AKAR MELAYU: KERAJAAN MELAYU ISLAM TERAWAL DI NUSANTARA oleh by Hibatullah Yusof Al-Haj on Tuesday, 22 February 2011

by Hibatullah Yusof Al-Haj on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 at 10:08

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

PENDAHULUAN

Saya catat di sini kronologi kerajaan Islam paling awal di Nusantara hasil perbincangan sahabat-sahabat dalam jurai ini. Bahagian ini saya kemaskini bila ditemui bukti wujudnya kerajaan lebih awal:

KRONOLOGI SEJARAH KERAJAAN ISLAM NUSANTARA

610 M - Nabi Muhammad SAW diangkat jadi Rasul = (13 tahun sebelum Hijrah).

610 M - Rasulullah SAW menerima wahyu pertama kali

615 - 618 M - Rasulullah SAW mengutus sahabat ke seluruh penjuru dunia; Ja'far ibn Abi Thalib ke Afrika Utara, Muadz ibn Jabal ke Yaman dan Arab Selatan, Saad ibn Lubaid ke Eropa Timur, Yusuf ke Kanton/Cina (membangun masjid Kuang Ta bersama warga Cina marga Sui), Abdullah ibn Mas'ud ke Sumatera bersama Qabilah Bani Thoyk (Aceh) dan beberapa orang leluhur Aceh ikut berperang bersama Nabi SAW. Membangun Kesultanan Tace.

622 M = 1 Hijrah

625 M - Perkampungan Islam di BARUS, Sumatera = 3 Hijrah.

627 M - pembangunan masjid pertama di Aceh (bersamaan dengan Masjid Kuang Ta di Canton dan Masjid di San'a Yaman)

631 - Abdullah ibn Mas'ud berdakwah keliling Sumatera dan seluruh Nusantara.

632 - 640 M - Sayyidina Ali ibn Abi Thalib berkeliling Aceh, Malayu, Suvarnabhumi, Galunggung, Panjalu, Tarumanegara, Kalingga, Wiratha, dll.

632 M - Rasulullah SAW wafat = 11 Hijrah.

648 - 649 M - Kartikeyasingha II memimpin Kalingga bersama Sri Ratu Sima, dinikahkan oleh Sayyidina Ali dan dibimbing bersama Sayyidina Ali + Abdullah ibn Mas'ud.

650 - 655 M - Di bawah bimbingan Sayyidina Ali terbentuk jaringan silaturahmi Tace, Kalingga dan Tiongkok

655 M - Saidina Zaid bin Harithah dihantar ke LAMURI, Sumatera = 35 Hijrah.

656 - 661 M - Pangeran Borosngora, dari Panjalu, Tanah Sunda berangkat ke Kufah belajar Islam.

662 M - Ramai penduduk Kufah hijrah ke Nusantara.

664 - 665 M - Hoei Ning menulis Kitab Hinayana, iaitu ajaran Islam tentang Zuhud.

674 M - Kalingga menerapkan potong tangan pada pencuri, sesuai syariat Islam

718 M - Kesultanan ZABAJ ISLAM (Jambi) = 99 Hijrah.

718 M - Srindravarman dari Zabaj bersurat kepada Sultan Umar ibn Abdulaziz

732 M - Syekh Subakir (Muhammad Al-Baqir) mendirikan pesantren di Bukit Tidar, Magelang, Jawa

820 M - Kesultanan SAMUDERA = 205 Hijrah.

840 M - Kesultanan PERLAK = 225 Hijrah.

960 M - Kesultanan LAMURI = 349 Hijrah.

1136 M - Kesultanan LANGKASUKA = 530 Hijrah.

1267 M - Kesultanan PASAI = 665 Hijrah.

1436 M - Kesultanan ACEH DARUSSALAM = 901 Hijrah.

Menurut catatan sejarah, Islam sudah sampai ke BARUS, Sumatra 15 tahun setelah Nabi Muhammad SAW diangkat menjadi Rasul, iaitu Tahun 3 Hijrah (625 Masehi). Satu rombongan diketuai oleh Sahabat Rasulullah SAW bernama Abdullah bin Mas'ud RA bersama 100 rombongan Qabilah Tachiek direkodkan sampai ke Barus. Pada ketika itu sudah berlaku perkahwinan antara pedagang Muslim dari Tanah Arab dengan wanita Melayu. Islam sampai ke China lebih awal, iaitu sekitar 616 Masehi (7 tahun sebelum Hijrah) dibawa oleh Sahabat yang bernama Saad bin Abi Waqqas RA. Sahabat bernama Zaid bin Harithah RA di hantar ke alam Melayu pada 35 Hijrah (655 Masehi) iaitu kira-kira 40 tahun setelah Saad RA sampai ke China.

JAMBI (ZABAJ ISLAM) dipercayai merupakan kerajaan Islam paling awal di Nusantara. Secara kebetulan pula, kerajaan inilah yang juga disebut Kerajaan MELAYU. Nama MELAYU dan JAMBI digunakan bersilih-ganti dalam banyak teks sejarah. Perkataan 'MALAYU' ditemui diukir pada sebuah tugu dianggarkan berusia sekitar 1286 Masehi. Ia ditemui di Padang Rocore, berhampiran muara sungai Batang Hari. Jika ada maklumat yang kurang tepat, saya harap sahabat-sahabat tolong betulkan. Sila catat di jurai bawah, dan saya akan masukkan dalam Kronologi di atas.

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BARUS

Berikut adalah petikan mengenai sebahagian dari sejarah Islam di Barus, semoga bermanfaat:

633-661 M

Dikatakan pemerintahan Khulafa Al Rasyidin telah menjalin hubungan dengan beberapa kerajaan di Sumatera, termasuk Batak. Tapi hubungan itu masih sekedar hubungan antar negara dalam sebuah upaya untuk menjalin hubungan kerjasama ekonomi. Kapur barus, emas, merica dan rempah-rempah lainnya. Sumatera dikenal dengan istilah Zabag. Beberapa catatan mengenai kedatangan utusan dan pelaut Muslim ke Barus dan pelabuhan Sumatera lainnya yang dikuasasi Sriwijaya pernah didokumentasikan.

661-750 M

Pelaut-pelaut Arab yang Islam mulai berdatangan secara intens di masa pemerintahan Dinasti Umayyah. Kedatangan mereka untu misi dagang tersebut telah membentuk kantong-kantong muslim di tanah Batak, khususnya Barus, yang tentunya terjadinya transfer ilmu pengetahuan kepada penduduk setempat melalui medium non-formal.

718-726 M

Islam berkembang pesat di tanah Barus. Di lain pihak Islam berkembang di Sumatera masuknya beberapa raja Sriwijaya kepada Islam. Diantaranya Sri Indra Warman di Jambi.

851 M

Seorang pedagang Arab berhasil mendokumentasikan kedatangannya di kota Barus. Laporan Sulaiman itu pada tahun 851 M membicarakan tentang penambangan emas dan perkebunan barus (kamper) di Barus (Ferrand 36).Dicatat bahwa para pendatang asing seperti Romawi, Yunani, Arab, Cina, India, Persia dan dari kepulauan Indonesia lainnya telah membangun kantong-kantong pemukiman yang lengkap dengan prasarana pendukungnya di Barus. Penambangan emas dan perkebunan kamper tersebut merupakan contoh bahwa kedua komoditas ini telah diolah secara modern dan bukan didapat secara tradisional di hutan-hutan.

Sekarang ini ahli sejarah menemukan bukti-bukti arkeologis yang memperkuat dugaan bahwa sebelum munculnya kerajaan-kerajaan Islam yang awal di Sumatera seperti Peurlak dan Samudera Pasai, yaitu sekitar abad-9 dan 10, di Barus telah terdapat kelompok-kelompok masyarakat Muslim dengan kehidupan yang cukup mapan (Dada Meuraxa dalam Ali Hasymi, Sejarah Masuk dan Perkembangan Islam di Indonesia, bandung PT Al Maarif 1987). Kehidupan yang mapan itu pula memungkinkan mereka untuk hidup secara permanen di kawasan ini yang sudah pasti didukung oleh sarana pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan agar mereka tidak tertinggal dengan pesaing lainnya.

Sebagai pelabuhan yang sangat masyhur, Barus menjadi tujuan pendidikan tertua bagi masyarakat Batak. Hal ini dikarenakan bahwa Barus merupakan wilayah Batak yang paling mudah dicapai oleh orang-orang Batak dari pedalaman yang ingin menimba ilmu. Jalan-jalan menuju Barus telah dirintis rapi oleh pedagang-pedagang Batak yang ingin menjual kemenyan dan membeli produk jadi dari Barus. Sampai era tahun 1980-an, madrasah-madrasah tradisional Barus masih menjadi primadona tujuan pendidikan di tanah Batak sebelum akhirnya digantikan oleh Mandailing dengan pesantren-pesantrennya yang sudah modern.

Masuknya gelombang pedagang dan saudagar ke Barus mengakibatkan penduduk lokal Batak di lokasi tersebut; Singkil, Fansur, Barus, Sorkam, Teluk Sibolga, Sing Kwang dan Natal memeluk Islam setelah sebelumnya beberapa elemen sudah menganutnya. Walaupun begitu, mayoritas masyarakat Batak di sentral Batak masih menganut agama asli Batak.

Kelompok Marga Tanjung di Fansur, marga Pohan di Barus, Batu Bara di Sorkam kiri, Pasaribu di Sorkam Kanan, Hutagalung di Teluk Sibolga, Daulay di Sing Kwang merupakan komunitas Islam pertama yang menjalankan Islam dengan kaffah.

Maklumat lanjut: http://islamagamaku.blogdetik.com/page/136/?s

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SAMUDERA PASAI KERAJAAN ISLAM AWAL DI NUSANTARA

Ibnu Batutah catat wilayah diperintah Sultan Mahmud Malik Zahir sebagai maju, pelabuhan besar dan gemilang. KETIKA berada di China sekitar abad ke-14, pengembara Islam terkenal, Ibnu Batutah terlihat satu bahtera asing berlabuh di pelabuhan negara itu. Selepas diselidikinya, beliau dimaklumkan yang bahtera itu milik Sultan Samudera Pasai. Kehadiran bahtera bersama wakil utusan Sultan Samudera Pasai ke China adalah secara rutin berikutan kerajaan itu perlu menyerahkan ufti kepada Kerajaan China mengikut senggang masa tertentu.

Seterusnya beberapa tahun kemudian iaitu pada 1346, ketika dalam perjalanan merentas jalan laut dari Tanah Arab ke China, Ibnu Batutah sempat mengunjungi Kerajaan Samudera Pasai yang terletak di pinggir Selat Melaka (kini Wilayah Aceh).

Wang Emas Kerajaan Pasai.

Melihat keadaan di negeri berkenaan, pengembara yang berasal dari Maghribi itu membuka helaian kertas jurnal perjalanannya, mengambil pena dan mula mencatatkan pendapatnya mengenai kerajaan berkenaan. Antara terjemahan catatannya berbunyi lebih kurang begini: “Samudera Pasai adalah negeri nan hijau dan subur, rakyat dan alamnya indah dan menawan, (ia) negeri yang menghijau dan kota pelabuhannya besar dan indah.”

Ketibaan Ibnu Batutah di negeri itu disambut baik Panglima Daulasah, Qadi Syarif Amir Sayyir Al-Syirazi, Tajuddin Al-Asbahani dan beberapa ulama ahli fiqh di kerajaan berkenaan atas perintah Sultan Mahmud Malik Zahir.

Ibnu Batutah mencatat lagi dalam jurnalnya. Pada pandangannya, Sultan Mahmud adalah penganut mazhab Syafie yang giat menyelenggarakan pengajian, perbahasan dan muzakarah mengenai Islam sehingga menyebabkan Samudera Pasai menjadi pusat tumpuan pengajian Islam ketika itu. Mengenai peribadi dan corak pemerintahan Sultan berkenaan, beliau menulis:

“Sultan sangat rendah hati dan berangkat ke masjid untuk solat Jumaat dengan berjalan kaki. Selesai solat, Sultan dan rombongan mengelilingi kota untuk melihat keadaan rakyatnya.”

Ibnu Batutah berada di Samudera Pasai selama 15 hari. Sebelum berangkat meninggalkan wilayah Nusantara itu, beliau sempat mengunjungi pedalaman Sumatera yang masih dihuni masyarakat bukan Islam.

Di situ, beliau menyaksikan beberapa perlakuan masyarakat yang mengerikan antaranya upacara bunuh diri beramai-ramai yang dilakukan golongan hamba ketika pemimpinnya mati.

Demikianlah antara beberapa catatan Ibnu Batutah mengenai Samudera Pasai, satu kerajaan silam yang hebat serta wujud lebih 600 tahun lalu malah didirikan lebih awal daripada Kerajaan Melaka.

Kini, Kerajaan Samudera Pasai sudah tiada. Susur galur dan kehebatannya hanya dikenang lewat catatan sejarah silam antaranya menerusi ‘Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai’ selain penemuan pelbagai tinggalan arkeologi yang ditemui di Wilayah Aceh. Samudera Pasai mencatat rekodnya tersendiri dalam sejarah Melayu kerana ia dianggap Kerajaan Melayu pertama yang menerima Islam. Ketika Majapahit atau Srivijaya masih berpegang kepada fahaman Hindu-Buddha, pemimpin dan rakyat Samudera Pasai sudah mengucap dua kalimah syahadah dan mentauhidkan Allah SWT.

Detik pertukaran daripada pengamalan ajaran Hindu-Buddha kepada Islam itu bermula sekitar 800 Masihi apabila sebuah kapal saudagar Islam dari Gujerat tiba di Bandar Perlak (satu daripada kawasan di wilayah Aceh). Ketibaan kumpulan saudagar diketuai Nakhoda Khalifah itu tidak saja untuk urusan perdagangan malah untuk menyebar dakwah. Penerimaan baik penduduk tempatan terhadap dakwah Islamiah selain perkahwinan campur antara gadis tempatan dengan saudagar Muslim menyebabkan Islam mula tersebar ke seluruh wilayah Aceh dalam tempoh 40 tahun saja.

Manuskrip mengenai Kerajaan Pasai

Seterusnya Kerajaan Perlak dan Kerajaan Pasai (satu lagi kerajaan yang wujud di wilayah Aceh ketika itu) disatukan sehingga wujudnya Kerajaan Samudera Pasai. Sultan pertamanya adalah Sultan Malik Al-Saleh dan baginda dikahwinkan dengan Puteri Ganggang iaitu puteri pemerintah Perlak ketika itu, Sultan Makhdum Alaiddin Malik Muhammad Amin Shah II Johan Berdaulat.

Di bawah pemerintahan berasaskan tauhid kepada Allah itu, Samudera Pasai menjadi Kerajaan Islam yang terkenal dan maju.

Kerajaan itu menjadi tumpuan kunjungan saudagar daripada pelbagai negeri seperti China, India, Siam, Arab dan Parsi malah angkatan dagangan Samudera Pasai turut merentas laut untuk menjalinkan hubungan diplomatik dengan kerajaan luar. Selain menghantar ufti ke China, Sultan Pasai turut mengirimkan utusan ke Quilon, India Barat pada 1282 Masihi.

Dagangan utama di wilayah itu adalah lada. Kemajuan perdagangan yang dialami mereka menyebabkan Samudera Pasai turut menghasilkan mata wang emas yang disebut dirham dan mata wang itu digunakan secara rasmi oleh kerajaan mereka.

Selain berkembang sebagai pusat perdagangan, Samudera Pasai turut menjadi pusat perkembangan ilmu dan Islam. Ajaran Islam menerusi kitab bertulis Arab kemudian mencetuskan penghasilan tulisan jawi yang akhirnya menjadi warisan budaya Melayu.

Terhasilnya tulisan jawi juga mencetuskan perkembangan sastera klasik Melayu antaranya penghasilan kitab ‘Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai’ yang ditulis sekitar 1360.

Selaras dengan itu juga, ilmu tasawuf turut berkembang apabila ada antara kitab tasawuf diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Melayu bertulisan jawi. Antaranya adalah Durru al-Manzum, karya Maulana Abu Ishak.

Kegemilangan Kerajaan Samudera Pasai dikatakan sama hebatnya dengan zaman kemasyhuran Melaka di Tanah Melayu.

Bagaimanapun, melewati masa, Samudera Pasai mula mengalami kemunduran apabila Kerajaan Melaka diasaskan. Kehebatan kerajaan diasaskan Paramesrawa itu menyebabkan pedagang mula beralih dari pelabuhan Samudera Pasai ke Melaka.

Seterusnya pada 1360, Samudera Pasai diserang Majapahit dan akhirnya kerajaan hebat itu ditakluki sekali gus menamatkan era kegemilangannya dalam rentetan sejarah silam Nusantara, suatu ketika dulu.

Oleh Nasron Sira Rahim

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Cerita pelik Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai

KERJA arkeologi yang dijalankan di Kampung Geudong, Aceh Utara, menemui kawasan kubur purba yang misteri. Akhirnya kajian dan penyelidikan mendapati kawasan pusara itu adalah makam diraja sebuah kerajaan silam yang masyhur iaitu Samudera Pasai.

Antara banyak makam diraja yang ditemui itu, satu daripadanya tertera nama Sultan Malik al-Saleh. Seterusnya penemuan makam itu menyingkap sejarah kehidupan tokoh berkenaan yang namanya turut disebut dalam kitab Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai. Malik al-Saleh adalah nama Merah Silu selepas beliau menganut Islam. Namanya menjadi sebutan dan amat dikenali ketika membicarakan mengenai Kerajaan Samudera Pasai.

Kedudukan kerajaan Pasai dalam Peta Perdagangan silam.

Ini disebabkan Malik al-Saleh adalah Sultan pertama Samudera Pasai malah beliaulah yang bertanggungjawab menukarkan kerajaan itu daripada mengamalkan ajaran Hindu-Buddha kepada Islam.

Cerita pengislaman tokoh itu amat pelik jika dibaca dalam Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai. Beliau dikatakan menganut Islam selepas bermimpi menemui Nabi Muhammad SAW (sejauh mana kebenarannya tidak dapat dipastikan).

Ditulis dalam hikayat itu bahawa Merah Silu disuruh mengucap dua kalimah syahadah dalam mimpinya tetapi beliau tidak tahu berbuat demikian menyebabkan baginda meludah ke dalam mulutnya.

Selepas itu, Merah Silu mampu mengucap dua kalimah syahadah dan diberi gelaran Sultan Malik al-Saleh seterusnya menjadi Sultan sebuah Kerajaan Islam bernama Samudera Pasai.

Dalam hikayat itu juga, Merah Silu diberitahu supaya hanya memakan binatang halal yang disembelih selain dalam masa 40 hari kemudian, akan datang sebuah kapal dari Makkah dan hendaklah dia menerima ajaran Islam yang dibawa seseorang yang menaiki kapal itu.

Diceritakan lagi, apabila Merah Silu terjaga daripada tidurnya, Merah Silu mendapati kemaluannya sudah disunat dan mulutnya lancar membaca 30 juzuk al-Quran.

Tidak lama selepas itu, sebuah kapal dari Makkah berlabuh di pelabuhan Samudera Pasai dan turunlah seorang ulama bernama Sheikh Ismail. Ulama itu menghadap Sultan Malik al-Saleh dan memintanya mengucap dua kalimah syahadah dan membaca al-Quran. Sheikh Ismail kemudian berjaya mengislamkan seluruh rakyat Samudera Pasai.

Sememangnya wujud banyak kisah pelik yang di luar logik akal dalam Hikayat Raja-raja Pasai antaranya ibu Malik al-Saleh iaitu Puteri Betong ditemui di perdu rebung buluh dan bapanya iaitu Merah Gajah, dibela seekor gajah.

Merah Gajah pernah mencabut rambut emas Puteri Betung lalu keluar darah pelik berwarna putih dan akhirnya Puteri Betung ghaib. Merah Silu juga pernah menahan bubu dan mendapat cacing gelang yang bertukar menjadi emas dan perak.

Selain itu, diceritakan lagi yang Merah Silu pernah berjumpa seekor semut sebesar kucing dan memakan makhluk itu.

Walaupun pelbagai kisah pelik dan mistik menyelubungi Malek al-Saleh, sesuatu yang pasti adalah kajian mendapati tokoh itu sememangnya wujud dan beliau dikenali sebagai Sultan pertama Kerajaan Islam Samudera Pasai.

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INFO: Samudera Pasai

Pahlawan terkenal Samudera Pasai dikenali Tun Beraim Bapa dan pada zaman kewujudannya, Kerajaan Samudera Pasai menjadi gemilang.

Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai terbahagi kepada tiga bahagian iaitu ‘Pembukaan dan Pengislaman Pasai’, ‘Pasai di bawah pemerintahan Sultan Ahmad Perumudal Perumal’ dan ‘Peluasan Kekuasaan Majapahit’. Samudera Pasai yang terletak di Sumatera Utara iaitu Aceh, digelar Serambi Makkah kerana orang yang hendak mengerjakan haji terlebih dulu singgah di Aceh untuk belajar di madrasah dan masjid di negeri itu. Kerajaan Samudera Pasai turut dikenali juga sebagai Samudera, Pasai dan Samudera Darussalam atau Sumatera.

http://putraaceh.multiply.com/journal/item/707

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SURAT RAJA SRIWIJAYA UNTUK KHALIFAH

S Fatimi, seorang sejarawan Malaysia menulis dan dikutip oleh Azyumardi Azradalam bukunya Islam Nusantara bahwa ada dua buah surat yang kemungkinan besar ditulis oleh Raja Sriwijaya untuk Kalifah Arab. Bagian pembukaan dari surat pertama dikutip oleh al Jahiz dalam bukunya Kitab al Hayawan (Buku Fauna) berdasarkan 3 rantai isnad.

Surat pertama ditujukan untuk Mu'awiyah dan pembukaan surat itu kalau diterjemahkan kurang lebih seperti ini:

(Dari Maha Raja) - yang istalnya berisi ribuan gajah, istananya berkilau emas dan perak, dilayani oleh ribuan puteri raja, yang menguasai dua sungai yang mengairi gaharu - untuk Muawiyah

Surat kedua lebih lengkap karena terdapat pembukaan dan isi, terdapat dalam buku Ibnu Abdul Rabbih Al Iqd al Farid (Kalung Istimewa) ditujukan untuk Kalifah Umar bin Abdul Azis memperlihatkan betapa mewahnya Maharaja dan kerajaannya:

Dari Raja Diraja - yang keturunan ribuan raja, yang diistalnya terdapat ribuan gajah, dan menguasai dua sungai yang mengairi gaharu, tanaman harum, pala dan barus, yang keharumannya menyebar sejauh dua belas mil - untuk Raja Arab, yang bertuhan esa. Saya memberimu hadiah yang tidak seberapa sebagai tanda sapa dan saya harap anda berkenan mengirim seseorang yang bisa mengajar tentang Islam dan menerangkannya kepada saya.

Ibnu Taghribirdi dalam bukunya al Nujum al Zahirah fi Muluk Misr wa al Qahirah (Perbintangan Terang Raja Mesir dan Kairo) mempunyai tambahan untuk akhir surat ini: "Saya mengirim hadiah jebat (musk), batu ratna, dupa dan barus. Terimalah dari saudara Islammu."

Fatimi memperkirakan suat-surat itu diterima Kalifah sekitar tahun 100H/717, yaitu masa pemerintahan Sri Indrawarman. Sriwijaya merupakan kerajaan Buddha dan belum ada bukti peninggalan bahwa dibawah Sri Indrawarman Sriwijaya pernah memeluk Islam.

Membaca surat ini betul-betul menimbulkan kebanggaan kepada kita, betapa Nusantara telah memiliki kerajaan yang sangat makmur di Suarnadwipa - Pulau Emas- sejak dahulu kala, dengan perdagangan dan kontak internasional, raja yang sangat percaya diri dan penuh rasa ingin tahu.

Sumber: Islam in Indonesian world, Asia Research Institute

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MISTERI SEBUAH WASIAT

"Sepeninggal aku telah wafat kelak, akan muncul sebuah negeri di bawah angin, Samudera namanya. Apabila terdengar kamu nama negeri itu, maka suruhlah sebuah bahtera untuk membawa perkakas dan alat kerajaan ke negeri itu, serta kamu Islamkan sekalian isi negeri itu, serta ajar mereka mengucap dua kalimah syahadat. Kerana dalam negeri itu kelak banyak orang yang akan jadi wali Allah. Tetapi semasa kamu hendak pergi ke negeri itu, hendaklah kamu singgah mengambil seorang fakir di negeri Mengiri, bawalah fakir itu bersama-sama." - dicatat dalam Hikayat Raja-Raja Pasai.

Empayar Majapahit meliputi Pasai.

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UNTUK PERBINCANGAN

(1) Mengenalpasti dan membincangkan sama ada terdapat kawasan, negeri atau empayar Islam yang lebih awal berbanding kerajaan Pasai di Nusantara.

(2) Perkongsian maklumat mengenai gerakan dakwah Islam yang berlaku sebelum dan selepas kegemilangan kerajaan Pasai. Adakah terdapat hubungan langsung dengan Empayar Islam di Timur Tengah dari segi dakwah, atau adakah dakwah dillakukan oleh kerajaan itu sendiri.

(3) Peranan Ahlul Baits dalam tugas-tugas dakwah di Nusantara, terutamanya berdakwah di kalangan golongan bangsawan atau golongan istana.

(4) Masih wujudkah pengaruh-pengaruh Hindu/Buddha/Animisma dalam kerajaan-kerajaan Islam Nusantara yang awal-awal ini. Jika ada, apakah bentuk pengaruh-pengaruh tersebut.

(5) Apakah sistem pertahanan yang wujud di kerajaan-kerajaan Islam Nusantara zaman silam. Adakah Seni Silat merupakan ciri terpenting kemahiran ilmu peperangan di zaman berkaitan.

(Sumber - http://www.facebook.com/notes/hibatullah-yusof-al-haj)

Wall Paper Istana Negara Jalan Duta Mempunyai Dua Wajah

Istana Negara yang baru yang terletak di Jalan Duta dibina bertujuan untuk menggantikan Istana Negara yang lama yang telah digunakan sejak 1928. Ini adalah kali pertama kerajaan Malaysia membina sendiri istana Yang di-Pertuan Agong memandangkan istana yang terdahulu adalah dibeli dari seorang jutawan China.

Kompleks Istana Negara Baru ini dibangunkan di atas tanah seluas 241.3 ekar yang dibahagikan kepada empat sayap dan termasuk kawasan meletakkan kenderaan. Ia merangkumi pembinaan Bangunan Utama Istana Negara serta bangunan-bangunan dan kemudahan sokongan yang lain dengan keluasan lantai kasar keseluruhan sebanyak 90,082 meter persegi.

Turut dibina bagi melengkapkan keperluan Kompleks ini ialah pembinaan jalan masuk bertingkat Jalan Duta ke Pintu 1 Istana Negara dan naiktaraf Jalan Changkat Semantan ke Pintu 2 Istana Negara yang diuruskan oleh Cawangan Jalan, Ibu Pejabat JKR.

Projek ini telah mula dibina pada akhir November 2007 dan siap sepenuhnya pada akhir September 2011. Kompleks ini juga merangkumi bangunan istana, perumahan untuk pekerja istana, pejabat polis dan sekuriti, kem tentera mini dan gerbang masuk dua tingkat dari Jalan Duta. Istana ini menelan belanja sebanyak RM812 juta dengan Maya Maju Sdn. Bhd. sebagai kontraktor utama yang dilantik dengan kontrak bernilai RM650 juta, manakala pembinaan lebuh raya bertingkat menuju ke gerbang masuk istana pula dilakukan oleh Ahmad Zaki Sdn. Bhd. pada nilai RM130 juta.

Dengan senibina yang melambangkan Islam dan Melayu, tatarias lampu, pemalapan dan pencahayaan luar dan dalam istana adalah berbeza. Rekaan ini bertujuan untuk mencipta suasana yang tersendiri di samping menjimatkan tenaga. Majlis Penyerahan Istana Negara Baru Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur telah diadakan di Dewan Serbaguna DiRaja di antara Jabatan Perdana Menteri (JPM) dan Pihak Pengurusan Istana Negara pada 18 Oktober 2011.

Wall paper yang dipasang pada dinding di Royal Wing jika dilihat secara seimbas lalu ia mempunyai corak daun paku pakis tetapi jika direnung dengan renungan yang lebih dalam ia seumpama wajah jembalang. Sekali pandang nampak cantik tetapi pandangan kedua nampak kurang cantik.

Saya berpendapat wall paper ini wajar diganti dengan wall paper yang lebih sesuai dan menampakkan ciri-ciri melayu dan Institusi Raja-Raja Melayu.

Perkhidmatan Dato' Prof. Dr. Ir. Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar Naib Canselor UiTM disambung dua tahun lagi.

Dato' Prof. Ir. Dr. Sahol Hamid bin Abu Bakar telah dilantik semula sebagai Naib Canselor Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) selama dua tahun lagi berkuat kuasa mulai 1 Januari 2012 hingga 31 Disember 2013.

Perlantikan tersebut yang dibuat oleh Yang Berhormat Menteri Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia, Dato' Seri Mohamed Khaled bin Nordin adalah selaras dengan peruntukan di bawah Seksyen 21 (1) Akta Universiti Teknologi MARA. Dalam surat yang bertarikh 6 Disember 2011 itu, YB Menteri telah mengucapkan tahniah kepada Dato' Sahol Hamid dan berharap beliau akan terus memberi perkhidmatan yang terbaik dan cemerlang kepada universiti.

Dengan perlantikan semula itu Dato' Sahol Hamid akan menyambung perkhidmatan yang sedang dijawatnya sekarang setelah beliau dilantik buat pertama kalinya pada 1 Januari 2010 yang lalu sehingga 31 Disember 2011.

Bagi kita warga UiTM, kita ucapkan TAHNIAH, dan doakan agar beliau dikurniakan Allah dengan kesihatan dan kesejahteraan agar beliau dapat terus memimpin UiTM ke mercu kejayaan. Marilah kita tingkatkan usaha dan berikan kerjasama sepenuhnya bersama beliau memartabatkan UiTM ini ke tahap yang lebih tinggi. Insya-Allah.

(Sumber - Jabatan Komunikasi Korporat)

Public Can Give Views on Melaka Tram Project

MELAKA, 24 DECEMBER, 2011: Members of the public will be able to give their views on the proposed Melaka Tram service when an exhibition on the project is held soon, Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said.

He said the exhibition would display the model and method used for the proposed tram project.

"I have asked the relevant parties to expedite holding the exhibition," he said when met by Bernama here today.

He said the Melaka Tram project would be the first tram service to use natural gas (NGV).

"This tram is different from monorail because it functions as a public transport to avoid traffic congestion in Melaka," he added.

The Melaka Tram project, costing RM272 million, would be built by Syarikat Mrails International Sdn Bhd with the cooperation of the Chief Minister Incorporated.


- Bernama

Asterisk vs. Cisco Unified Communications

BY DJ MONROE

Over my 12 years in the Telecommunications Industry I have worked with a variety of phone systems including Avaya, Aspect, Nortel, Cisco and Asterisk. I am often asked how Asterisk compares to other traditional phone systems. These days I am most often asked to compare Asterisk with Cisco. Many times I am told by a prospect that Cisco can do things that Asterisk cannot, or that Asterisk is not as reliable as Cisco. Allow me to set the record straight regarding the two systems.

Asterisk vs. Cisco, here are some points where we can differentiate. Since I have administered both systems, I can speak with authority on this subject.

1. Cost – Even if Cisco undercuts their cost upfront, they will make it up on the backend. If you buy a Cisco system you will pay a license for every extension on the system, the phones are more expensive, and you have to buy Microsoft exchange licenses for each voicemail box on the Unity voicemail system. On top of this, you will pay for annual support from a Cisco partner who will charge 20% - 30% of the total cost of the system yearly.

2. Features – In some areas the Cisco phone system really excels. The distributive architecture of the system is quite nice. All in all it is a great phone system. However, out of the box if you compare feature for feature Asterisk can do much more. In addition, due to the openness of its architecture you can make Asterisk do pretty much anything that you want.

3. Voicemail Systems – The voicemail system that comes free with Asterisk is 100% better than the Unity voicemail system that Cisco uses. Unity relies on a Microsoft Exchange mail system to manage voicemails. This is a needlessly complex design that does not provide any enhancements to the overall features of the voicemail system. In addition, on the Cisco system voicemail administration is separate from user/extension administration. Therefore, in addition to logging into the Cisco Call Manager to manage the user and extension, the administrator has to log on to a completely separate system to administer voicemail. With Asterisk, combined with our device management software, the User, Extension, Voicemail and device configuration are all managed from one screen.

4. Phones -- Cisco makes a great phone, however in my opinion Polycom makes the best devices currently on the market, and they are priced much lower than equivalent Cisco phones. Furthermore, Asterisk allows you to choose the phones you want to use with your system. Good luck attaching and managing anything to Cisco's Call Manager that does not have a Cisco logo emblazoned on it.

5. System Integrity – Like any application there are good ways to deploy Asterisk and there are bad ways to deploy Asterisk. If you ask around organizations that have Asterisk based phone systems you will find an array of experiences. Many of these organizations will tell you that their phone system is their biggest nightmare. Still others will tell you that their Asterisk based phone system is the best thing since sliced bread.

In most cases the difference between these organizations is their deployment methods. Many organizations are attracted to Asterisk because of cost. Sometimes this leads those same organizations to cut corners on implementation, phones, interface cards, and server hardware. With Asterisk you get what you pay for. Cutting corners now will cost you in the future. Therefore, hire an experienced integrator to build and support your system, listen to their advice when purchasing phones, and don’t cut corners on equipment costs. PLEASE DON'T EVER BUY CHEAP PHONES! Unless you have a staff member that has performed several Asterisk deployments, don’t do it yourself. This strategy will ensure that you have a quality phone system that rattles and hums as it drives up productivity while enhancing the workplace environment, and you will still come out way ahead on cost over a traditionally branded system.

6. Future Proof Technology – Asterisk is open, freely available, and developed by a community of developers committed to constant improvement of the product. This ensures that the latest enhancements and fixes are available to you without the purchase of new software, licensing, or equipment. If the latest version of Cisco's Call Manager arrives on the market with some fancy new feature, plan on starting from scratch to upgrade your environment. In many cases a Cisco Call Manager upgrade will require you to purchase new software, pay for the same licenses again, and often times buying new rebranded HP servers that have been marked up by Cisco three times their original retail price from ~$4000 to ~$12,000.

Several Cisco shops have dumped Cisco in favor of Asterisk. In many cases they cite cost and features as the reason:

http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/tom-keating/asterisk/asterisk-replaces-cisco-callmanager.asp

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/091206-von-sam-houston.html?t5

Here is another interesting article that discusses why some people integrate Asterisk with Cisco:

http://www.voip-info.org/tiki-index.php?page=Asterisk+Cisco+CallManager+Integration

Needless to say they are both good systems, but at the end of the day open standards, ongoing cost of ownership, and flexibility win in my opinion.

If you are interested in a full list of Asterisk and Cisco features, they can be found here:

http://www.asterisk.org/support/features

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/voicesw/ps6788/vcallcon/ps556/solution_overview_c22-493511.html

Here is a very good post comparing Polycom and Cisco Phones:

http://asterisk.mdaniel.net/?p=11

For more information about BitWare Technologies and our product please visit our website:

http://www.bitwaretech.com

Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Seminar Key Note Address by YB Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop

Private Finance Initiative (PFI) Seminar
Key Note Address

By:

YB Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop
Minister of Finance II
10 November 2006
Impiana Hotel, Kuala Lumpur



YBhg. Dato Shahrir Abdul Jalil,
Managing Partner of Shahrizat Rashid & Lee,

Mr. Alan Jenkins,
Chairman of Eversheds,

H.E. Mr. Boyd McCleary,
British High Commissioner to Malaysia

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Assalamualaikum w.b.t and Good Morning,

I would like to express my appreciation to the organisers for inviting me to speak at today's seminar on Private Finance Initiatives (PFI). This seminar is indeed timely and I would like to commend both Eversheds and Shahrizat Rashid & Lee for taking this initiative, a private initiative to advance the discussions on implementing PFI in Malaysia.

2. YAB Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Hj. Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia, first mentioned Private Finance Initiatives (PFI) in his speech at the tabling of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, as a key modality to implement the country's national development agenda going forward. The 15 year National Mission articulated by the Prime Minister is a major challenge for the country, in striving to achieve the vision of developed nation status by 2020. We therefore require the full commitment and effort of both the public and private sectors to achieve Vision 2020. The introduction of the PFI concept by the Prime Minister is a key part of this effort as it involves establishing an optimal relationship in the partnership between the public and the private sector in driving national development.

3. Using PFI in pursuing national development must be seen in the context of the Government's broader policy priorities of energising the private sector as the engine of national economic growth and, at the same time, improving public delivery and services. Strong and sustained growth is required to maintain the trajectory towards Vision 2020. In order to achieve this, the success of the Ninth Malaysia Plan rests heavily on maintaining double digit growth rates for private investment. Towards promoting private sector consumption and investment, the Government has consistently maintained pro-growth economic policies.

4. The 2007 Budget clearly demonstrated the Government's focus on stimulating private sector participation. Firstly, the Budget was expansionary both in terms of expenditure and taxation. Secondly, comprehensive incentives were outlined for private sector participation in new growth sectors, particularly Biotechnology and Islamic Finance. Thirdly, the Government announced initiatives for joint investment between the Government and the private sector to catalyse new investments areas, such as in Southern Johor. Fourthly, the Prime Minister also articulated in the Budget the principles of disclosure, transparency, accountability and mutual trust as principles to enhance public delivery through private sector participation. Overall, the 2007 Budget very much reflects the Government's philosophy of increasingly facilitating a conducive environment for doing business, whether through providing infrastructure, enhancing public delivery or enhancing the tax system and where necessary to promote strategic sectors, providing the private sector with assistance, whether in the form of incentives or joint investment.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
5. The introduction of PFI provides the Government with options going beyond the existing modalities of implementation, which thus far has mainly focused on either privatisation or conventional Government funded projects. In fact, in the Malaysian context, we view PFI in the broadest of terms, as capturing a wide spectrum of options that lie between the two extremes of privatisations and Government projects. In its purest forms, privatisation involves the private sector financing the project entirely and taking all the risks, including revenue and viability risk. Government projects lie on the opposite end of the spectrum, whereby the projects are funded by the Government and the private sector is limited to typically just execution or construction risk. Even then, for Government funded projects, ultimately the Government is still exposed to the risk of having paid progress payments but with the contractor unable to complete the project. PFI, as a broad concept, recognizes the scope for a mutually beneficial arrangement in terms of the different permutations of structuring the relationship between the Government and private sector, particularly in terms of the allocation of risks and financing. The scope for formulating a win-win scenario arises because different projects involve different risks and rewards, and between the private sector and the public sector, certain risks and rewards are best borne by one party compared to the other.

6. In the Malaysian development context, among the key areas identified as suitable for the implementation of PFI include regional development such as for the Southern Johor Economic Region, education, public transportation, health and water infrastructure. As elaborated by the Prime Minister, in the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the PFI approach will be utilized broadly in two circumstances - first, to optimize implementation of Government projects and services; and second, to enhance the viability of private sector projects in strategic or promoted areas.

7. In the first circumstance, optimization in the implementation of Government projects includes both in terms of value for money and also in terms of the quality of public services. Take for example, the construction of a Government building. Undertaken as a conventional construction project, the Government is exposed, in the short run, to completion risk and, in the longer run, to the risk of escalating maintenance costs, especially where the contractor has no interest in ensuring the long term durability of the building. Alternatively the project could be undertaken using a Build, Lease and Transfer approach, whereby the private sector will lease the building to Government say for 20 years at a fixed lease including maintenance. In this structure, the Government does not start paying until the building is satisfactorily completed and ready for use. In the longer run, there is no risk of escalating maintenance costs. Indeed with this structure, the private sector is incentivised to ensure a higher quality of construction to avoid the future burden of high maintenance costs. This simple example demonstrates the scope for value for money by avoiding the risk of maintenance costs and better quality in terms of the building construction.

8. Maintenance is indeed a good example where private sector is well positioned to be more efficient and better able to manage the risk of controlling costs. This applies not only in terms of buildings but also in terms of equipment and transportation facilities such as trains and buses. A key factor in securing the potential benefits of the PFI approach is structuring the arrangement to ensure that the right risks are borne by the right party and that the incentives of the private sector are aligned appropriately. Key performance indicators or service level agreements can be put in place with the appropriate financial carrot and stick to derive the optimal relationship. It is in this context that advisors, both financial and legal, many of whom are present today can help create value, drawing from international experience, to advise the Government and private sector participants in terms of how best to achieve an efficient and equitable sharing of risks and rewards.

9. The Government has already commenced implementation of this type of PFI projects. The projects have been identified and work has started in terms of preparation of designs and award of contracts. Pembinaan BLT Sdn Bhd was formed last year and by the end of this year would have commenced implementation on more than RM 2 billion worth of projects relating to police quarters and buildings, using a Build Lease and Transfer approach. Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, an amount of RM20 billion worth of projects, including schools and Government buildings, was also approved to be implemented using the Build Lease Transfer approach. In the international experience, the efficiency savings from private sector bearing the risks have often been partially offset by the higher cost of financing by the private sector. In the model implemented by Government under for example Pembinaan BLT, not all of the risks have been transferred to the private sector. However, the financing has been secured based on the lower Government cost of funding. Going forward, we expect to engage with the private sector on different permutations of risk and reward sharing towards continually improving our PFI structures.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
10. In the second circumstance identified by the Prime Minister, the Government will help enhance the viability of private sector or privatisation projects in strategic or promoted areas. The basic rationale here is that there are various potential private projects which could be on the borderline in terms of viability and may therefore not be implemented. However, amongst these projects, there would be some which are highly beneficial to the country, in the sense that it would result in significant benefits and spinoffs, which are public good in nature and not be fully captured by the private sector party. With a little assistance from the Government, these projects can be implemented with the private sector bearing all the risk and accruing the private returns, and at the same time the country benefits. Again, this would be a win-win arrangement between the Government and private sector.

11. The Prime Minister has already announced a facilitation fund of RM 5 billion to provide such support. Thus far, the Government has already announced that the 2nd Penang Bridge will proceed on this basis. The principle is well demonstrated here in the sense that whilst a privatized concession alone may not be sufficient to finance the project, the project will result in large spinoffs for the development of the Northern region and thus justifies Government support. To evaluate projects such as these, a central PFI unit has been formed, with its secretariat based in the Economic Planning Unit.

12. This approach of enhancing viability of private sector projects will also be utilized where Government assistance can play a role in catalysing and create a momentum of investment in new growth areas. As mentioned earlier, such measures were announced in the 2007 Budget.

13. One such measure was the formation of the Creative Industry Development Fund with an initial allocation of RM 100 million. The Fund will be used to jointly invest with private sector parties in developing export quality media content. Amongst private sector parties identified to participate include Media Prima and TM. We have seen the success of the Indian and Korean film industries. We believe Malaysia is not short of talent. Thus, the Government believes a focus towards producing high quality content, whether in the areas of film, animation, computer games or theatre has the potential to develop into a thriving industry. Whereas in the past the Government promoted new growth industries primarily through tax incentives, a PFI approach is now available as another modality to build up a strategic infant industry.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
14. In addition to new industries, the PFI approach will be utilized to develop new regions. In the 2007 Budget, in addition to the amounts to be spent on infrastructure, a specific allocation of RM 200 million was provided to establish a strategic investment fund for the Southern Johor Economic Region. The fund will be utilized to spur investments in new industry clusters, particularly for private sector education and healthcare. Towards catalyzing a more rapid development of these clusters, the fund will be used as an incentive to support and jointly invest with the early entrants.

15. In addition to providing support through joint investments with private sector parties, we expect there are many innovative means to help private sector parties to enhance viability in a mutually beneficial manner. To assist the initial entrants of private universities and hospitals into Southern Johore, the Government could enhance viability by committing to procure a level of services in the future, such as sending a certain number of Government sponsored students to these universities. The commitment however would be tied to performance criteria such as quality of education and employability of graduates. This can operate as an incentive for the university to improve itself towards securing more Government sponsored students.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
16. The success of the PFI rests on getting an optimal partnership between public and private sector in terms of sharing the risks and rewards, in addition to incentivising the alignment of interests. Well structured, a PFI approach will be mutually beneficial in providing the private sector a market return and providing the Government with value for money, higher quality of public services and broader economic spinoffs. I am confident that the PFI approach will increasingly play a larger role in promoting strategic private sector investments. The Government looks forward to engaging with the private sector in developing workable and efficient PFI models towards advancing the national development agenda.

17. It is through seminars such as these that both public and private sector participants are able to gain insights from international experience in order to develop applications for Malaysia. I would like to again thank the organizers and sponsors making today's seminar possible, and wish all of the participants today a fruitful discussion.

Thank you.


10 November 2006

Brocade’s network hardware price model: Pay-as-you-go

Shamus McGillicuddy, News Director.Published: 1 Sep 2011

Why should you buy your switches and routers when you can rent them month-to-month? Brocade is offering that option as of this week with its new Brocade Network Subscription, a pay-as-you-go network hardware price model.

IT cost reduction has always been an issue for enterprises, particularly with network hardware prices. Cisco Systems’ customers joke about a “Cisco tax” because the company charges premium prices for its equipment; meanwhile, vendors like HP Networking and Juniper Networks win over deals by offering lower list prices on their switches and routers.

Attempting to drive down costs, many organizations turn to leasing network infrastructure rather than buying it. But this only shifts costs from capital to operational, and lease agreements bind a customer for a minimum number of years, charging a penalty if the enterprise backs out of the deal early.

Brocade’s new network hardware price model, announced at VMworld this week, is a month-to-month “rental” of network infrastructure, which won't necessarily bring down costs, but will enable IT shops to try on new technology for size with the ability to return or exchange without penalty—and that could mean overall savings if companies are able to avoid overbuying or investing in technology that doesn't work for them.

The program, available immediately, covers all of Brocade’s IP/Ethernet products and includes Essential Support from Brocade Global Services. Brocade hasn’t published the actual subscription rates for the program, but it is offering free quotes on its website. The company will also continue to offer its original network hardware price scheme alongside Brocade Network Subscription.

Pay-as-you-go networks could make enterprises early adopters

Aaron Mahler, director of network services at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, is less than halfway into five-year leases from both Juniper and Meraki for the college’s network infrastructure. While Mahler usually leaves network hardware price analysis to his financial officers, the flexibility of a pay-as-you go model intrigues him because it introduces the potential to try new technology.

“If there are no penalties [for canceling a hardware subscription], that would make us much more nimble in terms of scaling with the network we have. If a big shift in technology happens, it would be nice to be able to make that change within the term of our lease. As long as our finance folks look at the numbers and say it makes sense from a total cost perspective, then I would definitely be interested in it.”

Being nimble is especially important at a time when so many new networking technologies are pending. So, for example, as all of the major networking vendors hammer out their data center roadmaps, network managers can use the pay-as-you-go approach to wait out a plan from their preferred vendor, said Andre Kindness, senior analyst with Forrester Research.

“If Juniper had this for their products, customers would feel comfortable with bringing [Juniper’s] EX8200 [into their data centers] and then switch to QFabric down the line. They wouldn’t be as scared to invest. It’s lower risk.”

Pay-as-you-go models also allow organizations to back out of technology that doesn't pan out, mitigating the risks in trying new architectures, according to Mike Spanbauer, principal analyst with Current Analysis. That's helpful considering vendors are currently knee-deep in choosing sides among competing pre-standard technologies like Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) and Shortest Path Bridging (SPB).

Brocade has rolled out its new VCS data center network fabric, based loosely on TRILL, and its new line of VDX data center switches. With no capital investment and no penalty for backing out, users are much more likely to try the new technology.

“There’s no commitment to a single path necessarily because you can return [the hardware] if it doesn’t work out for you. Once it’s installed you definitely have migration challenges to get off that equipment, but you’d have that challenge with any solution. In this case you don’t have to worry about capital depreciation issues that limited you to only making changes every three years or so,” said Spanbauer.

Economic environment demands new network hardware price models

Beyond enabling technical innovation, pay-as-you-go models may help companies drive down costs.

Whether pay-as-you-go networks are cheaper than those bought with a traditional capital budget will probably depend on how long an enterprise keeps the rented network in place and how well it plans for growth. Most enterprises build a network with a lifecycle of five to seven years with excess capacity to account for growth over that time. A company that builds a pay-as-you-go network can install and pay for only the capacity that is needed, and add more ports when growth is required.

Some vendors have introduced pricing schemes for application delivery controllers and WAN optimization appliances that allow customers to pay a fee for a temporary burst in capacity when needed, said Kindness. Meraki, a provider of wireless LAN infrastructure, also introduced a pay-as-you-go model to its network hardware price scheme earlier this year.

“When pharmaceutical manufacturers buy chemical, they’ll bring in two truckloads of the chemical. But if they only use one truckload, they can send the other one back,” said Kindness. The same need is growing in IT infrastructure spending, he said.

(Source - http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com)

Cisco Live 2011: Catalyst 6500 upgrade the game changer?

Rivka Gewirtz Little, Senior Site Editor. Published: 13 Jul 2011

LAS VEGAS—Cisco served up comfort food for the networking masses on the first day of Cisco Live 2011, sidestepping edgy cloud announcements and focusing instead on a major Catalyst 6500 upgrade.

Cisco is in full battle mode in the switching market where it has lost some ground to competitors with less expensive equipment, including HP Networking. Some customers had expected Cisco to launch a smaller and less expensive addition to the Nexus line (the Nexus 7009 mentioned at Cisco Live 2010), but the Catalyst 6500 upgrade will enable 25,000 existing customers to upgrade their E-Series chasses without the cost of a rip and replace. The message is that they don't need to go with less expensive and less functional equipment from competitors.

“Our goal and aim was to make sure we could protect those customers' investment,” said Scott Gainey, Cisco director of marketing.

The refresh is centered on the Catalyst 6500 Series Supervisor Engine 2T, a 2-terabit card that triples the throughput capability of the 6500 switch from 720 Gbps to 2Tbps and adds virtualization segmentation. Cisco execs compared the $38,000 Supervisor 2T to HP's A9508 switch, saying customers can triple the performance at one third of the cost with this upgrade.

HP called Cisco's comparison of the Supervisor 2T with HP's A9508 "meaningless." Mike Nielsen, director of solution marketing at HP, said that Cisco is comparing the price of a supervisor engine upgrade with the cost of a complete chassis switch system from HP. He also pointed out that HP launched a new competitor to the Catalyst 6500 platform at Interop, the A10500 series, which outperforms an upgraded 6500.

"HP delivers two times Cisco's performance with the HP 105000. Cisco 2T delivers 80 Gbps per slot; HP 10500 doubles that to 160 Gbps," Nielsen said.

The Catalyst 6500 upgrade also includes 10 Gigabit Ethernet line cards—the 6900 8-port 10G card with baked in TrustSec security and the 6800, which includes two 16-port 10G modules and a 48-port Gigabit Ethernet module. Cisco also announced service modules that enable a high performance next-generation firewall, an application control engine for acceleration and security, more comprehensive NetFlow capabilities and mobility management that enables north of 10,000 devices on one module. Cisco says the combined bandwidth from the cards and supervisor make the Catalyst 6500 40 GbE ready, but the company hasn't announced any 40 GbE ports yet.

Catalyst 6500 upgrade? What about the Nexus transition?

Many believed that the Nexus line was meant to replace the aging Catalyst 6500, but this week at Cisco Live, execs said the two addressed very separate markets with different needs.

“The Nexus was meant to bring 10 Gigabit Ethernet into the data center, but gigabit Ethernet is also enormous and there are segments [other than the data center] that have to be addressed. The 6500 fits the sweet spot of the campus that nobody in the market can keep up with,” said John McCool, senior vice president of data center and switching.

“We see the market bifurcating into a campus-based market that needs rich services and the data center network with convergence that takes a different functionality,” he added.

For those who want to keep existing 6500s in the core and aren't concerned about building a Nexus-based data center and managing two sets of equipment, the release seems only positive.

"The core of the network may not always get the limelight, but it makes or breaks the performance of the applications our faculty, students, and researchers depend upon daily,” said Ed Wilson, network test engineer at Pennsylvania State University, who was part of Cisco's press launch. “The introduction of the Catalyst 6500 Supervisor Engine 2T will extend our investment in Cisco systems.

On the other hand, customers who have invested big into Cisco's server products, the Unified Computing System (UCS), and built a Nexus-based network to support UCS want to see more than a Catalyst 6500 upgrade. Many of these users will eventually take build a core-to-edge 10 GbE network and had gotten the message from Cisco that 6500s would be eventually replaced by the Nexus.

“We're going with the Nexus because it has FCoE capabilities and we're looking at the long-term architecture. Also we need the virtualization abilities of the Nexus” said Rich Parker, security and communications manager at law firm Baker Botts LLP. “I've also heard this is the last supervisor upgrade for the 6500, so that's not an investment we would make.”

Adding speed and functionality to a much-loved switch is never a bad thing, said Gestalt IT founder Stephen Foskett. It's also not the most exciting thing Cisco could have announced when it comes to switching, he said

(Source - http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com)

EVER WATCHFUL: CyberSecurity Malaysia says policing the trustworthiness of security certificates must be proactive and continuous. - Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: CyberSecurity Malaysia wants the Government to consider stronger audit policies for security certificates.

This comes in the wake of the revoking of trust by three major Internet browsers against local intermediate certificate authority (CA) DigiCert Sdn Bhd.

Google, Mozilla and Microsoft revoked trust in DigiCert following the issuance of 22 certificates with weak keys, lacking in usage extensions and revocation information.

Security certificates are used as a means of verifying the identity of a website that a user visits. On Nov 3, identity-based security software and services company Entrust, which counts DigiCert as one of its subordinate CAs, issued a statement on its website stating: "Their (DigiCert's) certificate issuing practices violated their agreement, their Certification Practice Statement, and accepted CA standards."

Entrust also globally revoked DigiCert's signing certificates on Nov 8, allowing time for their customers to acquire valid replacement certificates.

According to online reports, two of the weak certificates issued by DigiCert were allegedly used to disguise malware which was used in a targeted attack against another Asian certificate authority. The authority noticed the attack and raised the alarm.

In addition to only having 512-bit encryption, the DigiCert certificates did not contain Extended Key Usage (EKU) - used to tell browsers what type of rights a digital certificate should have and revocation information, which would have allowed for a certificate recall.

In a statement issued on its website, Mozilla expressed concern with the technical practices of DigiCert, which it said was the main reason behind its decision to revoke its trust.

An attacker could use one of these weak certificates to impersonate the legitimate owners. This could deceive users into trusting websites or verify software that appeared to originate from these owners but in actuality could contain malicious software, the company said.

The certificates in question were issued to a mix of Malaysian government websites and internal systems. Mozilla said it did not believe other sites were at risk.

Not the same

Lt Col (Ret) Prof Datuk Husin Jazri, CEO of CyberSecurity Malaysia, said: "From our understanding, the revocation of trust is due to not fully complying with the strict ­standards required in issuing SSL certificates.

"This is not something that the big browser players are willing to tolerate." An agency under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, CyberSecurity is also one of DigiCert's clients.

Husin said this incident is unlike the case of DigiNotar, a Dutch CA owned by VASCO Data Security International which experienced a security breach earlier this year, resulting in the fraudulent issuing of certificates, and was later declared bankrupt.

"However, big players like Mozilla, Microsoft and Google will not take chances no ­matter how small the issue is when it comes to trust or security issues because they are in an ­industry where trust is of utmost importance," he added.

DigiCert issued a statement on Nov 5 and denied any fraudulent activity on its part. "We view the allegations as very serious and we vehemently deny any fraudulent act on our part.

"Nevertheless, we are currently ­investigating what had prompted such ­allegations and we are treating this matter as our top priority," DigiCert CEO Mohd Rosdeen Hassan said in the statement.

In a follow-up statement, issued on Nov 7, the company acknowledged the issuance of the certificates with weak keys. In this, it stated: "The SSL 512-bit key certificates issued under Digisign Server ID have mismatched capabilities from the prescribed standards."

Quick work

DigiCert has since revoked the 22 certificates and advised the Internet browser companies to blacklist the certificates in addition to sending out advisories to impacted customers to replace their current Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates.

Rosdeen said the process of re-issuing new 2,048-bit security certificates began on Nov 7, with a special task force and a dedicated callcentre set up to answer queries from its customers. "We are going above the minimum prescribed standard (1,024-bit encryption) because we believe this is in the best interest of our clients," he said.

When asked why such weak certificates were issued in the first place, Rosdeen said the reason for the issuance of the 512-bit key certificates was prompted by requests on their clients' part.

"Certain clients felt that 512-bit was enough for their sites, with stronger encryption ­potentially having a detrimental effect on the performance of their applications," he said. DigiCert said about 600 sites are impacted by this revocation and the process of changing the certificates would take days because the main hurdle is contacting all the affected parties and guiding them through the process.

Rosdeen said the company is revising its internal policy to incorporate stricter processes on issuance of certificates for all SSL customers and will undertake the employment of a Webtrust program so that in future it will not be dependant on foreign-root CAs.

CyberSecurity's Husin praised DigiCert for its quick action. "It is notable that DigiCert took immediate mitigation steps for all the affected sites," he said. "All of their customers are now signed directly with Entrust."

Bad time

The DigiCert case comes at a time of heightened alerts surrounding CAs, with a growing list of companies that have had to admit they suffered serious attacks on their certificate infrastructure this year.

Husin reported that CyberSecurity is seeing increasing incidents where valid certificates are stolen from computers or servers that store them and are being used to sign malware.

"From these events we see the need for CAs to beef up security and this could be achieved by having proactive and continuous security practices," he said.

Husin said CAs need to be responsive to security incidents reported by security teams or researchers, and exercise the revocation policy more promptly once those incidents are detected.

"The Government could consider ­implementing stronger audit policies for security certificates, and appoint an agency to enforce them," he said.

Or, he said, CAs in Malaysia could be categorised as a Critical Sector under the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), thus requiring these companies to comply with the more stringent CNII security standards.

PEMBANGUNAN PERSONALIA PELAJAR DINAMIK BERDASARKAN MODEL CHICKERING

Oleh: Bahman Bin Jamaluddin, Pengetua Kolej, Kolej jasmine, UiTM Kampus Puncak Perdana

Shah Alam, SELANGOR DE.

Model Chickering telah diasaskan oleh Arthur W. Chickering, seorang lulusan dari Harvard University yang juga merupakan seorang penyelidik dalam pendidikan dan hal ehwal pelajar universiti dan kolej dan telah banyak menghasilkan teori-teori berkenaan pembangunan pelajar. Teori pertamanya telah diterbitkan pada tahun 1969 semasa betugas dengan Goddard College bertajuk “Project on Student Development in Small Colleges” . Pada tahun 1993 beliau telah memperbaharui teorinya dengan kerjasama Linda Reisser. Chickering kini masih bertugas di George Mason University dan Goddard College.

Model Chickering (1993) terdiri daripada 7 vektor iaitu:

1. Membangunkan kompetensi

2. Mengurus emosi

3. Bergerak melalui autonomi ke arah interdependence

4. Membangun hubungan interpersonal matang

5. Mengukuhkan identiti

6. Membangunkan tujuan dan fungsi

7. Membangunkan integriti

Model ini sangat menggalakkan pembelajaran yang berterusan melalui ilmu, pengalaman dan persekitaran dalam membangunkan personaliti pelajar.

(a) Membangunkan kompetensi

Chickering berpendapat bahwa ada tiga jenis kompetensi di alam menara gading iaitu kompetensi intelektual, kompetensi kemahiran fizikal dan manual dan kompetensi interpersonal.Vektor ini mencadangkan agar kompetensi para pelajar dibangunkan melalui program-program berdasarkan kepada kualiti 3 perkara tersebut. Kualiti di dalam personaliti para pelajar dapat memacu mereka untuk terus berdaya saing dan memikul tugas dan peranan sebagai elitis yang bergelar mahasiswa atau mahasiswi. Ia merangkumi perkara-perkara yang berikut:

(i) Aspek kompetensi dari segi tahap intelektual yang melibatkan penggunaan akal untuk membina kemahiran berfikir secara analitikal, keupayaan mensintesis dan komprehensif serta membangunkan pandangan yang bernas di dalam menghadapi pengalaman kehidupan khususnya di dalam kampus dan juga ketika berhadapan masyarakat dalaman dan sekitar

(ii) Aspek fizikal dan manual yang melibatkan kejayaan di bidang sukan atau kesenian dalam masa yang sama mengukuhkan disiplin diri, kekuatan, kecergasan, daya saing dan termasuk penghasilan idea-idea baru dan inovasi.

(iii) Aspek karektor interpersonal yg melibatkan kemahiran mendengar, memahami, berkomunikasi dan berfungsi di dalam pelbagai perhubungan. Ia juga melibatkan keupayaan yang lebih kompleks iaitu menyesuaikan diri dan bertindakbalas terhadap orang lain sebaiknya, menyesuaikan agenda peribadi dengan matlamat kumpulan dan memilih pelbagai strategi untuk menyuburkan perhubungan dan fungsi kumpulan.

(b) Mengurus emosi

Pengurusan emosi pelajar sangat penting terutamanya bagi para pelajar baru supaya gangguan seperti rasa khuatir, takut, tidak yakin, kemurungan, rasa bersalah, malu dan segala perasaan negatif dapat dibendung dari awal-awal lagi menjejakkan kaki ke menara gading.

Trauma yang dialami generasi hari ini yang terganggu talian hayatnya dek terlalu bergantung kepada ibu-bapa sebelum memasuki universiti akan menyebabkan hilangnya daya saing mereka sebagai seorang pelajar jika aspek emosi dikesampingkan.

Segala gangguan ini tidak boleh diperkecilkan dan dianggap norma kehidupan kampus begitu sahaja kerana ia adalah signal atau petunjuk kepada masalah yang lebih besar yang ditanggung pelajar. Maka itu, mereka harus dipandu untuk mengenalpasti dan mengguna saluran untuk merencat dan seterusnya menghilangkan masalah atau halangan sebelum ia membarah atau meletup.

Pengurusan emosi di peringkat kampus melibatkan perkara-perkara berikut:

(i) Pendedahan kepada persekitaran tempat belajar beserta kemudahan yang ada

(ii) Memupuk minat terhadap bidang pengajian yang diceburi

(iii) Menyediakan talian hayat alternatif iaitu hubungan rapat dengan senior dan pensyarah

(iv) Meningkatkan kemudahan kebajikan bagi pelajar yang memerlukan (pelajar dari kalangan Orang Istimewa atau Kurang Upaya, miskin, yatim-piatu dan lain-lain)

(v) Melatih para pelajar mengenali jenis-jenis emosi serta kaedah-kaedah menanganinya.

(c) Bergerak melalui autonomi ke arah interdependence

Kunci kepada kerangka pembangunan pelajar ialah belajar untuk berfungsi secara relatifnya lebih berkendiri, bertanggungjawab mengejar matlamat yang telah dipilih dan ditetapkan, di samping mengurangkan ikatan terhadap pendapat orang lain. Namun, kaedah yang dinamik memerlukan kebebasan emosi dan instrumental, pelajar juga harus mampu mengenal pasti dan menerima “interdependence”.

Kebebasan emosi bermaksud kemerdekaan dari keperluan yang menekan dan berterusan terhadap kepastian, kemanjaan dan kebenaran. Vektor ini boleh melatih dan memandu pelajar untuk mengurangkan pilihan autonominya terhadap kebergantungan kepada ibu-bapa sebaliknya membuka ruang bantuan melalui pensyarah, staf universiti seperti kaunselor, pegawai agama, mungkin juga dari hanya seorang tukang kebun atau pengawal keselamatan, dari pelajar senior atau rakan-rakan sekuliah secara sukarela. Misalnya apa yang boleh dibuat jika pelajar menghadapi kekangan kewangan untuk memenuhi keperluan kerja kursus. Sudah pasti pelajar harus cepat menghidu peluang bantuan kebajikan yang disediakan pihak unibersiti seperti tabung kebajikan dan kecemasan atau zakat.

Manakala kebebasan instrumental di sini mempunyai dua komponen iaitu keupayaan untuk menganjurkan aktviti dan menyelesaikan masalah sendiri dan komponen kedua, keupayaan untuk bergerak, iaitu sentiasa boleh bergerak ke sana kemari untuk mendapatkan maklumat atau bantuan samada dengan atau tanpa disuruh, samada dari institusi dalaman mahupun dari agensi luaran. Kedua-dua komponen inilah yang boleh menjadikan idea kepada realiti.

Membangunkan autonomi juga perlu kesedaran bahwa seseorang tidak boleh hidup dalam persekitaran vakum. Harus menerima hakikat kita tidak boleh hidup sendiri, kita memerlukan orang lain, sehingga mati pun orang lain itulah yang akan menguruskan kita. Sebaliknya sifat autonomi yang sihat akan menggalakkan kepada hubungan “interdependence”. Oleh itu pelajar diasuh untuk menilai semula penglibatan ibu bapa dalam menentukan hala tuju dan keputusan yang dibuat sebaliknya hubungan dua hala dengan orang di persekitaran universiti ditingkatkan. Hubungan ini kemudiannya dikembangkan lagi dengan masyarakat atau komuniti setempat sehinggalah ke peringkat dunia.

Pelajar kemudiannya harus juga diasuh untuk mematuhi arahan dan pilihan yang dibuat oleh atau bersama orang lain. Pelajar, contohnya, juga mesti boleh melupakan kebebasan untuk memilih berambut panjang atau berpakaian seksi tetapi akur dan patuh kepada peraturan sahsiah yang ditetapkan universiti agar model graduan yang diharapkan mampu dilahir. Pelajar malah dilatih untuk bersedia menerima secara terbuka jika pendapat mereka ditolak dan kehilangan rakan atau sekutu dalam mempertahankan pendapat mereka.

Acuan ini boleh dicapai jika:

(i) Pelajar dilatih dan boleh menganjurkan aktiviti di pelbagai peringkat masyarakat setempat dan sekitar

(ii) Pelajar dilatih dan boleh menyelesaikan masalah sendiri dengan penyediaan rujukan-rujukan mencukupi seperti akses kepada pelbagai bahagian dan unit di dalam universiti dan sebagainya

(iii) Pelajar dilatih berfikir dan boleh merancang dan melaksanakan perancangan yang dibuat.

(d) Membangun hubungan interpersonal matang

Membangunkan hubungan yang matang melibatkan:

(1) toleransi dan apresiasi terhadap perbezaan

(2) kapasiti intimasi atau keukhwahan.

Toleransi boleh dilihat melaui konteks antara budaya dan juga interpersonal yang terpancar melalui keupayaan bertindak balas terhadap keperluan orang lain secara tertib melangkaui keperluan sendiri atau stereotaip. Menghormati perbezaan di kalangan komuniti pelajar boleh dipanjangkan kepada perbezaan bangsa, agama, negara dan sebagainya. Kesedaran, pengalaman, keterbukaan dan tanda tanya sebenarnya bisa membantu pelajar memperhalusi penampilan, mengurangkan bias dan sifat kepuakkan sebaliknya meningkatkan empati, memperkayakan diversiti dan menghasilkan perhubungan yang jujur lagi sentiasa sihat.

Kapasiti ukhwah melibatkan kualiti hubungan di kalangan rakan dan orang yang hampir dengan pelajar. Tetapi ia mesti lari dari kebergantungan terlampau atau dominasi terlampau sebaliknya ke arah keseimbangan di antara keduanya. Pembangunan ukhwah bermaksud lebih berkongsi dari lebih meminta, memaafkan kekurangan dan menghargai kemudahan, memberi lebih pilihan di dalam menyuburkan perhubungan, membina perhubungan yang berdaya tahan dan mempu menghadapi krisis, jarak dan perpisahan.

Melalui vektor ini, para pelajar dilatih untuk mewujudkan jaringan komunikasi, rakan atau sekutu dari kalangan pelbagai lapisan masyarakat yang berlainan bagi memupuk sikap kematangan mereka dalam menghadapi realiti kehidupan mendatang. Ia memerlukan 2 perkara iaitu sikap toleransi dan menghargai perbezaan dan kapasiti untuk intim terhadap jaringan sekutu yang telah diwujudkan itu.

Ia boleh dicapai melalui:

(i) Pendedahan kepada pelbagai budaya, bangsa, agama dan latarbelakang dan

(ii)Memperkukuhkan ikatan dengan orang sekeliling

(e) Pengukuhan identiti

Pembentukan identiti bergantung antara satu sama lain di antara satu vektor dengan vektor lain yang telah dibincangkan di atas: kompetensi, kematangan emosi, autonomi dan perhubungan positif. Ia seperti melengkapkan aturan batu bata semasa membina sebuah dinding. Jika satu bahagian susunan ada lompang sudah pasti dinding yang dibina juga rapuh. Pembinaan identiti merupakan satu proses penemuan pelbagai pengalaman, intensiti dan kekerapan sama ada ia membahagiakan, membina atau merosakkan.

Betapa ramai para pelajar yang sedang mengikuti pengajian masih keliru dengan jantinanya, mencintai pasangan sejenis, mengalami krisis keagamaan, terperangkap dalam fahaman politik melampau dan sebagainya. Ada pula yang berpakaian seperti pendatang asing, yang siswi pula seperti perempuan jalanan manakala siswa terlibat dengan rempit motosikal yang menunjukkan mereka secara serius sedang mengalami krisis identiti. Betapa ramai pula para pelajar yang gagal membezakan nilai mulia bilik kuliah dengan taraf sebuah bilik air di mana hanya menggunakan selipar yang sama untuk ke dua bilik yang berbeza tersebut.

Oleh itu pelajar perlu dibimbing untuk membawa identiti sebagai mahasiswa dan mahasiswi, yang mana identiti ini mudah dikenal pasti masyarakat, mengundang rasa hormat dan meninggikan nilai sesebuah universiti sesuai dengan kedudukannya. Setelah identiti ini dikenalpasti, ia perlu diperkukuhkan supaya para pelajar tidak mudah mengikut telunjuk anasir yang merosakkan seperi gerakan seks bebas, pluralisma agama, fahaman komunisma dan lain-lain.

Mengukuhkan identiti pula boleh dilaksanakan yang melibatkan:

(i)Keselesaan pelajar terhadap anggota badan dan penampilan

(ii)Keselesaan pelajar terhadap perbezaan gender dan orientasi seks

(iii) Pewujudan ikatan kekitaan dari segi konteks sosial, sejarah dan budaya

(iv)Pengiktirafan kepada tanggungjawab dan cara-hidup

(v) Tindak balas pelajar terhadap maklumbalas orang lain serta penilaian terhadap mereka

(vi) Mempercayai kemampuan diri dan mempertahankan maruah

(vii) Tingkah laku yang stabil dan boleh berintergrasi

Pengukuhan identiti juga perlu mencermin dan mempertahankan kekeluargaan, akar umbi budaya, kesucian keagamaan, perkembangan sejarah bangsa dan negara masyarakat setempat.

(f)Membangunkan tujuan

Ramai pelajar universiti masih keliru ke mana mereka hendak tuju dan mengapa mereka berada di situ walaupun jiwa mereka sedang membara dan tenaga sedang melimpah-ruah. Mereka cuma dapat mengaitkan diri mereka dengan profesyen yang mereka impikan misalnya seorang pelajar perubatan hanya boleh mengaitkan dirinya dengan kerjaya sebagai seorang doktor tetapi bukan dengan kualiti yang perlu ada untuk menjadi seorang doktor malah jarang mengaitkan diri mereka dengan tokoh-tokoh doktor terbilang.

Berapa ramai pelajar perubatan ingin jadi seperti Tun Dr. Mahathir? Rata-rata pelajar hanya menyangka bahwa sijil yang mereka perolehi akan melayakkan mereka mendapatkan kerja yang bagus sedangkan secara realitinya majikan hari ini melihat banyak aspek yang lain seperti kemahiran insaniah di dalam memilih bakal pekerja mereka.

Maka adalah menjadi fungsi kolej untuk membina skil-skil yang diperlukan, mendedahkan sebanyak mungkin pengalaman dan kemahiran, penguasaan dan pertambahan ilmu, mencari dan mempunyai falsafah tentang kehidupan dan akhirnya memupuk pelajar menjadi pelajar seumur hidup. Bukankan ilmu Allah itu sangat luas dan nilai ilmu pengetahuan pula sangat tinggi di sisiNya.Sebagaimana yang telah dititipkan oleh I mam Al Ghazali di dalam Kitab Ihya’ ‘Ulumuddin tentang keutamaan mereka yang menimba ilmu melalui Hadis Rasulullah s.a.w yang bermaksud,

“Barangsiapa menempuh satu jalan untuk mencari limu pengetahuan, maka Allah akan menempuhkan suatu jalan untuknya ke syurga”, - ( Hadis riwayat oleh Muslim)

Membangunkan tujuan dan fungsi memerlukan kepada keupayaan mencapai maksud, menilai minat dan pilihan yang ada, menggariskan tujuan, merangka perancangan, dan memacu usaha dan mematahkan halangan. Pelajar dlatih untuk mengadakan pelan perancangan dan serta keutamaan yang mengintergrasikan tiga elemen utama iaitu:

(1) pelan vokasional dan aspirasi seseorang pelajar

(2) minat dan matlamat personal pelajar tersebut

(3) komitmen interpersonal seperti kepada masyarakat, negara dan keluarga

(f) Membangunkan integriti

Membangun integriti sangat berhubung-kait dengan pengukuhan identiti dan memperjelas dan membangunkan tujuan. Nilai utama dan kepercayaan, menyediakan asas bagi menafsirkan segala pengalaman, memandu perlakuan, dan mengekalkan rasa hormat pada diri pelajar. Membangunkan intergriti melibatkan 3 turutan fasa yang bertindan iaitu:

(1) Menginsankan nilai di mana mengalihkan aplikasi otomatik bagi kepercayaan yang rapuh dan menggunakan pemikiran berprinsip di dalam menyeimbangkan kepentingan diri-sendiri dengan keperluan manusia lain, bangsa, agama ataunpun Negara

(2) Pemilikan nilai di mana mengukuhkan secara sedar nilai dan kepercayaan tetapi dalam masa yang sama menghormati pendapat orang lain

(3) Membangunkan kesamaan iaitu memadankan nilai personal dengan tanggungjawab kelakuan sosial

Penulis masih teringat akan coretan seorang pelajar UiTM yang mempertikaikan peraturan rambut pendik siswa dengan kaitan pencapaian akademik di laman Facebook Naib Canselor UiTM yang menimbulkan perdebatan menarik. Ramai pelajar yang menyokong pendapat pelajar tersebut namun lebih ramai yang kontra. Hujah-hujah dan gaya pendapat dikeluarkan mencerminkan intergriti pelajar yang terlibat di dalam polemik. Yang menyokong kelihatan terbawa-bawa dengan kebebasan hak asasi sedangkan yang menentang pendapat pelajar tersebut menggenggam erat matlamat dan tujuan penubuhan UiTM yang antara lain untuk menghasilkan cerdik-pandai dan profesional di kalangan bumiputera. Malah hasil amatan rambang juga boleh dilihat daripada penampilan gaya dan bahasa badan pelajar tahun akhir. Ada yang kelihatan seperti mereka yang sudah bekerja dan boleh memikul tanggungjawab besar manakala selebihnya masih seperti anak ingusan!

Menginsankan nilai beerti mengalihkan kepercayaan sendiri atau literal kepada pandangan yang lebih berkaitan dan nyata, di mana perhubungan terjalin antara peraturan dan matlamat yang sepatutnya. Walaupun peraturan perlu, namun peraturan boleh di ubah mengikut kesesuaian masa dan situasi yang kadang kala terpaksa mengubah prinsip asal sesuatu peraturan penting misalnya dalam konteks negara kita telah ada cadangan agar pemindaan dilakukan ke atas Akta Universiti dan Kolej (AUKU). Perubahan ke atas prinsip boleh diumpamakan sebagai “pembebasan” ke atas “super-ego” atau “enlightenment of conscience”.

Pelajar biasanya terjun ke alam universiti membawa bersama kekeliruan dan igauan tentang apa yang betul apa yang salah, apa yang tulen apa yang palsu, apa yang baik apa yang jahat dan apa yang penting apa yang tidak. Bagi pelajar baru, kebanyakan pegangan mereka adalah apa yang diamalkan oleh ibu-bapa, guru sekolah, imam masjid, media seperti majalah dan jangan lupa pengaruh ASTRO. Ketidak patuhan dan pengubahan kepercayaan ini akan menyebabkan timbulnya rasa bersalah, kekesalan dan kekeliruan walaupun kadang-kadang kepercayaan itu agak karut seperti penggunaan tangkal, minum air Yaasin untuk lulus periksa, gangguan makhluk halus yang menyebabkan histeria sedangkan pelajar tersebut terlalu tertekan kerana tidak bersedia atau tidak dapat menyesuaikan diri dengan kehidupan kampus. Ada pelajar baru yang meminta pensyarah mengadakan tusyen untuk skor A seperti mereka skor SPM dahulu!

Melalui penginsanan nilai, diharapkan bebanan terhadap kepercayaan ini dapat dilonggarkan. Isu, masalah dan penyelesaian diteliti dan dikenal pasti. Sebagai contoh ramai pelajar dari Fakulti Seni Persembahan mengalami histeria sedangkan pelajar dari fakulti lain tidak pula, ustaz dan imam malah bomoh pun jadi buntu sedangkan apabila disiasat di dapati pelajar kurang rehat dan makan kerana latihan yang mereka jalani untuk pementasan teater terlalu memerlukan komitmen fizikal

Pemilikan nilai perlu bersandarkan kepada bidang yang mereka ceburi, misalnya jika ingin jadi wartawan mereka tidak boleh jadi pemalu dan penakut, kalau ingin menjadi peguam tidak boleh pula pendiam, kalau mahu jadi pengurus sukan mestilah boleh bersukan walaupun tak berapa bagus! Jika bercita hendak bekerja dengan konglomerat mestilah berjiwa besar, berketrampilan dan ingin jadi usahawan, sifat oportunis dan berani mengambil risiko perlu ada. Pemilikan nilai akan membangunkan kesamaan nilai di mana kejayaan kelakuannya nanti akan bergantung kepada kelompok dan khalayak yang mereka anggotai. Bak kata pepatah masuk kandang kambing mengembik dan masuk kandang harimau kena mengaum, kalau tak mengaum kenalah kita mengucap!

Fasa terakhir untuk para pelajar yang hampir menamatkan pengajian ini sepatutnya telah dapat mengurangkan perdebatan di kalangan pelajar dan pentadbir universiti kerana kesefahaman telah dicapai, akibat dan pilihan telah pun jelas, malah tanggungjawab juga telah ditentukan. Setelah pelajar dilatih agar mempunyai integriti terhadap kepercayaan , nilai dan tujuan hidup, sepatutnyalah juga mereka sudah boleh menghormati diri sendiri dan orang lain.

Begitulah huraian berkenaan tujuh vector pembangunan personalia yang terdapat di dalam Model Chickering (1993). Setiapnya mempunyai komponen tambahan dan pengubahsuaian mengikut perkembangan semasa.

Memperkasa Pelajar Luar Kampus - Ucaputama Y.Bhg. Dato Prof.Mohd. Noh Dalimin

Prof. Dato Dr. Mohd. Noh Dalimin, Naib Canselor, Universiti Tun Hussain Onn(UTHO)semasa menyampaikan ucaputama dalam seminar Pengurusan Asrama Peringkat Kebangsaan 2011 di Royale Bintang sebentar tadi menegaskan bahawa semua universiti di Malaysia sewajarnya memberikan perhatian sewajarnya terhadap kebajikan mahasiswa NR atau pelajar tanpa asrama di universiti masing-masing.

Pendekatan yang kreatif dan inovatif perlu dilaksanakan oleh pihak Hal Ehwal Pelajar untuk menarik minat mahasiswa tanpa asrama menyertai program yang memberi manfaat kepada masyarakat setempat dimana mahasiswa tinggal supaya mewujudkan suasana harmoni di antara masyarakat dan mahasiswa.

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17 Ways To Speed Up Your Network -- For Free

Learn how to speed up throughput without breaking the bank, by optimizing the network and eliminating unnecessary performance hogs.

By Phil Britt

Got a sluggish network, but don't want to break the bank speeding it up? We've got free and relatively inexpensive help for you. While some of the steps we recommend might include minor hardware upgrades, they are far less expensive than large consulting contracts or "forklift-type" IT upgrades.

To get our tips, we've polled three networking specialists for their advice. They've come up with 17 tips -- here's what they have to say.

Tom Leahy, product marketing manager for IP services at Pittsburg, Pa.-based TelCove, an integrated communications provider that offers Internet, voice, and data solutions, recommends these steps to boost network performance:

1. Assess traffic loads on the network, including the destination and source of all traffic. By moving around some network resources, a company many be able to improve network performance. For example, in a campus environment, if a particular server is being used by people in a common location (i.e., a particular building), the obvious thing to do is to make sure that server is actually located in that building. Otherwise that traffic will bog down other communications that must go between buildings.

2. Optimize IP addressing. This helps minimize the load on routers. The shorter the lookup table a router needs to determine where to send packets, the better.

John Heasley, one of the co-founders of Shrubbery Networks, a Portland, Ore.-based computer and network consulting services company, offers these recommendations:

3. Adjust hosts and network devices to use larger maximum segment size (MSS) at the initial connection or even the maximum transmission unit (MTU) of ~1460 for Ethernet. The old default of 576 is antiquated and most links should support this by now. Just make sure they do not set the DF (Don't Fragment) bit on every frame (Microsoft likes to do this).

In fact, you use IP MTU discovery to increase the MSS over time, but it doesn't help short-lived connections (i.e., for the Web).

4. Turn off IPX. Heasley calls IPX "one of the worst protocols ever." IPX is very chatty, Heasley explains, and, therefore, is very susceptible to any kind of latency. This also reduces overall operating expense because network administrators only have to verify a smaller subset of code for network device software upgrades.

Turning off IPX can also improve overall throughput for networks devices that only support process switching for these (or all) protocols, since these protocols tend to be heavier and less efficient (in terms of overall code efficiency). Netbui can safely be turned off as well.

5. Increase default socket (or streams) send and receive buffer space to at least 64k on all servers and clients.

6. Optimize the router interface access control lists (ACLs). These often become inefficient over time as people add things to existing ACLs and don't delete them when those things are removed from the network.

7. Check Ethernet links for the greatest possible link speed and duplex (mismatches occur) and errors.

8. Increase the overall bandwidth between devices with link bundling (IEEE standard 802.3ad).

9. Use multicast when you can and when it's warranted.

10. Use web browsers that support pipelining. Firefox supports pipelining, but Heasley says that although Internet Explorer supports pipelining, he is not sure that it supports it properly.

11. Make sure routing is efficient. Use a routing protocol rather than static routes to avoid inefficiencies.

12. Avoid loops in switching topologies. Spanning tree protocol (STP) is not good at choosing the best path.

Tim Hebert, chief operating office of Atrion Networking, Warwick, RI, a systems integrator and network services provider doing Cisco infrastructure since 1987, adds the following advice:

13. Look at multicasting settings, which may not be turned on. Multicasting uses a multicast address to send the same data stream to multiple recipients while using the least bandwidth. Without multicasting, multiple unicast-addressed copies of the data stream would have to be sent to individual recipients. Multicast services can control the distribution of multicasts by determining which switch ports need to participate in multicasts.

14. Consider using a private virtual LAN to give certain applications higher priorities.

Ed Keiper, manager of network services for Lantium, Inc., an Audubon, Pa.-based company that provides network services, consulting, and outsourcing, suggests that network performance may be improved by doing the following:

15. Replace hubs with faster-working switches. The cost of switches has dropped significantly, so the improved performance may be well worth the investment. Lantium estimates that the cost of switches are about a third of the cost of hubs -- an estimated $5.53 per port for switches versus an estimated $15.63 per port for hubs.

16. Ensure that the network's fastest systems run the most demanding applications. Sometimes new, faster PCs are added to the network, but some of the most resource-intensive applications remain on older machines. Total network performance suffers as a result.

17. Make sure that any cable runs are short enough for maximum performance. While a system may theoretically be able to handle a cable run of 300 feet, distances of 100 feet will provide much better performance.

This Article Reprinted Courtesy of http://informationweek.com