A Wet Start

The prediction was it would be sunny this morning and tomorrow. But it turned out to be the opposite. It rained so hard that it was such a struggle to get out of bed.

The traffic into work was understandably heavy. Luckily today was a no clinic day, hence I could take my own sweat time enjoying the carpark that was Federal Highway.

The Boss is back!My senior colleague would also be back from conquering Mount Kinabalu. I spent the morning doing rounds with him before leaving for Ara Damansara to see a referral there.

Heavy rain while seeing my referral at Ara DamansaraBack for lunch before doing an early round to enjoy an early afternoon. The boys would be having a long weekend so we planned to go out tonight after their Quran class. Maybe dinner outside.

In the meantime, it was best to enjoy some down time. I would be on call Saturday.

Grow & Share Together

Being a good citizen that I was, my first ever physical contribution to the GST happened this morning. Right after my ward round, I went to my favourite breakfast place and duly contributed.

The had a new till machine install to capture the GST portion of the bills which I was sure would help with the Customs payment later. Took a bit longer than usual but the staff finally figured out what to do. I lost my receipt though. Damn!

Where's everybody?Back to the lounge during lunchtime, I wondered what was going on. The room was practically empty? Are there some makan thing going on which I didn't know. Or was it that the clinics were all cancelled and everybody were on leave?‎

The New Mediplex

It was finally opened. Although I haven't learned of any fanfare. The Mediplex right next to my ward was finally opened. More of a soft launch, announced by the opening of Starbucks.

Access was straight forward as there is a dedicated lift straight from the car park. I happened to park right next to that entrance. So. This morning, I decided to have a look. No clinics. Some time to kill on the way to breakfast.

Urut Melayu .... HmmmmThe lobby straight out of the liftWelcomeI'm sure it would be manned soonFrom the entranceNice and neat. Not all the outlets were opened yet, but the food outlets at the ground floor, plus Chicken Rice Shop had already started business since a couple of weeks back. There was also a pharmacy, which ironically was selling health supplements right there. According to the list, there would be more outlet upstairs mainly for wellness. I might just try some massage.

The next thing I looked at was the Surau. We have two Surau at SJMC, one for each tower. But they were small and we're more of an afterthought rather than a purpose built room. The one at Mediplex looked to be more dedicated although I wished that it would be bigger. It was tucked in at the back of the building, right by the lift.

Starbucks of course, with staff discountI's sure this on would be popular, if the service is fast enoughMore choice, but the number of seats were limitedPlace for wudukThe praying area was still emptyIt had a separate area for wuduk which was good, but it could with a bigger area to sit and store bags and shoes. It was also still empty. Just being opened I guessed. I had yet to try it myself.

To be honest, located by my car park made getting in and out through the new building easy for me. Great for getting a quick bite on my drive home before getting stuck in the usual jam.

Let's see what else was in store when the upper floors were opened. ‎

GST Fever

Although the deadline for GST registration was looming, there was no end to the confusion on the actual program. Almost every week, there were new amendment, and the uncertainly was really eating away on us Doctors. The rumours that GST would not be charged onto patients was going to be a myth, but the Customs were not doing a good job informing the public of this fact.

It looked like everybody would be in for a shock come April Fools Day. I could just imagine how my patients would act when they see their bill.

So, yesterday, I had another briefing given by a Tax agent on how to handle the incoming uncertainty. I left the room with more apprehension than I started. It would be a nightmare once the system is implemented, as the amount of paperwork and submission I had to do every quarter would be a headache. And apparently you must use the services of a certified tax agent for the auditing. This would cost extra money and frankly unnecessary. And the agent who gave us the briefing unashamedly asked us to use his service and buy his software to help us deal with the invoicing. And that was the point when I left the room ....

So, I'm bracing myself for a stuttering start when GST would be implemented. Not really saying that I was looking forward to it ...

Rest in Peace Sir

This morning, SJMC mourned the passing of a truly great colleague, Dr Sabri. A pioneer Neurologist, he lost a long battle against cancer although he was still at work last Ramadhan.

Unfortunately I was on call today and was unable to attend his funeral scheduled for this lunch time. Many of his colleagues attended to him during his last illness and he was still a gentleman even though we realized that things were not going to plan.

He met his Maker this morning and the mood during the morning round was a somber one. He was much loved at the hospital and everybody wishes his family condolences, and Dr Sabri to be in Jannah. Alfatihah.