Farewell Interns

Yesterday (06/09/17) was the last day of our third year engineering interns being attached with us at the Process Engineering department.

For many of us employees, this period of internship may just have seemed like “a brief period in which we had a few helping hands out” – but for them, this is their first-ever exposure to the professional working world; and in our context being in PETRONAS, this was their first-ever window to witnessing the inner workings of a Fortune 500-listed Oil and Gas Company.

By the end of these precious months of their internship, either one of two extremes may happen : either this will (a) inspire them and motivate them and kindling the fire to bring out the best out of themselves to pursue their professional career ambitions; or (b) give them such a negative impression that it will demotivate them, perhaps jaded and all the more relieved it was over.

Or perhaps something in between, a mediocre period which may have been a "meh" part of their lives.


Either way, it will have a long-lasting effect on their career, perhaps their lives as a person. As a supervisor, we play that role of being an ambassador to this role, and it is primarily our character that will leave an long-lasting legacy and imprint to their personal lives.

In retrospect, me personally – having completed my internship 12 years ago and now working almost 10 years in the industry – I don’t remember a single thing about the technical aspects of my internship. But what I DO remember is this: my supervisor was cool. He would coach me, patiently endure and entertain my stupidest noob questions, bring me out to lunch with his friends, and they were all very respectful to me in spite of my young age – and for that I am very grateful to have been assigned to him.

And as the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said - 
لا يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى يُحِبَّ لأَخِيهِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ – 
“None of you have (perfect) faith until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself” – I took it as a personal commitment to myself, that if I have interns under my supervision, I would grant them with the same level of treatment, if not better: to provide a meaningful and motivating learning experience throughout their internship.

These are the guiding principles I used as a supervisor to my intern :

1. Respect them and take them seriously
While this may seem like a 'no-brainer', the first mental obstacle was to consciously remove any personal prejudice that interns are just ‘kids’, a ‘nuisance’, and “still a lot to learn”. While the latter (still a lot to learn) most certainly holds true, but so is the case with all of us : we will always have a lot to learn until the day we die.

I personally think of them as simply a couple of semesters away from becoming full-fledge professionals, and have potential to change the world: just like everyone else. Yes, they may be younger, but treat them with respect and seriousness.

My intern was assigned  by her University (Unimas) to write a daily log book on her internship and required the supervisor to sign it off every single day. Yes, it was indeed a hassle, and as any of you have had the experience, will know how tempting it is to simply ‘sign off’ without reading.

But I took it upon myself to read every single word and provide comments where necessary. Tedious as it may be, it was a surprisingly enriching experience for me, as I got to see how much she understood or what she took away from different aspects of working experience, indirectly giving me feedback as to what she really learnt, and how effective or beneficial they were to her individually, there providing me insight on room to correct or clarify the different gaps where necessary.

At the last day, upon inquiring feedback on her internship experience, she said one of the most significant things was that she was really surprised to see me actually review her log book, as she expected supervisors to ‘sign off’ without really reading; the little things do have an impact.

Of course, I’m getting ahead of myself. First thing’s first, treating them with respect begins with..


2. Assigning challenging (but doable) tasks

While there is tendency to take the easier path and dispatch interns to carry out trivial fetch quests and photocopy tasks, I actually put a lot of serious thought as to the best type of tasks I could assign to my intern. The tasks had to be

• Challenging enough but do-able to them – one that would require multiple different skills, and optionally has a “wow” factor as an industrial training project.
• A good learning experience to them but at the same time one that can give a tangible benefit and added value to the organization

3. Coach and guide – but don’t hold their hand
 
With the challenges and targets in place, it’s time to establish the learning path to getting there. A lot of concepts and principles will be alien to them, and even theories which they are familiar with, require a paradigm shift and wisdom to understand how they are applied in the practical, real world. 

With this in mind, it is necessary to provide effective coaching to them – in teaching them and providing the necessary learning resources. Along the way, probe questions, quiz them to keep them sharp and on their toes.

Fortunately, being final year students their minds are still fresh and quickly absorb new things and - perhaps in consideration their graduation depends on a good internship -  are more than willing to spend time hitting the books and the reading materials to bring them up to speed; so provided you provide sufficient guidance, it isn’t necessary to babysit them every step of the way - they pick up fast.


4. Expose them to a variety of work experiences : get the holistic view of working life
 
What many university students sometimes find difficult to fathom is how all these technical stuff in university translates to real life, dedicating our lives from 8 to 5, five times a week every week. And indeed, there’s a lot more to the life of an engineer beyond the engineering.

In fact quite a major chunk of our working environment entails soft skills – stuff which you only ‘indirectly’ learn in university – participating in workshops, presentations, reviews, engagements, cross-disciplinary discussions, progress meetings, and events. And in each of these presents opportunities to learn, form relationships, and test ourselves. Bring them onboard all the way.

Interns learn to appreciate and understand the ‘bigger picture’ and – brace yourselves – observe the way you interact with others. Hey, whoever said it's only about keeping THEM on their toes? ;-)


5. Exchange feedback
 
At the end of the day of course is for us to share our advice and thoughts on their performance and how they can improve as individuals.

Also of course on the other hand, THEIR feedback to us is also important : As a fresh set of eyes looking into your office, interns can offer valuable insight to how they perceive you and your organization (vs. their preconceived expectations beforehand) – this can provide a nice perspective on the virtues and perhaps room for improvement.


 
CONCLUSION


At the end of the day, after the brief 10-week internship period, I feel she performed very well and exceeded all expectations, executing tasks at a relatively quick pace, and completing assignments ahead of schedule despite the steep learning curve of familiarization, and providing genuine added value in her work output.

As a last minute salute and motivational boost before they take off, and to grant a sense of accomplishment on what she has done, we issued a formal “Focused Recognition” card to my intern for her demonstrating traits of  “Focused Execution”, “Nurture Trust” and “Tell Me” throughout her internship. 

Manager issues Focused Recognition

Things like these may seem trivial from our perspective, but these gestures can have a huge impact and can go a long way; and it’s not at all difficult to do.

Overall I feel it has been a very enriching experience, and here’s hoping that this sharing can benefit others to make the best out of our future generations.

We wish Connie and all her other fellow interns all the best in the rest of their studies and in all their future endeavours in life. 

 Process Engineering, Eastern Cluster team

Plan Ahead, Respect People's Time and Don't Give Last Minute Notifications

One terrible working culture that has to STOP is this culture of last minute ad-hoc notifications - i.e. "Can you attend this workshop later today?"; "I need you to submit this morning before 12pm"; "Please make travel arrangements to attend this meeting tomorrow" - and all of its related species.

This week alone I was involved in four meetings/tasks which were informed off less than one day before or on the same day itself.

No, your "sorry for the last minute notification" does not make things any better.

Firstly, we need to respect people's time - they may have prior professional or personal commitments.

Secondly, your ad-hoc interruption might actually promote inefficiency and harm the organization in the big picture - by 'pulling people away' last minute into your poorly planned adhoc activity from others' prior commitments, you disrupt other works which are being planned well ahead of time, and thus you inadvertently 'discourage' others from planning ahead "too much in advance". If this practice becomes the norm - and absorbed as the organizational culture - eventually, one will simply conclude, "Why plan 2 weeks in advance if people are going to cancel last minute anyway?"

Thirdly, these last minute notifications usually end up killing the effectiveness of your meeting - you will not get the right quorum, received rushed/inaccurate information, immature data, and generally poor quality deliverables; in some cases, you have to repeat the entire meeting again which resulted in a waste of manhours, resources and effort. In an era which we are supposedly striving for productivity, effectiveness and quality, it's ironic that our actions are killing these aspirations slowly.

When I give this feedback, this is the typical 'defence' response:

- Last minute requirements are unavoidable

- We have to make do what what limited resources we have, and develop adaptability to change

To which my response is - yes, sometimes last minute notifications are unavoidable and necessary, but when the same problem repeats itself so often - to things which you clearly could have planned or communicated well ahead of time : it's clear that is it reflective of a bad productivity culture and terrible planning, not out of necessity or ‘unavoidable’-ness.

Last minutes should be the EXCEPTION, not the rule - only when absolutely needed and emergency/crisis situations. The RULE should be to plan your works ahead of time and work proactively to ensure the best outcome. Yes, it takes time, but why are we so quick to compromise quality "just to get it over and done with"? Do we accept lousy food just because it's delivered early?

Yes, we have to adapt to changes. But please, adaptability and proactiveness are two separate things altogether, so don't confuse them just to justify our weakness in planning or failure to communicate effectively.

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail" - this may sound like common sense, but as my ex-boss once said, unfortunately, "common sense is not very common".

Let’s all play our part, improve the way we work, and create an excellent high-performance work culture that respects people’s time.

.. And if unexpected events happen along the way in spite of our planning, we adapt.

Fifty Characteristics of Great Leadership

Throughout my 8+ years’ experience in PETRONAS, I have served under several different leaders and learnt a great deal on different leadership styles. While 8 years is certainly not a long time compared with many other veterans in the industry, it is enough to witness and learn vastly different approaches to leadership and management, and filter out the diamonds in the rough.

The following is a list of fifty (50) characteristics and traits which I feel constitute to excellent leadership. These characteristics are ones I observed throughout the years from individuals in both the corporate world, voluntary organizations, and even family members: whether it is through positive reinforcement of these traits, or recognizing lack thereof.

While this list certainly isn’t exhaustive, these are some of the more significant traits and hence, what I regard as the benchmark of Leadership Excellence, which I myself aspire to achieve and inculcate within myself, and wish to share.

1. Have a long-term vision and mission to achieve, being able to translate team's targets to fit the "bigger picture"

2. .. By setting clear expectations and goals, own subordinate's targets to drive team performance to meet this vision

3. .. But do not micromanage and meddle with all the nitty-gritty and details which are the responsibilities of the subordinate(s). Once objectives and goals are transparent to both sides, Empower subordinates enough to make decisions and learn from mistakes.

4. .. But at the same time, do not 'tai-chi' obligations, i.e. simply delegation without caring about how it is done or how competent they are. Provide solutions for them to move forward and provide adequate amount of support

5. Is not afraid and very much willing to get hands dirty to get on the field to get things done if necessary

6. When encouraging/preaching/inculcating positive traits amongst team, leads by example first, only then tells others to do it - walk then talk. Demonstrate that you are not just sitting on your ivory tower shooting down on the subjects below

7. Methodically and strategically plan out work tasks, planning and mapping out possible contingency plans in the event of unforeseen circumstances

8. Builds Strong and Meaningful Relationships - Takes extra effort to know staff/colleagues on a personal level to increase empathy, tact and wisdom in dealing with different types of personalities and behaviors. Utilizes opportunities to create informal environments and conversations to disarm people and earn/nurture trust (e.g. before meetings, during breaks) amongst colleagues and subordinates

9. Leader himself/herself is religious, and wishes of others to be religious: this indirectly demonstrates commitment to self-integrity on a personal level if one ever aspires to lead others.

10. Is Passionate in one’s goals and objectives; enthusiastic and driven to succeed and exceed expectations and does not treat tasks as “just a job” or “as long as its done”.

11. Rational thinking at all times; do not act on emotions, and do not allow subordinates to witness self during emotional outburst : especially that of anger and disappointment

12. Takes serious ownership and accountability in all tasks, including – or rather, ESPECIALLY – those which are delegated to others. Provide adequate support, and take concern on progress/challenges/milestone achievements of team, even when not physical present.

13. Does not blame or reproach others for failures, or look for scapegoats to divert the blame – takes accountability over results. Has the strength of character to let go of ego and admit mistakes and faults; then move on instead of dwelling back and forth.

14. Pays additional attention to Quality in the details – committing to delivering the Best, not “just” deliver to meet deadlines or “just as long as we can give the management”

15. Regularly engages team to reach out, communicate, obtain feedback, and to realign vision as a team

16. Firm but kind - pushes the team to outperform beyond their comfort zone, whilst at the same time empathizing and being tolerant of genuine mistakes and personal issues

17. Is approachable and easy to communicate with

18. Listens better than he/she speaks – humility and patience to listen attentively even when being educated on a subject matter which is already known.

19. Consults others for advice, including subordinates, thus demonstrates sincerity and willingness to improve

20. Courage to voice out disagreements and non-conformances for the benefit of the team/organization

21. Stands by principles and is not just willing to be a ‘yes man’ and hover in one’s comfort zone to be free from criticism

22. Emphasizes importance of communication and ensures that all levels receive required information, instruction and decisions accordingly – and ensures all right parties are well-informed, especially when cascading crucial information from upper management.

23. Comes to well prepared to meetings and discussions, review pre-reads, inquire relevant parties beforehand, make appropriate pre-meeting works beforehand

24. Keeps track of all major issues and tasks; prioritizes priorities in the right place - proactive about inquiring progress, intervening where necessary, and re-distributing work load to ensure tasks are still executed in timely manner

25. Takes pride and honors the team performance as a single entity, and not just self-glory - is keen to prefer subordinates/team to get the credit instead of oneself;

26. Once agrees with subordinate decision, stays firm with it and sticks to it; does not cop out from team's decision regardless of criticism or pressure

27. Never reproaches or humiliates own team / subordinates in front of others – especially other bosses and departments

28. Recognizes potential in others – especially younger and newer subordinates, and attempts to bring out the best out of them; does not waste opportunities to allow them to flourish. Attempts to ‘awaken’ hidden talents within team members – offer new opportunities for growth and coaching towards the goal Also pays a keen and watchful eye of their strengths and weaknesses in earnest attempts to continue developing them.

29. Considers competency development to be a priority – finds resources to ensure staff develops adequately. Is genuinely keen in developing subordinates, go extra mile and be proactive in ensuring adequate competency requirements are addressed by all available means

30. (Depending on competency levels) Himself/herself takes the trouble to teach and coach others – or at least take the effort to find the resources to ensure competency levels taught

31. Self-aware and acknowledges one's own shortcomings to improve upon – willingly accepts feedback and criticism for improvement and demonstrates sincere effort to implement feedback. Tactfully chooses the right time and place to give and seek feedback – either in groups or privately as individuals.

32. Always developing and learning new things, expanding knowledge base – lead by example in terms of ‘always learning’ and putting priority in competency development.

33. Has experience on work on the ground before and hence can empathize with the expectation to set goals which are realistic and at the same time pushing the envelope

34. Does not set ridiculous deadlines (e.g. “I want it yesterday”) – and if the need arises to get something done extra urgently, takes extra effort to assist the work on the ground to get it done

35. Gives appropriate acknowledgement and recognition where it is due; as a tool for reinforcement of positive achievements, and at the same time inspire others to achieve the same or better

36. Treat everyone with equal level of respect, even if that person is your subordinate or more junior than you : do not discriminate respect with others (i.e. "suck up" to boss, but disrespectful to young guys or the cleaners)

37. Is tactful and empathetic in conversations – be sensitive to words being used; minimize (i.e. never) use words which insinuate blame or criticizing others in a way that humiliates them; use public feedback only when there is an absolute benefit to it, without the expense of their honor (i.e. anonymously). Refrain from Negative speech and insults - Does not speak foul language, humiliate or mock/speak ill of others, including other bosses, other departments, and especially close colleagues : retains trust amongst working circles

38. Honors and respects agreements - delivering one's own side as per promise. This includes punctuality. Communicating transparently with the right stakeholders if face challenges in meeting agreement/deadlines.

39. Proactive: Does not only focus on tasks which are being assigned (“reactive”), and does not just conform to the "norm" of the "current cultures" and/or "practices" - is sharp and alert at all the areas for improvement and conscience is clear on non-conformances and what is “not supposed to be the way”.

40. Time management – punctuality, emphasizes efficiency in meetings, maps out specific tasks to be dealt with within a certain allotted time frames.

41. Prompt and quick response on approving/rejecting formal requests with regards to administrative issues (e.g. leave request and claims) Does not delay approvals/rejections. A bad answer is better than no answer.

42. Getting involved in conversations and not getting distracted in one’s own world during meetings and discussions – i.e. browsing smart phone, having side conversations, checking e-mail

43. Able to inculcate team work and integrate team members to synergize and work well together – attempts to incite participation from all team members who seem to be zoned out, attempt to get from the team more than “the sum of its parts”

44. Be articulate in speech – or at least, make deliberate attempts to improve articulation in speech. This builds respect

45. Organizes meetings in efficient manner – specifies and maps out the meeting objectives, agenda, and required quorum, specified expectations to quorum, provides additional reading material/previous MOM if required, ensures discussions are on-point and no time wasted.

46. Respects people’s professional and personal time when organizing meetings/discussions by at least informing them a reasonable amount of time in advance (e.g. one week before) unless dire cases of emergency or ad-hoc requirements – No such thing as “can you come to meeting now?”

47. Segregates professional and personal issues – examples: may have arguments in meeting and have casual friendly lunch later; does not judge in favour of one whom he/she likes as a person; does not discriminate professional viewpoints of one he/she personally dislikes.

48. Empathy - Capability to ‘put self in others shoes’ and appreciate/empathize opinions of others from their perspective and where they are coming from, even if those opinions are incorrect, less accurate, or disagreed upon.

49. Carries self with a respectable and honourable demeanour – does not do foolish things which can tarnish self-image or make one look silly (e.g. excessive joking, emotional outbursts, negative talks/badmouth others, making nonsense remarks in meetings)

50. Humility – does not consider oneself “above” or “better than” others, does not fall into the trappings of arrogance or looking down on others.

Gunalah Media Sosial Dengan Bijaksana

Alhamdulillah – media sosial sangat mudah untuk berkomunikasi kepada orang ramai dalam masa yang singkat dan cara yang mudah.

Pada masa yang sama, media sosial terhad dalam kita tidak mengenali nada suara, tonasi percakapan, emosi atau paras rupa – jadi sangat besar ruang untuk salah faham, kalau kita tidak berhati-hati.

Jadi janganlah guna media sosial untuk sindir, perli, mengutuk atau kritik lain-lain atas platform umum – sama ada atas isu agama, politik, organisasi atau peribadi. Dan tahanlah diri daripada menggunakan media sosial untuk meluahkan perasaan dalam saat-saat emosi: terutama sekali apabila marah.

Boleh jadi, disebabkan perkataan anda yang kecil, paling sedikit pun, boleh menyebabkan yang lain terasa, tersinggung, marah, sentap, “left group” – paling teruk, boleh mencetuskan pergaduhan, menimbulkan fitnah, membatu api-kan antara pihak lain.

Kalau anda ada taraf yang tinggi di khayalak masyarakat – anda seorang ustaz, seorang pemimpin, ramai follower, dan sebagainya – lebih tinggi, lebih dahsyat dan lebih besar impak dia.

Sebab itulah firman Allah kepada orang-orang beriman – janganlah buka ruangan pintu untuk shaytan menghasut :

وَقُلْ لِعِبَادِي يَقُولُوا الَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ ۚ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَنْزَغُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ كَانَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ عَدُوًّا مُبِينًا

“Katakanlah kepada hamba-hamba-Ku, untuk mengucapkan kata-kata yang terbaik; (kerana) sesungguhnya, Shaytan itu (sentiasa) menimbulkan perselisihan (membatu apikan) di antara mereka.

Sesungguhnya syaitan itu adalah musuh yang nyata bagi manusia” (Surah Al-Isra, ayat 53)

Kalau ada perkara nak tegur, buat secara peribadi dahulu. Kecualilah kalau fitnah yang berleluasa – itu pun, buatlah dengan rasional dan bijaksana, dan serahkan kepada ahlinya di mana patut – bukan tembak sebarang. Kita koboi ke mukmin?

Adapun orang-orang mukmin, metodologi mereka :

وَمَنْ كَانَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ فَلْيَقُلْ خَيْرًا أَوْ لِيَصْمُتْ

“Dan barangsiapa yang beriman kepada Allah dah Hari Akhir, maka hendaklah ia berkata baik, atau diam sahaja!” (HR Al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Kawallah emosi kita – semua amalan kita akan disoal.

Saya ingatkan diri saya dan diri sahabat-sahabat sekalian – terutama sekali mereka yang berniat ikhlas menggunakan media sosial untuk kebaikan dan tujuan agama :

IttaqUllah! Tanyalah diri sendiri – Adakah dunia media sosial ini bertambah lebih baik atau lebih mudharat dengan kehadiran kita? Apa matlamat kita menggunakan media sosial.. adakah untuk menyebarkan kebaikan atau menyebarkan fitnah dan huru-hara?

Boleh jadi kata-kata kita yang ringkas di media sosial – walaupun sekadar tekan-tekan jari di skrin – boleh memberi inspirasi kepada orang untuk berubah kepada kebenaran, dan anda menjadi agen untuk hidayah Allah; tetapi boleh jadi juga kata-kata kita boleh menyebabkan perpecahan, dan – tahniah – anda secara tidak langsung menjadi agen untuk shaytan. Renungkan kata-kata Rasulullah ﷺ :

إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْكَلِمَةِ مِنْ رِضْوَانِ اللَّهِ لاَ يُلْقِي لَهَا بَالاً، يَرْفَعُ اللَّهُ بِهَا دَرَجَاتٍ

Sesungguhnya, seorang hamba itu mungkin bertutur sesuatu perkataan yang disukai Allah, tanpa dia menganggapnya sebagai sesuatu yang berat/penting, tetapi disebabkan perkataan itu, Allah menaikkannya dengan beberapa darjat (kehormatannya di sisi-Nya, atau darjat di Syurga)

وَإِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَيَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْكَلِمَةِ مِنْ سَخَطِ اللَّهِ لاَ يُلْقِي لَهَا بَالاً يَهْوِي بِهَا فِي جَهَنَّمَ

“Dan sesungguhnya, seorang hamba itu bertutur sesuatu perkataan yang mendatangkan kemurkaan Allah, tanpa mengiranya sebagai sesuatu yang berat, tetapi akan dihumban ke dalam neraka jahannam disebabkan kata-kata tersebut” (HR Al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Lelaki tidak suka belajar Tajwid?

Baru-baru ini, isteri saya mengajak beberapa kenalan dan ahli keluarganya turut serta dalam satu kursus Tajwid berguru intensif, yang khusus untuk perempuan sahaja.

Selepas beberapa minggu dalam kursus tersebut, beliau bertanya kepada maklumbalas mereka, bagaimana? OK tak kelas Tajwid?

Kesemuanya memberi maklumbalas yang amat positif - "Best!" - dan bila ditanya seorang demi seorang, "Kenapa?" atau "Apa yang best?" Mereka semua menjawab :  sebab ustazah banyak tegur, sangat terperinci, selalu cari kesalahan, tahulah kelemahan untuk perbaiki tajwid.  

Ajib! Mereka sangat seronok bila ditegur dan ditunjuk kesalahan - dan masha Allah, mudah-mudahan ini satu petanda tentang keikhlasan dalam menuntut ilmu, mengislahkan amal dan memperbaiki diri.

.. Tetapi malang sekali, hal ini sangat berbeza dengan ramai lelaki.

Daripada pengalaman kami, ramai lelaki yang cuba mengelak daripada tadarus/bacaan Qur'an dan diperbetulkan tajwid, terutama sekali di hadapan orang lain dalam persekitaran kelas. Bila di perbetulkan sedikit, sentap.

Malah, kadangkala jika ada majlis ilmu/halaqah/usrah yang ada padanya tadarus/bacaan Qur'an, mereka akan mengelak terus daripada hadir kerana 'malu' atau terasa bila ditegur, akhir sekali rugi terus ilmu.

Ada juga yang terus-terang beritahu saya dan sahabat lain secara peribadi, mereka memang tak nak hadir kerana adanya sesi tadarus Qur'an, tidak suka diperbetulkan depan orang ramai.

.. amat berbeza dengan para akhawat dan wanita tadi yang ‘seronok’ bila berjumpa dengan guru-guru tajwid yang sangat banyak perbetulkan bacaan mereka!

Di sini wahai kaum Adam, saudara-saudara sekalian, saya nak kongsikan sedikit nasihat dan teguran.

Ya, tidak dinafikan, pembetulan secara peribadi adalah lebih baik dan efektif, tetapi Pembetulan tajwid tetap pembetulan tajwid, tetap penambahbaikan dalam ilmu Qur'an. 

Cuma bezanya persepsi kita : bila ditegur depan orang ramai mungkin orang lelaki mudah terasa malu, ego terguris atau tercabar, atau ditakuti atau ‘fobia’ seolah-olah orang lain memandang serong terhadapnya kerana kekurangan upayanya membaca al-Qur’an. 

Wahai saudara sekalian – kuatkanlah jati diri dan azam untuk ikhlas dalam menuntut ilmu, dan membuang ego daripada usaha kita dalam Al-Qur’an. Jangan beri ruangan terhadap syaitan untuk memberi ‘alasan’ kita malas/meninggalkan Qur’an. 

Semua orang bermula buta huruf – tiada orang di dunia ini yang lahir-lahir, terus mahir.

Cuma sesetengah orang diberi didikan awal oleh ibu bapanya atau persekitaran Pendidikan awal yang kondusif, dan - Alhamdulillah – dia mudah membaca bila dewasa.

Kalau kita tidak diberi kesempatan ini semasa kecil, usahlah rasa malu, mulakan sahaja sekarang! 

Bahkan bagi seorang mukmin, perasaan malu itulah yang sepatutnya mendorong kita lebih berazam untuk mantapkan lagi tajwid. 

Tiada siapa yang akan memandang rendah atau serong terhadap anda kalau anda lakukan kesilapan – kalau ada pun, maka yang memandang rendah itu lah yang bersalah di sisi Allah – bahkan mungkin itulah sikap Takabbur yang amat dilarang oleh Nabi, sehingga seseorang yang mempunyai sifat ini walaupun sebesar satu zarah tidak akan masuk syurga. 

Wahai saudara-saudara sekalian, minima 17 kali dalam satu hari – setiap hari – kita meminta kepada Allah dalam surah al-Fatihah :

اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ

“Tunjukkanlah kepada kami Jalan yang Lurus!”

17 kali Kita meminta-minta hidayah daripada Allah. Dan untuk mendapat petunjuk bagaimana untuk perbetulkan bacaan kitab-Nya adalah satu jenis petunjuk yang Allah berikan melalui hamba-Nya yang lain. 

Kalaulah kita sengaja mengelak daripadanya kerana ego, boleh jadi secara tidak langsung, dengan perbuatan kita, kita menolak hidayah Allah. 

Wahai sahabat-sahabat sekalian, Rasulullah ﷺ bersabda, 

 مَثَلُ الَّذِي يَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ وَهْوَ حَافِظٌ لَهُ مَعَ السَّفَرَةِ الْكِرَامِ الْبَرَرَةِ

“Mereka yang mahir dalam membaca al-Qur’an – akan dihimpunkan bersama as-safaratul Kiram (pengutus mulia di sisi Allah – para malaikat);

وَمَثَلُ الَّذِي يَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ وَهْوَ يَتَعَاهَدُهُ وَهْوَ عَلَيْهِ شَدِيدٌ، فَلَهُ أَجْرَانِ 

Dan yang membaca dengan susah payah itu, akan diberikan ganjaran dua kali ganda” (HR Al-Bukhari)

Di sini Nabi memberi motivasi kepada kita untuk sentiasa usaha dan tidak berputus asa.

Bayangkan, wahai saudara sekalian – jika anda berusaha dalam bersusah payah bacaan tajwid, akan diberikan ganjaran dua kali ganda.

Soalan : Wujudkah pekerjaan di dunia ni, bila kita baru nak mula, masih terkapai-kapai, slow dan banyak silap, majikan akan bayar gaji dua kali ganda - hanya atas dasar usaha gigih?!

Tidak.. Ganjaran ini semua Hanya daripada rahmat Allah الرحمن الرحيم - tapi mungkin kita yang berpaling, dan kita kurang hargai. 

Mungkin ada yang tidak bersetuju dengan saya meng-umum-kan statistik jantina sebegini, i.e. "Gender stereotyping" - kerana saya yakin, mungkin statistik saya kurang tepat, dan memang tidak dinafikan ada sahaja lelaki yang masha Allah sangat suka ditegur dan gigih berusaha dalam penambahbaikan, ataupun sebaliknya mungkin ada juga perempuan yang bersikap ego dan tidak suka ditegur. 

Tetapi saya sengaja nak lebihkan sedikit tegur penekanan kepada lelaki, kerana saya sendiri adalah lelaki dan saya rasa wajar nak tegur geng saya sendiri sebagai satu “wake up call” bila statistik dah menunjukkan trending yang kurang sihat ini. Juga kepada lelaki selaku golongan pemimpin dan ketua keluarga yang perlu sentiasa amalkan contoh terbaik. Dan mungkin juga sebab kadang-kadang kaum lelaki tertidur ketika pesanan dan nasihat penting ketika khutbah Jumaat. Yalah kan, penat.

Ala kulli hal mesej ini adalah satu peringatan kepada diri saya dan juga kepada antum semua – teruskanlah dan tingkatkanlah lagi – usaha dalam memahirkan diri, menguasai tajwid, memahami, dan menghafal al-Qur’an – dan jadilah sebaik-baik manusia seperti yang dikhabarkan Nabi ﷺ :

خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ 

“Yang terbaik daripada kamu adalah mereka yang belajar Al-Qur’an dan mengajarkannya (kepada yang lain)” (HR Al-Bukhari dan Muslim)