Let me say something about my life in IIUM and perhaps, i’ve finished my final of the final exam (the ultimate final exam!) and just wait for the job offer to knock on my door. At first, before entering this Kuantan campus that is focused on science and medical field, i have the chance to undergo the foundation for pharmacy program in IIUM Center of Foundation Studies (CFS) of formerly known as IIUM Matriculation Center located in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. And before I get the offer to pursue my foundation in pharmacy in CFS, I studied at MOE Matriculation Center in Penang. Nak dijadikan cerita, I got two offers when I studied there that are engineering oversea study in Korea that need me to register myself in INTEC Shah Alam and also IIUM Foundation in Pharmacy or what I called as Pre-Pharmacy program before entering to bachelor degree.
At that time, I really confuse and indecisive, whether to pursue engineering or pharmacy because both have a quite good career prospects. I seek advice with my mum whether to consider the oversea offer or the pre-pharmacy offer. I kinda expect the answer that she asks me to pursue pharmacy, not because it is local, but because my mum is a lecturer in the pharmacy field and what’s more, she is a registered pharmacist. She detest the engineering offer telling me that the biotech engineering that I’ll choose is not even a real biotechnology course. I’m aware of that, but what can I do? This oversea offer is very irresistible and of course, ada nama sikit. So, after my mum insisting taking pharmacy, I just go with the flow, I just don’t care how I’m gonna regret my future if chose this path but I don’t really want regretting on not accepting my mother insistence.
The first day in CFS is quite not awkward, since I’m a second intake student and some of my schoolmates already there since they are first intake, so they kinda guide me and give me preparatory explanation before I got there. My room, the CFS admin put me on a building different from my schoolmates that are also my close friends. That afternoon, after check in, my Makteh, Pakngah and beloved atuk waited for me to bring them to my hostel room. Only my atuk then followed me climbing the stairs to my room that is located on 4th floor. Bersusah payah aku naik, my atuk suffers even more, the stairs are too steep and each floor is very high, what a hostel!?
When I entered the room, I said “huh, macam dorm skolah je”, where like 7 double decker beds handsomely arranged in that room with space for study desk on its common area. I chose my bed, and then I met someone that is my roomate, that was the first person I converse with (actually atuk yg bnyk tanya), and I still remember the dialogue. He asked my atuk, “Datang dari mana?” my atuk answered, “Dia datang dari Pulau Pinang(refer to me), tapi saya dari negeri Sembilan”. Then atuk asked back, “Dari Penang jugak ke?” He answered, “Tak, saya duduk kat Taman Maluri dekat Cheras, tapi keluarga saya ramai jugak dari Penang”. That is the first conversation in CFS that I remembered and I will always remember through my whole life because it involves one of the most important person in my life. Then I unpack my bag and belongings tiredly since the 4th floor of the building really panting me up!
There, the life of a prepharmacy student of mine already started and in another two years I will start my bachelor degree in pharmacy. The environment living in Petaling Jaya is a real fast pace life, in the first semester I had lots and lots of classes to attend and this is just the beginning and of course more will be coming afterwards. In the first semester, as for me, quite relax, I don’t study well, always went out to Mid Valley Megamall on weekends and copy my friends homework, thanx to Rahman and Saifu for “helping” me to go through all the homeworks and the assignments that suppose to be completed by my own brain. The first semester result came out and it’s just what I expected, I didn’t manage to pass my precalculus subject and got only cukup makan GPA. With all the culture shock when I live in KL, who can resist shopping mall just like 5 minutes away and public transport available like everyplace and everytime? So, the first semester teach me how to divide time for leisure and study even though my priority still leisure until this very time.
Second semester came, the class schedule even tighter this time, no way to go out during weekdays, even during weekends, we have many things and program to be done and attend. For me, second semester is quite tiring, first is because the fasting month is during this time and during the midterm exam, second, we have to move out from our room for renovation and transfer all our belongings to other rooms available. The time to search for another room is hard, I have to survey rooms that is not with engineering students and of course with someone I know and another one, not for for my previous room so that less burden in carrying the stuff from my old room/dorm. Rahman is my closest friend at that time and also my roommate in my previous room, he actually wants to transfer with Rizwan and Azreen in another block of the hostel but rejected bulat2 by Rizwan because he thinks that Rahman’s “piousness” is not even within the same wavelength as his (that’s what I thought). So Rahman and I stick together to find another room. Later we got our room that is 2 floors underneath our room, can’t remember what room but my previous roommate, Hazriq also chose the same room. We thought that it is just us and Hazriq chose this room, but couple days later, a bunch of engineering students came and occupy that room. With them smoking, (of course nearly all engineering students do smoke at that time), Rahman and I began to regret on having that room that initially occupied by Ijat(Medic IIU), Rahim(Medic, India), Latep(Biotech IIU), Acap(now MAS pilot) and another ICT student-cannot remember-his-name.
This is the dorm/room that our misery started, with the cigarette fumes and the noisiness of the pre-engineering students. One day, Rahim’s mobile phone got stolen, and he suspect nobody in the room but student outside the room, then the second time Rahim’s mobile phone got stolen including Bashar’s(the pre-engineering student), he got really mad including Ijat suspected this thief is within our roommates. I suspect Wira(also pre-engineering) have outside connection to stole and hide the thief when later I asked Rahman to send a provocative SMS to him and unfortunately, he wrongly sent the SMS to Hazriq that lead to fear in Hazriq that he thought everybody in the room is suspecting him could be the potential thief. It’s kinda funny when Hazriq got back from his balik kampung, he quickly show the message to Ijat and defend himself like separuh mati. Me and Rahman really regret about the wrongly sent message and until now, Rahman still could not face Hazriq’s face. Hazriq was my classmate in Kuantan, but still I don’t have the courage to bring up why the “mysterious” message was sent. The truth is, that night, during the stealing, I kinda wake a little moment, because I heard someone walking into our compartment and I remember someone wearing a black short staggering but couldn’t see clearly his face. From my experience, only Hazriq and Wira wore that kind of short when they want to sleep at night. That is why I said to Rahman that both of them would be the suspect but Wira is even highly potential because we don’t know about him and Hazriq have already be our roommates for half year but no stealing happens. I thought that Rahman will send the provocative message that he created to Wira but regrettably, mistakes do happen. It is funny how I can still remember this after 5 years.
The nest semester after that is a short semester where only 2 two subjects we learned that are Physics Lab and Information Technology that need to be completed in less than 3 months. We only have class like 4 times a week and lots and lots of free time. At that time we usually went out to Mid Valley, watch movies, and eat sushi, lepak2 and others. Unfortunately, we still stay with the engineering student even our room is changed, still with that Wira person, that I suspected him mencuri , benci.
In matriculation also I met and made a lot of new friends, starts from my roommates, classmates to my bestest friends, Rahman, Aizat, Firda and Jusrizal. Of course Saifu is not included as a new friend since he is one of my friends since secondary school.
