From "Sin City"

According to Lionel, Johor Bahru (JB) is the “sin city” of Malaysia. I do not agree because city does not sin, the people do. Calling JB a sin city might be an over exaggeration as compared to Sodom and Gomorrah but yes, it is true to some extent because according to my new bunch of colleagues, 2 out of 5 people from our small office have unfortunately become victims of crimes.

This is not my first time to JB. I have been here few years back during my first job when I was the project engineer for TNB main contracting firm. And the JB map book that I bought during that time and was shelved after I left my first job comes in very handy.

I started off my journey with my WAU around 7.45AM today and reached at about 11 something in Johor. A small tiny staircase led my Boss and I up to the first floor where the main office is. The office is small yet cosy, with a proper pantry which my previous company does not have. I was briefed on the training schedule. I was told I was the youngest consultant in the firm.

The colleagues together with the Boss welcomed me with a simple lunch at Old Town Restaurant. There were six of us at the table (my company has only less than 10 people).They were kind, friendly, helpful and sincere, I thought. Well, what do you expect from first encounter? Only time will tell the truth about person and personality.

Dinner, I had with my friend colleague who introduced me to this job. We had a hearty meal of fish head curry, fried pork with salted fish and green vegetables. I was so tempted to take out my camera; but no, I must not do that for I need to appear mature before colleagues and fellow consultants. After the dinner, I was driven around to admire the night scenery of Jusco, Tesco and a piece of cleared land on which IKEA would be built.

Then I was shown the Hospital Sultan Ismail, the laughing stock of the world. This was one of the many projects that failed when Samy Vellu was still the Works Minister. This was the hospital that after dumping in much money and was later discovered that the air conditioner ducts were contaminated with fungus. The hospital was not fully utilized until this very day and I was told that there was no doctor available at night. Bravo, this is satu lagi project kerajaan Barisan Nasional yang gagal...

Tomorrow, I will be following one of the seniors to Muar for on-site training. After lunch, there will be classroom training. At night my friend colleague will introduce me to Toastmaster International. He felt that the club has helped a lot in improving his communication skills. He wanted me to go and have a look. Well, that is an up-to-you thing, of course. WAU, I can foresee a busy day ahead...