Line Transfer Appreciation Dinner @ Rooftop D'place, Aldy Hotel

For a fair bit of 2009, a sizable group of engineers, executives and technicians were involved in a huge transfer project to successfully move a product line from one of our sister plants located somewhere in Mainland China down to our humble factory here in Malaysia. The sheer logistics involved alone already proved itself a mind-boggling task, with hundreds of individual machines being shipped over in several shipments, some by air and some by sea. Once the pieces of the puzzle were in place, we still had the challenge ahead of us to make it run like a well-oiled machine once again (or at least, make it run the way it was running before the transfer). All this through 2009, the year of global economic crisis / cleansing.

Finally, as the cloud of dust settled, we emerged into the near year with the sweet fruits of success in our hands. The transfer project, for the most part, a successful project by any standards, and thus the Upper Management gave their blessing for an appreciation dinner to thank the team.

The venue of choice was none other than Rooftop D'place, at the top of the Aldy Hotel, which was situated next to the old HSBC building, near the Stadhuys (the famous red buildings in Melaka town built by the Dutch in the mid 17th century). For our dinner, we booked the entire rooftop of the establishment, which was uncovered, so luck was with us that night as it did not rain.

Our Plant Manager ES Wee gave a short speech at the start of the event, and then it was a buffet dinner for all. Food was a typical assortment of Asian-style dishes, which more than appealed to our palates. I especially liked the satay, which I had not eaten in quite some time, as well as the fried rice.

The rooftop was ours for the night

Expecting some heavy traffic, due to the presence of the current Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib, I carpooled with Zufri, my friend from HR. The PM was in town for a one-day visit to launch newly upgraded airport in Batu Berendam in the morning, was in Jonker street in the afternoon and at Klebang at night. Luckily, the roads were not heavily congested, and parking spaces were readily available on the hill in front of the Bamboo Hut. Throughout dinner, we basically entertained ourselves with the available Karaoke facilities as we had the rooftop all to ourselves.

L-R: Mr Yeo EK, Chong SC (hidden) and Vivien

From here, I could see the Menara Taming Sari, a popular tourist attraction, and in the distance, the dark and dormant Eye on Malaysia (which is temporarily closed as of the time of this writing, due to some ongoing legal issues).

Well, that marks the conclusion of yet another successful large-scale project by our team, with deserved recognition from Upper Management. It just goes to show that when people from various departments and skill sets join forces and focus on a common goal, there is nothing that we cannot achieve (so far)! :)

Looking down into the compound of the Police Station next door

Just beyond the Police Station was the Menara Taming Sari, and further beyond was the dormant Eye on Malaysia

Here's a closer look at the Eye on Malaysia as it is today