Everything goes through a process, and so do our lives.
My Life Journey • Episode 10
I Watched an Empty Plot Become a Community Hall. Along the Way, I Was Learning Too.
“I began to understand that connection when I visited sites and saw repaired roads, renovated homes and empty land that eventually became a community hall.”
I entered government service in keeping with my late father’s hopes. Dad wanted me to have a permanent job and a more secure future.
I had been part of that working routine. When I went out to the sites, I could see who benefited from the matters I handled at my desk.
My posting at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government then opened up a valuable learning opportunity.
At the federal ministry, I assisted Administrative and Diplomatic Service (PTD) officers in coordinating and monitoring Chinese New Village projects in Johor, Perak and Selangor.
These included community halls, roads and home repairs.
I checked documents, followed up on progress and helped with reports and payment-related matters. When required, I also joined other officers on site visits.
I saw buildings after they had been repaired. Roads after they had been restored. Land that had started out empty, then became a community hall.
I also met villagers and officers assigned to the districts.
Those experiences helped me understand the connection between office work and people’s lives.
The road in the report was a route residents used every day.
The house being repaired would be a family’s home.
The completed hall would serve the local community.
Looking back, I think:
“The work I helped complete at the office really did have an impact on the people here.”
In 2006, while serving at KPKT, I received the Excellent Service Award, presented by the Minister of Housing and Local Government.
Praise be to God.
Looking at this photograph reminds me of the everyday work that came before it. Documents to check. Progress to ask about. Matters to follow up.
It also reminds me of my late father.
“Dad, the job you wanted me to try turned out to teach me so much.”
Today, I am grateful that I listened to his advice.
If you work in administration, assist officers or manage documents, appreciate the experience you are gaining.
Try asking yourself:
What is this work for?
Who needs the results after we have done our part?
What will be held up if this isn’t completed?
When we understand those connections, we see more clearly why our own work needs to be done carefully.
My experience at KPKT became part of the foundation I drew on when I later led AHB Group.
It reminds me to understand what is happening on site, listen to the people involved and pay attention to unfinished matters.
While helping to manage those projects, I was also building knowledge for responsibilities I hadn’t yet imagined.
But I still had to make ends meet in Damansara on a modest salary.
Outside office hours, I went from house to house giving tuition to supplement my income.
I’ll continue that story in Episode 11.
What task once seemed ordinary to you, but now you realise taught you a great deal?
— PMr. Mohd Hawarie Bin Tan Muzi
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