Skip to main content

"I owe you a great debt of gratitude"

Say a prayer of gratitude

The folks at NST received their productivity bonuses last Friday. Some were happy while others felt that they had been cheated out of their share of the profits.

Their year-end appraisals were excellent; so, why? I have no intention of going into the whys and the wherefores of the situation.

I am more interested in the expressions of gratitude or ingratitude that emerged on the day NST employees checked their bank accounts.

A Facebook post by journalist Suzieana Uda Nagu stood out as being more meaningful than the rest.  She told Facebook friends what was on her mind at 5.34am on February 25 when she posted this cryptic message: "Are you smiling now warga  NSTP (or NSTP denizens)"?

Several friends responded to Suzieana's status update with all kinds of comments. And it went back and forth.

Suzieana Uda Nagu

Those who work for the company would know what Suzieana was alluding to. The bonus payments which were promised to all staff with high levels of productivity were paid directly into their bank just before dawn broke on February 25.

Apparently many were online at the time to view their accounts. Suzieana wrote: "While most will be smiling ear to ear today, remember that some aren't getting their fair share of the pie. Some got more than they deserved, while others didn't get anything at all. So be thankful for what you got."

Wow! That blew me away! Those simple sentences encapsulate the positive emotions that emanate from the feeling of being grateful or thankful.

It serves as a timely reminder of just how easy it is for me to forget to say "Thank you God for allowing me to live another day".

Comments

Popular Posts

Dealing with death of a loved one

Today marks the end of Rabiaa's mourning period. She had completed four months and 10 days or 130 days of grieving, the stipulated period for expressing sorrow for Muslim widows.  The death of her husband on Dec 30, 2020 was expected  but it still came as a huge shock to her. It was too sudden, she felt. Yet  observers would not agree. Her husband became bedridden in mid-November after a collision between his big bike and a car which had come from the opposite direction after taking an illegal turn.  In addition to being bedridden, Anwar, lost his voice which was the direct result of the  brain injury he had suffered after the accident. He was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. How does Rabiaa feel now? The pain is bearable but the memories remain as vivid as ever. She is still unwilling to clear up all of her husband's things and some items remain in their original positions as before he became bound to the bed. His belongings connect Rabiaa to Anwar and sh...

Buah Tarap: A chance encounter

You learn something new everyday. My friend Alina is very fond of repeating this. And I agree with her. Today I tasted the Buah Tarap (Tarap Fruit) which is said to be unique to Sabah/Borneo. My colleagues and I arrived in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah this afternoon; we are here for the RHB New Straits Times Spell-It-Right Challenge which will take place at the Suria Mall over the weekend. After checking into the Beverly Hotel we walked to a nearby eatery for a spot of tea. It was then that I chanced upon the Buah Tarap and began snapping away. My colleague, who had eaten the fruit in Bandung, Indonesia, was excited to see it. He bought one for us to try. The stall vendor split the fruit into two and we bit into its flesh. Everyone liked it but describing its flavour remains a challenge. The fruit, which looks like nangka (jackfruit) or chempedak,  has an unusual combination of tastes: it is sweet but not as sweet as the jackfruit nor as chunky. Words fail me. It feels so lig...

Next stop, Sungkai

The locomotive joins the failed train A routine trip to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for a medical check up turned out to be a nightmare for Rabiaa Dani and her husband. Their ticket was for a day train ride to KL Sentral , leaving Ipoh railway station at 8.20am, and returning to Ipoh at night. The couple arrived safely at KL Sentral Station and proceeded to the hospital immediately. Everything went well at the hospital. They even managed to sneak a shopping trip to KLCC for a quick look see before returning to KL Sentral for their 7.40pm train back to Ipoh. The train (9032), like clockwork, departed at the scheduled time. Both Rabiaa and her husband fell asleep about ten minutes after the train had left KL Sentral station. They woke up shortly before hearing the sound of a heavy object hitting something; the train came to a halt soon after. Replacement train at Sungkai station Their nighmare had begun. Rabiaa and her husband later learned that the train had hit a pig...