Really having a great time these few days, after coming back to KL from Sibu for good. Enjoying big and nice meals everyday; movies in excellent cineplexes; parents and siblings to chit chat with... think of it, really should have come home earlier! ;)
Will be reporting to the state health office on Monday to find out which hospital I will be placed in. Hopefully they won't give me hospital faraway from home! Well, till then, keeping my fingers crossed.
And I think I will change my blog title description to "KL Doc in Sarawak, Now Back In KL" !! :)
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Good Bye Sibu
After the horrifying incident lately, I have managed to settle it and revert everything back to normal. And so my transfer letter was processed and given the green light by KKM to transfer me back to Selangor, starting on 2/7/07.
One week of packing up stuff, and yesterday the forwarding agent has come to collect all my belongings. I have managed to also settle all the bills, rental, cancellation of Astro, Streamyx etc... earlier on.
2 days ago, I even gave a lunch for my department colleagues and nurses. Thanks to all the gifts they have given me. Although I felt very sad (nearly tears coming out) during the speech, I could luckily control my emotion and went on till the whole function was over.
Sibu is a fantastic place to be in. Although u might say it's a bit backward compared to where I come from, it is still a nice place to live in and to work as a doctor in the GH. I miss Sibu alot... the kampua mee, the gong-pneah, the less hectic traffic, the nice people around. :)
Nevertheless, it's come a time when everyone needs to move on. I have to come back to KL for good. Have bought a house here, and my wife is already in the Master program.
Maybe someday, I will still go back to Sibu, just to say hello to all my fellow colleagues, nurses and also my most beloved specialists and HOD there in Sibu Hospital!
Good bye Sibu, the town of swan, till we meet again some time in future.
One week of packing up stuff, and yesterday the forwarding agent has come to collect all my belongings. I have managed to also settle all the bills, rental, cancellation of Astro, Streamyx etc... earlier on.
2 days ago, I even gave a lunch for my department colleagues and nurses. Thanks to all the gifts they have given me. Although I felt very sad (nearly tears coming out) during the speech, I could luckily control my emotion and went on till the whole function was over.
Sibu is a fantastic place to be in. Although u might say it's a bit backward compared to where I come from, it is still a nice place to live in and to work as a doctor in the GH. I miss Sibu alot... the kampua mee, the gong-pneah, the less hectic traffic, the nice people around. :)
Nevertheless, it's come a time when everyone needs to move on. I have to come back to KL for good. Have bought a house here, and my wife is already in the Master program.
Maybe someday, I will still go back to Sibu, just to say hello to all my fellow colleagues, nurses and also my most beloved specialists and HOD there in Sibu Hospital!
Good bye Sibu, the town of swan, till we meet again some time in future.
Horrifying Truth (Part 4 - conclusion)
And so the night before meeting up with Dr Mazlan, I was really depressed and in the state of shock, that I needed to pay back the govt the whole lump sum of money which I was apparently paid over these years! Just calculate and u will know how much the total amount is!
As I was thinking and thinking... I was staring at the computer screen hoping for some clue. Then a bell rang, I fired up FireFox and went into Google to try my luck -- I typed in the doctor's name (which was on the letter I saw that morning), and then hit the enter key.
Holy gracious! There was a doctor by that name, and best of all, his handphone number was also on the search page! Thanks Google! Immediately I called up the doctor and explained to him what had happened -- just sheer unbelievable but he was also very stunned to hear such thing could happen! But anyway, long story short, I felt such a relief that the whole situation was slowly shedding some light at the other end of the tunnel.
The next morning, first thing at 8am, I called up the SB and the officer in charge to explained to them I have found the error which had possibly been unintentional. They were puzzled to hear that as well, and they promised to call me back in a moment after they check with KKM and JPA side.
Moments later, I got a phone call from the officer from KKM human resources, stating that everything seemed to be under control, and let KKM settle this whole mess. They advised me to return to Sibu to resume work, meanwhile they will issue letters to all respective depts to clarify this whole problem.
With this, after being a detective myself for 2 long weeks, I finally found out that it was afterall an unintentional (or was it intentional?) error. At least now that I have resumed my position as a medical officer under KKM. What a narrow escape.
I received an apology letter one week later from KKM.
Lessons I learned from this horrifying incident:
1. Do complete your 3 year compulsory govt service before resigning to Master program, otherwise u will be in deep shit later on.
2. Never trust what the govt sector officers tell u over the phone, u still have to be a good detective urself to find out the truth.
3. It's still hold true in Malaysia, as the saying goes,"It's not what you know, it's who you know."
As I was thinking and thinking... I was staring at the computer screen hoping for some clue. Then a bell rang, I fired up FireFox and went into Google to try my luck -- I typed in the doctor's name (which was on the letter I saw that morning), and then hit the enter key.
Holy gracious! There was a doctor by that name, and best of all, his handphone number was also on the search page! Thanks Google! Immediately I called up the doctor and explained to him what had happened -- just sheer unbelievable but he was also very stunned to hear such thing could happen! But anyway, long story short, I felt such a relief that the whole situation was slowly shedding some light at the other end of the tunnel.
The next morning, first thing at 8am, I called up the SB and the officer in charge to explained to them I have found the error which had possibly been unintentional. They were puzzled to hear that as well, and they promised to call me back in a moment after they check with KKM and JPA side.
Moments later, I got a phone call from the officer from KKM human resources, stating that everything seemed to be under control, and let KKM settle this whole mess. They advised me to return to Sibu to resume work, meanwhile they will issue letters to all respective depts to clarify this whole problem.
With this, after being a detective myself for 2 long weeks, I finally found out that it was afterall an unintentional (or was it intentional?) error. At least now that I have resumed my position as a medical officer under KKM. What a narrow escape.
I received an apology letter one week later from KKM.
Lessons I learned from this horrifying incident:
1. Do complete your 3 year compulsory govt service before resigning to Master program, otherwise u will be in deep shit later on.
2. Never trust what the govt sector officers tell u over the phone, u still have to be a good detective urself to find out the truth.
3. It's still hold true in Malaysia, as the saying goes,"It's not what you know, it's who you know."
Monday, June 18, 2007
Horrifying Truth (Part 3)
I met up with Ismail, and explained the whole thing to him from the beginning till the end; he was speechless initially, but then he delegated this case to the Human Resource section head, ie. Setiausaha Bahagian (SB) to take over this matter, and he did emphasise to the SB that this is of top priority and urgency.
And so I made an appointment the same afternoon itself, skipping my lunch, to meet up with the SB. I was, and in fact I am, very surprised to know that there are still such dedicated and helpful govt officer in the MOH; with smiling face throughout, good patience and knowledgable in her field, and on top of all these -- she had a vast network of contacts which helped me through this shit this time. (I really hope this is herself, and not because I was introduced to her by Ismail...)
She then summoned another officer in charged to bring in my MOH personal file to run through with me the whole scenario. I demanded them to show me the so called "black and white" which MOH received and subsequently cc to the respective depts about my resignation.
To my surprise, the name on the letter of approval of resignation, was NOT my name, although at one glance it actually spelt out like my name!! The IC number was indeed mine and correct though. Date of approval was printed 1/4/05, but then I only did send in my resignation/transfer of service application in mid Feb; with a cancellation letter of my resignation in April. Everything seemed in place, and valid for the resignation (although I doubt MOH and JPA were so efficient in processing my application!)
According to the MOH officer who was summoned in by the SB, that his team had confirmed with JPA and SPA that my name was no longer in their list; and that although there is typo-error in the letter, everyone will follow the IC number instead. Therefore, my resignation is valid.
Stunned I was, and almost accepting the fact and fate that I am no longer in service, and that I have done a full 2 1/2 years of free service for the govt, coz I need to pay back the amount of salary I received over this months! Shocking and depressing it was...
But the SB consoled me that her team could help me out to meet up with MMC personnel to work out something for my 3-year compulsory service. And so an appointment was made to see Dr Mazlan the following day...
To be continued...
And so I made an appointment the same afternoon itself, skipping my lunch, to meet up with the SB. I was, and in fact I am, very surprised to know that there are still such dedicated and helpful govt officer in the MOH; with smiling face throughout, good patience and knowledgable in her field, and on top of all these -- she had a vast network of contacts which helped me through this shit this time. (I really hope this is herself, and not because I was introduced to her by Ismail...)
She then summoned another officer in charged to bring in my MOH personal file to run through with me the whole scenario. I demanded them to show me the so called "black and white" which MOH received and subsequently cc to the respective depts about my resignation.
To my surprise, the name on the letter of approval of resignation, was NOT my name, although at one glance it actually spelt out like my name!! The IC number was indeed mine and correct though. Date of approval was printed 1/4/05, but then I only did send in my resignation/transfer of service application in mid Feb; with a cancellation letter of my resignation in April. Everything seemed in place, and valid for the resignation (although I doubt MOH and JPA were so efficient in processing my application!)
According to the MOH officer who was summoned in by the SB, that his team had confirmed with JPA and SPA that my name was no longer in their list; and that although there is typo-error in the letter, everyone will follow the IC number instead. Therefore, my resignation is valid.
Stunned I was, and almost accepting the fact and fate that I am no longer in service, and that I have done a full 2 1/2 years of free service for the govt, coz I need to pay back the amount of salary I received over this months! Shocking and depressing it was...
But the SB consoled me that her team could help me out to meet up with MMC personnel to work out something for my 3-year compulsory service. And so an appointment was made to see Dr Mazlan the following day...
To be continued...
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Happy Father's Day!
Amidst my blog to uncover the Horrifying Truth, let's not forget to wish all fathers or fathers-to-be ... a very HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!! :)
Horrifying Truth (Part 2)
I touched down in KL the very same day I was "suspended from duty", and because it was a very last minute purchase of air ticket, it cost me RM299++ for that Air Asia one way ticket! And with a little delay taking off from Sibu, I reached LCCT almost midnight.
The very next day, I was full of hope that I could meet up with someone in the MOH to settle this issue; but as usual, in Malaysia govt dept, it is never easy to meet up with anyone. So one day just passed by like that.... without any advancement.
And because my compulsory years are "incomplete", therefore I don't comply with the Medical Act article 71, and so I cannot practice in this country. Goodness. My mind was just confused and in the dark... helpless. At one point, I thought of flying to Singapore; and at another time, I thought if UK/Ireland/Aussie was a better choice -- just pure torture.
I couldn't even do locum or join private GP practice, just because I am not a doctor at this point of time; I am neither here (MOH) nor there (private world). Depressed I was. Can't imagine my parents spent their whole fortune including EPF money, just to get me a degree in medicine, but now, I am not better than any uni drop-outs! Jobless was the word at that time.
2nd day... 3rd day... nothing.
Then weekends. Yeah... Great!
Ismail Merican was my only hope that time. Because he is not only the DG of health, he is also the MMC president -- who can resolve my 3-year compulsory service issue. I wasn't too sure if he could resolve my reversal of resignation involving SPA and JPA etc.... But at that very moment of time, I told myself to be strong; and that if my resignation couldn't be reversed, I must find a way out in private, either to join GP practice or go Singapore, leaving behind my expecting wife ...*sob*.
With some contacts with the high ranked personnel in the govt body, I managed to bring this issue, finally, up to Ismail Merican. He was very upset with this issue and promised to see me personally to rectify whatever shit that has happened, or rather he wants to know how could this shit happened in the first place!
But luck was not on my side initially. He was then in Boston for a while, and then came back with function in Sunway, and then hundreds and hundreds of meetings/issues etc. to attend to. I don't blame him, as he is afterall a busy man holding this post. And so, I could not get any appointment with him.
After another few days of waiting patiently, jobless staying at home helping out mum with dishes and gardening, I finally found another high ranked insider with contact, and managed to book a 15-minute slot over lunch time to be with Ismail Merican. I thought that was it! But...
To be continued...
The very next day, I was full of hope that I could meet up with someone in the MOH to settle this issue; but as usual, in Malaysia govt dept, it is never easy to meet up with anyone. So one day just passed by like that.... without any advancement.
And because my compulsory years are "incomplete", therefore I don't comply with the Medical Act article 71, and so I cannot practice in this country. Goodness. My mind was just confused and in the dark... helpless. At one point, I thought of flying to Singapore; and at another time, I thought if UK/Ireland/Aussie was a better choice -- just pure torture.
I couldn't even do locum or join private GP practice, just because I am not a doctor at this point of time; I am neither here (MOH) nor there (private world). Depressed I was. Can't imagine my parents spent their whole fortune including EPF money, just to get me a degree in medicine, but now, I am not better than any uni drop-outs! Jobless was the word at that time.
2nd day... 3rd day... nothing.
Then weekends. Yeah... Great!
Ismail Merican was my only hope that time. Because he is not only the DG of health, he is also the MMC president -- who can resolve my 3-year compulsory service issue. I wasn't too sure if he could resolve my reversal of resignation involving SPA and JPA etc.... But at that very moment of time, I told myself to be strong; and that if my resignation couldn't be reversed, I must find a way out in private, either to join GP practice or go Singapore, leaving behind my expecting wife ...*sob*.
With some contacts with the high ranked personnel in the govt body, I managed to bring this issue, finally, up to Ismail Merican. He was very upset with this issue and promised to see me personally to rectify whatever shit that has happened, or rather he wants to know how could this shit happened in the first place!
But luck was not on my side initially. He was then in Boston for a while, and then came back with function in Sunway, and then hundreds and hundreds of meetings/issues etc. to attend to. I don't blame him, as he is afterall a busy man holding this post. And so, I could not get any appointment with him.
After another few days of waiting patiently, jobless staying at home helping out mum with dishes and gardening, I finally found another high ranked insider with contact, and managed to book a 15-minute slot over lunch time to be with Ismail Merican. I thought that was it! But...
To be continued...
Horrifying Truth (Part 1)
And so a little about the background story:
Back in 2005, I was indeed invited by UNIMAS to join their trainee lecturer program, and hence I needed to transfer my service years to MOE; so a letter was sent to MOH but the content included a phrase that I needed to resign with permission (in order to do the transfer of service). That time, I hadn't completed my 3 year compulsory service.
However, later I found out that UNIMAS medical faculty and human resources couldn't come to certain terms and conditions (it's a long story, but probably confidential and not suitable for me to publish here), and so I was so angry at that time I revoked everything, including sending another letter to MOH to cancel my resignation .
That time, the MOH person in charged told me that since my case had not been brought up in the MOH meeting, my resignation was actually not processed. So everything went back to normal. I continued to work in Sibu, and I continued to get my monthly payroll, including my yearly increment. Everything seemed smooth sailing, until...
When my wife started her Master program this June, I asked for a transfer back to Peninsular. And this was when the MOH found out that I had resigned according to their record! :O
But the big question mark is: If I had resigned 2 years ago, then how come I didn't receive any letter to confirm my resignation? Not even my hospital or the state office received any black and white on this. But MOH insisted that they had sent out to all the respective depts, including SPA/JPA!! (When you know SPA is involved, you are in deep shit!)
And so, with that phone call, I was immediately "terminated" from work, and I flew back to KL to start looking for clues to solve this mystery.
To be continued...
Back in 2005, I was indeed invited by UNIMAS to join their trainee lecturer program, and hence I needed to transfer my service years to MOE; so a letter was sent to MOH but the content included a phrase that I needed to resign with permission (in order to do the transfer of service). That time, I hadn't completed my 3 year compulsory service.
However, later I found out that UNIMAS medical faculty and human resources couldn't come to certain terms and conditions (it's a long story, but probably confidential and not suitable for me to publish here), and so I was so angry at that time I revoked everything, including sending another letter to MOH to cancel my resignation .
That time, the MOH person in charged told me that since my case had not been brought up in the MOH meeting, my resignation was actually not processed. So everything went back to normal. I continued to work in Sibu, and I continued to get my monthly payroll, including my yearly increment. Everything seemed smooth sailing, until...
When my wife started her Master program this June, I asked for a transfer back to Peninsular. And this was when the MOH found out that I had resigned according to their record! :O
But the big question mark is: If I had resigned 2 years ago, then how come I didn't receive any letter to confirm my resignation? Not even my hospital or the state office received any black and white on this. But MOH insisted that they had sent out to all the respective depts, including SPA/JPA!! (When you know SPA is involved, you are in deep shit!)
And so, with that phone call, I was immediately "terminated" from work, and I flew back to KL to start looking for clues to solve this mystery.
To be continued...
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Long Silence...
It's been a long silence since I last blogged in April. These past two months had been really happening! And of coz, really busy!
Attempted my part 2 written paper in Singapore, but didn't make it thru this round; official result was out today, and I realise I missed by 1 mark! Sigh, probably will try harder next time! And of coz to pray for more luck next round! ;)
Then came the most horrendous news mid of last month, when my hospital received news from MOH that I was no longer in govt service since 2005 -- ie. resigned! Unimaginable! That news came about, and I was immediately "terminated" from service in my hospital. Everyone from top to bottom were shocked, but clueless. I was myself stunned by the news too!
Stay tuned for the true horrifying tale uncovered...
Attempted my part 2 written paper in Singapore, but didn't make it thru this round; official result was out today, and I realise I missed by 1 mark! Sigh, probably will try harder next time! And of coz to pray for more luck next round! ;)
Then came the most horrendous news mid of last month, when my hospital received news from MOH that I was no longer in govt service since 2005 -- ie. resigned! Unimaginable! That news came about, and I was immediately "terminated" from service in my hospital. Everyone from top to bottom were shocked, but clueless. I was myself stunned by the news too!
Stay tuned for the true horrifying tale uncovered...
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