In Malaysia, it is celebrated on the 10th of October. This year, the medical officers received a salad spinner each from our boss. It was one of those things that we all wanted. Like seriously, no sarcasm here.
We conducted a simple cake-cutting ceremony during the monthly morning assembly. The cake had one half made of chocolate, and the other half was vanilla with strawberry filling. It was delicious.
The last time we had some sort of annual event at the clinic was probably more than 3 years ago. Instead of sports day, this time we had dinner at a nearby hotel. The medical officers were expected to perform the song ‘Cak cak cekuk’ by Wani Kyrie. This was the first time I heard of the song, and immediately I loved the catchy tune. You might want to hear the original version on YouTube.
I thought I had enough time to memorise the song. I ended up singing the lyrics on my phone. Ha ha.
Anyway, we really enjoyed performing it for everyone. Here’s a snippet of it. Most are moms and dads. We tried our best. We hope our kids were proud of us!
When I was a medical student in Preston, I often frequented my local grocery store and grabbed a simple bouquet of flowers. Simply because it looks pretty by my window. Flowers are somehow not a thing in Malaysia. Yes, you get flowers for special occasions. But less likely on days where ‘you just feel like it’ or ‘just because’. Hence, giving flowers became a seasonal and special occasion gesture only. The thing is, I am one of those ‘just because’ people. I would love my desk to have a vase of them ever so often.
Hence, can you imagine my joy when I saw this florist selling a minimalist option? No fancy paper or wrap. Just fresh flowers in brown paper. They are so budget-friendly.
I stumbled upon this option during one of my doomscroll days on GRAB. It was priced at RM26.50 per bouquet from Alice Florist, Jalan ONG KIM WEE. I immediately ordered it and had it delivered to my house. I bought 3 because I wanted to give them to my friends. Indeed, I received those mini packages of happiness in less than an hour. They were out of pink roses, but I was equally happy with the orange ones. Now, if only my husband could get me one of these every fortnight. That will be great. Ha ha.
If you are like me, who has kids and a husband with different interests, and all you want to do is stay there for the whole weekend and GRAB food, this is the place. Admittedly, this hotel is far from where the local attractions and beaches are. In other words, if Zombies decided to attack the hotel, it would take a while for people at Teluk Kemang would know. It’s quite isolated from the touristy area.
However, my family and I already have plans. My daughter and I are going to enjoy the Splash Park to the max. Whilst my demure husband and son will stay in the room, watch Netflix and make sure the food ordered by GRAB has arrived by the time we return from the Splash Park
The Splash Park is within the hotel grounds itself. Access is through the restaurant. It does not have a strict dress code, which mothers with muffin tops love. They may not have a lot of shaded area,s but you can always bring minimal items with you to the pool. We just went there with our slippers and put them to the side. Plus, they provide beach towels and also clean toilets for you to change into dry clothes if you wish, before you go up to your room. We just patted ourselves dry. Did I say it was FREE once you stay at this hotel? Did I also say that it is very kid and elderly friendly? I saw a few grandparents enjoying one of those bucket splashes on the boat.
The park is huge and is able to accommodate the high volume of visitors. To me, this is enough entertainment for parents with little children. There are a few water slides, which are enough. The depth of the pool is also less than 0.6M m. I feel that I would enjoy this more than going to Sunway Lagoon or any other parks that would cater for more adult visitors.
My daughter and I went to the Splash Park 3 times during our 3D2N stay there. Once after checking in and then twice the next day, morning and evening. I am sunburnt already. I have stripes on my face!
My husband and 14-year-old son, on the other hand, preferred to stay in the room to watch endless Netflix (free WIFI) and GRAB food. I had thought men would enjoy the park more. I was wrong when it came to my husband and son. It seems that they prefer less movement. Ha ha.
I booked a Family Room with breakfast included that could fit around 4 to 6 people. Perhaps more. It has a double bed facing the forest. Then, there are two bunkbeds that are double-sized as well. Obviously, my daughter and I shared the bunk bed on top, my son had the bottom one, and my husband had the double bed to himself. There was also a comfortable sofa with a large space in front of the TV that could fit another set of toto, if you bring one.
The toilet was OK. There is heated water with a provided toothbrush and soap. I like that the floor is made up of a material that easily dries over the day. The lighting in the toilet was also nice, as I felt so pretty while drying my hair with the hairdryer.
There is a water dispenser on my floor, making it easy to refill our jug, which is also provided in the room. I paid RM 1068.9,8, including tax and fee, through Agoda.com
Since our visit was during the Merdeka weekend, we anticipated a huge crowd during breakfast. Indeed, there was a queue despite abiding by the recommended hours given by the receptionist. We would give our room numbers and then the number of pax and wait at the lobby for our table.
Of course, this is Malaysia, so we know that some visitors may not follow the recommended time given to them. After all, it can be challenging if there are kids involved. It’s quite hard to stave off hunger when they need to be fed. Plus, kids do take their time to eat their meals. So, patience is necessary as we witness parents struggling to feed their children.
The good thing is that the staff is very attentive and friendly. They would make sure that everyone has a good breakfast experience. The tables are wiped clean. The food is replenished at all times. Unlike certain hotels, they just don’t replace the empty trays of food. Quest Hotel is different. There would always be fresh cucur, fresh fruits cut up, milk for coffee, and other items replaced, etc. Furthermore, it is worth waiting for breakfast because the spread is delicious. Cuma kena tunggu je. On the first day, we had to wait for 30 minutes. On the second day, the wait was less than 20 minutes. I think if you can remain hungry for a while, you can come a bit late. Say, by 930am. It is because most parents would bring their kids to breakfast early, because well, the offspring become wild creatures when they don’t get food. It is also because most parents would want to bring them straight to the park after the meal, before the day gets too hot.
Overall, it was an enjoyable stay. I dream of coming here again, in the near future.
When I first started working as a houseman (HO), I thought that my payment to Baitulmal Sarawak of RM4/month was part of zakat pendapatan. Of course, I was wrong. Later on, having become a more learned person, when I moved to West Malaysia after tying the knot, I decided to set up my Zakat account online.
Another rookie mistake I made back then was to set it up online, but pay it to the Zakat Centre at Wilayah Persekutuan, MAIWP. The sole reason was that it was convenient back then to do so, as Pusat Zakat Melaka did not have such services yet. While it was not wrong, scholars did say that it is more afdal to pay zakat at the place where you work. That was also something that was enlightened to me many years later.
However, I have been putting it on hold for quite some time until recently.
I sent an email to MAIWP to inform them of my intent. They gave me a support letter to be handed over to the officer in charge of our salaries. The next plan was to make a visit to Pusat Zakat Melaka (PZM) itself and get it sorted out. However, coincidentally, PZM was also doing a roadshow at certain facilities in Melaka. My clinic was one of those destinations. It was a very alhamdulilah situation as I did not have to find time to go to their office at all. The timing was so perfect that the moment the zakat to MAIWP is cancelled, it will be resumed nicely by PZM. With a new calculated rate in line with my salary increment.
A colleague asked what we should do if previously the zakat we paid was not enough because we did not calculate it properly. The officer said that since we are paying more than what is calculated, just make a niat that whatever extra we are paying in the future is to cover for the ones we have lacked before. There was no need to make extra payments. Insha Allah, Allah knows our best intentions. The advice was simple, yet comforting to our dilemmas.
I look forward to these positive changes in my pay slip next month.
Minci Moss 