Palm Information Centre, MPOB

30 December 2010
Today 30 December 2010 marks my 5th year of retirement from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board(MPOB). Five years ago on 30th December2005, the staff of the Palm Information Centre organised a farewell and retirement gathering for me at Anjung Sawit of the Palm Information Centre. It was a very memorable experience for me because after 33 years in the government service, I realised that I was retiring. However for me, retirement is just a change in career (I found out later). That day, I tried hard to retain my feelings inside me because deep in me, I actually was very very sad, having to leave my beloved staff, especially the senior ones who had been with me through thick and thin, planning and executing the duties and responsibilities of the former PORIM Library (now known as Palm Information Centre or popularly known as PMS for short), whom I had grown to trust and love throughout the years working with them - people like Pn Sakinah, Pn Robiah, Pn Norizan, Noraziah, Nor Lijah,  NorAzman, Fuad, Ghazali, Saadiah, Amin, Ariff, Fatimah Hanim, Shahrul Aida, Rafidah....without their dedication and support, I would not have developed the Centre. Kindly go to http://palmoilis.mpob.gov.my/Vtour/index.htm for a glimpse of our small contribution to MPOB and our beloved country Malaysia.
NB. I had the opportunity of meeting up the former Director-General of MPOB recently.  He asked me whether I visit the Centre and I wholeheartedly informed him that ..."saya sayu hati nak pergi balik ke MPOB sebab saya terima beberapa maklumbalas menyatakan yang PMS kini tak sama macam PMS dulu. Galeri  tidak di kemaskini dengan baik; Produk Palmshoppe pun tak banyak seperti dulu; keseluruhan PMS sudah hilang keceriannya....". Even the virtual tour of 5 years ago which I developed before was never updated.
On another ocassion, I was also approached by the former Chairman of MPOB to come and discuss with him regarding the information requirements of the palm oil industry. But I never did because my principle in life is that  once I leave an organization, I leave clean without any strings tied.
In December this year, I was on the audit panel of an auditing company. I was pleasantly surprised when the librarian commented that the Palm Information Centre is the benchmark for the library development in Malaysia. I felt humbled and at the same time proud of our achievement in setting an example for the library and information industry in Malaysia. Hearing this comment made me feel very sad since the Centre has lost its glory of yesteryears.
As a founder and former Head of Unit of PMS, I feel saddened  by the unsatisfactory comments and "hati tersangatlah sayu untuk menjejaki kaki ke PMS, satu-satunya peninggalan saya di MPOB..."