Temptations & Ambitions

About a year ago, I came across Namewee's production of "Negarakuku". While some ancient Chinese scholars hail him as heroes. I've already looked down on him for his disrespect to other religion and culture. In fact, he's no more of a thrash of the society in the eyes of the sane. I'd never thought that such dinosaur's thinking still exists today. It was in fact, the best idea to kick him out of the country right from the start.

Fast forward to the present, his new creation has entered into the fray of controversy. "The ABC Time of Teacher Khoo” which was more of a cheap publicity that irks rather than impress the public. It showed his ultra alpha-testosterone side with soft porn teachings of ABC, which would draw laughter more of the people of the ultralow socioeconomical side who treasure such "art" where most would despise. After a while of watching, it is more of a repetitive moans and groans of self sexual acts using the alphabets, bores down to nothing but a normal routine of desperation.

What sick people would do that? He'd always claimed of being misunderstood, but is there really truth in it? If his cause is justifiable, are all criminals misunderstood? Only a twisted fiend would thought of portraying such act to display the issues of English education where it is totally irrelevant to the cause. It is of utmost disappointment, to say that it is a pure prank intended to cause commotion, with a devilish intention in mind. If that is passable and palatable, rape cases can be fought for the cause of appreciation of nudity art as a whole. Swearing in foul language is the latest song of the community, and the act of flashing is deemed courageous. Is there an end to such nuisance?

Besides, his refusal of apology to the school where he did the backdrop is a nuisance for the taint of image. I would not think that the backdrop is the matter, but the Namewee, unfortunately is the unfortunate PRODUCE of that school of Muar. Kudos to the school and his parents for doing such a wonderful job of raising him. I'm sure his parent would be proud of him for once and for all, who welcome such cheap publicity with open arms.

For more information:
Rapper Namewee won't apologize to school. - The Star

And more of the disgusted videos, proceed to:

The ABC Time of Teacher Khoo Part 1
The ABC Time of Teacher Khoo Part 2

Part 9 was supposed to be about the presentations and BBQ we had here. I'm supposed to talk of it on and on about the food and of our adventures. And yesterday was supposed to be the last supper in the Tanjong Karang epic. And I'm supposed to be lying down on my bed now for good with the thoughts of "Home Sweet Home..".

And here I am in the complex in full attire for vacation. My belongings are all packed in the boot. There is no single trace of my presence in the rented house. I am to stay for one more day, I mean WE. All because of some small mistake. It's rather costly to be in such a situation. I'm currently at the 7th week of my posting, where we should be heading back to KL for sure this time. It just signifies that this posting is coming to an end soon. 6 weeks of Tanjong Karang proved fruitful and yet also fruitless at times. Seems that it'll be up for us to decide whether if it is beneficial for us, in the present, near future, or the very far future.

But for now, I just can't wait to leave here. I am so not going to change or bath until I get back.

And the message I'm coming home with is:

I was really amused when a post of rodents from Kean had draw lots of attention from rats lover. Such a fact that they had to argue on how to kill a rat by all means. To me, the end justify its means. Would it really matter how is a rat killed if you are going to kill it anyway. So, here's a brief rundown of the top 5 recommended methods preferred to kill rats.


Rat Poison: As effective as it seems, it has basically diminished effect on urban rodents for they are smarter than any dimwit against animal cruelty. Their survival instincts are much stronger than any human, and given ample time, they might even mass produced Ratatouille potentials before you can even blink your eyes. Forget Ridpest or any of their sweet talk on their efficacy. You'd rather treat yourself with a hot plate of Nasi Lemak with an extra fried chicken.

Drowning: As opposed to ancient rat species, there's quite a number of rat swimmers surfacing in the underworld, perhaps somewhat spawned from Splinter, the master of Ninja Turtles. They had mastered the art of swimming enough to beat a casual swimmer in an Olympic pool, not to mention the fact that they would be infesting the whole pool of water with thir friendly germs if it wasn't for the chlorine water. So how would you expect to drown a rat without being infected?

Besides the point, a drowning experience is like no other, for our brain would try by all means to avoid such suffocation. The lungs would be filled with excruciating sharp pain and the breath taken away in a minute or two, but the brain is yet still very alive for another 20 minutes or so, which meant that while you are tugging the rat into the dumps, it may still be alive, conscious of your doings, perhaps given ample time, may curse you to etenal damnation.

Snap Traps: Seen in most cartoon such as Tom and Jerry, this is a preferred method in the olden days in the time when peasants roam the lands. This is mainly suitable for outdoors where sterilizing can be done easily without blood splattering across your favourite piece of Fratelli Berto couch or maggots invasion before you could notice it the day after of even some dramatic cases when the foul stench fill the air. Unless you put it in front of the rat hole, I doubt that all rats would fall for it, since Charles Darwin theory of natural selection would still holds, and those survivors would be smart enough to hold their ground. Besides, there is no guarantee that the rats would be killed as some may manage to escape with a missing limb or two, prolonging their suffering as long as it takes to breed a new army to announce a hostile takeover of your house.

Cats for..Rats..: Contrary to popular beliefs, cats does not eat mice or even rats. Although treated as mortal nemesis, the cats hunt rodents for pleasure, a hunting game valued by cats in the wild. Try putting your favourite pampered Persian cat to a rat, and there is quite a possibility that you would see the rat chasing after your pet cat. Believe you me, not all cats are capable of rat-hunting after staying in the comfort of human love. Even if they do catch one, remember to dispose the rat quickly, for your cat may be bringing the dead rat up and down your house, and it is undesirably for many to have bits of rat flesh or blood stains over the house. And for those keeping the cat outside the house, it defeats the purpose for the cat is out and the rat wrecks naught.

Boiling: There is in fact, two types of misinterpreted boiling terms, where one boils the rat in your cooking pot just like how the witch would boil Hansel and Greetel, and the other by pouring steamy hot boiling water on the rat, just like any mee-in-a-cup would do. While the latter is a proper manner to dispose the rat by killing the germs, it could inflict burning pain to the rat. It may be cruel, but might be necessary for the greater good. It might be just a rat being a rat, but all we are reminded is that we are being human too, so there is no guilt involved to be going that path. Others may object, but it is of their own opinions and shall not be imposed on others, just like any religion.

But if for whatever reasons (perhaps inflation due to the government's policy) you choose to boil it in your cooking pot, you might as well microwave it, or even grilled it with some seasonings, which may be absurd for they are no free food due to hygienic and food safety reasons.


Conclusion: Now, as I've said, there is no best method involved in killing rodents, for whatever you've done, it's still murder. Just as in humans, drowning a person does not make you less guilty than boiling them or killing them with poison. It is still murder.

Even if you released the rats few blocks away, look at it this way. You are inflicting harm to the people in that area and may spread the disease there. Indirect it may seem, but you've just cause some deaths the moment you release them away to multiply in a jolly good fashion. Whatever it is, life is a neverending cycle with actions and consequences, foreseen and unforeseen. Whatever we do, life goes on, so dispose your rat quickly, so that they could proceed to afterlife or a better reincarnation if you believe in them.

Week 6 was a week of freedom, where we have plenty of time to loiter if we choose to. Everything seems relaxing amidst the commotion over the situation where everyone knows nothing of the plans and events of the coming weeks. We just take it as it comes.

Wednesday was the briefing day for the upcoming mobile clinic setup. We were given instructions and briefed on how we are going to get the people going for their medical screening after a lengthy effort of surveys which most of us found bothersome especially the food survey part with 144 ridiculously named dishes.

So it's basically the same old few tests: blood tests, urine samples, spirometry (test of lung function) and electrocardiogram (ECG aka EKG). We were taught to operate the tools and equipments, so that we won't be dumbfounded on that day itself.

All sorts of food waiting to be harassed

Thursday was the day for Dietary Assessment. Calories counting is definitely not my cup of tea, as it seems.

Dr Zaleha explaining to us, as if asking us to eat with passion

There ain't chips here to do fish and chips

Nasi lemak looks delicious, but after such harassment, hygiene is an issue of doubt

It takes 2 medical students to slice a watermelon, nay? :P

Thursday evening was the day where we began to set up our mobile clinic booth in one of the houses in the village. The rain, of course, did not hamper our efforts to shift things into the place. For Friday, our booth would be held in the house of the extremely nice Ketua Kampung, who offered his big house. For your information, we'd only realised that he was the real ketua kampung after we had been conned by the previous one who created all sorts of problems for us. The problem is of political manner, since the previous Ketua Kampung was from BN faction while the current newly elected one was from Pakatan Rakyat who had their throne on the Selangor state. While the fake ketua kampung played a fool and showed no wisdom, this ketua kampung was not even mad at us for showing the approval letter from the the FAKE ketua kampung, but instead clarify the matter later on in a more polite manner.

Friday morning, we started our work. We had asked the villagers to come from 9am-12pm for the check up. But I'd guessed that the villagers are extremely punctual by coming as early at 8.25am. Lolz!! I was in the spirometry section, doing all the blowing (but not blowjobs, please) of huffing and puffing. The stream of people coming in was a neverending one till 12pm where things got a bit slower. Yet, not all were present due to their work, and some due to their political difference with the ketua kampung. And we, the medical students, had to remain indifferent about it.


Before we went off, ketua kampung treated us for lunch with tasty tom yam soup noodles and fried mee hoon. I must say that we received his generosity gladly since we were rather hungry. So, all's in a day, and we traveled back to KL after having coconut water and curry puffs for lunch. :P

5:30pm : Our plans to go to Kampung Kuantan was marred by the rainy weather. The weather was fine for the past weeks during the planning, and out of sudden, the Rain God decided to play a little mischief to us. What a day!

6.00pm: It is still drizzling. We were still hopeful that the rain would stop while we had dinner at a restaurant nearby in Tanjong Karang. I'm afraid that the mischief was due for a long night it seems. I couldn't really enjoy much of the meal, despite the strong aroma of the food stirring my hunger pang. The reason for the hunger? We waited for almost an hour for the food to arrive despite scanty customers. I'd never knew that food service would also be slow in a slow paced town.

7.30pm: Was driving to the complex when we decided to linger around Tanjong Karang. How could it be that the rain is still not over? The night was still prematurely young, anxiously waiting in the womb of dusk. That was when we agreed to drive south to look for hang out places along Kuala Selangor.

8.00pm: Our search is still of no avail. Driving through the lampless streets of rural area is of hard task. A single lane of caution rather than the megaplex lane in the city of KL. Oh, how I missed the streets in KL, the city of lights which carry the pride of hangout places 24/7, from mamaks filled with crowds to the clubs where the night dwellers stride with pride. All I've seen up till now are the bright colorful neon lights from the warong which stood out as significant R&R instead of the usual that you see in the highway. And ironically, these colorful neon lights outside the warong would have been "dimmed" by the bright fluorescent lights in KL, which I'd never understood their existence.

The road was dark throughout, and before I knew it, there was the sound of screeching plastic beneath my car. I'd run through a plastic showering can painted in black, and the car brought it to attention by the screeching sound demanding for immediate attention. Luckily, the car was unhurt, so I'd continued my journey after removing the can.

8.30pm: We'd reach Kampung Kuantan by chance. Not exactly. I'd planned that if it is to rain on this day, I would at least stop by at that place. It was still drizzling, as the raindrops tap its melody on the sheath of my umbrella.



We'd reached there in a desperate attempt, and we decided to take it to another level.


Since we are here, why not do something crazy? Who cares if the sampan capsizes? We're going in with our umbrellas since the ticket booth was still open. RM40 for a sampan. Oh, with a paddler of course. Life is full of adventure, but apparently, paddling the sampan ourselves wasn't in our list of adventure.

8.40pm: Ship ahoy! There we were, going on board for the rainy experience. The rain was getting a little bit heavier, but it was of no deterrent. The life jackets smelled of sweat of a thousand splendid human, enough to knock out a patient without anesthetic if sniffed close enough. And still, off we went for our firefly experience.

The waters were calm, and the only sound heard was the paddle slicing the waters in its attempt to throttle forward. We sailed past the berembang trees just off the river shore, where thousands, or perhaps millions of fireflies inhabiting there for what may be all their life. The fireflies were blinking in synchrony in small clusters, probably due to the rain. I remembered that all the fireflies were blinking synchronously the last time I was here, just like Christmas lights. The calm breeze was brushing off our cheeks as we enjoy the scenery in silence, as if the world stood still for us, and the berembang trees was the stage of performance.

And there was no photographs since it wasn't allowed. Even if you tried, you won't be getting quality photos, and the moments could only be captured in the memories.

The journey was rather short, perhaps 20-30 minutes, but it would be worth it for first timers for the experience. At least, I did fulfilled my own vow to drop by there from the last time I was here. So, no regrets, just that it wasn't as serenading as it was compared to the previous time.

9.30pm: We were all wet and heading home. We'd decided to call it a day after a lengthy trip. Well, at least we've been there for the experience of a lifetime. And a night sleep is all we've got.

Today had been the most wasteful time ever spent, when our briefing on Unit Kesihatan Sekolah was cancelled. We travelled for 30 minutes to Kuala Selangor just to be told that the doctor who was supposed to give the briefing forgot to inform his assistant that it was not on today.

But all is not lost when we decided to hike up Bukit Malawati with the pair of wheels of the van (We don't like walking, muahaha). As I was up there, realization struck that I've been here before some years back in the staying trip for watching fireflies. And that reminds me that I have not observe fireflies yet in my whole stay in Tanjong Karang yet.

The fortress on this hill was built in late 18th Century to defend Selangor from the attack of the enemies. The high ground was an true advantage to the defenders as it can act as an observatory tower. There is also a lighthouse which serves as the gyide to the ships at night, although it is approximately 1-2km away from the sea. This hill was captured by the Dutch and renamed Fortress Altingsburg, the name of the Dutch Governor General at that time. The Civil War that occurred from 1867 to 1873 due to the struggle for tin mines had destroyed this fortress which was later taken over by the British. As a matter of fact, this fortress is always the last strategic area left standing in any skirmishes to capture this area.

What remains of the fortress today are some cannons, foundation stones, Poisoned Well and colonial houses. Other attractions at Malawati Hill include a light house, a royal mausoleum, a viewing tower, a museum, 200-year-old angsana trees and the monkeys.And believe you me, the monkeys are just like you and me. :P Just kidding, most of them are of the silver leaf monkeys origin, so it's a pretty rare sight compared to those normal brown ones.

The silver leaf monkeys

For people like me, there's nothing much there to blog about, since there's only scenery and scenery. From the top of the hill, you can view the the coasts of the ocean which is quite a distance away. So, all we did was taking photos of ourselves.


And some tree art made horny by the gardener or landscape artist of the place:



Well, that's for now since this is just a little update on my part.
See you guys later!!

With just a blink of eye, I am currently in my 4th week in Tanjung Karang. (5th week of JKM posting). This week is much more relaxing with only visits to Klinik Desa and Klinik Kesihatan. For those who had no idea on how this works, rural areas have Klinik Desa which is handled by trained nurses.

In fact, it's like a nurse in each Klinik Desa. Any cases beyond their handling capabilities would be referred to Klink Kesihatan. This is the place where there are two or three doctors and a few medical assistants to handle a clinic which have at least 100 patients every morning seen by 2 doctors. After that, their referral would go to the district hospital which have perhaps, have more doctors. Even the Tanjung Karang hospital have only 8 doctors, 4 short of the supposed full team of 12. In short, a medical officer has to work alone in the district hospital for on-calls with no other supporting doctors. With limited resources, most of the more serious case had to be referred to general hospital which may be located up to 1 hour's drive.
Summary:
Klinik Desa --> Klinik Kesihatan --> District Hospital --> General Hospital










With Malaysia producing tonnes of doctors every year just like, I wonder where did all of them go. Even with 3 years of government service, not even any quack doctors trained from Timbaktu are seen. Or as I can say, we seldom see overseas doctors in the local settings. Had they bail themselves out with monetary gains or what? And most of the time, the Health Minister who was a doctor-wannabe is scowled upon for his idealism and non-realism. Even if he is a UKM grad, that does not justify his actions for the non-feasible e-Masa.

On second thought, it might be feasible PROVIDED that it is followed up with a proper system that enable the health system to operate at its full strength, not by chasing after alternative medicine gimmick for his own popularity. Perhaps acknowledging alternative medicine is the easy way out to gain popularity and not working at the root of the problem of an inefficient medical system in Malaysia. And hey, you may hate the "Pornstar", but this deputy president of MCA did his work better than the current health minister!

Under such situation, it just fueled my desire to be the next Health Minister. But then again, I don't think I have what it takes to be a pornstar! :P

Signing off....

I have came to realize that Medicine and Society posting has really been an eye opener of a vast horizon. Not just for those who never had rural experience, but even for us to dwell from the perspective of the people who would be the friends in our everyday life, perhaps, in the not so long future. Just how often do we appreciate the things around us and feel fortunate for our blessings? How long does it take for us to say "Thank You" or "I love You" to our loved ones, especially our parents for everything they have done for us, apart from "Allowance day", Mother's day and Father's Day or any special occasions of that sort? And even so, I know that many of us had even taken those for granted.

So, why not, go and hug your parents now and tell them how much you love them. It's alright if they doubt that you are sick, just as long as you've done what that you feel is right.

3 weeks here, despite the exorbitant food price and the laidback lifestyle, I am somehow glad that here I stood. We don't need "Chicken Soup for the Soul", Mitch Albom, great novels or movies for stories that inspire or touch our hearts. Sometimes, all we need is to look around us and get to know the people around us better. There could be a touching story from the person next to you right now, or a great chapter of your life waiting to be unfold and to be shared in the future.

Perhaps, that is why, it is called his-STORY.

And there it goes:

Ahmad (not his real name) was a technician by job. He ensures the maintenance of the machinery in the factory he works as. He had never complained about his job despite the low pay because he understands his own situation. He wasn't highly educated, but he had wished for a better life for his sons and daughters. He could not provide the best for his children in terms of monetary benefits, but he knew that if he had provide them with proper education, his children would lead a more comfortable life.

His eldest son, Daud was his favorite of all, for he is the smartest by academics. Daud may not be the top scorer in his studies, but he does excel in Mathematics, English, Malay, and Agama. That his father was proud of him, for he would be able to further his studies in the field that he was interested in. That had made Ahmad proud and motivate him to work harder so that he could afford his son's education.

As a normal day would go by, he was in the factory climbing a high ladder to fix one of the usual machineries. As fate would have destined, he slipped and fell on the floor on his right thigh and became limped. After a few days, he'd went to the company's doctor. Due to inefficiency and lack of responsibilities from the doctor, it took him quite a long time to realized that he'd some backbone problems due to the fall. In medical term, it was intervertebral disc prolapse near the cervical area as well as the lumbar area. His condition deteriorates as time goes by as he had refused an operation due to miscommunication between him and the doctor in a government hospital.

Throughout this time, he spent more time resting and took unpaid leave. He had to rely on his savings to survive through. And yet, at the same time, his eldest son was taking his major exam, SPM. When Daud's results was out, he failed the 4 papers that he would have excelled with flying colors. There was no way to pursue his education. Even Ahmad was surprised, and asked Daud about it. Daud answered nonchalantly and said that there was nothing he could do. So, in fact, he went out to work by taking odd jobs in Johor, far from his home in Central Malaysia.

For the months Daud worked in Johor, he had never give money to his parents. At least, that was what his parents thought. What they did not know was, the purse of Daud's mother was always filled with more cash whenever Daud came back to stay with his parents. This continued for quite some time when Ahmad and his wife realised about it and requested to see Daud's savings passbook. And there it was, only RM80 in it. Daud did not say where had his money gone to, but Ahmad and his wife understood.

One day not long after that, Ahmad met Daud's best friend, Din. After some chat, Din broke the secret. Daud had confided in Din that he wanted to help out his father in supporting the family. By failing his exams, he would be able to come out and work to earn money. By then, Ahmad could not stop tears from rolling from his cheeks after knowing about it. It was a foolish action, but it was afterall, an act of kindness out of love for his father and family.

Soon, Ahmad summoned his son back to his home. After some persuasion, he managed to goad his son to pursue a certificate course so that he would not end up with no education. His son relented at first, but agreed in the end. It was all tears and hugs for the family, but that was not the end. He is still studying and starts to love his environment in his school, while his father is still trying to obtain aids for his disability.

May God bless thir journey in the future.

(Disclaimer: This is based on true story but the names of the characters are changed to protect the identity of the patient. Small minor details are changed to compress the story and at such, similarities with other people in real life is merely a coincidental manner)

After weeks of anticipation and preparation of a rocking party and driving all the way from Tanjung Karang for the party, this must be something least expected of them all. A generally so-so party and a personal thumbs down from me myself.

But let's start from the bginning. :P


And the vampire who met his archnemesis, the priest with a necklace of garlic in his hands.
There were loads of creatures and foul ghouls in the party, where Borneo Barok Club ought to be a happening place with a nice interior design and settings. Bloggers were given freebies (Nokia's wristband 2GB pendrive, a 2008 Grammy's nominees CD album and some sweets along with a car sticker. Unlike the last Animal Party in Modesto, the guests who came along with invited bloggers were not given those freebies. I'm not sure whether if it is which side is "Kiam Siap" but there were at least 50 goodies bag which had to be taken back by Nokia people.



We did make a few friends, as most are from the same universities and a few from others. There are a few can't-get-into-medschool characters who dressed up as scary doctors. Or perhaps there might be one or two poor medical students who recycle their daily outfit for costume purposes. Either, medical students/doctors ought to know that it is unwise to taint your white coat with such nuisance. Otherwise, there were pirates costume recycled from the very first Nuffnang's pirate party, some pajamas-like outfit maybe from Pajama party, and even some animal costume fresh from the previous Animal Party. But generally, bloggers this time round are less friendly in my opinion, perhaps as we scared each other off with our looks.

Well, my dear had made a few unique friends though.


Anyway, the food was another disaster, not sure whether it was Nuffnang's or Nokia's fault. Weird and "scary" (In other words, lame) names were given to "counter" the eccentricity wave of cheapness surrounding the food. Fine maggots, shrunken intestines, bile juice, and any other futile attempts just to avoid people from knowing what's in store for them. White rice, fried mihun, fried abalone muschroom, fried fish fillet(ala economy rice stall style), tomato soup, and fruits such as watermelon, papaya and pineapple.

And that is exactly what I would expect for my friend's birthday party in primary school. Maybe they should add some fishballs and sausages and cover up the names like penis and testicles. I'm sure that would sound scary too. On the other hand, maybe those two might have exceeded the food budget.

Oh yea, the funny part? The beverages were named Michael Jackson's skin color, so they had pepsi (or coke, I'm not sure) and Sprite (or 7-up). And an additional flavor of brownish orange, which I presume must have been the color of Michael Jackson's private parts. :P

Going on to the "Silent" part of the party, the place was filled with awful music from the start. There's only a small segment for the silent dance where we used our own headphones. The crowd dies down while there are only a few "syok-sendiri" bloggers who took up the center stage with their own music. While they are drowned and dance to the tunes, they looked more like Charlie Chaplin to the spectators who are not into the music of it. A small crowd did stayed on to watch while the majority went to some quiet corner chatting in solace. Furthermore, there are lesser prizes and freebies compared to the animal party, losing the feel-good effect as more bloggers went back empty handed. The main prizes were Nokia's handphones in conjuction of its launch that day which did not went to my liking anyway, as I am a supporter of Sony Ericsson.
.
In the end, everything went quite well, but I just look in disdain the fugly Paris Hilton guy who won the female best-dressed category. The most disgusting (though not scary) attitude who tried to be funny but looks more like a transgender. I respect transgender, but he acts like one to make a fool out of it. I just hate such acts, not the person actually. End of story.

In the end, the party ended with a low note from representatives from Nokia which did not blend well with the party. All they did was to hide in the VIP corner on their own until the very end.

Besides, it's just no more fun when Kenny Sia is paid to attend such function. It became his job, and not his passion. *Sigh*

*Update: What's better? The Nokia thumb drive is a disposable kind. If you happen to reformat it after it was infected, it is no longer usable. Cheap and rosak stuff. Lolz!

The 3rd week of Tanjung Karang provided a busier schedule than the 2nd, somehow providing relief for us that had bored ourselves out of our minds. Since Monday was Deepavali, we had lost precious time for visits, nevertheless, we made full use of it to enjoy ourselves rather than sulking over it.

We went back to Tg Karang on Monday, bringing along some ingredients for some ala steamboat dinner, due to some skyrocketing prices of food, and for guys, starving ourselves with bread for dinner or oats will just not do. We need meat, meat and meat. :P






Basically we were a bit tad full from all the eating and mucnching before we call it a day in Deepavali. The next day was the visit days for us. Half of the students here will be going to Sabak Bernam district and the other half would be visiting in the Kuala Selangor district (Tg Karang is in Kuala Selangor district, for your information). For each half, there are 3 groups visiting different aspects of health community areas, namely the district hospital, District Health Office, and lastly the community and rural clinics.

Well, Caryn, Stella and I (Me, stella, and Caryn; a better preposition for a more self-centered direction) are in the same group, so we were visiting the district health office. When we say visit, we did not merely stay in the comfort of the air-conditioned office. We have to follow their activities as well, namely field work. So, off we go travelling to and fro on the natural air-conditioned bus. The bus moves, the windy air-cond works. The bus stops, it's hot like hell inside.



Basically, we'd followed them almost everywhere if you'd asked me. Not really, but the mere exaggeration does not make any difference in perspective. On the first day(Tues), we'd followed them investigating dengue cases, abating, house inspection for Aedes, and fogging. On Wednesday, we followed the BAKAS (Bekalan Air dan Kebersihan Alam Sekeliling) on a tour around the village areas, hunting for ancient relics of sanitization (No kidding). We learned from the officers the sewage system, water supply system as well as waste disposal system. It's pretty impressive if you'd asked me, though I'd prefered the modern toilets.












The third day was about communicable disease, so we'd followed around for TB contact tracing. It must be difficult for the health officers to do their work all thanks to those gimmick salesmen that should be hanged dead. We followed the health officers to a house to do contact tracing, only to find no one there. The house was practically silent for the whole 15 minutes when we were there knocking and calling.

Well, that was until I'd told a passing neighbor that the guy who had TB did not finish his treatment (I had no idea why we were there initially anyway, so I crapped something serious) and the neighbor was so worried she just went in and use a broomstick to dig the keys in the house to open it.

And voila! There are a village of people inside unveiled, transforming the house with some lively atmosphere. An illusionist's act indeed. And just to find out that this was the patient's daughter's house where the patient had not even stayed here before. So, it was fruitless afterall. The case was referred to Sabak Bernam district since that patient is residing in Sekinchan.

Friday is all about food safety and quality control. We were taught all procedures and regulation required to be met by food premises as well as hawkers. the afternoon was a lecture with Dr Azmi on statistics and how the previous students fared. A good indicator if you'd asked me, on how well we would perform if we do slack.

And surveys, yeah, we are on it now. we are doing 2 surverys, one is for ourselves, and the other is the National RESTU survey. We'd to do Kg Sungai Gulang-Gulang and cover the area from house to house. The houses are scattered apart, and the distance from each house can be up to 200-300 meters. Some are clustered, and some are just 50m apart. All makes it harder to survey, and we did see some villagers driving away after rejecting our request for surveys, with the 'busy' reason, such as to avoid us. It's kind of hillarious actually, to see them doing to such extent.

In the RESTU survey which was one inch thich, all we did was having some fun asking some lengthy and useless questions at times when we can fill them ourselves. Some questions even asked about whether they eat Ayam kari, Ayam rendang, Ayam Percik or any other ayams. Can't they like just ask if anyone eating ayam? It's just like a menu in the restaurant, even with the Mamak menu there for all types of rotis, thosais, and naans, as well as vegetables. This is just plain ridiculous most of the time.

Anyway, we are halfway done, so hopefully this would do for now. There are 5 more weeks in Tanjung Karang, so hopefully, we'll be finishing it. I'm looking forward towards the Mobile Clinic thing, which would be the first time done (replacing Program Tindakan), so we get to practise our clinical skills alongside qualified doctors. This might be cool anyway. :P

In the meantime, see you later!! Signing off....