Old Photos of Brunei

Salam hormat

Disclaimer:
I received these photos from Whatsapp group.   
I can see beautiful history of Brunei and I do not want to lose these photos. 
Credit to the owners of these photos. 

I will try to find more information about these photos and share here. 

Congratulation for 35th National day of Brunei DarulSalam on 23rd February 2019.

"Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung".

SirNoordin

Brunei DarulSalam

Mount Kinabalu Climbing for ALAF Fund

Salam Hormat

Alhamdulillah mission accomplished! 

Mount Kinabalu Low Peak 6.30 am

On Monday 11 Feb 2019, we reached the summit of Mount Kinabalu at 4095.2 metre. We did this as charity to raise fund to help underprivileged children in Brunei. You can donate generously just click at http://bibd-alaf.org/donate-to-alaf/

"Only a Life lived for Others is Worth Living" - Albert Einstein

We ready to conquer Mount Kinabalu

Early morning AirAsia flight AK215 from Bandar Seri Begawan to Kota Kinabalu. We went to Imago Mall for meeting another friends from Kuala Lumpur before heading to Kinabalu Park. There were seven amigos on this great journey to Mount Kinabalu’s summit. We stayed at Sutera Sanctuary Lodges at Kinabalu Park. It is good for climatization at 1,400 metre before heading up for 4,095 metre.

Timpohon Gate with our Malim Gunung

On Sunday 10 Feb 2019 morning, we were among the first group registered for climbing permit and were introduced to our guide knowns as “Malim Gunung” by the name Joseph and Jonny. Both of them look small in size but very strong! The weather on our side.  Skies are clear. After breakfast we took minivan to Timpohon Gate at the base of the mountain where the journey begins.

Panalaban

We started our part one climbing to Laban Rata where the basecamp is.The journey started at 9.30 am. Initially we were climbing together, somehow after 2 km – Dr Fahmi and Hakim had increased their pace which left us far behind. On the other hand, allow us to walked at our own pace and enjoy the beautiful cool breath scenery. They reached Laban Rata at 1.00 p.m. after 3.5 hours trekking and we joined them at 2.30 pm (5 hours trekking). The skies clear blue and windy. We hope the weather is still the same for night climbing to summit later.

Yukhairi, Nazim & Affizan

We took rest and dinner at Panalaban Hut. The stunning views of the mighty mount Kinabalu stretches above the clouds during sunset make it all worthwhile. By 7 p.m. most of us on the bed already as we need to wake up early morning for climbing to summit.

Final briefing before climbing 2.30 a.m.

We woke up at 1.00 a.m. and bundled in layers to face the freezing temperature. Hot Milo and biscuit really help to boost our calories.  We started our climbing at 2.30 am, it was really struggle and difficult to catch breath. We were climbing the wooden steps at very slow pace to maintain our breathing. Suddenly the nerve-racking situation when Affizan lost his step on the loose gravel and off the narrow trail from rope fence. Lucky one of us managed to hold and pull him up.  It was so dark and we weren’t sure what was outside the trail. Scary!

Short break at check point - Sayat-sayat 4.30 am

As we gain the altitude, the climbing becomes near vertical where required us to use rope to climb up. We don’t know what to expect as it was dark and freezing cold. After each time we used the rope, we felt so exhausted and breathless. We reached Sayat-sayat check point at 4.30 am and we knew we had enough time to reach low-peak before 7.00 am.

“Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing”

We did it! Awesome...

My age factor started give sign of limitation and I felt like I will never reach the summit as every step is killing me. I felt dizzy and my legs can’t take it anymore. At every few metre climbing, we took a few minutes break. Our Malim Gunung kept saying, “just a bit more… “ and we got to trust them. The trail seemed endless and felt like quitting through my head. The last obstacle of 20-metre-high of jagged rocks forced me to crawling up with nothing left in me. Even I can see Hakim was struggling on his own pace to reach the summit. It is so true that the 30% is physical stamina while 70% is positive mindset!

South Peak View

Finally, we reached summit at 6.30 am. Stunning views! Out of sudden, all the pains and hard time just gone with the wind. We were so excited at the highest peak of Mount Kinabalu. We did it! It was so surreal that we were standing at the top of the tallest mountain in Borneo. We spent nearly 10-15 minutes before descending to south peak. Personally, I got to say this,  “We have a great team who supported each other to ensure everyone reach summit at the same time.”

Stunning view

"The climb might be tough and challenging, but the view is worth it. There is a purpose for that pain, you just can’t always see it right away" – Victoria Arien

Climbing mountain gave us physically challenge while descending is torture. Barely find enough energy to walk down the trails back to Panalaban base-camp. We reached base-camp around 9.30 am. After quick breakfast and rest, we continue our journey descending to Timpohon for another 6 km. 

We are Together!

The knee and ankle started giving the sign of pains, but we are very persistent not to stop walking. We were ecstatic when we reached Timpohon Gate at 3.30 pm – “welcome back” really make us grateful. We were walking for almost 14 hours non-stop ascending to summit and descending to Timpohon. Awesome!

Final 20 metre climbing - exhausted! 

Thanks to the great team who supported each other up to the summit and descending from peak. The climbers were our youngest participant, Hakim 15 years, Dr. Fahmi Ibrahim, “RMC-boy” – Faiz & Affizan, Nazim “Annapurna Climber”, Yukhairi Yahaya@Singa Utara our Penglipur Lara and ‘orang lama’ SirNoordin 49 years old.

Safely back at Timpohon Gate

Thank you to all who have made donation to BIBD ALAF. The donation still open until we reached our target to raise $4,000 which is equivalent to height of Mount Kinabalu. The last 50 metre to reach summit, we were out of breath, our arms and feet were trembling and shaking. Every metre was tough! It shows every dollar can help and change lives of underprivileged children.

You can donate generously just click at http://bibd-alaf.org/donate-to-alaf/

SirNoordin

AkiNabalu

Related Link:
https://sirnoordin.blogspot.com/2019/02/bibd-alaf-programme-mount-kinabalu.html

Hakim Climb Mt. Kinabalu for raising BIBD ALAF Fund

Salam and Hi, 


Hakim Climb Mt. Kinabalu for raising BIBD Alaf Programme

My son and I will be climbing Mt Kinabalu this Sunday with small group of friends. This is the highest mountain in the region just above 4,092 meter of sea level. Given that I am 49 years old, this would be a tough challenge for me to conquer the mountain. My son Hakim, 15 years old is the youngest team member and still study in Chung Hwa Middle School Brunei. Together with us are Dr. Muhamad Fahmi, Mohamed Faiz Amar, Affizan and Hairul Nazim Saleh.

As someone who loves jungle trekking and hiking, I always enjoy the scenic view and cool breath the of mountain. This time around I would like to see how the view looks like from the top peak of mountain is. I would imagine the difficulties that I have to endure for approximately 7 hours up to Panalaban base-camp and another 4 hours to low peak and not to forget the descending from mountain. Thin air, change of weather, the steepness of trail, altitude sickness is the main challenge to overcome. I don’t know what to expect to be honest! However, I have been doing reasonable ‘training’ for last couple of months by hiking at local Tasik Lama trail during weekend, brisk walk/jogging early morning before work and cycling as part of cross training. Not easy to juggle around work and training.

We are doing only for one purpose; to raise money for BIBD ALAF (http://bibd-alaf.org/). As an expatriate, I embrace this initiative to support the local educational needs and of underprivileged students in Brunei until they graduate. There are children out there who unfortunate due to different of circumstances that need help from us. It would be such a waste of talent should they have not received adequate resources to become asset to the country. Therefore, I’m taking up this mountain challenge out of my comfort office-life to replicate how hard for certain children to secure their future with poverty and illiteracy. I’ll keep in mind this on every ascending step enroute to the peak. 

As for Hakim, he hope to give an excellence motivation values and inspiring his friends to be risk takers and challenge them to go out from their comfort zone.

The money raised will be used by Bank Islam Brunei Darulsalam- BIBD for the ALAF programme. Please donate generously. Your donation will keep us going and change life of underprivileged children! We target to raise $4,000.

Please donate generously by click following links http://bibd-alaf.org/donate-to-alaf/

SirNoordin

Brunei

ITIL FOUNDATION IN PHEONIX ONE, MAKATI

Salam 

ITIL Foundation Class 20 - 22 January 2016 public class for 15 pax conducted by Pheonix One in Paseo de Roxas, Makati, Philippines.

What is ITIL?

ITIL, formerly an acronym for Information Technology Infrastructure Library, is a set of practices for IT Service Management (ITSM) that focuses on aligning IT services with the needs of business.

We are the best!

Certificate of Attendance

Exam Preparation

Good Luck for your exam and hope everyone pass the exam with flying colors.

Noordin Khalid
ITIL Expert
Makati

HOW TO BECOME ITIL EXPERT?

How to become ITIL Expert

ITIL Expert is one of the most sough-after qualifications in the IT industry worldwide, with an average starting salary of 100,000.

Route to ITIL Expert

The ITIL qualifications scheme offers a modular approach to the ITIL framework. In this scheme, candidates are free to select from a variety of qualifications which focus on targeted areas of the ITIL Service Lifecycle to varying degrees of depth and specialism. ITIL Expert is the step up from Managing Accross the Lifecycle.

Who is ITIL Expert for?

The ITIL Expert qualification is for thouse of you who are interested in demonstrating a superior level of knowledge of the ITIL secheme. ITIL Experts benefit in both personal and professional development, by aiding career advancement and progression within the IT Service Management field. The next step is the ITIL Master level, which is the highest in the scmeme.

How can you actualy become an ITIL Master then?

Well, the key requirements are

1. You must hold the ITIL Foundation certificate or a Bridge qualification equivalent.
2. You must hold a total of 17 credits achieved from ITIL Foundation and ITIL Intermediate modules before the Managing Across the Lifecycle module can be taken. Some credits from previous qualifications and complimentary can also count towards the 17 credits which are prerequisite for Managing Across the Lifecyclemodule.
3. You must then have passed the Managing Accross the Lifecycle module 17 credits have been earned to achieve a total of 22 credits minimum required for  your ITIL expert.
4. Candidates should achieve a balanced knowledge base across the full ITIL service lifecycle.

These requirements will ensure that all candidates who achieve ITIL Expert have successfully completed a series of qualifications which span all ITIL disciplines consistently.

Once you have successfully completed all requisite ITIL modules and have earned sufficient credits, you will be awarded the ITIL Expert certificate.

Credit to : http://www.cupe.co.uk

In a recent survey (source: ‘The benefits of investing in ITIL Expert Certification, ITpreneurs 2010, http://www.itpreneurs.com/expert’) the following statistics were uncovered:

• 79% of people who had reached ITIL Expert level indicated that training and certification helped them to develop their skills so that they could better perform their job, and be more productive, and measurably helped the IT organisation improve overall productivity.
• 80% of ITIL Experts say that achieving this level of ITIL expertise led to better implementation of IT Service Management processes within their organisation.
•  91% of ITIL Experts state that ITIL advanced certification is a competitive differentiator. They say that the certification helps them gain confidence and makes them stand out amongst non-certified people.
•  83% of the respondents say that their expertise is more valued by management after they became ITIL Experts. 87% say their expertise is more valued by peers inside or outside the organization.

Credit to : http://pinkelephant.co.uk

Noordin Khalid

ITIL Expert

SEVEN "C" - Characteristics Of Good Trainers

Salam Hormat

Recently, I have too much international classes which required me to fly around the globe. From East to West and back to East. Not even got chance to spend time with my kids for school holidays. Finally I got chance to take them to Pangkor Island for a short trips.

As a trainer, you spend so much time sharing your expertise and knowledge with your students; and hope they will get thru in their Certification Exam...
  Honestly I felt tried traveling. So little time with my family and my home town. I always thought that I did this because I love my job, love to share knowledge with people and got friends at most of the place I visited. However, sometime you are tight with the business people who are, of course, wanted to leverage you to make more profits. Being the human-being to the certain extend you will be breakdown. It is difficult to do training when you start losing focus, motivation and inspiration. I think I am breaking down.

Found in Internet, credit to those who create it

I found this... good to love our jobs but not necessary to love the company!!

When you felt down, Allah may send someone to boost back your motivation.... alhamdulillah I met someone who has been working for more than 50 years. His name is Dr Hj Muhammad Petro Barbeito. He is Spanish and live in Miri, Sarawak. He worked with Shell for more than 35 years as Geologist and now doing freelance training. What surprise me is ... he is 74 years old and still passionate in his job.  

A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that have shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology.

We stayed at Apartment 29 Brunei Shell Seria. We shared our experiences in international training and somehow its lead to Sudan's experiences. He was in Sudan in 2005 and I was there at the same time. We shared about our valuable experience about people, cultures, food etc. One thing for sure, not everyone has such opportunities to travel around the world. He is right! 

With Mr Muhammad Petro Barbeito

Actually, I am seeing myself in the next 20 years.... am I still doing what I love to do? Err am I fit enough to do the same things like him? Somehow I remembered what Mr Jack Ma of Alibaba.com said that "Do what you do best at age of 40 years and share with the young peoples at the age of 50"... err I am sharing at the age of 40 already huh... 

Stand still means declined! 

Seven characteristics of a good trainers - 7C

Character

By character I mean the professional credentials and credibility of the trainer. Training as a career choice is different from all other professions. You need to have a passion towards training your disciples to success especially since you, as a trainer, would be responsible for several young enthusiasts’ career. A trainer faces his acid test when his students undergo their final evaluation. Therefore, a good trainer is one who considers his job a lot more than merely a source of income. If you actually start believing that you are doing more than just earning your salary, you would be able to influence and impress your students a lot more effectively.

Tuan Kamarul Azhar - founder of Ahadan Coach

Command on the subject

The second most important trait that is important for a trainer to have is a thorough grasp of his subject. Needless to say, a trainer with an imperfect knowledge about his topics is jeopardizing the careers of his students, and such a person soon loses the respect of his class. The only way you can effectively grab the attention as well as the respect of the trainees is to convey to them that you indeed have a superior knowledge of the subject. E.g. I am the ITIL Expert with industry certification and thorough experiences. 

Communication Skills

Its one thing to have the necessary qualifications and expertise of a subject and another to be able to communicate your knowledge to an audience effectively! Some trainers lose the respect and interest of their audience despite their superior knowledge of the subject because they lack the confidence and the communication skills to connect with their students. 

Tuan Syed Faizal S.Rahman

Control

It often happens that a discussion heading towards a certain topic swings to something entirely different, which distracts the attention of the class and leads to a wastage of valuable time. Now, it is the trainer's job to be on the driver’s seat and ensure that everyone is on the same wavelength. This takes not only confidence but also a lot of subtlety and tactfulness to keep the trainees focused on the subject.

Contact

The trainer must be capable enough to address the needs of every individual participant in his class. He shouldn’t allow himself to get carried away by the superior understanding and grasping prowess of a few bright students and neglect the needs of the rest of the flock. Every individual is different, as far as intelligence is concerned, so the trainer needs to ensure that everyone is progressing at the same pace and nobody gets left behind.

Mr Abu Barzah, new talented comer

Clarity

A good trainer is one who is able to make his subject as simple and interesting as possible. His language should be stimulating but prosaic. There should be no element of ambiguity. If the topic under discussion is challenging and complicated, the trainer try to go slow and be patient enough to repeat himself as many times as needed.

Mr Azhar Samat, expert in outdoor training

Charisma

Nobody is interesting in listening to the droning drivels of a boring dud. No matter how important a topic you seem to be discussing, if you don’t have a charismatic personality, people simply won’t listen. Period! A successful trainer is one who is able to enthrall and captivate his students with his words. Being charismatic and dynamic will dramatically improve the trainer's acceptability and likeability amongst his audience. They then won’t have to make an effort to listen but will listen despite themselves, and will keep up with everything that’s being taught to them.

Sources of 7C - MensXP

Practice make perfect! 


SirNoordin Khalid
Brunei International Airport
Bandar Sri Begawan

FIRST TIME SCUBA DIVING IN PHUKET

Salam 

ENGLISH VERSION

Actually I am looking forward to my first scuba diving experience, however I always wonder if I get claustrophobic phobia or nervous when underwater. I have been tried a lot of things in life but I don't like to be in closed or small space or under water where less oxygen… but we would not know until we tried it right! This is one of my 100 dreams that I really wanted to fulfill. #Rahsia100Impian #R100I

From Wikipedia

Claustrophobia is the fear of having no escape and being in closed or small space or room It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder and often results in panic attack, and can be the result of many situations or stimuli, including elevators crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and even tight-necked clothing. The onset of claustrophobia has been attributed to many factors, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala, classical conditioning, or a genetic predisposition to fear small spaces.

Day-by-day, the dream is getting stronger and inspiring to see the creation of Allah in the underwater world. Thus, we set the target and register ourselves for Scuba Course in Scuba Diving Phuket PADI 5Star Dive Centre, Phuket Thailand. It is cost about ThB 1500 per person. (MYR1600). The best part of the offer, money back guarantee if we decided to cancel our trips even within 24 hours before.

We booked our flight ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket via Malaysia Airlines (MAS) cost us about MYR350 per person. (Early booking guarantees good price). We stayed at Amata Hotel, Patong 4 Star and cost us about USD17/day booking via Agoda.com. Again, early booking and non-peaks session will ensure good discounted price.

DAY-1

At 9.00 am our pick up arrived at the hotel to take us to Super Dive Centre. We were introduced to Mr Michael Clark known as Mike. He is our instructor for the next 3 days.  The program is started with Theory Class via Video session, Quiz and final exam for Professional Association of Diving Instructor (PADI) certification.

All of us passed the the theoretical exam with flying colour and my wife got 90% passing marks … ha ha ha ... 

Then we were brought to PADI Dive Centre equipped with swimming pool of 4 meter deep for practical training. Before we start the practical training, we need to undergo 2 more practical tests – swimming for 300 meter with foot fins and floating for 10 minutes. Alhamdulillah both of us get thru the practical tests.  I admired at my wife as she managed to get thru this test because only recently she learned how to swim and floating.

In Practical training, Mr Mike teaches us the foundation knowledge and skills as scuba diver. We were introduced with the dive equipment e.g. Buoyancy Control Device BCD, Mask Snorkeling, Fin, Scuba Tank, Regulator, Computer Clock and others. For the safely reasons, we also learned how to install our own equipment and check our buddy too. We practiced clearing our masks, equalizer (popping our ears), switching/ replacing our regulators with buddy and buoyancy. 

During the practise I noticed that I kept on holding my masks gear and felt the water is go into my nose. Mr Mike advised,“I see nothing wrong with your gear. It’s all in your mind! Trust your equipment and breathing slowly” . One thing for sure, breathing underwater does not feel natural and little freaky though!

We spent near 2 hours in pool for practising.  Mr Mike was so patient and motivates us to trust ourselves and remove the fears!

With all this practices, it’s really improved our level of confidence and I felt like I have eliminated my phobia. Ahamdulillah.. Anyway the pool is only 4 meter deep and you can see the surface in case of any panic-attack but tomorrow we were told that the deep is 12 – 18 meter…..  err can I?

DAY-2 AND DAY-3

On the day of dive, we woke up a bit early, took our breakfast (a bit light) and wait at the hotel’s lobby for pick-up. We went to the other side of Phuket for boat rides to Racha Noi & Yai. It is taken about 30 minutes to reach the boat areas and 2 hours for Racha Noi Island.

During the boat ride, our instructor Mr Mike gave us briefing then we need to check our own and buddy equipment. Whatever we practised yesterday is now being tested. The boat siren sound loudly which means we are 10 minutes to destinations. Gear up guys!

One by one divers jumped into the ocean and we are the last persons to do so. Honestly, I do not know what to expect and little scary.  We start with practicing “Tired divers technique” for few meters towards shallow water. Then we slowly descending further and further into another world – underwater world. It was amazing! I keep smiling in heart and amaze with the scenery that I am experiencing. Masyallah... no words shall describe what we seen! 

Even in the deep sea, Mr Mike keeps showing his confident and motivates face to us that we can do! We did not notice that we have descending down to 12 meter deep and 45 minutes underwater. We so amaze with the uniqueness of the underwater creatures. The water was so clear up to 20 meter view and the reef was so beautiful. It was just stunning!

After our first dive, we had lunch and debrief by Mr Mike. We discussed what we do wrong and how to improve our skills. For every subsequent dive, we are tested our skills to qualified the PADI requirements.

After 2 – 3 dives, we start feeling confortable and get use to move around with less fear. Our confident are high, we can’t wait for the next dive. It was truly amazing! We also got chance for some fun-dive near Racha Noi.

We are so pleased that we choose Scuba Diving Phuket for our first experience diving. Special thanks to Mr Mike that are patience enough train us and ensure our safety thru out the course.  We also learned that diver are family!

It was an amazing experience that we will never forgot. Diving is close to flying! Indeed we feel that we are flying in deep blue sea.

Wassalam

SirNoordin Khalid

Racha Noi