Berapa jam saja yang kami ada untuk tidur.

Sepertimana institusi pengajian awam yang lain, Universiti Utara Malaysia tiada banyak bezanya. Kawasan yang sangat luas, hinggakan saya rasa MMU kampus Melaka hanya seluas kolej kediaman yang ada di situ sahaja.

Setelah menunggu lebih kurang 4 jam, barulah ibu bapa dan adik saya keluar dari Dewan Muadzam Shah. Sempatlah kami abadikan beberapa gambar di sana. Jom kita tengok kat bawah ni.


Kami bergambar di depan dewan. Waktu ni jam menunjukkan jam 12 tengah hari. Panas sangat. Kasihan pada si kecil tu, nasib baik mood dia baik. Tak meragam sangat.



Ini pula di hadapan jam besar di perkarangan dewan. Panas-panas.

Paling tak boleh nak terima ialah, kami terpaksa menunggu hampir 2 jam sebelum tiba giliran kami untuk mengambil gambar studio. Bayangkan, dari jam 2 petang hinggalah jam 4 kami terpaksa menunggu dalam keadaan panas, lapar dan dahaga. Sepanjang 2 jam itu juga banyak kejadian-kejadian yang tidak dijangka berlaku. Antaranya ialah kejadian di mana Iman, anak buah saya dianggap sebagai anak saya oleh salah seorang ibu bapa di situ dan adik saya disalah anggap sebagai suami saya. Wajarkah saya menganggapnya sebagai satu pujian ataupun sindiran? Saya ok je, tapi terfikir juga. Agak-agaknya aura untuk berumah tangga tu dah ada.

Jam 6.30 petang barulah kami bertolak keluar dari UUM (Universiti Utara Malaysia). Bayangkan, esoknya ada antara kami yang perlu bekerja (Kak Salwan tak dapat cuti, nak taknak terpaksalah dia bekerja esok). Sudahlah penat semalam masih belum habis lagi. Penat, sangat penat. Kami tak sempat pun nak singgah Langkawi ke, Bukit Merah ke.

Hujan pula turun dengan lebatnya malam itu. Sejuk. Mengantuk. Jalan raya pula menakutkan. Lori kiri kanan. Kilat sabung menyabung.

Alhamdulillah kami selamat tiba ke Sri Kembangan jam 3 pagi.

Sesungguhnya kembara kali ini begitu bermakna. Kepada Allah jualah segala urusan dikembalikan.

Hepatitis B

Key facts

• Hepatitis B is a viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease.
• The virus is transmitted through contact with the blood or other body fluids of an infected person - not through casual contact.
• About 2 billion people worldwide have been infected with the virus and about 350 million live with chronic infection. An estimated 600 000 persons die each year due to the acute or chronic consequences of hepatitis B.
• About 25% of adults who become chronically infected during childhood later die from liver cancer or cirrhosis (scarring of the liver) caused by the chronic infection.
• The hepatitis B virus is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV.
• Hepatitis B virus is an important occupational hazard for health workers.
• Hepatitis B is preventable with a safe and effective vaccine.

Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus. It is a major global health problem and the most serious type of viral hepatitis. It can cause chronic liver disease and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.

Worldwide, an estimated two billion people have been infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), and more than 350 million have chronic (long-term) liver infections.

A vaccine against hepatitis B has been available since 1982. Hepatitis B vaccine is 95% effective in preventing HBV infection and its chronic consequences, and is the first vaccine against a major human cancer.

Symptoms

Hepatitis B virus can cause an acute illness with symptoms that last several weeks, including yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice), dark urine, extreme fatigue, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. People can take several months to a year to recover from the symptoms. HBV can also cause a chronic liver infection that can later develop into cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer.

Who is most at risk for chronic disease?

The likelihood that an HBV infection will become chronic depends upon the age at which a person becomes infected, with young children who become infected with HBV being the most likely to develop chronic infections. About 90% of infants infected during the first year of life develop chronic infections; 30% to 50% of children infected between one to four years of age develop chronic infections. About 25% of adults who become chronically infected during childhood die from HBV-related liver cancer or cirrhosis.

About 90% of healthy adults who are infected with HBV will recover and be completely rid of the virus within six months.

Where is hepatitis B most common?

Hepatitis B is endemic in China and other parts of Asia. Most people in the region become infected with HBV during childhood. In these regions, 8% to 10% of the adult population are chronically infected. Liver cancer caused by HBV is among the first three causes of death from cancer in men, and a major cause of cancer in women. High rates of chronic infections are also found in the Amazon and the southern parts of eastern and central Europe. In the Middle East and Indian sub-continent, an estimated 2% to 5% of the general population is chronically infected. Less than 1% of the population in western Europe and North American is chronically infected.

Transmission

Hepatitis B virus is transmitted between people by contact with the blood or other body fluids (i.e. semen and vaginal fluid) of an infected person. Modes of transmission are the same for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), but HBV is 50 to 100 times more infectious Unlike HIV, HBV can survive outside the body for at least 7 days. During that time, the virus can still cause infection if it enters the body of a person who is not infected.

Common modes of transmission in developing countries are:

• perinatal (from mother to baby at birth)
• early childhood infections (inapparent infection through close interpersonal contact with infected household contacts)
• unsafe injections practices
• blood transfusions
• sexual contact

In many developed countries (e.g. those in western Europe and North America), patterns of transmission are different than those mentioned above. Today, the majority of infections in these countries are transmitted during young adulthood by sexual activity and injecting drug use. HBV is a major infectious occupational hazard of health workers.

HBV is not spread by contaminated food or water, and cannot be spread casually in the workplace.

The virus incubation period is 90 days on average, but can vary from about 30 to 180 days. HBV may be detected 30 to 60 days after infection and persist for widely variable periods of time.

Treatment

There is no specific treatment for acute hepatitis B. Care is aimed at maintaining comfort and adequate nutritional balance, including replacement of fluids that are lost from vomiting and diarrhoea.

Chronic hepatitis B can be treated with drugs, including interferon and anti-viral agents, which can help some patients. Treatment can cost thousands of dollars per year and is not available to most patients in developing countries.

Liver cancer is almost always fatal, and often develops in people at an age when they are most productive and have family responsibilities. In developing countries, most people with liver cancer die within months of diagnosis. In higher income countries, surgery and chemotherapy can prolong life for up to a few years in some patients.

Patients with cirrhosis are sometimes given liver transplants, with varying success.

Prevention

All infants should receive the hepatitis B vaccine: this is the mainstay of hepatitis B prevention.

The vaccine can be given as either three or four separate doses, as part of existing routine immunization schedules. In areas where mother-to-infant spread of HBV is common, the first dose of vaccine should be given as soon as possible after birth (i.e. within 24 hours).

The complete vaccine series induces protective antibody levels in more than 95% of infants, children and young adults. After age 40, protection following the primary vaccination series drops below 90%. At 60 years old, protective antibody levels are achieved in only 65 to 75% of those vaccinated. Protection lasts at least 20 years and should be lifelong.

All children and adolescents younger than 18 years old and not previously vaccinated should receive the vaccine. People in high risk groups should also be vaccinated, including:

• persons with high-risk sexual behaviour;
• partners and household contacts of HBV infected persons;
• injecting drug users;
• persons who frequently require blood or blood products;
• recipients of solid organ transplantation;
• those at occupational risk of HBV infection, including health care workers; and
• international travellers to countries with high rates of HBV.

The vaccine has an outstanding record of safety and effectiveness. Since 1982, over one billion doses of hepatitis B vaccine have been used worldwide. In many countries where 8% to 15% of children used to become chronically infected with HBV, vaccination has reduced the rate of chronic infection to less than 1% among immunized children.

For more information contact:

WHO Media centre
Telephone: +41 22 791 2222
E-mail: mediainquiries@who.int

Source: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs204/en/

Rumah Besar

Adakah anda mengimpikan sebuah (atau lebih) rumah besar yang tersergam indah seperti sebuah istana?

Saya datang dari keluarga yang susah. Berasal dari kampung. Mak ayah bukanlah seorang yang berpelajaran tinggi.

Saya masih ingat lagi ketika saya berumur 13 tahun. Setelah 6 tahun bersekolah di Melaka, kami sekeluarga berpindah ke Muar. Saya tidak ke sekolah hampir 2 bulan. Seolah-olah memahami akan kesukaran yang mak ayah hadapi, saya tak terfikir langsung untuk pergi ke sekolah walaupun keputusan UPSR saya cemerlang.

Waktu itu ada Hari Sukan di sekolah tempat kakak saya belajar. Ibu bapa dijemput hadir ke majlis tersebut. Jadi, saya pun mengikut mak pergi ke sana. Semasa mak beramah mesra bersama guru-guru yang berada di situ, salah seorang dari mereka bertanyakan tentang saya. Siapa nama saya, umur berapa, sekolah di mana. Setelah mengetahui keadaan sebenar, guru itu tanpa berlengah terus membawa saya berjumpa Pengetua.

Saya tidak ingat apakah perasaan saya sewaktu itu. Gembira ke, "blur" ke...saya pun tak ingat. Yang saya ingat, selepas sahaja dari itu saya pergi ke sekolah seperti biasa. Walaupun saya ketinggalan 2 bulan, alhamdulillah saya cemerlang. Ya, sewaktu saya berada di menengah rendah, saya cemerlang. Tidak seperti sewaktu saya di menengah atas mahupun di universiti.

Kegagalan saya untuk menganalisa faktor kemerosotan prestasi saya menjadi punca kegagalan saya untuk mengekalkan kecemerlangan saya. Saya tidak mahu ulangi kesilapan tersebut dalam menempuh perjalanan kerjaya saya.

Siapa yang tidak mahu kerja yang bagus dan stabil.

Sepanjang keberadaan saya di Shah Alam selama 4 hari ini banyak memberi erti kepada saya. Tarbiyah rabbaniyah...itulah yang sedang saya alami sekarang. Allah sedang mentarbiyah saya.

Saya berkesempatan untuk menghadiri sebuah majlis tahlil di salah sebuah rumah di Seksyen 9. Memang tidak dinafikan, suasana di Shah Alam tidak sama dengan suasana di tempat lain. Setiap tempat pasti ada suasananya tersendiri. Entah kenapa, saya sukakan suasana di sini. Selesai bacaan yassin dan solat isyak berjemaah di surau, kami dijemput untuk ke sana. Sampai saja di lokasi yang dimaksudkan, masya Allah. Sungguh cantik dan besarnya rumah itu.

Setiap kali saya melihat rumah sebegitu, tak terlintas di hati saya untuk memilikinya. Jika Allah kurniakan saya rezeki untuk mendapat rumah seperti itu, saya terima tetapi tidaklah rumah besar itu yang menjadi matlamat saya.

Saya lebih selesa hidup serba sederhana. Biarpun kalau-kalau rezeki saya lebih, saya lebih rela sumbangkannya kepada yang lebih memerlukan. Bukankah amal jariah itu lebih kekal, lebih besar ganjarannya dan lebih baik manfaatnya buat saya dan orang lain.

Jika saya ingin rumah besar sekalipun, saya mahukan rumah yang besar lagi indah tatkala di syurga nanti insya Allah. Itu yang lebih utama kerana apalah sangat kehidupan dunia yang singkat ini.

Saya ada terbaca di sebuah buku, maaf saya lupa tajuknya. Insya allah saya akan periksa dan kemukakan rujukannya kelak. Ada dinyatakan di situ tentang khasiat Surah Al Ikhlas. Dengan hanya membacanya sebanyak 10 kali, Allah membinakan rumah buat kita di dalam syurga. Jika membacanya 21 kali, maka Allah membinakan rumah tingkat di dalam syurga.

Rumah oh rumah.

Self Assertion? (Part 2)

I would like to further my writing on self-assertion, continuation from the previous entry.

Do you find yourself having problems in saying something that you want? I mean, honestly can you tell others what you really feel about them? If your friends doing something that you don't like, do you brave enough to tell them the truth?

There are several barriers that prevent us from being assertive. As being told, the worst enemy is ourselves which is self-criticism.

Lets assume that I usually talk to myself in a negative way. There are several times when I criticized myself so much after an assertive attempt and I felt reluctant to try again. I listed for you one of the examples:

Currently I was in training for 6 months in DK Composites, doing courses on Composite Manufacturing Technology. After the training, I was given an option whether I want to stay there as a permanent staff or not. Deep down inside, I have an intention to work there but I also have a doubt of my capability to perform there. Then, it comes my parents who disagree with my choice. The first trial of me trying to convince them that I want to work there didn't go quit well. We have a little argument and lastly, I felt reluctant to try talking back about it with them again. So, I took an easy way by choosing not to stay there because I want to avoid other conflict.

If I choose to be assertive, I am sure that there is a better way to solve that problem. I should let them know why I make that choice (directness) and if they do not agree, I should be assertive enough to discuss it with them (giving the full picture). I should know why they refuse and what are their suggestions. Then, it is a right time for me to make an evaluation (talking to myself).

To be assertive, we need honesty. By being honest, you express what you really feel. Not what you should feel or what you might wish to feel.

We also need spontaneity. It is the most difficult aspect of self-assertion to master because spontaneous reaction is usually aggressive, not assertive.

Direct, honest and spontaneous self-assertion allows you to avoid misunderstandings, emotional withdrawal, hurting other people unnecessarily and spending energy non productively.

Referring to my example, by not being assertive misunderstanding occurs between my family and I. Then, I withdraw emotionally and surely, I was hurting. Of course my parents are hurting with me. So, all of us are spending our energy non productively.

I want to improve myself. I don't want to let this incidents happen back again in the future.

I want you to make a change too. Let us learn how to be assertive.

Oh ya!

Each time you want to say something, do remember what the prophet said:

"Tidaklah seorang mukmin itu suka mencela, dan tidak pula suka melaknat, dan tidak keji mulut dan tidak berkata kotor: (Riwayat Muslim)

Let us seek guidance from Allah.

P/S: If you are interested to read this book, you can borrow it from me. Free of charge. If you are that person, do let me know!