Wednesday, August 25, 2010

http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2010&dt=0119&pub=Kosmo&sec=Rencana_Utama&pg=ru_01.htm


RENCANA UTAMA

KEHIDUPAN SELEPAS BERSARA

Sebahagian besar anggota Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) yang bersara memilih untuk melakukan pekerjaan mengikut kecenderungan masing-masing. Apakah yang mendorong mereka?




JIKA dihitung takwim tahun baru, sudah tujuh tahun Ahmad Janius Abdullah bersara daripada Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM). Lelaki berusia 39 tahun itu mengakui kerjaya itu bagaikan nadi baginya.

Ini kerana individu yang menyertai ATM bukan sahaja dibentuk untuk menjadi seorang yang berwibawa dan sanggup berkorban demi negara tercinta, malah mereka dilatih untuk menjadi contoh kepada generasi muda.


Mengetuai perbincangan bersama sebahagian daripada ahli jawatankuasanya di Kelab Veteran Komando Malaysia di Bukit Persekutuan, Kuala Lumpur.


Walaupun Ahmad Janius telah melalui satu episod kehidupan yang cukup mencabar dan penuh dengan pahit manis, namun sejurus dia melangkah kaki ke alam persaraan pada 2003, dia tidak hanya duduk di rumah atau memenuhi masa lapangnya dengan melancong. Sebaliknya, Ahmad Janius menceburi perniagaan membekalkan peralatan tentera.

Ketika berkhidmat dalam ATM, anak kelahiran Sabah itu rajin menimba ilmu dalam pelbagai bidang terutama perniagaan.

Bekas komando Kem Sungai Udang, Melaka sejak 1989 itu menyedari bahawa dia akan menerima duit pencen setiap bulan. Cuma, jumlah yang diterima itu tidak cukup untuk menyaranya sekeluarga.

"Sebab itulah ada segelintir pesara tentera terpaksa bekerja dengan syarikat keselamatan sebagai pengawal atau pegawai berdasarkan pengalaman yang dimiliki ketika berkhidmat dengan ATM. Bahkan terdapat juga pesara yang menceburkan diri dalam bidang perniagaan seperti gerai makan, bengkel kenderaan dan sekolah memandu.

"Mereka yang kurang berkemahiran pula biasanya memilih menjadi petani atau nelayan di kampung," kata lelaki berketurunan Kadazan itu yang sempat membuat perniagaan insurans pada awal persaraannya.

Ahmad Janius membuka sebuah pejabat kecil di Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor untuk menjalankan kerja-kerja promosi dan menjual polisi insurans secara kecil-kecilan. Dalam tempoh beberapa bulan, bisnes insuransnya semakin mendapat sambutan.

Lelaki berbadan tegap dan berkulit sawo matang itu pada masa yang sama menyediakan ruang kecil untuk meletakkan sebuah almari kaca. Di almari itu dia memperaga koleksi peralatan tentera yang lama untuk tatapan pelanggannya.

Tanpa disangka, item-item itu berjaya menarik minat ramai pelanggan-pelanggan insurans, golongan remaja dan kanak-kanak yang lalu-lalang di depan kedainya.

Sambutan

Selain melihat koleksi tersebut, mereka juga berminat membelinya. Adakalanya, segala yang dipamerkan itu habis dijual.


SALAH satu bentuk latihan yang diterima di Kem Sungai Udang, Melaka.


Anak kedua daripada 12 beradik itu mencuba nasib dengan menjual barang-barang ketenteraan seperti pakaian, kasut, topi keledar, cermin mata dan sebagainya di pasar lambak di pusat beli-belah Amcorp, Petaling Jaya. Memandangkan koleksi barang yang dijualnya unik dan eksklusif, permintaan pun bertambah.

Ahmad Janius membuka bisnes sendiri di bawah nama syarikat RNJ Venture Sdn. Bhd. pada 2005. Perniagaan yang beroperasi di Seksyen 15, Bandar Baru Bangi itu mengimport kelengkapan ketenteraan dari Indonesia, China, Amerika Syarikat (AS) dan Thailand.

Para pengunjung yang berkunjung ke kedainya boleh mendapat pilihan uniform tentera yang terbahagi kepada tiga jenis iaitu hutan, digital dan multi plage. Bagaimanapun, rekaan multi lebih banyak mendapat sambutan kerana ia boleh dipakai di mana-mana.

Kedai itu juga menjual kasut-kasut tentera yang berkualiti tinggi dan pelbagai jenis topi keledar untuk kegunaan tentera. Selain itu terdapat juga variasi beg galas, botol air, tali, kompas, pemetik api, pisau serba guna dan lain-lain lagi. Turut dijual alat kawalan jauh dan binokular.

Bekas atlet tinju dan angkat berat itu memberitahu, meskipun sudah meninggalkan ATM tetapi dia masih terbawa-bawa dengan amalan tentera dalam kehidupan sehariannya.

Bapa kepada dua orang anak itu cukup menekankan ketepatan masa. Latihan-latihan tentera yang ditimba banyak membantunya menguruskan satu lagi cawangan perniagaannya di Bandung, Indonesia. Lazimnya, sebelum tidur, Ahmad Janius akan menulis perancangan harian untuk keesokan hari.

"Kalau tidak buat perancangan, rutin harian saya akan jadi buntu. Ketika bekerja dengan ATM, apa sahaja tugas perlu dibuat mengikut perancangan, perkara yang tiada perancangan akan menemui kegagalan.

"Saya masih mengamalkan tabiat baik ini untuk mengembangkan perniagaan," ujar lelaki itu.


TOPI keledar yang terdapat di RNJ Venture juga boleh didapati di pasar lambak di pusat beli-belah Amcorp, Petaling Jaya.



KASUT antara produk yang boleh didapati di RNJ Venture Sdn. Bhd.



The many faces of Janius

2010/06/24




BANGI: Growing up in Tamparuli, Sabah, Ahmad Janius Abdullah never thought that one day, he would be crossing oceans and stepping on the podium of success in various endeavours.

It must be hard for a young Kadazan lad who is one of the 12 siblings (five boys and seven girls) to set his sights too far into the future.

But one interest burned with an undying flame in young Janius -- boxing. He was so keen to excel in boxing that at the age of 18, he joined the army because he knew he could obtain professional training in that sport there.


It probably wasn't practical for a boy from Tamparuli, a sub-district of Tuaran in the west coast of Sabah, to set his ambitions too high. But fate had other ideas for Janius.

Before long, his boxing skills reaped rewards. At the age of 21, at the 4th Sukma Games in Johor in 1992, Janius emerged champion in the 51kg Flyweight category.

This proud Kadazan son who hails from a small town where life wasn't always easy is gentle in manner and his eyes twinkle with a tinge of mischievousness.


His warm handshake does not reflect his 15 years in the army as a commando. It is firm yet not hard, and gentle yet not yielding.

"I actually volunteered for the commando unit when I enlisted," said Janius. His dedication to his chosen profession later made him a member of two of the country's top commando units, Elite 21 and Elite 22.

He received his military training in Sungai Udang, Malacca and in Kuala Kubu Baru. For a decade and a half, his interest in boxing never waned. Stocky in build and with biceps bigger than an ordinary person's calves, Janius looks like he could easily pick up a man and throw him across the room.


That he could do because he was also the weight-lifting champion from 1994 to 1998. His employer, Angkatan Tentera Malaysia, recognised the strongman it had in its ranks and swiftly included him in the Commonwealth Games.

Janius travelled to Bulgaria, Australia, Taiwan and the Middle East for further intensive training.

His house is stacked full of trophies and plaques for achievements in boxing and weight-lifting. Among them is the trophy for being the weight-lifting champion in the 76kg and below category.

After 15 years in the army, Janius left the army when his contract expired. Even though he had a pension, it wasn't enough to support his family.

He opened up a small shop in Section 15, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor in 2004. His business was selling insurance and event promotion. He put up a small display case of mementos from his army days.

These military items turned out to be a major draw at his shop. Customers who frequented his outlet showed great interest in his army gear and clamoured for those items.

The success of that shop and his military articles prompted the ex-commando to expand his horizon.

In 2006, together with an Indonesian partner, he opened a branch in Bandung, Indonesia. He has business dealings with the Indonesian army, Tentera Nasional Indonesia.

In January this year, Janius opened his third outlet, RNJ Venture Sdn Bhd at Amcorp Mall, Petaling Jaya.

RNJ stands for Rafidah (his wife) and Janius. "Ladies come first," said Janius with a laugh.

At his Bandar Baru Bangi outlet, his business includes other services like general and motor insurance, road tax renewal and the sale of boxing and weight-lifting equipment.

Today, Janius, 39, is on the fast track of the entrepreneurial highway to strengthen a business he knows so well. His marriage of 13 years to Rafidah has produced two sons, aged 9 and 3.

This soft-spoken man with deadly physical skills was reluctant to talk about his commando days except to say that it wasn't a bed of roses and that it involved iron discipline.

He however did relate an unusual experience while on a jungle mission as part of a five-man team.

One day in the gloom of the dense jungle, he distinctly heard his name being called. Janius was turning to respond when one of his team-mates stopped him. He was promptly told that all five of them were together and nobody else knew their whereabouts.

Janius said that was the only paranormal phenomenon he had ever experienced during jungle training.

Today, the man whom friends and colleagues have nicknamed Mat Kommando is enjoying good business at his Amcorp Mall shop.

His outlet specialises in military gear like tactical face masks, flashlights, army T-shirts, survival equipment, knives, military caps, tactical belts and vests, special footwear and military backpacks.

His items move fast. Customers, especially men, have become loyal clients. New stocks are brought in regularly to satisfy the increasing demand.

To source for new gadgets and tactical devices, Janius travels to Thailand every month and China every two months.

He also makes frequent visits to Indonesia to meet his business partner and source for popular military products.

Janius' affable and benign demeanour belies his previous career as an ex-commando. He is a jovial guy who is given to easy and contagious laughter.

The warrior heart that beats strongly in his muscular Kadazan physique has won him many friends in the few short years he has spent as an entrepreneur.



Read more: The many faces of Janius http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/08stcomando/Article/#ixzz0xggRA5jP