Jika anda tidak dapat memuat-turun (download) pekeliling tersebut melalui laman web JPA, anda boleh juga membuat demikian dari sini:

Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bilangan 11 tahun 2011: Pelaksanaan Saraan Baru Perkhidmatan Awam (SBPA) bagi Pegawai Perkhidmatan Persekutuan

Lampiran B2: Senarai Skim Perkhidmatan Di Bawah SBPA: Teknologi Maklumat (F)

Lampiran B4: Jadual Pemindahan Gred Jawatan Dari SSM Kepada SBPA: KUMPULAN PENGURUSAN & PROFESIONAL

[lampiran lain tidak disertakan]

Walaubagaimanapun, bahagian yang paling menarik perhatian ramai iaitu Lampiran C belum diterbitkan oleh JPA dengan notis: “Sila rujuk Bahagian Sumber Manusia Kementerian/Jabatan/agensi masing-masing bagi urusan mengenai Lampiran C.”

Perbandingan awal gaji SSM dan SBPA:

Pemandu (gaji + elaun)
Minimum SSM: RM1,222
Minimum SBPA: RM1,425
Maksimum SSM: RM1,882
Maksimum SBPA: RM,2965

Gred 48
Minimum SSM: RM4,431
Minimum SBPA: RM4,520
Maksimum SSM: RM6,439
Maksimum SBPA: RM8,840

Menurut KPPA pada 6 Disember:

SSM J17 = SBPA J4-1, RM980-RM2805, Kenaikan Gaji Tahunan RM95
SSM J22 = SBPA J4-3, RM1935-RM3545, Kenaikan Gaji Tahunan RM115
SSM J26 = SBPA J4-5, RM2290-RM4040, Kenaikan Gaji Tahunan RM125
SBPA JA3-1, RM1410-RM4185, Kenaikan Gaji Tahunan RM145/150
SSM J29 = SBPA J2-1, RM1565-RM4340, Kenaikan Gaji Tahunan RM145/150
SSM J36 = SBPA J2-4, RM3035-RM5555, Kenaikan Gaji Tahunan RM 180
SSM J38 = SBPA J2-5, RM3410-RM6140, Kenaikan Gaji Tahunan RM 195

The best government portal is that of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government [score: 106, 5 stars]. The best ranked government portal from Sabah is that of the State Treasury Department [score: 61, 4 stars, joint 43rd place]. The worst ranked government portal is Perlis State Baitulmal [score: 25, 2 stars, joint 74th place].

The best government website is a tie between the Department of Irrigation and Drainage and the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development [score: 93, 5 stars]. The best ranked government website from Sabah is that of the State Forestry Department [score: 74, 4 stars, joint 20th place]. The Sabah Chief Minister’s Department is ranked joint worst website, at joint 77th place, score 16 & 1 star.

When it comes to state rankings, Sabah is ranked 10th out of 11 with a score of 71 & 4 stars. At last place is Perlis. Sabah and Perlis are the only states not to be ranked 5 stars. The top ranked state is Negeri Sembilan with a score of 96 & 5 stars.

Full report (PDF)

11th September 2009: Malaysia on 74 deaths: a disabled 19-year-old boy from Gerik, Perak, who was admitted to Gerik Hospital on 19th August for fever, cough, sore throat and vomiting over 4 days. The next day, he was referred to Ipoh Hospital for specialist treatment and anti-viral treatment was started. However, on 23rd August he died of complications arising from acute pulmonary oedema with underlying Influenza A(H1N1) infection. Lab tests confirmed this to be caused A(H1N1) on 28th August.

On the same day, US trials of Sanofi-Pasteur SA’s and CSL Ltd’s H1N1 swine flu vaccines confirm that only one dose is needed for it to work.

4th September 2009: Malaysia on 73 deaths, and the first death of a person not in a high-risk group: a 25-year-old woman from Betong, Sarawak. She was admitted to the district hospital on 30th August for fever, cough and sore throat. The next day, she was referred to Sibu Hospital for further treatment where anti-viral treatment was given. She died the next day due to severe pneumonia with H1N1 infection.

2nd September 2009: a top WHO expert, Marie-Paule Kieny, director of the WHO’s vaccine research programme said the vaccine will definitely work, even if the virus mutates, and that:
(i) it will be available as early as this month;
(ii) health workers should get immunised first;
(iii) cost: rich countries USD10-USD20 per dose, middle-income countries half that, & low-income countries quarter that;
(iv) a complete clinical evaluation of the vaccine is not necessary;
(v) a third of the world’s population will eventually be infected with the virus.

30th August 2009: Malaysia on 72 deaths: a 49-year-old man who died at Malacca Hospital. He was admitted 13th August, immediately given anti-viral drugs and antibiotics after having fever, cough and vomiting for two days. His condition worsened due to lung disorders, although he tested negative for tuberculosis, typhoid, dengue, leptospira infection and even H1N1 on 18th Aug 18. He was moved to the ICU the next day, and died the same day due to “severe pneumonia with septicaemic shock”. It was only on 24th August that he was confirmed to have the virus, after the post-mortem biopsy report based on lung samples tested positive.

29th August 2009: the World Health Organisation (WHO) says Malaysians have low understanding and poor knowledge on the spread of the A(H1N1). The public did not take H1N1 seriously. 4 awareness campaigns have been held since May, but only the wearing of masks had given the public the most awareness. The others: personal hygiene, use of sanitisers and hand cleaning had not sunk in.

26th August 2009: Malaysia on 71 deaths: 24-year-old woman who died of “H1N1 with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)”.

25th August 2009: Malaysia on 70 deaths: 3-year-old boy who died 18th August of H1N1 Encephalitis with Celebral Odema and Multiorgan Failure. He suffered high fever and fits for 2 days before receiving treatment on 12th August; condition deteriorated, admitted to ICU, given Tamiflu, tested positive for the virus 5 days later.

24th August 2009: Malaysia on 69 deaths: latest is the 38-year-old female teacher at SMK USJ 12 who died on 19th August.

21th August 2009: The World Health Organisation stated that: for every confirmed case, there are 20 other undetected cases. That means, there are actually almost 110,000 cases in Malaysia now.

20th August 2009: Malaysia on 68 deaths: a 33-year old woman who’s 34 weeks pregnant. The unborn child also died. She was treated and admitted into a private hospital in Johor Baru on 8th August after developing fever and cough for one day. 5 days later, she was admitted to the ICU of Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru for breathing difficulties. Tamiflu was administered, but she died the next day due to “severe pneumonia and respiratory failure.” A(H1N1) infection was confirmed 14th August.

The country recorded its highest number of cases in one day: 569. Total number of confirmed cases: 5,496.

Difference between normal flu and H1N1

A(H1N1): fever exceeding 38 degrees Celsius for 3-4 days, headache, severe body ache, sore throat and dry cough (in the early stages), excessive tiredness.

Normal flu: rarely have fever or have only mild fever (of less than 38 degrees Celsius), runny nose and sneeze often.

Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman of Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) was quoted to have said:

The rapid test kit, as advocated by the Health Ministry, is not a good idea as it gives a “false sense of security”: it’s only at best 25% accurate. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had earlier approved the use of these kits as he claimed it could diagnose patients in 15 minutes and was 70 – 90% accurate.

A report by the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta says mask-use by either infected patients or health-care personnel does not prevent the transmission of viruses. While the mask is effective in preventing those already infected with the virus from spreading it, it actually does nothing to prevent healthy people from getting the disease. If this true, the recent exercise by the authorities to make face masks a controlled item, seems useless and redundant.

18th August 2009: Malaysia on 67 deaths: additional 3 deaths from the day before, all in high risk group:
(i) a 33-year-old woman of severe bronchopneumonia; admitted to ICU on 7th August, tested positive for the virus on 12th August.
(ii) a 10-year-old girl of “Systematic Lupus Erythematous (SLE) with severe pneumonia with renal impairment”, admitted 17th July, died 13th August.
(iii) a 71-year-old man of “Ischaemic Dilated Cardiomyopathy precipitated by pneumonia”, admitted to hospital after having fever, cough and breathing difficulties for two days, died 14th August.

Number of patients in wards: 276
Number of patients in ICU: 36 [21 with risk factors]

Malaysia now ranked 8th in the world, behind the USA (477), Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Chile and Thailand; we have even more deaths than vastly more populous or more densely populated countries like Japan, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, China (zero deaths!) and Hong Kong.

Note: antiviral treatment WITHOUT first testing for the virus will ONLY be given to 3 high risk groups and those with influenza (any flu).

Dr Ismail Merican (Ministry of Health Director-General) vs Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman (Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre):

Dr Ismail: fatalities could be avoided if health practitioners take appropriate actions immediately. Of the 56 recorded deaths, 40 percent involved delays in receiving early treatment and 13 percent was because of late detection by medical practitioners.

The Health Ministry should send a clear and consistent message on the outbreak so that Malaysians know exactly what to do. We want people to be aware but we do not want them to panic. Do not tell people to do a throat swab one minute and then say ‘don’t’ the next minute. That was really confusing for the public.

If ever a medical emergency is declared, people could be rushing out of the country, I sure hope the exit signs are well placed…

Part 1 of the chronology.

With us were 6 other participants, 4 from Bank Negara Malaysia and 2 from SUK Selangor.

Special thanks to the guys from Bank Negara who were kind enough to bring us on a quick tour of Penang.

We might be back here next year for Level 2 and of course the delicious yet much-cheaper-than-Kota Kinabalu Penang food.

From the internet, it seems that only the following hotels currently make the grade:
(i) @Ease Boutique Hotel, Sandakan
(ii) B-Suite, Penang. This one I’m having a first-hand experience right now.
(iii) Imperial International Hotel, Kota Kinabalu [subject to confirmation]

If you have any others to add to the list, please inform me. Thanks!

BTW, I’m writing this in Penang, a place where cheap and tasty food are aplenty: the diet pill beckons?

Talking about a dry topic for 45 minutes right after lunch will always be a challenge, and this being a government (i.e. official) event, I couldn’t possibly do a Steve Riley i.e. walking around in shorts and standing on a chair ;-)

Having said that, I think the most difficult part is always the Q&A session, because:

(i) there are too many possible questions, you can’t possible anticipate them all and prepare for each one thoroughly. I preprepared answers to 2 questions which I thought was the hardest and most likely to be asked – they were not.

(ii) you have very little time to prepare an answer, in fact you are pressured to give an answer. After the question is asked, hundreds of expectant eyeballs are on you, and you are seated right in front, onstage.

Thank you organisers for the book and the delicious handmade chocolates!

This is the most expensive training I have ever attended, at well over RM7,000 for 5 days.

My instructor was Semi Yulianto, senior technical trainer/ consultant, EC-Council’s Instructor of the Year 2008 for Asia Pacific and a regular feature at hacker conventions in the region. He’s got one of the longest certification lists I have ever seen (23), including MCT, MCSE, MCDBA, CCNP and CHFI.

Semi was born in Pontianak, Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The exam’s held Friday afternoon, takes 2 hours, 50 multiple-choice questions (A to D), online via Internet. Hence if Internet down, can’t take the exam. I passed the exam at 98%.

It seems that EC-Council Phileo Damansara Time.com internet connectivity is rather unstable, some innocuous sites appear to be blocked.

There’s no exam for the LPT, I was informed that I need to pay USD500 (not included in the ECSA training cost, renewable yearly) and submit my CV and letter of confirmation from the police stating I do not have any criminal record to EC-Council USA.

Apparently Malaysia has less than 10 ECSA/LPT practitioners now.

The market rate for LPT work in Malaysia is RM2,000 per day.

For those budding hackers out there, turn your passion into a career. Being a trainer can be a lucrative profession. Semi mentioned that he works 2 weeks a month and gets minimum RM14K per month. If he does other work, that’s extra. Plus he gets to travel frequently to countries in the region.

Having said that, I’d like to reiterate that at a certain stage of one’s life, one can never reach as high level a hacker as one would like anymore, due to other commitments, especially time.

The other, followup course is coming up in June.

Still, doing well in any exam, especially a relatively expensive one like this is an achievement to be savoured. The last time I took an exam which cost a few hundred ringgit was on 24th June 2006 when I sat for the IELTS exam. I scored an average of 8.6 out of a possible 9 then, but surprisingly did worst on a topic I thought I’d get a 9: writing.

So my time-management skills were stretched to the limit. Having been made the head of the new data centre effective February, there are many things that need urgent attention, but at the same time I also had to play my role as head of the internal audit team which is one of the critical elements of a successful quality program. I would never have been able to do both without the support of great teams in each camp. Thanks, teammates!

SIRIM QAS’ 2-day (yearly) surveillance audit of our department ended today. I think after the closing meeting, everybody could heave a collective sigh of relief: we did enough to maintain our MS ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Congratulations to all involved.

I expected a few minor nonconformances (NCs) and a bundle of opportunities for improvement (OFI) suggestions, and that’s what exactly happened. As is usually the case with surveillance audits, the scope was not as comprehensive as last years’ audit. The experience we had last year definitely helped, we were somewhat more prepared, at least mentally, this year.

I am also grateful to the auditors for allowing myself and another colleague to be in the interview room to observe how they conduct the audit. You can be sure I was furiously taking notes on my laptop.

Looking towards the future, the 2nd surveillance audit will take place a year from now, and the recertification audit the year after that. That last audit I expect to be a very tough one. But who knows, the audit team might be different that time…

My transfer was effective 1st February, so I have been in the new office for about 2 weeks.

Not that I’m not used to it: it must be my 5th transfer since I started, but I really miss my grand room and its view. At my old office I can see Sutera Harbour, the sea and the islands like so…

…while I had a huge table and floor-to-ceiling wood paneling:

At my new office, everything is brand new, but on a smaller scale, and as for the view, well, there’s no view at all :-(

At my old office I had 7 subordinates, about 2,000 users and 600+ computers.

At my new office I have 13 subordinates and practically the whole state to serve. Now, if only we have a memory foam mattress in the recreation room…