Time has a habit of leaving us in its wake. Here we are in November 2011 still grappling with what’s going on in our world. Arab Spring movement had left its mark on some of our lives and the restlessness in other continents is also on the rise. Wind of change is ongoing on the other side of the world.   Eurozone is still struggling with their Greek tragedy and America has to deal with the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement which seems to gather pace as time goes by.

Here at home we have our own share of problems. Inflation is picking up and expected to be higher next year. The Government Transformation Programs (GTPs) and Economic Transformation Programs (ETPs) projects are being announced and some are already on going. The current government is bracing for the incoming election. Everything is being geared towards that with a spate of announcements of goodies being dished out to the public every other week. However the election date is being kept close to our PM’s chest, literally.

What about us? We have had some organizational changes recently. Effective 1 October 2011, Project Development Department was taken out from MMCOG and renamed as MMC Petroleum & Resources. They will focus on other oil and gas business besides engineering. The team is led by their CEO, En. Abang Iskandar Abang Muas. MMCOG will continue to focus on engineering work and expand geographically. We will continue to build up our KL team and strengthen our Kerteh and Miri offices. We plan to open a new branch oversea in 2012 depending on our success in obtaining the targeted contract.

For year 2011, we are still on target to meet our budget. However we need to continue our performance improvement to reduce any wastage and continue with our cost cutting exercise as well. Since the industry has becoming more competitive we have to be cognizant of the reduced margin in the local market and be more vigilant in efficient execution of the projects.

To provide a balance to the work activities, our Cheer You Up Club or CYUC had organized several events this year.   That included the Family Day, futsal training sessions, soccer friendlies, badminton practice and visit to charity home. Recently CYUC organized the Sports Carnival which was held at Padang Telekom at Jalan Semarak. The yearly event that pits Management vs. Operation in games like soccer, netball, volleyball, rounders and telematches were well organized and received by our staff and their family members. More than 100 staff turned out for the event together with their families. The children also participated in coloring contest, musical chair and host of other activities. The carnival like atmosphere was clearly enjoyed by everyone.

Even though the Management lost the soccer game (4-2) it was a close match that could go either way. However the younger legs of the operation staff managed to overcome the experienced management side. In other games Management managed to win easily with yours truly captaining the volleyball team. (I am still recovering from the pain caused by the activities!!!). Maybe we should include golf next time??

Congratulations to CYUC for a well organized function. Based on my personal experience a lot of time and hard work need to be spent on an event like this. There were glitches but they were minor and can be improved by better planning next time. The organizing committee assisted by other committed members worked hard together to make it a successful event.

We encourage these social activities as it is important for us to find an outlet to relieve ourselves after working so hard. At this event we also have the opportunities to get to know one another and can put faces to names. This will definitely improve our working relationship in the future.

Have a happy November!!!

warm regards,

nk/