Of the KL dUCk and Tun Dr Mahathir

On the remarkable  21^st of November 2015, I attended a dinner celebrating SAMURA’s 3^rd decade. SAMURA is actually an acronym for Sekolah Menengah Sains Muar (Muar Science High School). I was a student there and was one of the 29^th batch students (batch Penebus Maruah).

                                  

Batch 29 SAMURA. Attendance : 13/313. (Shasha wasn't in the picture cause she was our emcee of the night)

But here's a picture with my lovely Shasha. You did great for the emcee baby :*

The best thing about this dinner is that Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was our VVIP for the night. One of the ultimate reason I went for the dinner because I actually wanted to see him right with my own eyes. But not only that I saw him with my eyes, he even stood beside me!!! (A second beside him was stupefying enough for me, it’s Tun M!)  *can’t wait to jump to the climax of my entry here*

For this memorable night, I wished to wear something special for the moment I’d be seeing my idol. It’s really significant for me because this man has given impact not only to my ownself, but to the whole nation, to the Malay people, to our Islamic religion, to our beloved Malaysia and definitely, to the whole world.

  

Therefore, I decided to wear the KL dUCk. dUCk is actually a brand of scarves. dUCk’s printed releases are always the prettiest ever. Basically, the KL dUCk is one of their special printed releases, most importantly is that because it is illustrated with the  beauty of the KL skyline and… of course there is the Petronas Twin Towers!

The KL dUCk box. Picture was taken when I was entering a competition for FashionValet Merdeka Flatlay!

Can hardly see the Petronas Twin Towers T__T only one tower. But nevermind, present to you the KL dUCk (Rear view).

(Front view)

It’s reaaaaaally meaningful for me because the twin towers was inspired by our Former Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohammad. It was a very successful project lead by him. Let me tell you the parts that I love the most about the construction of the twin towers.

Firstly,  the floor layout plan of the towers were originated by Tun himself. Tun wanted a skyscraper for Malaysia because Malaysia was the least famous countries among the five Southeast Asean countries that time (Year 1992/3). He wanted a skyscraper that looks ‘Malaysia’, but how do you actually design a skyscraper that looks ‘Malaysia’? So he drew an image of interlocking squares that represents order and harmony in Islamic culture. After that, the design was further developed by the architect, César Pelli, where he added in semicircular scallops located at every corner of the original floor plan by Tun M. And there it is, a brilliant fundamental design that results in such fascinating twin towers!

Design development of the Petronas Twin Towers' floor layout plan. The first one was by Tun M (Photo credit to : http://shu1229.blogspot.my/2010_11_01_archive.html)

Second, two project managers were involved in the building of each tower. They were actually competing for who’s gonna finish their tower first. It was a very brilliant idea that this competition encourages the project managers to not take time for granted. They work hard 7 days, 24 hours a week with heavy workloads everyday.

Third, this project managed to finish on time! All the stakeholders’ hardworks really paid off! (which is one of the most important element for a success of construction project)

And now, Malaysia still holds the record of being a country with the highest twin towers in the world. It’d not had happened if it wasn’t for the brain and spirit of our beloved Tun M. He’s such a ineffable Malay man.

As a girl dipping in the construction world seeking for passion, I have been very inspired with the construction of skyscrapers and rail sectors especially. In my opinion, these two sectors include one of many reasons that benefit one’s country as they result to a more well-known and economically well-developed country. Skyscrapers are non other than that it represents  a country’s status in the world as it goes higher, reaching the skyline of one’s city. Whilst rail sectors make people more productive! I went to Japan and I’ve always most impressed with their public transportations especially the bullet train! If we have bullet train in Malaysia, we could be more productive because it moves fastttt that we can reach our destination quicker and we can also do our computer work while on our way to a particular meeting because it’s so convenience and comfortable inside! Getting to save time, money and energy to-and-fro for a long journey meeting location would be very economical right?

Don’t worry, as a future Quantity Surveyor, I’ll make sure that dreams don’t just remain dreams. “Pelopor kepada kemajuan pembangunan.” As the lyric goes in my SAMURA school song :) #feelingmotivated

 

Back to the dinner thing, I was in awe the whole time he gave us his speech about ‘Knowledge’. Like a facepalm, I never thought that an amazing man like him once felt what I have also felt throughout my learning days. The most unforgettable part of his speech was when he said, “When I was in the Medicine College, I got only 3As over 8 subjects in exam. I was the worst among my friends who most of them obtained 6,7,8As over 8 subjects. All my friends teased me for getting bad result. I know I need to do something to reach higher, so I work harder. I put more effort. I read the Pathology book for 10-15 times. I kept on reading and reading and reading, non-stop. Eventually when I was in the next exam, I got to remember which page of the book was that answer, and also the images in the book vividly appeared in my memory. As a result, I obtained the same result with those who got 6,7,8As.” 

I almost teared in happiness listening to his speech, was so touched and happy as well. Like a father-to-daughter advice, he gave me a bundle of joy and spirit without him realizing it. I always feel down in this kind of issue, where I’m not as smart as my friends are, so I know I need to work hard. But sometimes, I feel so stupid. I always ask myself, “Am I the stupidest? Why don’t they work hard also like me? Am I the only one who thinks that this subject is hard? Why do they take it easy? Do they understand this already? Why can’t I understand this if I don’t study?” I acknowledged that everyone has their talents and limitations. It’s just frequently I feel down and low-spirited. But as I remind myself to this part of Tun M’s speech, if you know you need to work hard, just work hard. “Belajar rajin-rajin,” kata Tun M. Thank you Tun for giving me motivations back. I need it so much T__T You are forever an inspiration.

So, I managed to get a selfie with him! Like always, at first I almost gave up in doing things. Even in taking picture with celebrities. I was once disappointed because I couldn’t get to take picture with Dato’ CT during the simplicity meet ‘n’ greet session because the security guards were annoying. But yesterday it’s unexpected that Allah gave me a chance to have a picture with Tun M instead, an idol to Dato’ CT herself! Hahaha. He almost got into his car, but my friend, Jiha said, “Go Rah, just go.” The crowd became lesser, I walked towards him slowly without pushing anyone, I said, “Tun, boleh tunggu kejap tak…” 


I think only my voice was heard because it was suddenly quite sileeent that time, or maybe it’s Allah who made everyone quiet hehe. And Tun M just smiled at me!! He looked at me like ‘Oh kesian budak ni, takpa saya berdiri je dekat sini.’ Senyuman macam senyuman atok kepada cucunya. Awwwhh. Then I stood right beside him and we took a duofie! My best achievement of the year! I had a duofie with a person who gave the best for Malaysia and I wishhhh I could be one of the young generations who will give the best to Malaysia and the world too! I wisshhh I could do lots of amazing things for our nation, religion and country just like how you did, Tun M!  :’)

  It was a great night indeed. Thank you Allah (swt) <3