Mad Bomber amat tertarik dengan berita seorang pemandu teksi berjaya memperolehi Sarjana dalam usia yang agak lewat. Dengan kerjaya sebagai seorang pemandu teksi beliau berjaya menempuhi liku liku yang amat mencabar sebelum berjaya dianugerahkan segulung Master. Alasannya belaiu belajar sekadar nak memberi dorongan kepada anak anak beliau seramai 5 orang.
Mad Bomber dapat bayangkan perit jerih beliau dalam mengharungi kuliah dan assignment yang kena dibuat. Mad Bomber pernah ditawarkan untuk belajar di luarnegeri satu ketika dulu tapi Mad Bomber tolak sebab dah terikat dengan kerja kerajaan dan nak kena resign sebab belum confirm masa itu. Tetapi azam dan tekad tetap membara untuk belajar setinggi yang boleh. Peluang yang JPA tawarkan ke Korea dan USA pada 1990 adalah suatu peluang yang amat berharga. Mad Bomber memang ada pasang niat nak ke Korea masa di PUO dulu sebab masa Mad Bomber di PUO 1984 Dasar Pandang KeTimur sedang rancak berjalan, ramai student Poli dapat ke Jepun dan Korea. Tapi apa nak buat Mad Bomber lebih patuh kepada nasihat arwah ibu untuk teruskan kerja dengan gomen masa tu sebab 1986 ekonomi gawat teruk juga, jadi bila dapat jadi pegawai kerajaan dikira bernasib baik sedangkan graduan lain masih meneruskan kerjaya noreh atau kerja kontrak saja.
Mad Bomber sambung Diploma Mech. Eng kat UTM secara part time selama 3 tahun kemudian sambung buat Degree 2 tahun lagi, rehat 3 tahun Mad Bomber buat Master dan akan konvo 20 Nov ini. Pada yang pernah belajar part time ni pengorbanan amatlah besar, semangat kena kuat dan poket akan selalu kering sebab yuran tinggi. Pada Abang teksi tadi Mad Bomber salute sekali lagi. Masa untuk famili amatlah kurang dan pengobanan isteri amatlah penting, bayangkan setiap Sabtu dan Ahad ke kuliah dan tiada masa untuk mereka. Tambahan pula kuota susu anak kena catu sebab kena adjust gaji untuk bayar yuran setiap semester. MB habis RM14,000 untuk Diploma dan RM13,000 untuk Degree dan RM8,000 untuk Master. Ketika kawan kawan melaram dengan kereta baru MB amat berbangga membawa anak anak dengan Proton Saga sahaja pada masa tu dan MB percaya jika kita istiqamah kita boleh berjaya tatkala hampir separuh classmate MB ‘syahid’ dipertengahan pengajian dek kerana tak tahan yuran, atau tak tahan setiap minggu kena pergi kampus atau kurang daya tahan menghadapi Kalkulus atau Numerical Method yang amat mengerikan pada kami yang Add Math punah masa SPM dulu. Buat rakan rakan yang sedang mengharungi cabaran part time student ni atau masih berkira kira nak sambung belajar…jangan fikir panjang lagi korban sedikit gaji dan masa anda untuk menjadi Abang Teksi. Lupakan sementara Toyota Estima,atau nak beli rumah di kawasan elit Bukit Jelutong …kita cari dulu sekeping kertas macam
Abang Teksi tu…anda akan melihat hasil tersebut bila sampai masanya nanti dengan syarat ilmu yang dimiliki bukan untuk sombong diri, atau merosakan dunia ini. Semua ilmu atau pengetahuan ini tidak bermakna jika kita menggunakannya secara tidak bijaksana…arwah ayah Mad Bomber bukan seorang yang pandai tetapi arwah seorang yang bijaksana. Buat anak anak MB, ingatlah pesan arwah Tok Kedah “Bila besaq nanti aku nak tengok hangpa jadi orang” Ada Degree ke Master ke atau PhD ke tak guna juga kalau tak jadi “orang” atau tak tahu mengamalkan ilmu yang ada secara bijaksana. Buat rakan sekelas IS770 UiTM sesi 2006/07 selamat berkonvo pada 20 Nov. nanti kita jumpa disana.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Selamat Tinggal Sang Saka Biru
Selamat tinggal Sang Saka Biru. Setelah hampir 21 tahun Mad Bomber (MB) menjulang panji panji keramat ini dengan berat hati akan meninggalkan kerjaya yang menjadi cita cita MB sejak kecil lagi. Dalam beberapa bulan terakhit ini MB akan mengimbau kembali sejarah penglibatan MB dalam menjulang Sang Saka Biru ini. Sebenarnya sejak dinagku sekolah lagi MB memang nak jadi macam hero Hindustan Dharmendra atau Amitabh Bachan dalam filem Sholay yang pernah dimainkan dipadang sekolah rendah Selambau Hill suatu ketika dulu. Wayang pacak Hindustan di pawagan Seri Embun selalu selalu dimainkan di Selambau Hill. Hero Hindustan yang selalunya polis memang menjadi idola MB..kalau boleh MB nak nak jadi macam hero hindustan tu. Tapi massa sekolah rendah dulu cikgu MB iaitu Cikgu Nan bin Man (tak tahulah masih ada atau dah meninggal) suruh jajdi Engineer. MB pun tak tahu engineer tu apa…tapi pasal cikgu suruh jadi engineer maka MB pun kata bila besar nanti nakjadi engineer….apa kejadahnya kerja engineer tu pun MB tak tahu masa tu…tapi dalam hati kecil tetap nak jadi Men in Blue.
Filem Bukit Kepong telah menambah lagi semangat MB kearah itu…pada masa tu zaman komunis masih kuat di area berdekatan Selambau Hil seperti Baling dan Gubir di Sik..selalu MB baca anggota keselamatan kena serang oleh komunis ada kes helicopter askar kena tembak ramai yang mati dan itu semua itu menaikan semangat MB nak jadi Man in Blue.
Lepas SPM MB dapat masuk Politeknik Ungku Omar, Ipoh dalam jurusan Kej. Mekanikal…masa inilah baru MB tahu kerja Engineer macam mana dan mula timbul minat nak jadi engineer…lupa seketika nak jadi Man in Blue.. prestasi MB masa kat PUO agak memberansangkan dan pada masa tu masih ada program pandang ke timur banyak student Politek yang bagus dihantar ke Korea atau Jepun. ..MB memang minat nak pi Korea atau Jepun ni…tapi kuasa Allah mengatasi segalanya..2 minggu sebelum final exam tahun akhir ayahanda MB kembali kerahmatullah akibat kemalangan jalanraya …agak terencat juga persiapan untuk final tapi MB masih mampu membuat yang terbaik.
Tahun 1986/87 ekonomi gawat teruk …ramai yang keluar U pun tak buat apa kerja kecuali menjadi cikgu sementara sesi pagi mengajar hampir 400 student setiap pagi lepas subuh termasuklah MB (noreh la tu). MB bertuah kerana dapat kerja sebagai Mechanical Supervisor dengan satu kontraktor bina kem PPH di Kulim. Kerja ok sebab related dengan kelulusan MB…masa disitulah keluar iklan nak jadi Insp. Shahab macam Dharmendra tu..Mb pun try minta. Masa minta boring kat SP Sarjan tu suruh Mb balik sebab dada kembang tak cukup inci…dia suruh MB pumping pun tak kembang juga lepasa MB merayu rayu dia bagi juga boring tu dengan syarat masa interview nantu mesti cukup kalau tak orang KL akan suruh balik saja.
Apa lagi setiap pagi kalau balik tolong arwah ibu noreh MB akan gunakan dahan dahan pokok getah tu seperti Gimnasium supaya otot kembang …adalah perubahan…selang sehari mesti ukur ada.
Masa kerja di PPH Kulim tu lah MB dapat surat panggi temuduga Insp. Shahab. Masa di PPH Kulim Mb selalu ada site meeting antara kontraktor, JKR dan PDRM…pengerusi meeting Dato Tahir Sijan seorang pegawai tinggi polis. MB ada bagi tahu kat salah seorang pegawai yang hadir tu yang MB nak pi t/duga Insp. Shahab….dia minta MB Photostat surat tersebut. Masa t/duga di PPH Sg.Petani ada 12 orang semuanya MB yang paling last sekali masuk. Masa masuk MB tengok Dato Tahir Sijan jadi pengerusi lembaga temuduga….dia buat macam tak kenal saja…MB hanya disuruh baca Al Fatihah saja dan disuruh keluar….habisla fikir MB depa tak tanya apa pun…tapi bila tengahari bila di umum result MB sorng saja yang dapat..yang lain disuruh balik sambung motong getah…(MB tak tahu samada Dato Tahir Sijan masih hidup atau tidak….semoga Allah sentiasa merahmati Dato’) . MB diarah lapor di Jalan Gurney 28/8/88…bersama 167 yang lain. Skuad MB skuad bertuah sebab ada angka 88 kata jurulatih..tapi depa anyam MB dan rakan rakan macam jepun dera masa perang dulu…sekali fikir baik balik motong getah lagi baik. Kita jumpa lagi untuk kenangan 6 bulan di Jalan Gurney. Selamat tinggal Sang Saka Biru.
Filem Bukit Kepong telah menambah lagi semangat MB kearah itu…pada masa tu zaman komunis masih kuat di area berdekatan Selambau Hil seperti Baling dan Gubir di Sik..selalu MB baca anggota keselamatan kena serang oleh komunis ada kes helicopter askar kena tembak ramai yang mati dan itu semua itu menaikan semangat MB nak jadi Man in Blue.
Lepas SPM MB dapat masuk Politeknik Ungku Omar, Ipoh dalam jurusan Kej. Mekanikal…masa inilah baru MB tahu kerja Engineer macam mana dan mula timbul minat nak jadi engineer…lupa seketika nak jadi Man in Blue.. prestasi MB masa kat PUO agak memberansangkan dan pada masa tu masih ada program pandang ke timur banyak student Politek yang bagus dihantar ke Korea atau Jepun. ..MB memang minat nak pi Korea atau Jepun ni…tapi kuasa Allah mengatasi segalanya..2 minggu sebelum final exam tahun akhir ayahanda MB kembali kerahmatullah akibat kemalangan jalanraya …agak terencat juga persiapan untuk final tapi MB masih mampu membuat yang terbaik.
Tahun 1986/87 ekonomi gawat teruk …ramai yang keluar U pun tak buat apa kerja kecuali menjadi cikgu sementara sesi pagi mengajar hampir 400 student setiap pagi lepas subuh termasuklah MB (noreh la tu). MB bertuah kerana dapat kerja sebagai Mechanical Supervisor dengan satu kontraktor bina kem PPH di Kulim. Kerja ok sebab related dengan kelulusan MB…masa disitulah keluar iklan nak jadi Insp. Shahab macam Dharmendra tu..Mb pun try minta. Masa minta boring kat SP Sarjan tu suruh Mb balik sebab dada kembang tak cukup inci…dia suruh MB pumping pun tak kembang juga lepasa MB merayu rayu dia bagi juga boring tu dengan syarat masa interview nantu mesti cukup kalau tak orang KL akan suruh balik saja.
Apa lagi setiap pagi kalau balik tolong arwah ibu noreh MB akan gunakan dahan dahan pokok getah tu seperti Gimnasium supaya otot kembang …adalah perubahan…selang sehari mesti ukur ada.
Masa kerja di PPH Kulim tu lah MB dapat surat panggi temuduga Insp. Shahab. Masa di PPH Kulim Mb selalu ada site meeting antara kontraktor, JKR dan PDRM…pengerusi meeting Dato Tahir Sijan seorang pegawai tinggi polis. MB ada bagi tahu kat salah seorang pegawai yang hadir tu yang MB nak pi t/duga Insp. Shahab….dia minta MB Photostat surat tersebut. Masa t/duga di PPH Sg.Petani ada 12 orang semuanya MB yang paling last sekali masuk. Masa masuk MB tengok Dato Tahir Sijan jadi pengerusi lembaga temuduga….dia buat macam tak kenal saja…MB hanya disuruh baca Al Fatihah saja dan disuruh keluar….habisla fikir MB depa tak tanya apa pun…tapi bila tengahari bila di umum result MB sorng saja yang dapat..yang lain disuruh balik sambung motong getah…(MB tak tahu samada Dato Tahir Sijan masih hidup atau tidak….semoga Allah sentiasa merahmati Dato’) . MB diarah lapor di Jalan Gurney 28/8/88…bersama 167 yang lain. Skuad MB skuad bertuah sebab ada angka 88 kata jurulatih..tapi depa anyam MB dan rakan rakan macam jepun dera masa perang dulu…sekali fikir baik balik motong getah lagi baik. Kita jumpa lagi untuk kenangan 6 bulan di Jalan Gurney. Selamat tinggal Sang Saka Biru.
Kemuncak kerjaya ketika menjulang Sang Saka Biru
Posting ini Mad Bomber ambil temuramah bersama akhbar The Star pada tahun lalu dengan sedikit Last week’s bomb hoax at the Penang Bridge had our very own bomb squad swinging into action. Here is an inside look at how it operates.
ANOTHER bomb goes off and people die and/or are injured. Sometimes it’s a veritable bloodbath. It can happen in any corner of the world – Iraq, South Thailand, Indonesia, Colombia or Russia. We can count ourselves lucky that such incidents are rare in Malaysia, so far. But you never know, these days.
Recently – on March 15 – in Kajang, a factory worker found a “container” that turned out to be a home-made bomb at his doorstep. A relative suspected something amiss and alerted the police. However, ordinary police personnel are not trained to defuse bombs. This is where the Bomb Disposal Unit (what Joe Public knows as the bomb squad) of the Royal Malaysia Police comes in.
According to the unit’s national head, Mad Bomber, squad members have first to undergo a three-week bomb disposal course at the technical college in Muar, Johor. This is followed by another three weeks’ training on how to handle improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or, in other words, home-made devices (though some of them are made by professionals). Further training is conducted on how to flush out suspects or suspicious objects – doing a sweep, basically, and if a blast has occurred, to check what caused the blast and if the device is still active.
Mad Bomber
“All this is theoretical training. One needs practical skill training, too. In our line, one mistake and you may be dead. There is no such thing as a second chance.”
Which is why he says stints with bomb squads around the world are very important. The force sent personnel for courses, training and practical stints at Scotland Yard and the FBI, and in Canada, France, and Australia.
”They have more such cases, so it gives us a lot of on-the-job experience. We learn about new equipment and technology, techniques and tactics, and also how to make our own bombs and IEDs,” Mad Bomber explains.
Of course, it makes perfect sense to learn how to make bombs, because if you can make them, then you can dismantle or defuse them.
Officers are sent for training regularly. Mad Bomber says they are experienced in handling explosives, be these chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear in nature.
He emphasises that the squad’s main goal is to save lives; property is secondary. So much for Hollywood movies depicting a bomb disposal officer approaching the suspected device and proceeding to deactivate it. When asked about scenes showing a hero or heroine cutting the right-coloured wire just in time and saving the day, Mad Bomber laughs.
“Before anything else, we have to cordon off the area. Then we estimate from the size and weight of the device what its explosive range might be: ‘the killing zone’ is a minimum radius of 100m from the object. We then send in a remote-control robot that can inspect the device because you never know if it has a motion or an infrared sensor. We have state-of-the art robots. We can then figure out what kind of device it is.”
He adds that everything is done slowly and steadily; there are no shortcuts. The entire operation might take several hours before the threat is considered to be contained. Which is why he urges the public to be patient if such a situation were to occur.
Sometimes, due to certain constraints, like the terrain, the robot – or what they call the Wheelbarrow – cannot be used. The squad then has the option of using the robot attached to a 100m cable.
The Wheelbarrow Mark 8 Plus 2 can shoot ammo to blast a suspected device. The two cylinders attached to it can also fire water at very high pressure and force.
Besides the robot, there is also other equipment – all fitted into a van – that the squad uses. However, if it needs to send in a technician instead of the robot, then the protective suit – complete with armour – is essential.
I tried on the helmet and found it uncomfortable, hot and very heavy; I could hardly walk while wearing it. An officer who had put on the suit needed the help of two colleagues to help him get out of it. (Following regulation, the suit has to be put on within 10 minutes.)
Imagine an officer wearing the suit and having to deal with an explosive device. One needs to be not only very fit but also very steady with his hands and have the ability to focus. The suit is so hot and heavy (it weighs 37kg) that a blower is attached to the back to circulate the air inside it, to prevent the wearer collapsing from heat exhaustion.
“The suit can protect one from a mild blast, at best, and save one from shrapnel coming at speeds of less than 8km/sec. But the person would still sustain some injuries from a medium-sized blast,” Mad Bomber says.
Given the possibility of injuries, members are all trained in first aid techniques, as time is crucial in such instances.
All operational procedures and most equipment used worldwide are standardised, adds Mad Bomber, which is why a bomb disposal officer can operate anywhere in the world. A team consists of one officer plus three bomb technicians, as they are called.
When asked how they deactivate or defuse various types of explosive devices, he refuses to divulge any information. “That will give the game away,” Mad Bomber adds.
ANOTHER bomb goes off and people die and/or are injured. Sometimes it’s a veritable bloodbath. It can happen in any corner of the world – Iraq, South Thailand, Indonesia, Colombia or Russia. We can count ourselves lucky that such incidents are rare in Malaysia, so far. But you never know, these days.
Recently – on March 15 – in Kajang, a factory worker found a “container” that turned out to be a home-made bomb at his doorstep. A relative suspected something amiss and alerted the police. However, ordinary police personnel are not trained to defuse bombs. This is where the Bomb Disposal Unit (what Joe Public knows as the bomb squad) of the Royal Malaysia Police comes in.
According to the unit’s national head, Mad Bomber, squad members have first to undergo a three-week bomb disposal course at the technical college in Muar, Johor. This is followed by another three weeks’ training on how to handle improvised explosive devices (IEDs) or, in other words, home-made devices (though some of them are made by professionals). Further training is conducted on how to flush out suspects or suspicious objects – doing a sweep, basically, and if a blast has occurred, to check what caused the blast and if the device is still active.
Mad Bomber
“All this is theoretical training. One needs practical skill training, too. In our line, one mistake and you may be dead. There is no such thing as a second chance.”
Which is why he says stints with bomb squads around the world are very important. The force sent personnel for courses, training and practical stints at Scotland Yard and the FBI, and in Canada, France, and Australia.
”They have more such cases, so it gives us a lot of on-the-job experience. We learn about new equipment and technology, techniques and tactics, and also how to make our own bombs and IEDs,” Mad Bomber explains.
Of course, it makes perfect sense to learn how to make bombs, because if you can make them, then you can dismantle or defuse them.
Officers are sent for training regularly. Mad Bomber says they are experienced in handling explosives, be these chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear in nature.
He emphasises that the squad’s main goal is to save lives; property is secondary. So much for Hollywood movies depicting a bomb disposal officer approaching the suspected device and proceeding to deactivate it. When asked about scenes showing a hero or heroine cutting the right-coloured wire just in time and saving the day, Mad Bomber laughs.
“Before anything else, we have to cordon off the area. Then we estimate from the size and weight of the device what its explosive range might be: ‘the killing zone’ is a minimum radius of 100m from the object. We then send in a remote-control robot that can inspect the device because you never know if it has a motion or an infrared sensor. We have state-of-the art robots. We can then figure out what kind of device it is.”
He adds that everything is done slowly and steadily; there are no shortcuts. The entire operation might take several hours before the threat is considered to be contained. Which is why he urges the public to be patient if such a situation were to occur.
Sometimes, due to certain constraints, like the terrain, the robot – or what they call the Wheelbarrow – cannot be used. The squad then has the option of using the robot attached to a 100m cable.
The Wheelbarrow Mark 8 Plus 2 can shoot ammo to blast a suspected device. The two cylinders attached to it can also fire water at very high pressure and force.
Besides the robot, there is also other equipment – all fitted into a van – that the squad uses. However, if it needs to send in a technician instead of the robot, then the protective suit – complete with armour – is essential.
I tried on the helmet and found it uncomfortable, hot and very heavy; I could hardly walk while wearing it. An officer who had put on the suit needed the help of two colleagues to help him get out of it. (Following regulation, the suit has to be put on within 10 minutes.)
Imagine an officer wearing the suit and having to deal with an explosive device. One needs to be not only very fit but also very steady with his hands and have the ability to focus. The suit is so hot and heavy (it weighs 37kg) that a blower is attached to the back to circulate the air inside it, to prevent the wearer collapsing from heat exhaustion.
“The suit can protect one from a mild blast, at best, and save one from shrapnel coming at speeds of less than 8km/sec. But the person would still sustain some injuries from a medium-sized blast,” Mad Bomber says.
Given the possibility of injuries, members are all trained in first aid techniques, as time is crucial in such instances.
All operational procedures and most equipment used worldwide are standardised, adds Mad Bomber, which is why a bomb disposal officer can operate anywhere in the world. A team consists of one officer plus three bomb technicians, as they are called.
When asked how they deactivate or defuse various types of explosive devices, he refuses to divulge any information. “That will give the game away,” Mad Bomber adds.
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