nooryahaya....ramblin on

Like Father Like Son..well almost.

2011-12-25T20:59:00.000+13:00

Three years ago, on 22nd December 2008, my father passed away. Please recite AlFatihah for his benefit.http://nooryahaya.blogspot.com/2010/12/in-memory-of-my-father-hamzah-kusni.html

My earliest memory of my father was when I was about 3 years old. I was a bit of a naughty boy back then, always having arguments and fights with my older brother and sister. Whatever the issue was then, i ended up crying loudly, and that day my father came home from his work or errand, and was going to town to buy groceries. So my late father placated me by offering to take me for a ride on the bike to town. I do remember being dressed in short and shirt by my mother and given a ride on the front of the bike, holding the handlebar, and sitting on the steel frame. We went through Batu 7, and passed by the hospital. My father bought his groceries at an Indian Muslim shop near the rice factory. The shopkeeper, asked my father if I was his son.The trip was long, (hey kids get tired easily) and by the time we got home, I was tired.Oh that picture of me..well my father used to wear hat like that, normally green colour, and in that design.

Nostalgia Pokok Saga

2011-11-09T19:31:00.001+13:00

Hari masih panas, sudah berhari hari tidak hujan, pertengahan September, musim kering. Ahmad selau berkumpul dengan kawan kawannya di bawah pokok saga sebesar dua pemeluk dewasa depan kantin lama sekolah. Setiap petang Sekolah Seri Permai mengadakan kelas tambahan untuk pelajar pelajar darjah lima yang akan menduduki Ujian Penilaian Oktober nanti. Di bawah pokok saga itulah Ahmad menunggu Husin, Hasan, Masdar, Khalid, Azlan dan Anuar sebelum sama sama ke kelas petang. Husin dan Hasan adik beradik kembar, anak anak keluarga petani, yang menolong ayah ibu mereka menuai selepas sekolah dan menanam padi berkuku kambing. Di zaman sebelum combine harvester. Mereka tidak pernah mengenal erti makan nasi berlauk daging lembu batang pinang, kecuali kalau ada kenduri di kampung, itupun entah setahun sekali dua. Nasi berlauk kari ayam hanya mungkin di hari raya, atau ada jiran buat kenduri arwah. Seperti nama mereka sempena cucu cucu Nabi, Husin, seorang yang confident dan berani, tidak takut untuk berkata apa yang tersirat dihati walau di usia yang masih muda. Hasan seorang yang agak pendiam dan tidak kedekut dengan senyuman. Dari wataknya, dapat dibayangkan dia seorang yang sabar, dan lebih suka mengalah dalam perbalahan.Masdar datang dari keluarga yang besar, adik beradiknya sembilan. Ayahnya seorang pesawah yang alim, dan berpegang teguh pada tiang dan tali agama. Dia sudah biasa hidup berdikari dan confident pada diri sendiri sejak kecil. Rumahnya di tengah sawah dipenuhi rimbunan pokok pokok mempelam dan kedondong. Ayahnya mengajar Quran setiap malam, dan bagai kuah tumpah ke nasi, kepandaiannya mengaji terserlah sejak dari kecil. Begitu juga Khalid, yang berjiran dengan Masdar, hanya sepelaung jaraknya.Ahmad dan Azlan tinggal berjiran di kampung. Ayah Ahmad seorang pengait kelapa, ada tanah kampung warisan, walau tak seluas mana, dipenuhi pokok pokok kelapa dan pisang untuk menyara hidup mereka sekeluarga. Tanah rizab jalan dekat rumah mereka ditanam ubi kayu, keledek dan jagung. Ayam itik ternakan ayah ibunya berpuluh ekor, cukup untuk keperluan telur buat lauk sarapan pagi dan tengahari. Ayam itik itu jugalah yang dijual untuk membeli baju dan kasut sekolah saban tahun. Walaupun mereka tidak hidup mewah, tidak pula mereka pernah berlapar. Ahmad dan Azlan berkawan sejak mereka mula tahu berlari. Azlan lebih pandai berdikari, sejak kecil sudah pandai bertanam sayuran, memancing dan menolong ibu ayahnya bersawah.Anuar tinggal dekat pekan. Diantara mereka, dialah yang paling smart, baju, seluar dan kasutnya bersih dan di seterika. Berbadan tegap sasa, menumpukan sepenuh perhatian pada pelajaran di kelas, selalu mendapat nombor teratas, cukup protein dan karbohidrat.Pagi semalam Cikgu Hashim, guru kelas mereka memanggil beberapa nama dan disuruh mereka berjumpa Cikgu Khadijah. Rubiah, Siti Nurhaliza, Anuar, Maznah, Jaidah, Khalid dan Ahmad. Rubiah, Siti Nurhaliza, Anuar, Khalid dan Maznah selalu menduduki tempat teratas dalam ujian pertengahan dan akhir tahun. Merekalah harapan sekolah untuk mendapat keputusan cemerlang dalam Peperiksaan Penilaian nanti. Jaidah dan Ahmad juga ada talent untuk mencapai yang baik, apatah lagi ada sejarah dalam keluarga mereka yang melonjakkan nama sekolah itu. Sebenarnya Cikgu Hashim hanya memanggil nama Ahmad setelah beberapa minit kawan kawannya yang lain pergi berjumpa Cikgu Khadijah, mungkin setelah afterthought. Entah Ahmad boleh mencapai bintang entah tidak. Jadi Ahmad hanya dapat mendengar sebahagian akhir taklimat Cikgu Khadijah pagi semalam.Dalam peperiksaan minggu depan, Cikgu Khadijah akan menukar kertas soalan mereka dengan kertas soalan yang telah bertanda dengan jawapan yang betul. Guru Besar mahu sekolah kita mendapat keputusan yang cemerlang tahun ini. Semoga kamu semua dapat masuk ke sekolah asrama penuh, katanya. Cikgu Khadijah mengarahkan mereka merahsiakan hal ini. Mereka semua diam, Ahmad nampak Rubiah mengesat kelopak matanya. Sementara itu di dalam darjah 5A, pelajar pelajar lain mula tertanya tanya mengapa beberapa kawan kawan mereka di arahkan berjumpa Cikgu Khadijah. Salah seorang mereka bertanya kepada Cikgu Hashim. Lalu Cikgu Hashim pun beritahu mereka hal sebenar, merekalah harapan sekolah, maka dalam peperiksaan nanti, jawapan kepada soalan soalan peperiksaan akan di tunjukkan. Kenalah pilih mereka yang kita tahu pandai, supaya nanti tidak menimbulkan keraguan Kementerian Pelajaran.Petang itu Husin, Hasan dan Masdar telah sedia menunggu di bawah pokok saga waktu Ahmad sampai. Ahmad membawa beberapa kerat batang tebu. Semalam Masdar dan Husin berpesan pada Ahmad, "kalau ada tebu bawalah esok, kita orang teringin nak makan tebu". Setelah Ahmad duduk, Masdar bertanya pada Ahmad tentang kebenaran bahawa Ahmad dan beberapa rakan yang lain akan di tunjukkan jawapan peperiksaan. Ahmad terdiam, dia tak terkata apa apa. "Mana dia orang tahu perkara ini, Semalam Cikgu Khadijah minta rahsiakan perkara ini." Itu sajalah yang dapat Ahmad fikirkan. Husin mencelah, "Kalau masa periksa nanti di tunjukkan jawapan, itu sesuatu yang tak betul?". Ya benar Ahmad termasuk dalam group yang akan di beri kertas soalan yang akan bertanda, dan dia mesti menyimpan rahsia itu. "Siapa yang beritahu?" soal Ahmad balik pada Masdar dan Husin, buat buat bodoh."Cikgu Hashim lah. Guru Besar nak lebih ramai dapat 5A tahun ni, jadi korang akan di tunjukkan jawapan nanti supaya nama sekolah naik." kata Masdar.Ahmad tak dapat berkata apa apa. Dia memandang muka muka marah kawan kawan nya. Dia menawarkan tebu yang di bawanya. Masdar dan Husin menolak. Hasan menggelengkan kepala. Dalam kemelut itu Ahmad masih dapat melihat muka Hasan yang kesian pada kemelut yang Ahmad lalui. Khalid dan Anuar sedang berjalan kearah pokok saga, masih jauh untuk mendengar atau mengagak sesuatu sedang berlaku dibawah pokok saga petang itu." Kau beri lah tebu tu pada kawan kawan kau itu." kata Husin sambil memuncung kearah Khalid dan Anuar.Sejak hari itu Ahmad sudah tidak berapa rapat dengan Masdar, Husin dan Hasan. Peristiwa di bawah pokok saga....peri matlamat menghalalkan cara. Demi memajukan bangsa. Mungkin kita mahu mencapai matlamat 100% bangsa kita dalam bidang komersil, profesional dan perkhidmatan awam, melahirkan bangsa Melayu Islam yang maju dan berjaya, mampu bersaing dan berdiri sama tinggi seperti bangsa bangsa lain di dunia. Tidakkah kita menipu diri dan bangsa sendiri, dengan cara kita tweaking the system dan ukuran pencapaian. 36 tahun berlalu...Suatu petang di musim raya. Pelan perjumpaan telah di buat beberapa minggu sebelumnya. Siti Nurhaliza, Masdar, Khalid, dan Azlan mengadakan pertemuan dirumah Jaidah. Rumah cantik ditengah sawah, tak jauh dari sekolah tempat mereka mula mula berkenalan sebagai anak anak sekolah tahun tujuh puluhan. Setelah tiga puluh enam tahun tidak bertemu, mereka masih mengenali satu sama lain. Siti Nurhaliza, Jaidah, Siti Hawa, Masdar, Khalid, Azlan, Asmadi dan Ahmad bergelak ketawa sampai maghrib mengingatkan zaman kanak kanak dahulu.

Story of Pak Pandi

2011-09-27T21:48:00.001+13:00

I am sorry if the name Pak Pandi rhyme with Pak Pandir. His real name is Affandi. Last week an uncle from Johor, (Parit Imam, Batu Pahat) came for a visit. His name is Affandi, and we called his Pak Pandi. Pak Pandi married Auntie Sarengah back in the sixties, and their first born, Saadon is the same age as me. Pak Pandi was originally from Johor, he was brought to Tanjong Karang by his father after his parent divorced. His mother stayed in Johor with the other children, but he followed his father to Tanjong Karang and lived in Sungai Burung. Back in the sixties he married Auntie Sarengah, my mother's younger sister. In the beginning they set up house at my grandfather's sawah land at Sawah Sempadan, but later they moved to Sungai Burung when new land was opened for rice plantation. Pak Pandi has 3 acres of rice field in Sungai Burung, next to his father's. In the beginning the land didnt have a good yield, but after 4-5 seasons, the rice yield get better.I remember the times back in the early seventies when Pak Pandi would come over visit us. One day back in the early seventies Pak Pandi to us that they were moving to Perak, to a newly opened land. My mother's version; The land was on an island, Pulau Kerang. About two years passed, maybe less, came the news that Auntie Sarengah had passed away. My father, Uncle Rukimin and Nenek Mariam went north to see Auntie Sarengah buried. Pulau Kerang was a bit far from the mainland, the boat ride took ages. The coconut trees that Pak Pandi planted was still young, about 3 feet high. It was gambut land. Pak Pandi and Auntie Sarengah hadnt even built their own hut, but living with an old couple who are childless. Their children, Saadon and Saadiah (remind me if they have any other children) didnt go to school, because school was on the mainland. The old woman told my father thus; "Reti yo le, bocah iki nthino2 kerja ne turut tepi sungi golek ipah, di gawe atep. Atep e di dhol, duit e di ngge tuku beras. De ingi kae de'e balik ngomong barange dhi leboni pacat. Arep dhi gowo nyeberang banyu ne ijek surut, dhadi ngenteni pasang sesuk bar luhur. Urong sempet de'e wes ninggal. Meh sethino sewengi nek kenek kuwi. Mboso uwonge wes mati, pacat kuwi metu, gedi ne wes rong theriji."Translation:Son, let it be known to you that this woman work hard every day collecting nipah leaves along the river to make attap. She sold the attap and used the money to buy rice. Yesterday she came home saying that a leech got into her vagina (leech sucks blood). We wanted to take her across to hospital but the tide was low. so we had to wait until the tide is high after zuhr (about 1pm). She died before we had time to take her across. She had been suffering almost a day. After she died, the leech got out, and it was the size of two fingers.There was not many people on the island, the mosque was one mile away and her grave was the first one on the island.Auntie Normah's version; In the beginning, when they just got married, Pak Pandi and Auntie Sarengah set up a hut at my grandfather's sawah land at Sawah Sempadan. Later Pak Pandi got a three acre plot of sawah at Sungai Burung, next to Pak Pandi's father. It took 4-5 seasons before the rice yield get better. Back around 1972, Pak Pandi's friend encourage him to sell his rice field to make a new beginning in Sungai Kerang, Perak. The land was peat, on top of clay soil. Keladi (yam) or taro in Samoan grew well. But there was alot of leeches who would chase you if you go into water for a bath. Sometimes these leeches get into your private parts. Auntie Sarengah got stomach ache, probably from burst appendix, appendicitis. It took less than 24 hours before she died. After Auntie Sarengah died Pak Pandi came back to Tanjong Karang. Saadiah was adopted by Uncle Husin and Auntie Rukinem. He went to Puchong with Pak Kijat and opened a new land over there. But that didnt last long, coconut took a long time to grow and they didnt have anything to eat. Pak Pandi's mother asked him to go back to Johor. She has a piece of land over where she was living, at Parit Imam, Batu Pahat.Pak Pandi was living in the same house with his mother, but after a while his mother was not happy having kids in the house. so Pak Pandi built a hut under the mangosteen tree. It was small and very basic. The hut was not far from the village mosque according to Auntie Normah. Lately an UMNO big shot man took notice of his deplorable living condition and gave him RM10000 towards building a better house, Pak Pandi has to fork out another RM5000 for the house.I have searched google map, yes there is a place called Sungai Kerang in Perak, but not Pulau Kerang. Looking at this map, its probably on the peninsula across the river, and yes its technically an island, being surrounded by rivers.http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?q=sungai+kerang&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=wl Anyone want to add anything more?

Himpunan Doa-doa munajad Assajjad

2011-08-25T04:30:00.001+12:00

Doa Minta Ampun bagi orang yang berbuat Zalim atau Tertimpa Kezaliman

Tuhanku, limpahkanlah shalawatMu atas Muhammad dan keluarga Muhammad……

Patahkanlah syahwatku dari segala yang diharamkan. Dan singkirkanlah keinginanku dari segala yang mendatangkan dosa. Dan cegahlah aku dari perbuatan mengganggu setiap mukmin dan mukminah, muslim dan muslimah.

Tuhanku…., siapa saja diantara hambaMu yang memperlakukan diriku dengan sesuatu yang Kau larang baginya, atau melanggar Hakku yang telah Kau tutup baginya ……, maka ampunilah ia bagi apa yang menimpa diriku darinya…..Jadikanlah maaf yang kuberikan baginya dan sedekah yang kurelakan untuknya sebagai salah satu diantara sedekah-sedekah suci para pemberi sedekah, dan pemberian-pemberian luhur orang-orang yang mendekatkan diri kepadaMu… dan gantikanlah maafku bagi mereka itu dengan maafMu bagiku, sehingga masing-masing kami beroleh kebahagiaan dari anugerahMu dan keselamatan yang berasal dariMu………….

Tuhanku……, jika ada diantara hamba-hambamu tertimpa akibat buruk karenaku, atau terkena gangguanku; atau sampai kepadanya dariku atau karenaku, sesuatu perbuatan aniaya sehingga ia terlanggar haknya atau menderita karenanya…….., maka limpahkanlah padanya karuniaMu, dan sempurnakanlah haknya dengan pemberianMu dan buatlah ia kembali ridha padaku. Kemudian, peliharalah aku dari apa yang diwajibkan oleh hukumMu, dan selamatkanlah diriku dari hukuman yang ditentukan oleh keadilanMu…….., sebab kekuatanku tak mampu menahan pembalasanMu, dan dayaku tak kuat menerima kemurkaanMu. Bila engkau hukum diriku dengan yang seharusnya, niscaya aku binasa, dan bila tak Kau masukkan aku dalam rahmatMu, niscaya aku ' kan tersesat ………..

Doa Memohon ampun atas kelalaian dalam memenuhi kewajiban

Tuhanku, ku mohon ampunanMu atas setiap kelalaianku, yaitu ketika seseorang yang tak bersalah dizalimi di hadapanku sedang aku tak membelanya ……….; atau sesuatu kebaikan dilakukan untukku, lalu aku tak mensyukurinya …….; atau ketika seseorang yang telah berbuat kesalahan meminta maaf dariku, lalu aku tak memaafkannya …….; atau seseorang yang membutuhkan meminta dariku, tapi aku tak mengutamakannya atas diriku ……; atau ada sesuatu hak bagi seorang mukmin atas diriku, tapi aku tak memenuhinya …..; atau tersingkapnnya aib seorang mukmin dalam penglihatanku, lalu aku tak menutupinya ……..; atau sesuatu dosa melintas di hadapanku, lalu aku tak menjahuinya ……..

Aku mohon ampunMu, ya Allah, dari itu semua dan yang sejenisnya, diiringi penyesalan mendalam yang mudah-mudahan bisa menghalangiku dari segala sesuatu seperti itu ……….

Limpahkanlah shalawatMu atas Muhammad dan keluarga Muhammad. Dan jadikanlah penyesalanku – atas kesalahan-kesalahan yang pernah kulakukan ………., serta tekadku untuk meninggalkan segala kejahatan yang akan melintas dihadapanku – sebagai taubat yang tulus dan mendatangkan kasih sayangMu atas diriku, ya Allah yang menyukai orang-orang yang bertaubat…….

Doa di kala menyaksikan kemewahan hidup para hartawan

Segala puji bagi Allah, dan aku rela dengan segala ketentuan yang telah ditetapkanNya. Aku bersaksi bahwa Allah swt telah membagi-bagi sumber kehidupan hamba-hambaNya dengan seadil-adilnya, dan menetapkan atas mereka semua limpahan karuniaNya.

Allahumma, ya Tuhanku, limpahkanlah shalawatMu atas Muhammad dan keluarga Muhammad.

Janganlah Kau buat aku tergoda dengan kemewahan yang Kau berikan pada sebagian orang, dan jangan pula membuat mereka tergoda dengan apa yang Kau cegah diriku memperolehnya……… sehingga aku tak merasa iri kepada maklukMu dan tak mencela ketetapanMu……….

Tentramkanlah jiwaku dalam menerima ketentuanMu. Lapangkanlah dadaku dalam menerima ketetapanMu. Dan berilah aku iman yang teguh agar aku dapat mengakui dengan setulusnya bahwa ketentuanMu pasti terlaksana dengan kebaikan selalu …………

Dan jadikanlah rasa syukurku atas apa yang Kau sisihkan dariku lebih besar dari rasa syukurku atas apa yang Kau berikan padaku ……………

Dan peliharalah diriku agar tidak memiliki sikap meremehkan orang tak berpunya, ataupun menyampaikan sanjungan bagi orang yang berharta ……., sebab orang yang benar-benar mulia adalah orang yang dimuliakan oleh ketaatanya padaMu……, dan yang benar-benar kuat kedudukanya ialah orang yang tumbuh kuat karena pengabdianya padaMu………

Dan berikanlah kami nikmat dengan kekayaan yang tak ada habisnya serta kekuatan yang takkan pernah hilang ……………

Doa di Akhir Malam

Tuhanku…… berilah aku kelapangan rizki, keamanan negeri, puncak kebahagiaan hidup kekeluargaan, putra-putri dan harta, kesehatan jasmani, kekuatan tubuh dan keselamatan dalam agama………

Tuhanku …….., demi keperkasaan dan keagunganMu, bila Kau tuntut aku lantaran dosa-dosaku, akupun menuntut ampunanMu, dan bila Kau tuntut aku lantaran kesalahanku, akupun menuntut kedermawananMu, dan bila kau masukkan daku kedalam nerakaMu, niscaya ‘kan kuberitahu penghuninya tentang cintaku padaMu…………

Tuhanku ……., jika tak Kau ampuni selain wali-walimu1) dan pada orang-orang yang taat padaMu….kemanakah orang-orang yang berdosa akan berlindung? dan jika tiada Kau muliakan selain orang-orang yang tulus dan setia padaMu……. Kepada siapakah orang-orang yang tergelincir akan minta tolong ……..?

Tuhanku ……., jika Kau masukan daku dalam nerakaMu, niscaya hal itu akan menggembirakan musuh-musuhMu. Dan jika Kau masukkan daku ke SorgaMu….., niscaya hal itu akan menggembirakan NabiMu ……..! dan aku tahu, ya Allah kegembiraan NabiMu lebih Kau sukai dari pada kegembiraan musuhMu………

Tuhanku ………,karuniailah daku kebijakan dalam agamaMu, kearifan mengenai ketetapanMu, pengetahuan tentang ilmuMu …… ………………....sikap hati-hati pencegah maksiatku terhadapMu………., dan putihkanlah wajahku 2), serta arahkanlah keinginanku kepada apa yang berada di sisiMu.

Tuhanku ……., aku berlindung padaMu dari kemalasan, kegagalan, kegundahan, kepengecutan, kebakhilan, kelengahan, kekejaman, kehinaan, kemiskinan kepapaan dan segala bala 3) serta perbuatan keji, yang tampak dan yang tersembunyi ….

Dan aku berlindung kepadaMu dari memiliki jiwa yang selalu tak puas, perut yang tak pernah kenyang, hati yang tidak khusyu’, doa yang tak terdengar, amal yang tak berguna dan shalat yang tak diterima ……..

TuhanKu……, telah Kauperintah kami melalui kitabMu agar mengampuni siapa yang berbuat aniaya kepada kami……., sedangkan kami telah berbuat aniaya pada diri kami sendiri……Maka ampunilah kami………, sebab Engkaulah yang lebih utama memberi pengampunan daripada kami. Dan Engkau telah memerintahkan kami agar jangan menolak siapa yang datang meminta dari kami….., maka janganlah Kau kembalikan kami kecuali setelah Kaupenuhi hajat kami…….Dan Engkau telah memerintahkan kami agar berbuat ikhsan 4) kepada hamba sahaya kami, padahal sesungguhnya kami adalah hamba sahayaMu……., maka bebaskanlah kami dari api nerakaMu………

1) Wali Allah, maksudnya orang yang benar-benar beriman dan bertaqwa, yang sungguh-sungguh mencintai Allah sehingga Allahpun mencintainya.

2) “Putihkan wajahku”, maksudnya bersihkan aku dari dosa

3) Bala' artinya : Musibah yang datang sebagai ujian atau hukuman

4) ikhsan artinya: kebajikan

Dikutib dari buku Ash-Shahifah As-Sajjadiyah (Himpunan Doa-doa munajad Assajjad) karya Imam Ali bin Husain bin Ali bin Abi Thalib.

Oleh masyarakat dizamannya beliau digelari As-Sajjad (orang yang banyak bersujud) dan digelari Zainal Abidin (pemuka para ahli ibadah).

Beliau seorang Tabi’in yaitu orang yang tidak berjumpa dengan Nabi Muhammad s a w akan tapi hidup dan berjumpa dengan para sahabat-sahabat Nabi Muhammad s a w. Beliau lahir tahun 38 H dan wafat tahun 95 H.

AlFatihah to Rukinem binti Daud, circa 1938-2011

2011-08-17T21:47:00.003+12:00

I got a message today from my sister Maslina, that my auntie, Rukinem binti Daud had passed away this morning about 4am Malaysian Time. Today being the 17th day of Ramadan.

We have always known her by her nickname, Mbokde Nik. She is older than my mother, ie my mother's immediate elder sister. She was married to Pakcik Husin, and lives at Blok O Sawah Sempadan, Tanjong Karang. As far as I remember, She has always been kind woman to us and always soft spoken and full of patience. Unlike her siblings, she never bore any children, but she has 3 adopted children. The first is Din, (hmm I dont remember my cousin's name, someone remind me pls :)) who is one year older than me, 2nd is Zaharah and the 3rd is Saadiah. Din and Saadiah are blood relation to Auntie Rukinem. Din is a son from Pakcik Husin's brother, while Saadiah is a daughter from the late Auntie Sarengah and Uncle Affandi, which is her younger sister.

My earliest memory of Auntie Rukinem (I suppose this is from the far recesses of my memory..) was when I was about 6 years old. Pakcik Husin and Mbokde Nik had a kenduri kesyukuran at their place. They had just adopted a baby girl, and named her Zaharah. I remember the baby cried alot, and being fed bottled milk. That was the first time I had seen such thing as milk powder, baby formula. I remember Mbokde Nik was trying to feed the baby with a bottle, filled with milk. Yet the baby was still crying. At that time their house was a bit far from the road. It was a wooden house with zinc roof. There was a few coconut trees around the house.
Pakcik Husin was working for DID in those days, whereby his job was looking after those water gate that control the flow of water at Sawah Sempadan. His job was opening or closing the water gate. Hence the Malay word, kunci air. Apparently, while doing his duties in those days near Bund Canal area, he got a bit thirsty. There was no tap water anywhere in those days, but water from a well in tanah gambut land is not salty, so he went to one house, asking to get water from their well. There were young couple living at the house, estimated in the late teen, a small basic house, built on 6 poles. Pakcik Husin heard the husband and wife were arguing while a baby was heard crying. After getting the water from the well, Pakcik Husin asked them why they were fighting; apparently the husband doesnt want to be burdened with a baby. So Pakcik Husin offered to adopt the baby.

Forward a couple of years, there was another rewang and kenduri at Mokde Nik's place, they were building another house, this time closer to the road.

I remember visiting Mbokde Nik in her then new house a few times. They were among the first to own a television in the early 70's. One time we stayed overnight at her place to watch cerita melayu on a Friday night (malam Sabtu). Her neighbours also watch the cerita melayu at her place.
In those days, Pakcik Husin and Mbokde Nik were caring for Pakcik Husin elderly mother, who was senile.

Last time I saw Mbokde Nik was 2 years ago, in January 2009. She was healthy back then, and I remember my late grandmother Mariam. Oh my, she looked like my late grandmother.

Please recite Alfatihah for her.

Surat Rezeki

2011-03-23T01:06:00.002+13:00

Surat Rezeki
Satu
Azlan berasal dari Taiping. Ayahnya meninggal ketika dia masih kecil. Sejak itu ibunya menjanda, mereka tinggal sebilik di rumah keluarga ibunya. Keluarga ibunya tidak punya harta yang banyak atau tanah untuk bercucuk tanam. Ibunya bekerja di kilang untuk menanggung mereka anak beranak, dengan gaji $80 sebulan. Masa itu tahun tujuhpuluhan. Setiap hari makan nasi dengan mee segera.
Masa berlalu, Azlan seorang yang rajin dan pandai. Dia mendapat keputusan cemerlang dalam SPM dan berpeluang melanjutkan pelajaran ke New Zealand. Habis belajar dia pulang ke tanahair, lalu bekerja di beberapa syarikat swasta sebelum mendapat tawaran bekerja di ITM sebagai seorang pensyarah.
“Boring” kata Azlan. “Dua bulan pertama tu mungkinlah kena prepare, lepas tu ulang balik macam kaset player.”
Azlan berpindah kerja beberapa kali, akhirnya berhijrah ke kota Gempa mengikut isterinya yang melanjutkan pelajaran di peringkat sarjana. Beberapa tahun kemudian pulang ke tanahair, dan memilih untuk bekerja sendiri sebagai penasihat kewangan, setelah puas mencuba mendapatkan kerjaya yang setimpal dengan kelulusan dan pengalamannya.
Dua
Ahmad anak kampung, ayahnya ada sebidang tanah. Disitulah rezeki mereka, kelapa dijual untuk membiayai persekolahan adik beradiknya. Ayahnya mengambil upah mengait kelapa untuk menampung keperluan seharian. Ahmad seorang budak pendiam, dia ada masalah self confidence, dan tidak pandai bergaul dengan orang, tetapi dia rajin dan sabar serta menpunyai ingatan visual yang kuat. Kekuatan otaknya menyebelah kekiri, pandai matematik, fizik dan memahami yang abstrak, tetapi lemah dalam berkomunikasi dan pergaulan. Dia hidup dalam dunianya sendiri.
Berkat doa orang tuanya, Ahmad berjaya melanjutkan pelajaran ke luar negara, lalu tinggal bertahun tahun bermastautin di kota Gempa. Asyik bertukar tukar kerja tanpa ada satu kerjaya yang kekal.
“Boring dan hambar, semua dah tahu. Tak ada challenge” kata Ahmad.
Masalah orang pandai, mereka perlu stimulasi otak, perlu challenge dalam kehidupan. Perlu kembara dan mencari pengalaman baru setiap waktu.
Tiga
Satu tengahari Jumaat di bulan Januari.
Ahmad habis kerja awal pagi itu. Lalu bergegas pulang kerumah, mandi dan terus ke masjid. Dia memang semestinya datang awal ke masjid setiap Jumaat. Ada masa untuk duduk di dinding tepi, baca Yasin dan Kahfi. Tapi tengahari itu dia nampak kawan lamanya yang sudah bertahun tidak bertemu. Rambutnya sudah mula beruban, masih bermisai lebat, tapi misainya ada uban. Masa telah lama berlalu, sudah 30 tahun Ahmad mengenali Azlan, sejak mereka sama sama memasuki ITM sebagai anak anak muda harapan negara.
“Assalamualaikum, kau bila sampai”
“Walaikumsalam, heh baru seminggu ni. Memang aku agak mesti jumpa hang kat masjid ni”
Ahmad sejak beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini sudah mula keep in touch dengan kawan kawan lama melalui laman fesbuk. Manakala Azlan meminggir diri dan hanya berkomunikasi dengan beberapa kawan rapat melalui emel atau talipon. Ahmad dan Azlan mempunyai masalah yang sama, inferiority complex.
Hari itu Ahmad bercerita tentang perkembangan kawan kawan lama mereka di tanahair. Kawan kawan mereka ramai yang telah mula menerajui dan mengemudi ekonomi dan pentadbiran negara. Ada yang telah kaya raya dan punya syarikat besar.
“Kita ni masih macam ni ye.”
“Rezeki tu masing masing.” kata Ahmad.
Petang itu mereka mula bercerita tentang rezeki.
“Sebenarnya kita semua ni ada bahagian masing masing. Dan tidak akan luak bahagian kita kalau kita berikan sebahagian dari rezeki kita pada orang lain sebagai sedekah.” kata Ahmad.
Bagi orang kafir, cara mereka mudah, mereka dapat apa yang mereka usahakan. Kerja kuat, usaha kuat dan smart, maka banyaklah yang mereka dapat. Tambah lagi kalau mereka berbuat kebaikan, maka Tuhan akan beri mereka kebaikan dan rezeki dengan setimpal. Semuanya mereka dapat di dunia ini. Allah yang Maha Adil. Bila sampai Hari Pengadilan nanti, tidak ada alasan untuk orang kafir untuk menuntuk syurga dari Allah kerana masih ada lagi kebaikan yang mereka buat di dunia yang Allah masih belum beri balasan. Begitulah adilnya Allah terhadap hamba hambanya.
Bagi kita orang yang Islam dan beriman, di sisi Allah ada taraf kita. Allah beri kita peluang untuk mencapai taraf itu, kesusahan dan musibah yang kita hadapi di dunia itu adalah peluang yang Allah berikan kepada kita untuk menebus dosa, dan naiknya taraf hambanya di sisi Allah. Allah limpahkan rezeki dalam berbagai bentuk; kesihatan, harta benda, kelapangan, bersilaturahim. Setiap keperluan kita Allah telah sediakan, cuma kita hanya perlu mengambilnya. Kita pun perlu tahu apa itu rezeki dan apa itu dugaan.
Masa kita di dunia inilah peluang kita untuk berbuat amal dan kebaikan untuk bekalan kita nanti di alam satu lagi. Lepas kita mati, buku kita dah tutup, kecuali tiga perkara yang pernah kita buat di dunia;
1. Ilmu agama dan/atau ilmu dunia yang kita ajarkan yang memberi manfaat.
2. Harta benda yang kita wakafkan kejalan agama.
3. Anak anak yang soleh dan solehah yang mendoakan untuk kita.
Selalunya orang tak dapat peluang semua tiga ini. Kecuali kalau seseorang itu buat sesuatu yang extra dalam hidupnya, seperti berbakti kepada kedua ibubapanya.
“Aku pun selama berbelas tahun ini jaga emak aku” kata Azlan. “tapi iyalah, kan rezeki tu masing masing.”
“Sebenarnya ada cara untuk menambah rezeki.” terang Ahmad.
Kalau kita nak murah rezeki, selalulah buat sembahyang Dhuha.
http://www.brunet.bn/gov/mufti/alhadaf/mac99/h_dhuha.htmDan doanya: " Ya Allah, bahawasanya waktu Dhuha itu waktu DhuhaMu, kecantikan itu ialah kecantikanMu, keindahan itu keindahanMu, kekuatan itu kekuatanMu, kekuasaan itu kekuasaanMu dan perlindungan itu perlindungan Mu. Ya Allah jika rezekiku masih diatas langit, turunkanlah dan jika ada di dalam bumi, keluarkanlah, jika sukar mudahkanlah, jika ia (dari yang) haram maka sucikanlah, jika masih jauh dekatkanlah, berkat waktu Dhuha, Keagungan, Keindahan, Kekuatan dan Kekuasaan Mu, limpahkanlah kepada hamba-hamba Mu yang saleh ."
Amalkanlah membaca Ayat Seribu Dinar setiap kali lepas sembahyang.

Dengan nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah Lagi Maha Mengasihani. Dan sesiapa yang bertaqwa kepada Allah (dengan mengerjakan suruhanNya dan meninggalkan laranganNya), nescaya akan dijadikan baginya jalan keluar (dari segala perkara yang menyusahkannya).
Serta memberinya rezeki dari jalan yang tidak terlintas hatinya. Dan (ingatlah), sesiapa berserah diri bulat-bulat kepada Allah, maka Allah cukupkan baginya (untuk menolong dan menyelamatkannya). Sesungguhnya Allah tetap melakukan segala perkara yang di kehendakiNya. Allah telahpun menentukan kadar dan masa bagi berlakunya tiap-tiap sesuatu.
(Ayat 2 & 3 Surah At-Talaq)

Selain itu berbanyak banyak bersedekah dan beramal jariah, kerana Allah akan membalas amal baik kita berganda ganda.
Allah akan datangkan rezeki kepada kita dari arah yang tidak di sangka sangka. Allah akan beri kita idea dan usaha kita nanti akan menjadi. Rezeki kita itu nanti tak semestinya dalam bentuk harta benda. Mungkin dalam bentuk kelapangan dan kesenangan hati, anak anak dan isteri isteri yang menyenangkan hati dan menggembirakan, kesihatan tubuh badan dan kemampuan untuk berbuat amal ibadat dan amal jariah. Juga kebolehan dan skill untuk berbuat sesuatu yang boleh member manfaat kepada manusia. Allah beri peluang untuk beribadah itu adalah nikmat yang amat besar.
Epilog
Azlan pulang ke tanahair, untuk menyambung tugasnya berbakti kepada ibunya. Dua hari sebelum itu Allah beri dia peluang untuk merasai gempa bumi berukuran 5.1 pada skala Richter. Rezeki Azlan, Allah peringatkan bahawa dunia ini adalah sementara.
Ahmad masih menetap di kota Gempa. Allah berinya peluang lagi untuk merasai beberapa gempa bumi antaranya sebesar 6.3 yang mengorbankan banyak jiwa.

Pasir hitam dari Perut Bumi

2011-03-07T19:40:00.002+13:00

Pasir hitam dari Perut Bumi
SATU
Beberapa hari lalu Ahmad pergi ke pasaraya. Lalu di sapa oleh seorang anak muda lewat belasan tahun. “Apa khabar mu?”
“Baik, aku selamat dari gempa dan masih sihat.”
Sebelum ini jarang sekali dapat ketemu anak muda keturunan Kiwi yang mahu bertegur sapa. Masing masing dengan urusan kehidupan sendiri, sudah hilang perasaan prihatin terhadap manusia sekeliling. Mungkin satu kebaikan dari gempa ini ialah kembalinya semangat keprihatinan terhadap manusia sekeliling, semangat tolong menolong sesama manusia. Kesedaran bahawa nyawa itu berharga, tidak ternilai oleh harta benda.
“Apa pendapat mu tentang gempa bumi ini?” soal anak muda itu.
“Apa maksud mu?” soal Ahmad balik.
“Adakah kau seorang yang religious? Kalau kau percayakan Tuhan, bahawa Tuhan akan menyelamatkan semua kita yang percaya kepada Tuhan. God will save us.” sambung anak muda itu lagi, sambil meneguk air tin guarana.
“Ya aku seorang yang religious. Aku percaya Tuhan. Gempa bumi berlaku bila dua tectonic plates bertembung, lama kelamaan stress akan memuncak. Gempa bumi itu boleh diibaratkan sebagai kayu yang dilentur. Sampai satu ketika, kayu yang di lentur akan patah.”
Manusia di Barat berfahaman kebanyakannya berfahaman sekular, membezakan kepercayaan diri, dan urusan kehidupan harian. Mereka tidak faham bahawa sains adalah explanation, penerangan cara Allah melakukan sesuatu kejadian dengan kehendakNya. Sunnatullah.
DUA
2006, lima tahun lalu. Ahmad bekerja waktu malam di sebuah hotel 4 bintang di tengah kota. Tugasnya menjaga keselamatan hotel waktu lewat malam dan melayan keperluan penghuni hotel. Selalunya dia menyediakan makanan dan menghidang arak, selain memunggah beg beg pakaian. Di tengah kota terdapat berpuluh bar dan disko. Muda mudi mengunjungi bar dan disko dari petang sampai kepagi. Selalunya lepas tengah malam kebanyakan mereka sudah terlalu mabuk, lalu keluar ke jalan dan kaki lima melalak dan muntah. Kelakuan yang menjelekkan, apalagi kebanyakan yang melalak dan menyanyi perempuan muda belasan tahun yang berpakaian menjolok mata. Pada tahun tahun 2006 dan 2007, kebanyakan muda mudi yang mengunjungi bar dan disko itu adalah Kiwi dan segelintir keturunan Samoa dan Maori. Pernah sekali Ahmad terserempak dengan seorang pemudi Melayu di depan hotel, pemudi itu berseluar jeans dan T-shirt, dan bertudung. Agaknya dia keluar berjalan jalan dengan kawan kawan, pukul 1 pagi.
Suasana tengah kota pukul satu pagi seperti satu pesta arak. Muda mudi berpeleseran dalam keadaan mabuk. Kupu kupu malam berdiri di persimpangan jalan. Botol botol bir ditepi longkang. Pasangan bercumbuan di perosok tepi kedai, muda mudi kencing di lorong gelap tepi jalan.
Selepas 2007, salah sebuah negara Timur Tengah mula menghantar anak anak muda mereka ke Christchurch untuk belajar di institusi institusi pengajian tinggi. Anak anak muda ini masih awal dua puluhan tahun, mungkin baru pertama kali keluar kepompong keluarga. Mereka belajar Bahasa Inggeris, university foundation studies dan kemudian masuk ke university di Christchurch.
Waktu malam, terutama malam minggu, loghat Arab Timur Tengah banyak kedengaran di tengah kota. Ahmad selalu keluar ke perkarangan hotel, ramai pemuda pemuda Arab berjalan jalan, ada juga yang berpasangan dengan pemudi Kiwi. Disko dan bar menjadi tempat berkunjung pemuda pemuda Arab itu.
Pernah Ahmad melihat seorang pemuda Arab berpegang tangan dengan pemudi Kiwi di depan masjid pada satu tengahari Jumaat.
Semakin ramai pelajar dari Timur Tengah datang belajar di Christchurch. Beberapa peniaga Arab mula membuka kedai kedai kebab di kota. Imigran Hindi pula berniaga nasi basmati dan kari ayam butter chicken. Pelarian dari Afghanistan dan Somalia menjadi pengusaha teksi, mencari rezeki larut malam, menghantar pulang pemabuk waktu dinihari.
Hisham Al Zeiny dalam khutbah Jumaatnya pada minggu berlakunya gempa bumi itu berkata gempa dan musibah adalah peringatan Allah pada hambanya yang beriman. Jika musibah berlaku pada diri kita, itu adalah peringatan Allah pada kita seorang diri, tanda Allah sayang pada kita. Biarpun hanya tertusuk duri, itu adalah rahmat Tuhan, mungkin itu untuk menebus dosa kita. Setiap diri orang yang beriman itu ada tarafnya disisi Tuhan. Ingatlah, Tuhan hanya beri ujian pada hambaNya yang disayangi, dan tidak di beri ujian itu kalau kita tidak mampu melaluinya.
Tetapi apabila bencana dan musibah itu melanda sebuah kota, daerah atau negeri, itu tanda ada sesuatu kesalahan yang dilakukan oleh orang orang yang beriman di kota/negeri itu. Hisham Al Zeiny pernah berkhutbah selepas gempa September lalu, Tuhan mengingatkan kita di bulan Ramadan. Waktu itu hanya beberapa hari sebelum Eid ul Fitr. Belum pun enam bulan gempa berlaku lagi, kali ini banyak mengorbankan nyawa. Kata Hisham Al Zeiny, kalau ini amaran Tuhan yang lebih keras, amat buruklah padah kita bila hukuman Tuhan nanti sampai. Semoga inilah hukuman Tuhan pada kita.
Kita umat Islam di Christchurch lupa pada tugas kita, iaitu amal makruf nahi mungkar. Malah kita sama sama mencari rezeki dari kemungkaran orang kafir di sekeliling kita. Ada antara kita sama sama melakukan kemungkaran, dan mengikut ikut orang kafir. Biarlah orang kafir, jangan kita berkelakuan seperti mereka.
TIGA
Waktu gempa berlaku air dan pasir memancut keluar dari dalam tanah. Fenomena ini dipanggil liquefaction. Lagi lama dan besar gempa itu diukur dengan skala Richter lebih banyaklah air dan pasir akan memancut keluar dari tanah. Tetapi ini bergantung juga pada paras air bawah tanah, water table. Effect gempa bumi seperti hujan lebat seharian. Pasir itu bila kering dan ditiup angin kering musim panas akan berterbangan, alam sekeliling seperti dilanda ribut pasir, memedihkan mata dan mengganggu pernafasan. Kalau kita masukkan pasir, batu, tanah kedalam gelas atau baldi, kemudian penuhkan dengan air, kemudian goncang baldi itu seperti berlakunya gempa bumi, nescaya batu dan tanah akan bergerak dan memerlukan ruang yang lebih besar di dalam baldi itu. Maka air dan pasir pun menggelegak keatas. Liquefaction.

Pictures From The Earthquake Zone

2011-02-24T21:40:00.002+13:00

Pictures From The Earthquake Zone

2011-02-24T19:45:00.004+13:00

http://news.msn.co.nz/slideshowajax/149281/6-3-earthquake-hits-christchurch.slideshow

HERE

February 22, 2011, 1.51pm Story From the Earthquake Zone II

2011-02-23T09:30:00.003+13:00

Photos credit to Nick Maley

February 22, 2011, 1.51pm.
I was just getting out of the house and felt the earth shook. Looking around I saw the power lines and the power poles shook violently. The trees were shaking, deep in the ground, a rumbling sound, loud and scary. I walked a few more feet before falling on all four. Oh that was a huge earthquake I thought.
I immediately ran back inside the house, checking everything is okay. Then there was another earthquake of a lesser magnitude. I have to tell the world, power still on, so I turn on my computer and updated my status. That was at least a 6+ on the Richter scale. In the meantime, my wife went down to school down the road to check on our kids. Apparently the school was sending the children home, no more class for the day. Checking on the neighbours looks like our neighbourhood not badly affected.
Ambulance and fire rescue sirens were heard everywhere. I grabbed my camera, and got on my bike to check on my neighbourhood. The road was jammed, made worse by dead traffic light. People are leaving the city centre in their cars. Papanui was quiet, the mall already closed, well at least it is still intact. All businesses, banks and offices already evacuated and closed. The road to Merivale is badly damaged, by liquefaction and flooding. Grey fine sand oozed out of the ground by the roadsides and in the middle of the road. Some part of the road was heaved up while lower sections were flooded. Liquifaction brings out a lot of ground water and sand from underground. It’s like a few inches of rain in a few seconds. Fields flooded like a lake, streams and drains are deep in water.
Few older houses lost their heavy walls and chimneys. I saw an old house next to St Andrews College that has its entire roof collapsed, heavy tile roof. If the last earthquake the top section of chimney fallen to the ground, this time I saw the whole section of chimney fallen to the ground. Signs of liquefaction was everywhere, car parks was flooded, with mounds of white sand all over the place. In the middle of Merivale a section of concrete facade has fallen down blocking the main road. Citizens and bank workers donned orange vests and directing traffic. At Merivale I saw hordes of people walking from the centre of town, looking sombre, on twos or threes, carrying their handbags and luggage. Like scene from Sept 11, a lifetime ago.
I went as far as Bealey Avenue, and as I expected the city block is cordoned off. I was at the roadside near Southern Cross Hospital when I felt the ground rolled and saw dust billowing from a building 100 meters away. Another big earthquake! That was 2.50pm, two hours after the first one, with countless of smaller ones in between. Bealey Ave was gridlocked, and still hundreds of people are leaving on foot from the central business district.
I cycled back home, my battery gone flat. Cranford St was flooded. I have seen more citizens donning reflective jacket and directing the traffic at intersections.
An old gentleman shouted at me, “Sir, what do you think of shaky Christchurch?” Poignant moments. At the end of Cranford St I met Steven MacDonald, a colleague from years back at Hotel Grand Chancellor. He walked home from the hotel, still in uniform.
“Good to be alive!” he said. “The hotel was shaking so bad it almost falling down. Some housekeepers didn’t make it out of the hotel. “ he continued.

That Witch, Inflation Eats Our Earnings Away

2011-01-20T12:14:00.001+13:00

Title: That Witch, Inflation Eats Our Earnings Away
Raj Patel of guardian.co.uk wrote this article about inflation. Yes we can blame external shocks, mainly high fuel and commodities prices, oil, coal, grains etc. Natural disasters that affect production of food and commodities are also to blame. Increased affluence in some countries also stokes the demand for food, hence stoking inflation.
China, India, ASEAN countries and Brazil have become more affluent lately, and the first thing people spend more when they are richer, is more quality food, clothing and housing, which translates to more demand on commodities.
I agree with Mr Patel and the World Bank that freer market helps lower prices in urban areas, whatever that cannot be produced locally at a competitive and cheap price, can be imported. But that would kill off local production, contributing to a higher price of the said produce in the future. Well designed public feeding and public works programmes gives people jobs, but this requires government spending which is inflationary.
In the short term, government and policy makers has to accept that commodity prices will stay high. Hence government must handle this issue of feeding the people and fair distribution of food. Hence well designed programme that feed the poor and hungry is necessary, even if that will mean higher government spending. Food grant and welfare payment for the poor and also public works programmes that will provide jobs. A content population would less likely to stir unrest. Yes it is inflationary.
In the medium term, investment must be made in food and commodity production, food doesn’t grow in an instant, land must be plough first before seeds planted. Infrastructure for farming has to be built. Without these new investments in food production, food production cannot increase and cannot meet increased demand.
What is more important, the country’s economic structure must be rearranged, more focus on food and commodity production as a larger portion in GNP. It is all well that the country has been steadily increasing industrial and service sector production to earn higher and higher incomes, but this has been at the expense of agricultural production which feeds the populace. So it’s no surprise that food prices have been steadily increasing. This call for new government policies that encourage food production, as well as incentives that encourage food production.
Look at Tunisia lately, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/dec/28/tunisia-ben-ali,
1. High youth unemployment, and high unemployment overall.
2. 1 in 40 adult male is a policeman, which translate to high proportion government servant.
3. The economy has high proportion in service sector, ie resorts, hotels that cater for European tourists.
So the seeds of Tunisian discontent can be summarised in high food prices, unemployment and envy of wealth. What are worse the ruling elite displays their wealth, ill-gotten or not.
If we learn anything from this, we must handle these issues of unemployment, inflation, high food prices and unfair distribution of income immediately.

Story for My Mother: Lindu

2011-01-18T17:50:00.000+13:00

When I was young, growing up in a village we did experience earthquake, very rarely. Even then it was normally Indonesian earthquake that we felt. My late father explained to me that deep underground, there is a big animal kind of being, it is asleep all the time, waiting for the day at the end of time, when it will get up and move about. That will be the end of time, Qiamat. When this animal moves, the earth surface will also move, the mountains and hills will fly like cloud. Earthquake or lindu (earthquake in Javanese language) happened because the animal moves a little bit in its sleep. You see, before the end of time, God forbids this animal from moving even a little bit, and God assigned angels to take care of this animal, ie the angel’s duty is to forbid this animal from moving one bit.
But from time to time, this animal sneezed and move in its sleep. Hence the earthquakes. If you think this earthquakes are bad and terrifying, wait until the day of Qiamat, the End of Time. That day the mountains, hills, and trees will fly like dust and feather. You will regret that never believe in the End of Days. Your repentance that day will be useless. Your regret of your past misdeeds and mischief will not be accepted by God Almighty.
Now before you start jumping up and down and say that the continents of the earth is floating on molten hot rocks, continental drift and the subduction of the edge of tectonic plates that cause earthquakes, yeah I know that.
I suppose if you think of it, we wouldn’t know how the earth would behave, and as we know that the continents are moving like cloud, creating pressure at the subduction zone. What if there is an increased activity at the centre of the earth? The molten part flow faster, which would cause the continents drift faster. And then earthquakes occur frequently to release the build up pressure. Can we predict earthquakes? No.
Everything that has happened and will happen is already written in the Loh Mahfuz.
75. And there is nothing hidden in the heaven and the earth, but is in a Clear Book (i.e. Al-Lauh Al-Mahfûz).

In Memory of My Father; Hamzah Kusni 1933-2008

2010-12-22T07:35:00.001+13:00

In Memory of My Father; Hamzah Kusni 1933-2008
As far as I remember, from the old days, my late father never had much clothing to his name. One pair of old work trousers and shirt, which were of rag quality and had patches, and about two pairs of normal trousers and shirts which he normally wore to market or kenduris. He didn’t have much in line of clothing, when his normal clothes wore out, he would wear it to work. No, my father didn’t need to wear fancy clothes for work. His work was mainly plucking down coconut from coconut tree, using 2-3 long stick of bamboo tied together, with a curved knife at the top end. Coconut tree is usually 20-40 feet high, thus a specialized job.
What else in the line of clothing that my father had? One or two kain pelikat, a songkok and a hat. Songkok is a kind of headwear that he normally wore for prayers, and to the mosque. He wore the hat at work, and to the market. Considering the type of job he did, a pith helmet was more appropriate, I think.
The late Ustadz Ashaari once told us that those people who had nothing much will have easier time during the Counting Time. For each and every thing that we ever owned, we will be asked....
Allah knows, I have way, way too many belongings.

Thanking you in advance for reciting AlFatihah for the benefit of my late father..

pictures from my garden

2010-12-17T17:54:00.003+13:00

lettuce for salad anyone? come over..

Amaranth, Mekong Red..or bayam merah.

this one will ripe soon, yum.

pegaga...dulu kat kampung punyalah banyak..

Story from the Earthquake Zone

2010-09-12T21:26:00.005+12:00

It was Saturday morning at 4.35am. I was half awake, since the beginning of Ramadan, it has been my almost daily routine to wake up early at least half an hour before dawn. Normally I would wake at that time, to eat my breakfast before dawn, sahur and then perform solat tahajud before fajr or after dawn prayer. That morning was a bit different; I was contemplating of getting another wink of sleep.
Then the shaking start, and I knew then it was earthquake. I thought it was just a small one, but it goes on and on for almost a minute, the house swayed, and the swing of the pendulum, if you put pendulum on a string, getting longer. The light bulb above the bed swayed violently, and my wife yell earthquake and starts finding her way to the kitchen. The children also got up; they cowered under the bed for safety. We walked in the dark to the kitchen during the earthquake, my wife insisted on protecting her crystals and china in the display cabinet in the lounge. By the time we made our way to the lounge, the crystals and china were falling from the shelves...and then it stops.
We turned on the light, plates, glasses were all over the floor, broken. Our TV was face down on the floor too. I turned on the kettle to make tea and breakfast. Fifteen minutes later the light was out. Then there is an aftershock, another earthquake, strong enough but not as big as the first one. We told the children to go back to sleep. No point staying awake, we are not badly affected and our house is still standing in one piece.
People in our neighbourhood start to get out of their houses and start their cars, some were driving around surveying the damages and came back. A few walked around in our street. I sent a sms to Husin, and called Kak Julie checking if they are okay. Alhamdulillah they are okay. Husin sent a sms saying that he tried to call me but couldn’t get through. After fajr prayer, I went back to sleep.
Sulaiman, a friend from Malaysia who arrived the previous night were staying at a motel in Riccarton. I rang him up that morning and he was okay, he told me that was a surreal experience. He said that he drove around the city that early morning, and told me that a few old buildings have collapsed. One new building near Victoria Square has visible crack on it.
We got our electricity back about 10am, and sent a message to my sister telling her that about the earthquake and we were okay. Then we found out it was a 7.1 earthquake on the Richter scale.

Our water was still cut off until after 1pm, and that late morning I got on my bike and went to the city. Most part of the city was blocked off. Central business district was cordoned off, the police were guarding at every intersection. I cycled around and took some pictures, which I posted on facebook.
">http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/photo.php?pid=6937510&id=739829656&ref=fbx_album
That night I went to tarawih prayer with Sulaiman at Masjid An Nur, we were reminded that Allah has the power of over our lives, that we were on the jaws of death less than 24 hour ago.
The aftershock kept on coming. There was another big one that Monday morning, registering at 5.4, but life has to go on as usual. Snippets of reports from delivery drivers that I met range from the closure of Lyttelton Tunnel, Westfield Mall Riccarton and pungent smell of sulphur around Lyttelton.
What worries me is that recent epicentres of the earthquake are closer to Lyttelton Harbour. We all know that Lyttelton Harbour is an extinct volcano. We also know that New Zealand was formed by the meeting of Pacific Plate and Indo-Australian Plate, where the boundaries make up the Southern Alps in the South Island. What if these recent earthquake activity open up old fissures that was an extinct volcano Lyttelton Harbour and its sister Akaroa Harbour? I read this Tectonic Plates theory in Geology class more than 20 years ago. Little did I know that it is written in the Quran. Thanks to Uztadz Asraff Ayob (http://www.asraffayob.com/love-the-live-u-live/gempa-petanda-lailatul-qadar-kah-atau/#more-214) in his article about the earthquake.

And you see the mountains, thinking them rigid, while they will pass as the passing of clouds. [It is] the work of Allah, who perfected all things. Indeed, He is Acquainted with that which you do.
Muhsin Khan
And you will see the mountains and think them solid, but they shall pass away as the passing away of the clouds. The Work of Allah, Who perfected all things, verily! He is Well-Acquainted with what you do.

On Wednesday I was invited to attend a function at CIC Lincoln Road. Datuk Hasnudin Hamzah, the Malaysian High Commissioner to New Zealand, and Mark Stewart, Honorary Malaysian Consul in Christchurch was there answering questions from those who attended. What shocked me was the level of trauma among Christchurch Malaysian community.
I went home after the first two questions. I was disappointed and embarrassed at the same time

Some friends keep in touch thru Blog, some friend keep in touch thru Facebook.

2010-05-06T16:23:00.002+12:00

A few minutes ago, an old friend from the primary school days sent me a message thru facebook, asking me to delete comment sent anonymously on my blog.

He said he has been reading my blog once in a while. I knew him back in primary school, Sekolah Dato' Manan, aeons ago, in 1976. Havent been in contact nor seen him since.
My apologies to you, that those damaging comment appeared on my blog. I have since deleted them, after googling about how to delete comment.
Please do keep in contact, after all we are from the same town, same primary school, same village. Only that we havent met nor seen each other for 34 years. Facebook is a good medium for people to catch up with each other, and I regret that you also disable yours.

Story for My Mother XIV: Tafsir Mimpi, The Meaning of Dreams

2010-05-04T09:33:00.003+12:00

Say (O Muhammad (SAW) to these Mushrikûn and Kâfirûn): “O Al-Kâfirûn (disbelievers in Allâh, in His Oneness, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, in the Day of Resurrection, and in Al-Qadar)! (1) “I worship not that which you worship, (2) “Nor will you worship that which I worship. (3) “And I shall not worship that which you are worshipping. (4) “Nor will you worship that which I worship. (5) “To you be your religion, and to me my religion (Islâmic Monotheism).” (6)

Story for My Mother XIV: Tafsir Mimpi, The Meaning of Dreams
No this isnt my mother’s story, but rather a story for my mother. Not that there is any likelyhood that my mother would read this, she does not do internet, nor read English. I just hope that one of my brother or sister would read this and relate to my mother.
In early years, my parents, especially my mother always tell me stories of her dreams, and tried to figure out what it means. Once up on a time, not long after my grandfather Haji Daud Marhakim passed away in 1974ish, my late father related to me his dream of meeting my grandfather at a banquet with lots of food. One particular fruit that my father remembers was grapes. My father said that he had been reciting zikr for the benefit of my grandfather. My grandmother Maryam in 1978ish had also distributed items of clothing that once belonged to my late grandfather, one kain pelikat among them. I had taken the kain pelikat to school for prayer a couple of times myself, but it was used mostly by my father for prayers.
Three nights ago I had a dream, in my dream I was arguing about something with my wife. In my dream I was reciting a Surah from Quran, the meaning of the Surah is about ‘my deen, my way, these people lifestyle, not ours’ and the other Surah is about ‘There is only One God, no other’. In my dream I recited the Surahs clearly and my eyes waters. My wife went quiet and the argument ended. Later in the morning as I remember it was Surah AlKafiruun and Surah Ikhlas. All morning I did gardening job around the house, while trying to remember again and figuring out the meaning. That afternoon Syed Husin Heykal ring up and come over, we went to SuperShed to look for secondhand bike. I related my dream to him in the car.
Husin told me that in Islam, dream has meaning, regardless of what Western philosopher or what Freud said about dream, but we have to be careful interpreting dream. Some dream are from Iblis, which would encourage us to do bad deed and perform sihir. Then if we do Iblis bidding and encouragement, we will surely go to hellfire. If the dream ask us to read some Surah back to front, then surely its wrong and from Iblis. Husin said that my dream is about reciting Surah AlKafiruun and Surah Ikhlas, which examining the meaning of the Surahs, can relate to my life.
“Kalau kau nak tanya samada mimpi kau itu sebagai satu petunjuk supaya kau amalkan baca Surah AlKafiruun dan Surah Ikhlas, rasanya iya, sebab sebab ianya tidak salah dari segi agama.”
Husin then related a story. There was an army personnel friend from Kedah whom he knows, who was stationed in Sabah. “Orang Sabah ni angker”he said. I heard that statement before. He disappeared and didn’t contact his parent and family for a long time, about 9 years. So his family were looking for him, and prayed to Allah that he come back. Then one day he came back. Apparently he had married a Sabah girl, and forgotten about his parent and family in Semenanjung. Coming back to Semenanjung, he had divorced his Sabahan wife. His parent find a suitable wife for him from his village and he got married again.
“Tapi bila dia nak guna anu dia tak hidup, tak boleh pakai. Enam tahun dia cuba berubat sana sini jumpa bomoh jumpa ustadz namun tak ada kesan. Isteri dia minta cerai, tak tahan.”
“Satu masa dia jumpa sorang ustadz, dan ustadz tu kata bahawa masalah kau tu aku tak ada jalan penyelesaiannya, tapi kau amalkanlah Tiga Qul, ie Surah Ikhlas, Surah AlFalaq and Surah AnNas. Amalkanlah setiap hari, semoga Tuhan berikan jalan penyelesaian kepada masalah kau.”
When Prophet Muhammad SAW was sick on his bed after being affected by sihir, black magic, Jibril came to him and confirmed that The Prophet SAW was affected by sihir, black magic. The Prophet was taught to recite these three Surahs and he was free from sihir.
“ Jadi dia bacalah setiap hari, setiap lepas sembahyang, 33kali, 133 kali, etc dah jadi wirid sampai dekat 2 tahun. Tiba tiba isteri dia yang dari Sabah itu datang jumpa dia, dan di berikannya satu loket. Dalam loket itu ada satu keladi kecik yang hidup subur.”
From what I understand, his manhood is in that locket. How is that so, don’t ask me, thats black magic. So he can use his manhood again...
Husin told me that Allah particularly likes odd numbers, so when we recite zikr, or recite Surah, do recite in odd numbers, 3, 7, 11, 33 or 133 times.

What does it meant by ‘High Income Economy?’

2010-04-11T03:19:00.001+12:00

What does it meant by ‘High Income Economy?’

So much hype in the Model Ekonomi Baru about this new target of achieving high income economy status by 2020. If you want the definition, he it is in Wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_income_economy
Funny that the document elaborate so much about the target of high income economy, but have not elaborated at length on how to get there.

A country is just like a household. There is more than one way to get rich. A household can get rich by saving and scrimping, and invest whatever saved under the mattress or in income generating venture, eg put the money in interest bearing bank account.
Members of the household could learn and study to improve their skills and knowledge, so that they can work and sell their labour at higher wages, and a country could invest in education of its citizens so that the citizens can sell their services at higher wages.
Another way of getting rich, as written by Sakmongkol aka Datuk Ariff Sabri is to be entrepreneur, i.e. creating product or services and be capitalists, setting up businesses. The country should encourage entrepreneurship and make it easier for them.

Singapore has been a high income economy for many years, and it didn’t take then just 10 years to achieve that status, more than 20 years of working at all the above. Most rich high income countries in the West get there by scrimp and save, following Solow’s 1956 work. Yes there are countries which doesn’t have to follow this model, they are well endowed in natural resources, and have the brains and ability to manage their resources well, for themselves and future generations. Brunei, Gulf countries, Norway among them. But then there are countries who are rich in natural resources as well as clever and educated populace, yet squandered their wealth through corruption and infighting.

Its true that in the 70s, 80s, and 90s Malaysia has a high savings rate, which is made up of high household savings and a low negative savings by the government, but still in black. At that rate of savings achieved in those days, and following Solow’s growth model, we were on the way to achieve developed nation status by 2020.
Here, I am not writing to criticize, but where do went wrong?
We were too greedy, we wanted to get there faster and used financial leverage, i.e. we borrowed lots of money, and invest in infrastructure before its time, sort of making a great leap forward. The result is all there to see, we have infrastructure that flopped, like multimedia thing (I am not even going to say super corridor) or infrastructure that ahead of its time and bleeding cash every year like albatross hanging around our neck, eg new capital city, new airport, tall buildings etc.

To put it in a simple picture, Solow divided income into 2, income from labour and income from investment. Since there is only limited time in a day whereby we can work, eg 8 hours a day, the only other way to increase income is from investment, so the more money we invest in income producing ventures, the more income we will get. So as long as out savings rate is in positive territory, we are on the way of getting rich.
As for the second and third methods, i.e. invest in education and skills and encourage entrepreneurship, they go hand in hand. One cannot get business minded society without investing in education. These are human capital, and human capital will flow to wherever there is conducive environment to create wealth and prosper.

So how do we create condusive environment for our citizens to prosper?
Simple, our government must do their job, i.e. to govern and rule with fairness, efficient in bureaucracy and to invest in infrastructure like good roads, ports, airports etc.
Sounds simple, but most government stray from those edicts. For example, govern and rule with fairness require the government to formulate laws that is fair and to set up judicial system that is fair and unbiased, and law enforcement agencies must also be fair and fast in handling the judgments. Legal cases, either civil or criminal should not take years to go through court system; it should take less than 4 months at most.
What say you? Is our government departments fast and friendly as well as fair?
I believe we do have good infrastructure, only that our mentality is still not appreciating them.

So what happen when we get there, i.e. being a rich country? We will have to forgo the crutches of development aids from rich countries, and expected to shoulder the burden of giving aids to poor and developing countries. As such we will have to pay a higher portion of our income in taxes.
There shall not be poor and starving in our community, every member of our society shall have proper housing, hence the social safety net for our citizen who have fallen on hard times.
We shall strive to evenly distribute our national income among our citizens, so that there is not a huge gap between the top quartile income group and lowest quartile. Hence its important to have minimum wage law.

Jangan Merayau Waktu Senja

2010-04-08T02:01:00.000+12:00

Jangan Merayau Waktu Senja.

Waktunya lepas maghrib, kata orang tua, jangan merayau waktu maghrib. Tak pernah pula arwah ayah dan ibuku memberi sebab kenapa tak boleh merayau waktu maghrib. Tapi bila aku sudah remaja, tahulah aku bahawa waktu maghriblah syaitan dan jin mula keluar.

Petang tadi Kak Ta, isteri abang Kamisan jemput aku datang rumah untuk makan malam.
“Bawalah sekali pam basikal tu, boleh cuba pam basikal abang kau tu” pesannya dalam sms.
Lepas mandi, makan dan sembahyang maghrib, aku pun masukkan pam basikal dalam but kereta, aku masukkan sekali dua tayar basikal, mana tahu lebih senang lagi tukar tayar basikal itu lkalau tiubnya sudah bocor.
Sesampai rumah abang Kamisan, aku letakkan kereta depan rumah, lalu mengangkat sepasu Italian basil ke pintu belakang rumah. Kemudian aku pun mengetuk pintu dan memberi salam.
“Tak ada orang pulak, tengah sembahyang agaknya”
Lalu aku balik ke kereta untuk mengambil pam basikal dan mengunci kereta. Lepas itu aku pun balik ke pintu belakang membawa pam basikal. Aku memberi salam sekali lagi sambil mengetuk pintu.
Abang Kamisan keluar dari dapur dan membuka pintu.
“Kau tadi dah ketuk pintu ye Ya? Tadi aku dengar kau bagi salam, tapi bila aku buka pintu tak ada orang”
“Haah, tapi saya kedepan balik ambil pam basikal ni” kata ku.
Lalu aku pun berseloroh tentang jin dan waktu maghrib.
“Jin agaknya yang bagi salam waktu begini”
Dia ketawa.

Aku pun dijemput masuk, dan kami duduk diruang tamu. Di kaca TV ada satu cerita dongeng tentang hantu.
Abang Kamisan pun berceritalah tentang hantu.
“Kampung aku tu angker kata orang, banyak hantu” dia memulakan cerita.
“aku dulu masa kecik nakal. Kalau bulan puasa tu, lepas saja sembahyang terawih, aku pinjam telekung mak aku, cepat-cepat jalan dan panjat pokok besar tepi jalan, takutkan budak budak perempuan, pakai telekung putih macam pocong atas pokok”

“Bulan puasa kan tak ada hantu” kata ku.
“Itu kata orang, Betul ke?” sanggahnya. “Ada budak muda kampong aku dulu kena tampar”
“ Teruk ke kena tampar?” tanyaku.
“Pekak jadinya, mukanya jadi herot. Bomoh kampong aku ubatkan dia, sebulan dua kendian baik balik” sambung abang Kamisan.

“Kakak aku pernah kena sorok, dua kali” cerita abang Kamisan lagi.
“Hantu tu suka kat dia kot” kata ku.
“Yang pertama kali tu, waktu maghrib, kami budak budak main kat pokok getah tumbang, kami panjat pokok tumbang itu dan main henjut henjut. Bapak aku ni garang, bila waktu maghrib, budak budak tak naik rumah lagi dia pun tengkinglah. Kami pun budak budak larilah bertempiaran. Bila waktu makan, baru kami sedar kakak aku tak ada. Malam itu orang kampong semuacari kakak aku, dah jadi macam pesta, ramai orang cari merata tempat seluruh kampong dengan lampu dan andang.
Masa orang sibuk cari tu, ayah aku kat atas rumah sembahyang saja, tak berhenti henti.
Lepas tengah malam orang kampong jumpa kakak aku tidur dalam parit dekat pokok getah tumbang tempat kami bermain tadi. Dia tidur bertutupkan daun daun kering dan ranting yang dipatah patahkan. Badannya pun dah kecil.
Dia tak bercakap, badannya lemah. Bomoh kampong pulihkan dia, seperti sediakala.
Bila ditanya apa yang terjadi malam itu, dia kata, dia bertemu satu keluarga, lalu diajak naik kerumah mereka, lalu diberi makan dan ditidurkan.

Kali kedua pun waktu maghrib juga. Waktu itu adik aku ni nak pergi buang air besar. Dia ditemankan kakak aku, entah kenapa adik aku ni bising dan menangis. Bapak aku pun marahlah, dan kakak aku pulak lari, takut agaknya dengan bapak aku.

Kemudian kami pun sedar kakak aku hilang. Malam itu semua orang kampong cari kakak aku. Bapak aku sembahyang saja tak henti henti sepanjang malam itu. Dah dekat subuh baru dia orang dapat jumpa kakak aku.
Pakcik aku Nampak kakak aku melintas jalan melompat lompat lalu ditangkapnya dan dibawa balik. Memang betullah macam cerita opera Cina yang menggambarkan hantu itu jalannya melompat lompat. Badannya pun dah jadi kecil. Bomoh pulihkan dia balik”

Kak Ta panggil makan, kami pun berhenti bercerita tentang hantu.

Kita Bertemu Di Fesbuk

2010-03-18T00:22:00.002+13:00

LIMA

Pelayaran yang berakhir.

Julai 1989.
Satu iklan di papan tanda di hostel kembara di tengah bandar Christchurch.

“Kami adalah pasangan tua pelayar mengelilingi dunia. Buat masa ini kami balik bercuti di rumah kami di Waikuku, setengah jam dari sini. Kami telah belayar dari Cairns ke Singapura melalui Archipelago Indonesia. Dari Singapura, kami ke Bangkok kemudian ke Manila dan ke Samoa. Pelayaran terakhir kami ialah dari Samoa ke Baja California di Mexico. Selepas ini kami mahu meneruskan pelayaran dari Baja melalui Panama Canal ke Caribbean dan seterusnya ke London. Buat masa ini kapal layar kami sedang di baiki di Baja.
Kami perlukan seorang lagi pelayar untuk bersama kami.
Wang yang anda perlukan: tambang kapal terbang dari NZ ke Mexico dan anggaran perbelanjaan harian lebihkurang $10 sehari selama pelayaran selama 3 bulan.
Sila tulis surat kepada kami”

“Ini peluang yang bagus” kata hati Ahmad. Dia perlukan sesuatu yang baru, pengalaman yang baru. Hidupnya sekarang sudah mula menjemukan. Kerjanya sudah hambar.

Ahmad mencongak duitnya di bank, baru ada $3000. mungkin hanya cukup untuk tambang kapal terbang ke Mexico. Dia perlukan lebih dari itu, perbelanjaan seharian selama pelayaran, dan seterusnya dari London pulang ke tanahair.
Berapakah yang dia perlukan lagi? Mungkin $5000, tetapi $7000 lebih memadai.

Malam itu Ahmad menulis surat kepada pasangan tua pelayar itu. Dia amat berminat sekali untuk pergi menjelajah Amerika Latin dan Caribbean.
Mungkinkah disana panas seperti Malaysia? Tentu sekali.
Ahmad ingin sekali untuk ikut sama belayar dengan pasangan tua itu.
Esoknya, ada artikel pendek di suratkhabar, bercerita tentang pasangan tua itu dan pelayarannya di Indonesia dan Thailand. Panorama pemandangan sungguh cantik di laut. Mereka dapat bertemu penduduk tempatan yang punya adapt dan cara kehidupan yang amat berlainan dengan kehidupan di barat.

Bagaimana mahu mencukupkan wang untuk pelayaran itu? Ahmad ada $7000 yang di simpannya di Malaysia. Dia boleh meminta abangnya keluarkan wang itu. Dia pun menulis surat kepada abangnya.

Hujung minggu itu Ahmad bertemu pasangan pelayar tua itu di rumah mereka. Tidak ada orang lain yang berminat untuk belayar merentasi Panama bersama mereka.

Hari mereka bertolak ke Mexico pun dipersetujui, sebulan dari hari itu. Tidak perlu membuat banyak persediaan bekalan, kebanyakan keperluan memasak sudah sedia ada di kapal layar itu, yang perlu mungkin pakaian seharian dan badan yang fit untuk tugasan sebagai pelayar.

Petang itu juga Ahmad mula berlatih, berlari sejauh 5km setiap petang.
Perjalanan ke Mexico mengambil masa yang lama. Dari Auckland mereka pergi ke Los Angeles, bertukar kapal terbang ke Mexico City, kemudian barulah mereka pergi ke La Paz, sebuah bandar kecil di negeri Baja California Sur. Laut Gulf California itu tenang dan cantik. Suhu hariannya tinggi, sehingga 90 ke 100 Fahrenheit. Airnya kehijauan.

Tanah ini gersang, hanya pasir dan batu. Hanya pokok pokok yang tahan panas dan mampu menyimpan air saja yang mampu hidup disini. Siangnya panas hingga 100 Fahrenheit.

Puluhan tahun yang lalu, hanya nelayan dan pelaut yang bermastautin di sini. Ataupun manusia manusia yang di buang negeri, juga yang melarikan diri dari masyarakat. Dulunya disini tiada masyarakat.
Namun pelancongan merubah segalanya. Musim sejuk, suhu di sini masih lagi hangat seperti musim bunga di latitude tinggi. Bergerombolan anak anak muda Amerika turun kesini, menghabiskan percutian di destinasi murah ini. Berjemuran di pantai dengan pakaian sebesar benang, dan berpesta waktu petang ke pagi. Inilah destinasi murah, muda mudi Amerika hanya perlu menaiki bas atau teksi kesini, harga penginapan lebih murah dari bilik mereka di Los Angeles atau Stockton.

Maka hiduplah malam di La Paz, pesta yang tiada penghujung.

Tidak kenal tua atau muda, usia hanya di fikiran,

Disitulah Ahmad mula mengenal alkohol. Ianya bermula dengan pasangan tua itu mengajak Ahmad makan malam di restoran di pinggir pelabuhan. Makanan laut hidangan yang enak malam itu. Specialty restoran bandar tepi laut ini. Ramai manusia lain makan malam disitu, musik orang Mexico mirip musik dari Sepanyol, yang amat mirip musik Arab. Sungguh mengasyikkan.

Kita Bertemu Di Fesbuk

2010-03-08T09:04:00.004+13:00

Kita Bertemu Di Fesbuk

EMPAT
Seribu Kepahitan dan Seribu Dinar

Petang Ahad. Warga bandar Bando berpusu pusu di pasar, membeli keperluan seharian seperti ikan, ayam dan sayuran. Buah oren dan laici masih segar lagi, baru sampai dari Siam. Kobis bulat baru di buka dari bungkusan kertas suratkhabar lama, kotaknya masih sejuk, baru siang tadi peniaga Cina membawa turun dari Cameron. Peniaga ayam goreng dan ayam percik begitu sibuk berjualan. Nyata ramai warga Bando lebih senang membeli lauk siap untuk juadah malam itu. Ros yang berniaga sate ayam dan daging sibuk membungkus sate yang dibeli pelanggan sambil fikirannya mengira berapakah keuntungannya hari itu.
“Sudah dapat lima puluh ringgit, maknanya sudah untung lebihkurang tiga puluh, dapatlah sekampit beras untuk minggu ini” Ros mengelamun sambil melayan pelanggan.

Ros membeli ayam dari Sofian, di potong kecil kecil, kemudian di cucuk dengan buluh sate. Sofian, kawan sekolahnya sejak belasan tahun dulu kini menjadi towkay ayam di bandar itu. Sofian seorang peniaga yang baik, sanggup membantu peniaga peniaga kecil lain di Bando, walaupun kerana murah hatinya kekadang dia kekurangan modal dan terpaksa meminjam dari bank.

Sudah lumrah orang kampung, keperluan wang melebihi pendapatan, dan begitu juga pada peniaga peniaga di Bando, keuntungan hasil perniagaan petang Ahad itu akan lebur di belanjakan untuk keperluan dapur dan anak anak sekolah mereka.
Sofian faham akan masalah itu, jadi dia mengupah Syidah, salah seorang pekerjanya untuk mengutip hutang ayam yang didahulukannya malam itu juga, sesudah pasar malam bersurai. Malam itu Syidah mengutip hutang bosnya seperti biasa, dari peniaga ayam percik dihujung pasar, kemudian peniaga ayam goreng dan seterusnya.

Sebenarnya Syidah sudah terlalu penat malam itu, dia telah keluar bekerja sejak pukul 6 pagi itu. Pasar basah tempat dia bekerja sudah mula dikunjungi warga Bando seawal 7 pagi. Dia perlu membantu Omar rakan sekerjanya menyediakan ayam untuk jualan. Ayam perlu disembelih dan dibersihkan, sebelum di potong mengikut kehendak pelanggan. Hampir tengahari barulah Syidah dapat berehat sekejap, bila pengunjung pasar basah itu sudah kurang. Kemudian dia akan mengemaskan dan membasuh tempat kerjanya sambil melayan pelanggan.
Ayam yang tidak habis dijual hari itu akan dihantar ke rumah Ros untuk dipotong kecil kecil dan dicucuk sate.

Syidah pulang kerumah pukul 3 petang. Selepas solat zohor dan berehat sekejap dia akan kesekolah agama untuk mengambil anak anaknya pulang. Seronok dia melayan kerenah anak anaknya. Najwa yang baru 7 tahun itu amat petah bercakap dan selalu bercerita apa apa sahaja yang berlaku di sekolah. Hilang penatnya bekerja seharian bila dapat berbual dan melayan anak anak.

Malam itu Syidah masak nasi, lauk ayam masak masam manis. Mereka makan bersimpuh diatas lantai simen, beralaskan tikar getah. Anaknya yang sulung, Along belajar di IPTA sejak setahun lepas. Aman, anaknya yang kedua baru habis SPM. Kekadang Syidah rindu pada anak sulungnya, kerana dialah yang boleh diharap. Selalunya kalau Syidah keluar bekerja, Alonglah yang diharapkan untuk menghantar dan mengambil adik adiknya kesekolah. Sekarang sejak Along tiada, dia berharap pada Aman dan Mimi. Mereka jugalah yang diharapkan untuk membantu kerja rumah dan juga homework adik adik mereka. Selalu juga Syidah membantu anak anaknya buat homework, apalagi dalam pelajaram Matematik. Syidah dulu pun masa bersekolah adalah antara pelajar yang mampu. Dia bersekolah hingga lulus STPM dan mendapat tawaran untuk masuk ke maktab perguruan. Tetapi dia tidak pergi.

Lepas Isyak, Syidah bersiap untuk keluar menjalankan kerja megutip wang dari peniaga peniaga kecil yang berhutang pada bosnya.

Hampir habis kerjanya, hujan pun turun renyai renyai. Para pengunjung pasar malam hampir habis pulang kerumah. Mereka melarikan diri dari hujan, takut demam. Tiada yang mahu berjual beli dalam hujan.

Duit sudah dikutip. Syidah simpan dompet wang dalam waist belt nya. Poket sebelah kiri berisi duit. Sebelah kanan handphone yang sudah agak usang. Masih berguna untuk bersms dan buat panggilan talipon. Motor Honda 50cc itu dihidupkan, lalu bergerak agak laju di dalam hujan renyai renyai.

Rumahnya hanya setengah kilometer dari bandar Bando. Dia perlu melintas di persimpangan depan kedai tayar. Ada satu jalan pintas melalui deretan rumah dibelakang kedai tayar itu. Syidah tidak mahu melintas di selekoh depan sekolah, selekoh itu agak berbahaya, terutama dalam hujan.

Ada kereta mengikutinya dari belakang, agak laju dan rapat juga. Syidah memasang indicator sebelah kanan, lalu memperlahankan motornya.

Kaboom! Berdentum bunyi, pelanggan dan pelayan di Sate Hut berdekatan terkejut, lalu beberapa orang bingkas bangun berkejar kejalanraya. Kereta yang mengikuti Shidah tadi tidak sempat membrek, lalu melanggar motor Shidah. Dia terlontar kejalanraya.
Memorinya hanya setakat melambung dari motor lalu jatuh keatas jalan.

Mujur kemalangan itu berlaku di tengah Bando. Mujur ada beberapa orang pelanggan di Sate Hut yang cepat membantunya. Mujur juga hospital hanya seratus meter dari tempat kemalangan.
Shidah tidak sedarkan diri selama 3 hari. Pergelangan kakinya patah, tulang pehanya juga patah. Begitu juga tangan kanannya, patah. Dia dibedah, Tulangnya yang patah di sekeru dengan batang bulat titanium. Shidah terlantar di Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah selama sebulan, sebelum dipindahkan ke Hospital Bando untuk 2 bulan lagi supaya dekat dengan keluarganya.

Sehari selepas kemalangan itu, Leha, adik Shidah meneliti waist belt kakaknya. Ada duit hasil kutipan hasil jualan ayam yang perlu dipulangkan kepada Sofian. Ada talipon bimbit. Leha meneliti nombor contact disitu. Ada satu nombor yang agak asing dan banyak digitnya.Mungkinkah ini kawan lama kakaknya.

Leha lalu mendail nombor itu. Tiada jawapan. Esoknya dia mencuba lagi. Kawan kakaknya perlu tahu apa yang terjadi pada kakaknya. Shidah masih belum sedarkan diri.

Talipon berdering, Ahmad segera mencapainya dari atas meja. Waktu sudah lewat malam.
“Ish sapa pulak yang talipon aku malam begini”

“Hello”

“Hello, saya Leha, adik Kak Shidah” kata seseorang yang tidak dikenali.
“Kak Shidah kemalangan semalam, sekarang masih tidak sedarkan diri di Hospital Klang” sambungnya lagi.

“MasyaAllah, kenapa jadi macam ni” Ahmad mengucap. Dia jadi tidak keruan. Beberapa hari itu Ahmad sering menalipon dan berSMS dengan Leha bertanyakan tentang Shidah. Shidah mula sedar diri selepas 3 hari.
Dua minggu kemudian Shidah mula siuman, bengkak di otaknya sudah susut dan pulih. Dia mula risau, tentang rezeki, dialah tempat anak anaknya bergantung rezeki. Bekas suaminya sudah lama tidak mengambil tahu. Satu sen pun nafkah anak anaknya yang tujuh orang itu tidak diberi. Zakat fitrah? Mungkin tidak.

Ada satu kad baru sampai di meja tepi katilnya. Shidah buka dengan tangan kirinya yang masih utuh.

Dibacanya perlahan lahan…

Anggaplah kejadian ini cobaan dan dugaan dari Tuhan. Allah tidak akan menguji hambaNya melainkan hamba Allah itu mampu menghadapi ujian itu. Hanya hamba Allah yang terpilih sahaja akan di uji oleh Allah dengan kesusahan dan keperitan.
Bila Allah menguji kamu bermakna Allah telah menaikkan taraf kamu sebagai seorang Muslim.
Dan janganlah sesekali engkau bersusah hati tentang dari mana datangnya rezeki kamu. Allah telah sediakan rezeki yang cukup untuk kamu. Cuma mungkin kita tidak nampak dari mana datangnya rezeki itu. Sesungguhnya Allah akan mendatangkan rezeki untuk kamu dari arah yang tidak kau sangka.

Maksud ayat :
Dengan nama Allah Yang Maha Pemurah Lagi Maha Mengasihani. Dan sesiapa yang bertaqwa kepada Allah (dengan mengerjakan suruhanNya dan meninggalkanlaranganNya), nescaya akan dijadikan baginya jalan keluar (dari segala perkara yang menyusahkannya). Serta memberinya rezeki dari jalan yang tidak terlintas hatinya. Dan (ingatlah), sesiapa berserah diri bulat-bulat kepada Allah, maka Allah cukupkan baginya (untuk menolong dan menyelamatkannya). Sesungguhnya Allah tetap melakukan segala perkara yang di kehendakiNya. Allah telahpun menentukan kadar dan masa bagi berlakunya tiap-tiap sesuatu.
(Ayat 2 & 3 Surah At-Talaq)

Kita Bertemu Di Fesbuk

2010-03-05T00:34:00.002+13:00

TIGA
Cerita Buat Mona
http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?hl=en&source=hp&q=gisborne%20river%20mouth&gbv=2&oq=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il
http://www.facebook.com/noor.hamzah?v=photos&sb=8#!/photo.php?pid=3138314&id=739829656
Ahmad sudah beberapa tahun tinggal di belakang masjid itu. Sebuah berek bekas bangsal kandang kuda tahun tiga puluhan, atau mungkin lebih tua dari itu. Mungkin bangsal itu di bina untuk kuda. Satu masa dulu, mungkin berpuluh tahun dulu sukan berkuda dan polo amat popular dikalangan warga bandar ini. Malah masih ada track untuk kuda di sekeliling Hagley Park. Kebetulan masjid itu berhadapan dengan Hagley Park. Dijalan Deans Avenue, sempena nama salah seorang pengasas bandar ini.
Malam itu tengah musim dingin, suhu malam selalunya tidak lebih 5 Celcius. Leman kawannya dari bilik sebelah beritahu ada pakcik pakcik tukang sembelih dari Oamaru. Elok pergi jumpa mereka tanya khabar, ada tiga orang, merantau dari Malaysia, tinggalkan anak isteri untuk mencari rezeki di negeri orang.
Kebetulan penyembelih lembu dan kambing dari Malaysia di kehendaki di New Zealand. Bukan apa, mereka rajin bekerja, jujur dan ringan tangan di tempat kerja. Reputasi itu sudah sinonim dengan nama rakyat Malaysia di New Zealand.
Pak Tam tegap orangnya. Kulitnya hitam manis, orang nya arif dalam hal agama. Cakapnya di dengar orang. Bang Malik agak muda, dalam tigapuluhan, pernah bekerja sebagai eksekutif dalam syarikat kerajaan negeri Selangor. Sebelum itu Bang Malik bekerja di pejabat tanah di Selangor. Pak Deris agak berumur, lebihkurang sama tua dengan ayah Ahmad di kampung. Ramah orangnya.
Leman memperkenalkan Ahmad pada Pak Deris, “Ha yang ni orang Tanjong Karang pakcik”. Ahmad menghulurkan salam, sebutkan namanya.
“Kau sekolah kat mana dulu?” Tanya Pak Deris.
“Datuk Harun pakcik” jawab Ahmad pendek, sambil tersenyum. Maksud Ahmad ialah Sekolah Menengah Datuk Harun, di Tanjong Karang.
“Hah kamu tentu kenal anak pakcik, Mona” sergah Pak Deris.
“Oops, dalam hati Ahmad. Ayah Mona rupanya” hati Ahmad berdegup kencang, dia masih tidak berkata apa apa.
“Haa jangan jangan kau ada cerita dengan anak Pak Deris kot, cepat minta maaf.” Kata Leman yang bergiat dalam satu pergerakan dakwah. Sudah menjadi lumrah ahli ahli pergerakan dakwah itu untuk bermaafan waktu berjumpa dan berpisah. Anak anak perempuan adalah tanggungjawab bapa. Kalau kita seorang lelaki berbuat tidak sopan atau dosa terhadap seorang perempuan, maka kita bukan saja berdosa terhadap perempuan itu, malah juga terhadap bapanya.
Pak Deris menukar tajuk. Mungkin dia sedar Ahmad gugup.
“Jadi kamu dulu sama kelas lah dengan anak pakcik si Mona?” Tanya Pak Deris.
“Iya pakcik” jawab Ahmad.
"Kamu dulu pegi rumah pakcik di Parit Tiga sama kawan kawan?"
"Tidak Pakcik, saya tak ikut masa tu"
"Ramai kawan kawan kamu datang rumah pakcik masa tu. Sapa nama sorang tu, Mail ke gitu"
“Mona tu dulu pandai bahasa inggeris, masa tingkatan dua dulu Cikgu Omar bagi dia hadiah sebab pandai bahasa inggeris” sambung Ahmad.

Cikgu Omar mengajar Matematik untuk beberapa bulan sebelum melanjutkan pelajaran ke Amerika.
“Tentulah, Mona dulu sekolah inggeris kat Kelang. Sekolah inggeris convent kat Kelang tu” sambung Pak Deris.
“Pakcik dulu ada restoran kat Kelang, jadi pakcik sekolahkan anak pakcik kat sekolah inggeris tu”
Mereka tidak sambung berbual, hari sudah lewat malam. Tadi Ahmad baru saja balik dari perpustakaan. Dia selalu belajar sampai lewat di perpustakaan, kerana ada suasana belajar.
Esoknya Pak Deris dan kawan kawannya pulang ke Oamaru. Khabarnya Pak Deris gemar memancing bersama kawan kawannya. Dia juga gemar memasak. Boleh kata tak ada can lah untuk kawan kawan serumahnya peluang untuk memasak makan malam kalau Pak Deris ada dirumah.
Tak lama kemudian Bang Malik di pindahkan ke Kaiapoi, tak jauh dari bandar tempat Ahmad tinggal. Hanya 15km sahaja. Maka selalulah Ahmad mengunjungi Bang Malik.
Pak Deris pula pindah tempat kerja ke Gisborne, di pulau utara.
Dia masih gilakan hobinya memancing.
Satu malam mereka pergi memancing seperti biasa di beting pasir kuala sungai Turanganui. Air sungai bertemu air laut. Ikan kahawai dan mullet banyak dimuara. Lapar dan cepat merenggut umpan daging. Untuk ke beting pasir di kuala sungai mereka hanya perlu berjalan kaki diatas pasir. Pasir yang kekadang berubah bila hanyutkan arus. Apalagi bila air bah.
Seronok mereka memancing malam itu, banyak ikan. Hingga mereka lupa untuk melihat dan menanda waktu.
Tiba tiba air pun pasang. Air sungai agak deras malam itu, semalam hujan, agaknya lebih lebat di gunung. Lebih banyak air mengalir ke hilir. Air naik dengan cepat, Sekejap saja sudah sampai ke pinggang.
Ikan entah kemana, mereka cuba berenang dan berjalan ke daratan. Malam itu gelap. Yang dekat nampak jauh. Pak Deris panik. Dia tidak tahu berenang. Dia tiada benda yang boleh digunakan sebagai pelampung. Kawan kawannya cuba menenangkannya, dan cuba membawanya ketepi. Dia masih panic, dia cuba berenang, tangannya cuba bergerak keatas dan kebawah, kakinya sudah tidak berpijak ke pasir.
Pak Deris tertelan air, lalu terpisah dengan kawan kawan nya di malam yang gelap itu.
“Pak Deris! Pak Deris!”
Pak Deris lemas, dihanyutkan air deras. Coastguard menemui mayatnya esoknya.

Kita Bertemu Di Fesbuk

2010-02-15T21:40:00.004+13:00

DUA
Sabtu, tanggal 15 Februari 1975.
Tengahari itu panas sekali, mentari berbinar tanpa awan. Tiada angin sepoi mengurangkan kepanasan hari itu, Ayam dan itik tidur di bawah rumah, tidak mahu mereka membelah siang mencari belalang dan cacing di kebun, lebih rela mereka kelaparan sebentar menanti nasi basi petang nanti.
Jam sudah 2 petang, penghuni kampung rata rata tidur lena tengahari itu. Mereka bersawah waktu pagi, balik rumah untuk makan tengahari pukul dua belas, dan tertidur lena menanti waktu zuhur. Ahmad, anak Mak Yam yang baru sepuluh tahun itu tidak tidur tengahari itu, dia bermain depan pintu. Matanya sudah mengantuk, tapi masih di gagahkan untuk celik.
Mak Yam tidur di bilik dekat dapur. Dia sarat mengandung, sudah seminggu terlewat dari tarikh dia sepatutnya bersalin. Mak Yam masih sihat, dia masih mampu berjalan ke rumah jiran, Mak Timah, 200 meter jauhnya. Pagi itu Mak Yam buat kerja rumah seperti biasa, menyediakan sarapan pagi untuk Pak Tam dan membasuh kain. Sebaris kain dan baju telah kering di ampaian di laman sebelah mentari terbit.
“Uwaa..uwaa”
Tiba tiba kedengaran suara bayi menangis.
Ahmad terkejut. Dia tidak tahu apa nak buat seketika. “Oh mak bersalin”
“Mat, pergi rumah Pak Anuar, minta tolong dia panggil bidan Mbah Simut.” Teriak Mak Yam.
“Ya mak”, jawab Ahmad, lalu bergegas turun dari rumah, terus pergi ke rumah Pak Anuar. Ahmad beri salam sebaik saja sampai di bawah tangga rumah Pak Anuar.
“Oh emak kamu bersalin!” Pak Anuar segera mencapai baju dan turun kebawah rumah lalu berbasikal kerumah bidan Mbah Simut, lebih satu kilometer jauhnya. Kak Simah, isteri Pak Anuar mengandung anak pertama masa itu. Mereka baru berkahwin setahun lepas.
Ahmad lalu pulang kerumah, bimbang akan ibunya. Adiknya Abu yang baru berumur 4 tahun itu masih tidur. Tak lama kemudian Kak Simah isteri Pak Anuar datang, ditemani Tipah, adik Kak Simah.
“Mat, pegi rumah Mbah Ros dan Pakcik Min dan beritahu mereka mak bersalin” teriak Mak Yam pada Ahmad. “Ya mak” sahutnya.
Ahmad lalu mencapai basikal buruknya, lalu pergi kerumah neneknya Mbah Ros. Mbah Ros baru lepas mandi, mahu solat zuhur.
“Nantilah aku datang” jawab Mbah Ros. Ahmad lalu pergi kerumah Pak Min, abang Mak Yam. Pak Min tidak ada di rumah, tapi makcik Normah duduk dibawah rumah berbual dengan anak anaknya.
“Mak engkau bersalin Mat, dapat adik lelaki atau perempuan?” Tanya makcik Normah.
“Perempuan” jawab Ahmad. Dia pamit lalu pulang ke rumah.
Sesampai di rumah, Mbah Simut dan misi Kalsom sudah sampai, dan mereka ada di atas rumah bersama Mak Yam yang masih terlandar di dalam bilik. Adik perempuan Ahmad yang baru lahir itu sudah dimandikan. Pak Long, ayah Ahmad masih belum pulang dari kebun, walaupun sudah hamper pukul tiga petang. Pagi tadi dia pergi ke kebun di Sungai Yu, begitu kata Mak Yam. Setengah jam kemudian Pak Long pun sampai, lega rasa hati Ahmad.
“Mat, pegi ke balairaya, suruh kakak kau balik. Sambil tu pegi rumah Mbah Siti, beritahu dia” teriak Mak Yam.
“ Ya mak” jawab Ahmad lalu pergi berbasikal ke balairaya kampung, satu kilometre jauhnya. Dihujung kebun dia terserempak dengan mak Timah jirannya.
“Nak kemana?” Tanya Mak Timah.
“Pergi ke balairaya, panggil kakak balik, juga beritahu Mbah Siti mak baru bersalin” kata Ahmad. Mak Timah pun terus pergi ke rumah Ahmad.
Sampai di halaman balairaya, Ahmad Nampak kakaknya di dalam. Dia tidak dapat bercakap apa apa. Lidahnya kelu, sejak dari rumah tadi dia merasakan sesuatu yang tak kena. Dia terdengar misi Kalsom berkata uri masih belum keluar, dan seketika kemudian, ada satu lagi masih di dalam, songsang. Dia nampak misi Kalsom bertungkus lumus mengubah arah bayi di dalam perut Mak Yam, tapi masih tetap menyongsang. Mbah Simut suruh Mak Yam minum kicap, supaya senang keluar, katanya.
Khatijah, kakak Ahmad memandang Ahmad dan faham, lalu pamit pada seseorang yang mengajarnya di depan dan turun kebawah balairaya, mereka berbasikal pulang ke rumah. Entah kelas jahitan, entah apa, Ahmad tidak tahu, tapi orang yang mengajarnya orang lelaki. Dia juga nampak Kak Siah, anak Pak Isnin jirannya duduk dekat Khatijah.
Sampai di rumah, Ahmad dengar Abu menangis di tingkap, sementara Pak Long dan Pak Min berbincang sesuatu depan tangga. Sementara di bilik dan di dapur keadaan agak genting. Bayi yang di lahirkan masih tersangkut di bahagian leher. Sudah menjadi biru, kekurangan oksijen, Ahmad tahu mengenai itu beberapa tahun kemudian. Menurut misi Kalsom, bayi itu sudah tidak bergerak lagi.
Sudah meninggal sebelum sempat melihat dunia. Ahmad tidak tahu emaknya mengandung kembar. Begitu juga ayah dan kakaknya. Misi Kalsom yang selalu datang setiap minggu memeriksa Mak Yam pun tidak tahu. Betapa dhaifnya tahap kesihatan waktu itu. Memang benar kandungan Mak Yam agak besar dari biasa.
Misi Kalsom beritahu Pak Long bahawa Mak Yam perlu di bawa ke hospital. Pak Min keluar, pergi mencari kereta. Pak Anuar pulang ke rumah dan membawa balik kerusi malasnya, untuk digunakan mengusung Mak Yam ke kereta. Sekejap kemudian, Pak Min sampai dan beritahu Pak Long dah dapat kereta. Mereka pun mengusung Mak Yam ke kereta untuk di bawa ke hospital.
Pak Long menyuruh Ahmad pergi ke kedai membeli susu, untuk bayi yang baru lahir. Susu cap junjung. Ahmad berbasikal ke kedai, Abu duduk membonceng.
“Bawalah sekali Abu, adik kau tu, dia menangis dari tadi tu, takut agaknya.” Kata Pak Long. Ahmad terdengar Mak Timah tanya pada Khatijah kalau ada tilam untuk bayi. Tiada. Bayi itu di tidurkan di atas bantai, sebab tak ada tilam.
Bila Ahmad balik, imam kampong Pak Gafur, di bantu oleh bilal, Pak Rodin dan beberapa orang kampung sedang bekerja di halaman membuat keranda dari dinding rumah sebelah barat. Di atas rumah, Mbah Ros sedang memandikan arwah bayi itu. Sesudah itu, bayi itu pun di kafankan dengan kain rukuh, kain telekung kepunyaan Mak Yam. Lalu di letakkan di atas dulang di tengah rumah. Pak Long ke balai polis di pekan untuk melaporkan kematian.
Bayi yang mati itu dinamakan Aminah.
Pak Gafur mengimamkan sembahyang jenazah petang itu, di ruang tengah rumah mereka. Aminah selamat di kuburkan sebelum Maghrib.
Mak Yam tinggal di hospital tiga hari, di temani Mbah Mariam. Mak Yam tidur di dalam wad. Mbah Mariam tidur di atas simen di kaki lima wad bersalin, bertikar mengkuang dan satu bantal.
Ahmad pernah pergi ke wad di hospital itu, untuk melihat emaknya. Katilnya di balut kain putih, cadar kata emaknya. Tilamnya tebal dan empuk.
Satu hari, beberapa hari setelah Mak Yam pulang kerumah, dia bercerita bahawa satu malam Mak Yam bermimpi Aminah bermain di kakinya.

A short story for Maslina. Happy Birthday. Belated.

Kita Bertemu di Fesbuk

2009-12-31T19:44:00.002+13:00

Kita Bertemu di Fesbuk.

SATU

Malam malam di musim dingin itu sungguh panjang dan dingin sekali. Ahmad bertugas malam di sebuah hotel empat bintang di kota yang sunyi. Setiap malam hanya mereka berdua saja, Ahmad dan Misel, seorang perempuan muda keturunan Sekot. Ahmad sebagai kuli angkut beg, sekali gus sebagai pegawai keselamatan, manakala Misel menyambut tetamu dan buat akaun harian. Mereka akrab sekali, maklumlah tiada siapa yang Misel boleh harapkan untuk kalau kalau ada orang jahat malam itu, atau malam malam yang lain. Jika ada pesanan makanan lewat malam, dari pengunjung hotel yang masuk lewat, Misel akan meminta Ahmad ke dapur memasak dan menghantar makanan. Kalau ada orang mabuk, Ahmad lah yang Misel harapkan untuk menanganinya. Bila semua pengunjung hotel telah nyenyak kekadang Ahmad akan menemani Misel mengira akaun harian di pejabat, sambil Ahmad melayari alam siber.
Dari situlah Ahmad mula mengenali dunia Fesbuk. Satu alamat di alam siber yang merapatkan jaringan perkenalan kepunyaan Mark Zuckerberg. Zukerberg masa itu adalah seorang pelajar Harvard, masih belasan tahun, dan membina Fesbuk untuk mengetahui perihal kawan-kawannya di kampus. Mahu masuk Fesbuk? Kena ada jemputan.
“Aku tiada kenalan di Fesbuk.” kata Ahmad pendek.
“Biarlah aku jemput kau, kau jadi kawan ku,” kata Misel.

Maka bermula lah Ahmad ber fesbuk, dengan hanya berkawan dengan Misel. Mereka berbalas balas surat, walau waktu itu mereka duduk sebelah menyebelah di pejabat.

Kadang, Misel tidak bekerja malam, tapi selalunya dia keluar berfoya foya, minum minum sampai lewat malam. Waktu begitu dia akan singgah kehotel, dan akan meminta Ahmad menghantarnya pulang.

Masa berlalu.

Misel ingin melancong ke Oz sambil bekerja di sana. Berbulan bulan dia di Syurga Ombak bekerja sambil mengumpul duit untuk pergi Eropah dan Amerika. Halamannya di Fesbuk sentiasa di isi gambar gambar terbaru, sambil bercerita tentang pengalaman terbaru. Dunia terbuka luas, katak tidak lagi berada dibawah tempurung.

GST - a consumption tax, What about its companion, welfare safety net

2009-12-22T18:44:00.003+13:00

I notice a few facts are HIDDEN from the minister's statement about GST. True that we need to widen our tax base, and with GST, we can derive new tax base from foreign resident in the country, tourists and those groups who normally dont pay tax, eg black economy sector and low income group.

He said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) would not increase as a result of the GST implementation.
This is bulls, my apologies for my french.. I had the experience of going through the first year GST introduction in NZ, and CPI went up as much as the rate of GST. Retailers and service providers didnt reduce price, no discount to soften the impact of GST.

So brace yourself for 4% inflation in 2011.

Ah, for got to mention, that the last quarter before GST take effect, people would buy whatever they can, whether they can afford them or not, just because they dont want to pay GST to the government. So we can expect a surge in demand for consumer goods, people would stocking up on goods and services if they can do it.
That in itself would be inflationary.

Brace yourselves, if you are business owner, your administration cost would indirectly increase, because now you become indirect tax collectors for the government. Yes you would collect GST from consumers, and remit them to tax department. Although you would have a wee bit increase in cash flow, ie 4%, for the month, that is still not your money.

I have been supporting the concept GST ever since the idea was first mooted in 2005. It will net wider tax base, and force the black economy to pay taxes, indirectly. So soon the criminals, traders, illegal immigrants and poor farmers who normally dont pay taxes will have to pay 4%.

Fair enough if those people are rich, BUT if they are poor farmers and traders, its a burden and absolutely not fair.

WE should also think of social safety net, minimum wages and help for the poor.
How much Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat pay for every poor families? If they apply for help?
What is the minimum wage in Malaysia? NONE, no minimum wage.

Minister, your performance is dismal.

In Memory of My Father; Hamzah Kusni 1933-2008

2009-12-22T05:22:00.002+13:00

It has been a year since my father passed away. My father passed away on this day last year, just 2 weeks after Hari Raya Haji last year. I wanted to come home last year for Hari Raya Haji last year, but I didnt. That is one regret that I would never be able to come to term with.
But my Allah miracle, a week after my father passed away, I was back in the village. I went to his grave, it was still fresh, under the shade of palm oil tree and only 30 meters away from the village masjid.

To this day I still regret and cry inside, why couldnt I come home sooner? Simply that I didnt have enough money for the airfare. I did call home that Raya Aidil Fitri, and I promise to come home for Raya Haji. I did try to save enough money for the airfare, and had enough days of annual leave. But in the end it wasnt enough, and whatever I had was spent on something else. In the end I couldnt fulfill my promise to come home for Raya Haji.

http://nooryahaya.blogspot.com/2008/12/in-memory-of-my-father-hamzah-kusni.html
Thanking you in advance for reciting AlFatihah for my father's benefit.

Whats Wrong with Dubai World..

2009-12-07T06:25:00.004+13:00

Its easy to find fault and do post mortem, especially on issues of economics. Yes there are lots of extravagant dreams and think big projects. By normal standard these projects are too big, and success hinge on slick marketing of finished or unfinished properties with a view of making more big fat profits for investors of the properties.

The trick might work, just make sure Dubai have a huge influx of immigrants and new residents who would eventually demand more properties.

But one thing we all Muslims must remember, all the ideas and hard work that we do, would still have to pass one standard test, that the investment or work done must be halal in totality. For Non Muslim, yes every hard work they do will get reward in this world, and as such thier investment and work will gain rewards and successes.
For Muslims, there is one more hurdle to pass, that the work and investment is halal.

Why do I write this?

Here is why;
http://english.aljazeera.net/business/2007/08/200852514513745411.html

Dubai World, the Gulf state's investment firm, is to take a 10 per cent stake in MGM Mirage, the world's second-largest casino operator, to become a major player in America's biggest gambling destination
Is casino investment halal? Of course not. And the wrath of Allah has come.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/the_gulf/article6936260.ece

Pictures from Raya Korban and Bone Soup for Dinner

2009-11-30T18:34:00.002+13:00

bone soup, with fresh potatoes from the garden.

Raya Korban

2009-11-30T18:28:00.002+13:00

pictures from raya korban.
6 sheep/hogget, for people and alot of hard work.

Pantun untuk Dr Asri

2009-11-11T03:19:00.001+13:00

menang berbahas, kalah berhujah.
tegang leher, darah mendidih.
maka syaitan pun berbisiklah.
kau menang , kau menang.
kau ajukan argument argument yg benar.

Kaum Muda, golongan muda.
idea pembaharuan.
demi kemajuan ummah.
Kaum Tua, golongan kolot.
masih berpegang kepercayaan lama.
masih lakukan perkara perkara yg tiada asas dalam agama

tahlil 7 hari, tahlil 40 hari.
baca talqin, bukan Nabi dulu ada buat.
Berzanzi, Barzanzi, BaarZaanj.
Maulid Nabi.

mungkin kau menang berbahas, menang berhujah.
mungkin kau benar, hanya Allah yang tahu.

tapi mana adab mu.
kami tidak akan tertarik dengan adab mu.
begitukah adab kalau kau mujtahid.

What is Wahabi?

2009-11-07T11:08:00.001+13:00

Title: What is Wahabi?
“Kullu bidatin dhalalah, dhalatun fin Nar” Or something like that, and we have heard it so many times.
Of 1.3 billion Muslims in the world, I am the last one, and who is least qualified to talk about this issue that is raging hot between Dr MAZA and JAIS. So please dont quote me.
True this issue is confusing Muslims in Malaysia, and worse, even more confusing to non Muslims.
So what is Wahabism?
To be fair, no one in the world would raise their hand and say that he/she is a Wahabi. Wahabi is a label, that stuck by the Ali Sunnah Wal Jamaah(Sunni) and Shiah on puritanical Muslim followers of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab (hence Wahabi).
These followers of Wahabism has a few characteristic views, among others;
*they quote ““Kullu bidatin dhalalah, dhalatun fin Nar” on religious practices that they dont agree, ie religious practices that were not practiced during the times of the Prophet Muhammad saw.
*they dont do wirid after salat (obligatory 5 times daily prayers), nor doa.
*they say that there is no basis for reading Yasin on Friday, and as such its bid’ah.
*celebrating Prophet Muhammad saw birthday is bid’ah, and so is reading Kitab Barzanzi aloud in a majlis.
*another cultural practice that the Wahabis are against is majlis tahlil and Yasin.
*they dont read talqin when burying the dead.
True that some of these practices that Muslims in Malaysia and Indonesia were doing are not obligatory. Okay then, are they WRONG? No. So are the Wahabis WRONG? No. CONFUSING? Yes.
The first time I got confused with this similar issue was many years ago, I was a kid, in the 70’s attending Quran class at Surau Haji Abdul Ghafur near Masjid Baroh, Tanjong Karang. Back then the issue was beduk and ketuk ketuk (hollowed tree trunk, when you beat in the middle, it gives a loud gong) to mark the prayer time. In the days before loudspeaker, azan cannot be heard all over the village, because human voice was not loud enough. Beduk and ketuk ketuk are louder, and at different frequency spectrum, and can be heard all over the village. Ketuk ketuk is also used to tell villager of death news (ie if somebody has died in the village) even these days.
Then the masjid had enough money to buy loudspeaker system, and a generator for the electricity needed. Then there was a new siak (person who clean the masjid) who was employed recently. He follows this Kaum Muda thinking, and doesnt like the villagers using beduk and ketuk ketuk to call for prayer before the call of azan. Things come to head when he start the call of azan on the loudspeaker and beduk and ketuk ketuk hasnt been done. The order of things was the that, beduk number one, ketuk ketuk number two and then azan. Who got confused the most? Kids, me included.
Last January, I was chatting with my uncle Mustakim on this issue of Wahabism. We were talking about the practice of the villagers reading Surah Ikhlas thousands of times, and counted, the first 7 nights, and Tahlil after that and some interval, say, a 40 days, 100 days etc. My uncle said the late Haji Abdul Ghafur explained when a man is dead and buried, Munkar and Nakir would question the dead and beat up the dead person if he/she doesnt answer correctly. Reading Surah Ikhlas thousands of times for the benefit of the departed and recite doa and prayer for the departed is to ask Allah’s intercession so that the departed would not be beaten in the grave. Hopefully by reciting Fatihah and Surah Ikhlas for him, he will get better life in the grave. When a person is dead, his/her good deeds has ceased, except three, his wealth that has been spent on charity like building masjid and religious school, his knowledge that was taught to his pupils and his children or friends who recite prayers for him. So if we recite prayers and ibadah or give sadaqah/alms for the benefit of the departed, he/she will get it in the grave.
Is this bid’ah? The word bid’ah hasnt even arise. Of course, this is not obligatory, and the villagers were doing this for the benefit of the departed, as well as themselves.
So why does the older generation, the old imams, muftis kept quiet about this? They dont say anything, or saying that Kaum Muda are wrong. Thats because the Kaum Muda are right, BUT (with a pregnant pause..) being young people, they are idealists, a bit shallow in thinking and knowledge (my apologies, if you feel slighted, kalau terasa) and need to learn more, much more before opening their mouth. The older imams, muftis and ustadz see that these young people Kaum Muda need guidance, and time to learn. You can see that Dr MAZA need guidance, more so after his outburst and press conferences soon after he was ‘arrested’ by JAIS for giving lecture without ‘tauliah’.
I can see the reason for the system of ‘tauliah’, effectively a licence to teach Islam at public lectures, we dont want the Muslims got confused with half baked statement and religious explanations.

Yes you can contradict me, write comment or add anything as well correct me wherever necessary.

Terdapat dua kelompok manusia, jika kedua-duanya baik, maka masyarakat akan menjadi baik, dan jika kedua-duanya rosak, maka masyarakat juga akan menjadi rosak, mereka itu ialah umarak dan ulamak (Hadis riwayat Ibn Abdul Barr)

Rakyat menjadi rosak akibat daripada rosaknya pemerentah, dan pemerentah menjadi rosak akibat daripada kehadiran ulamak yang buruk (al-suu') Imam Al-Ghazali Ihya' Ulumuddin.
Muhasabah Untuk Dr Asri Zainal Abidin

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IbnuNafis:
Sanggahan ini dibuat atas artikel DR MAZA yang bertajuk : Islam Antara Nas Dan Pendapat Tokoh. Sila klik : http://drmaza. com/home/ ?p=710

Dijawab oleh Dr Asmadi Mohamed Naim

Biografi beliau Dr Asmadi:

Berasal dari Kelantan tetapi dibesarkan di Kuantan, Pahang sehingga ke peringkat Menengah kerana mengikuti keluarga yang berkhidmat dengan kerajaan. Memulakan pengajian Islam secara rasmi pada tahun 1998 di sebuah madrasah di Sungai Ular, Kuantan. Menyambung pelajaran di Jordan untuk mempelajari Bahasa Arab pada tahun 1989-1990. Menamatkan pengajian Thanawi Empat di Pakistan dari 1990-1993 dan kemudian melangkah semula ke Jordan (1993-1997) untuk menamatkan pengajian B. Shariah sehinggalah saya menamatkan pengajian MIRKH (1998-99)dan PhD di UIAM pada dari 2000 hingga 2004. Saya mempunyai seorang isteri dan 6 orang cahaya mata. Untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut sila ke homepage saya di http://staf. uum.edu.my/ asmadi

Sanggahan terhadap artikel DR MAZA :

KOMEN TERHADAP ARTIKEL `ISLAM: ANTARA NAS DAN PENDAPAT TOKOH'

Oleh: Dr Asmadi Mohamed Naim

Saya membaca tulisan Dr Asri bertajuk: Islam: Antara Nas Dan Pendapat Tokoh. Pada saya Dr. Asri mengulas perbahasan kitab-kitab ulama tanpa mengetahui susur galur dan sebab musabab kenapa perbahasan sedemikian muncul. Ini dikeranakan latarbelakangnya pengajian ijazah pertama Bahasa Arab Jordan yang tiada subjek Syariah kecuali terlalu sedikit (seumpama pelajar sastera Melayu di Malaysia, tidak seperti Kuliah Bahasa Arab di al-Azhar), kemudiannya dia terus terjun dalam pengajian hadith di peringkat Masters (secara penyelidikian dan bukan berguru) dan hanya PhDnya sahaja ada 8 kursus yang perlu dilalui secara berguru. Hubungannya dengan ulama-ulama adalah terlalu sedikit berbanding pembacaan.

Untuk mengkritik kitab-kitab turath, dia memilih satu huraian kitab yang ditulis oleh ulama yang tidak terkenal di kalangan ulama mutaakhirin. Dia tahu dia tidak akan berjumpa perkara sedemikian dalam kitab mutaqaddimun mazhab. Dia tahu, dia sukar untuk mengkritik syarahan Imam al-Shafie, al-Mawardi, al-Nawawi dalam aliran mazhab Shafie. Demikian sukar juga dikutuk pandangan Abu Yusuf, Muhammad dan Zufar dalam mazhab Hanafi. Sukar juga di'pandir'kan pandangan pemuka mazhab Malik seperti Ibn Rusyd al-Jad dan Ibn Rusyd al-Hafid dan al-Dasuqi sebagaimana sukar mempertikai Ibn al-Qudamah, al-Maqdisi dalam mazhab Hanbali.

Sesiapa yang mempelajari 'madkhal al-fiqh' (Pengantar al-Fiqh) sepatutnya menyedari adanya budaya 'araaitiyyun' (kalau sekiranya... araaita) di kalangan ulama untuk membahaskan kemungkinan- kemungkinan berlakunya sesuatu peristiwa. Sekira sangkaan baik ada pada pelajar, ia akan merasakan bagaimana hebatnya seseorang imam itu berusaha mengembangkan perbahasan dalam sesuatu perkara. Itu ijtihad mereka dan sumbangan mereka. Kebiasaan guru-guru Shariah menerimanya sebagai satu usaha ulama-ulama silam memperhalusi setiap perbahasan dan bersangka baik dengan ulama-ulama ini.

Tugas pelajar-pelajar Shari'ah kemudiannya menyaring dan memahami perbahasan tersebut untuk disampaikan kepada masyarakat awam. Bahkan daripada contoh-contoh yang diberi, akan terbentuk kaedah mengeluarkan hukum di kalangan pelajar Shari'ah. Bukan semua orang layak menjadi mujtahid.

Sekali lagi 'isu kecil' berus gigi diperbesarkan utk menunjukkan dan membuktikan kebodohan ulama silam. Bukankah ada pandangan ulama silam yang tetap membenarkan bersugi selepas zohor?

Pada saya, ulasan negatif terhadap ulama-ulama tersebut menunjukkan 'kepandiran' orang yang memperkecilkan ulama-ulama silam tersebut. Kalau dia melalui pengajian rasmi Shari'ah di University of Jordan yang saya sama universiti dengannya (dan hampir sama tahun pengajian), dia akan berjumpa dengan ramai pensyarah-pensyarah yang menyindir pelajar-pelajar supaya menjaga adab dengan ulama. Bahkan ada yang menyebut: TitleBox'Hum rijal wa nahnu zukur' iaitu 'mereka lelaki (yang sebenar) dan kita lelaki (biasa)' sebagai sindiran kepada mereka yang merasakan setaraf atau lebih hebat dari ulama-ulama silam tersebut walaupun baru setahun dua di Kuliah Shari'ah. Bahkan pengajian saya dengan tokoh-tokoh Salafi Jordan seperti Prof. Dr Umar al-'Ashqar (yang digelar Salafi Tulen Jordan), Prof. Yasir al-Shimali dan lain-lain menunjukkan bagaimana mereka menghormati pandangan Imam-Imam mazhab tersebut dan anak-anak muridnya. Tidak pernah keluar dari mulut Prof. Umar perkataan 'banyak contoh-contoh bodoh yang dibentangkan oleh ulama Fiqh!'

Demikian juga, malang bagi Dr. Asri apabila semua 'busuk' yang dia lihat pada ulama silam. Takut-takut 'bahtera perubahan' menjadi 'bahtera fitnah'... Pada saya ini sudah menjadi 'keterlanjuran dan fitnah melampau' Dr Asri terhadap ulama! Yang di sebaliknya dia menyeru: Quote

'Jangan ikut ulama, tapi ikutlah aku kerana aku bukan Pak Pandir dan akulah paling benar'.

Manakala ulasannya dalam Hashiah al-Bajuri, dia tidak menyatakan mukasurat. Saya lebih cenderung dia tersilap menterjemahkan. Terjemahan asal ialah memasukkan `keseluruhan kemaluan'. Kalau benarpun terjemahannya, ia di bawah konsep bahasa Arab yang di sebut `lanjutan contoh' bukan sebagai `contoh utama'. Jadi, dia seharusnya lebih memahami perbahasan ulama-ulama fiqh dan seharusnya cuba bersangka baik kepada ulama-ulama tersebut sebagaimana dia boleh bersangka baik kepada Albani walaupun banyak 'tanaqudhat' (pandangan yang saling berlawanan samada dalam kitab yang sama atau kitab berbeza).

Wallahu a'lam.

Allahu musta'an.

IbnuNafis:

fitnah dr. asri / dr.mazaDQ

Cuba lihat kenyataan Dr Asri yang menghina Sayyid Ja'far al Barzanji :
Quote

Saya bukan nak complain.BARZANJI saya complain ..ni complain kan ne.BARZANJI tu bukan dia tu satu orang yang hebat sangat.Bukan BERZANJI...BAARZANJ I(intonasi suara perli loghat India/Pakistan/ Afgahnistan) Jaafar Albarzanji.

Cuba dengar intonasi suara beliau yang jelas-jelas memperlekehkan Mufti Mazhab Syafie di Madinah al Munawwarah.

Siapakah Sayyid Ja'far al Barzanji yang diperlekehkan oleh Dr Asri ini ?

Keturunan dan Kelahirannya :

Nama beliau ialah Ja'afar ibn Hasan ibn Abdul Karim ibn Sayyid Muhammad ibn al Qutb al Arif Sayyid Rasul ibn Abdus Sayyid ibn Abdur Rasul ibn Qalandar ibn Abdus Sayyid ibn Isa ibn al Hussain ibn Bayazid ibn al Mursyid Abdul Karim ibn al Qutb al A'zam al Ghauth al Fard al Jami' Isa ibn Ali ibn Yusuf ibn Mansur ibn Abdul Aziz ibn AbduLlah ibn Ismail al Muhaddith ibn al Imam Musa al Kazim ibn al Imam Ja'afar al Sodiq ibn al Imam Muhammad al Baqir ibn al Imam Ali Zainal Abidin al Sajjad ibn al Imam al Syahid al Husain ibn al Imam Amirul Mukminin Ali ibn Abu Talib.

Tarikh Kelahiran

Pada hari Khamis awal bulan Zulhijjah 1126 Hijrah di Madinah al Munawwarah

Perkataan 'Barzanji' yang dinisbahkan kepada namanya diambil dari nama kampung asal keturunannya.

Latar Belakang Pendidikannya

Beliau dibesarkan di bawah didikan dan asuhan ayahandanya. Beliau mempelajari al Quran daripada Syeikh Ismail al Yamani radiyaLlahu 'anhu. Kemudian mempelajari ilmu tajwid daripada syeikh Yusuf al Sa'idi radiyaLLahu 'anhu dan Syeikh Syams al din al Misri radiyaLlahu 'anhu. Di antara guru-gurunya di Madinah ialah :

1. Sayyid Abdul Karim Haidar al Barzanji radiyaLlahu 'anhu

2. Sayyid Yusuf al Kurdi radiyaLLahu 'anhu

3. Sayyid 'AtiyyatuLlah al Hindi radiyaLlahu 'anhu

Setelah itu, beliau mendalami ilmunya dengan ulama' yang berada di Makkah dan menetap di sana selama 5 tahun. Di antara guru-gurunya di Makkah ialah :

1. Syeikh 'AtaiLlah ibn Ahmad al Azhari

2. Syeikh Abdul Wahhab al Tontowi al Ahmadi

3. Syeikh Ahmad al Asybuli dan lain-lain lagi.

Oleh kerana kepakarannya yang tinggi di dalam persada ilmu, beliau telah diijazahkan dengan sanad-sanad ilmu oleh masyaikh pada zamannya. Di antara guru-gurunya yang pernah menganugerahkan sanad kepadanya ialah :

1. Syeikh Muhammad Tayyib al Fasi

2. Sayyid Ahmad al Tobari

3. Syeikh Muhammad ibn Hasan al 'Ujaimi

4. Sayyid Mustafa al Bakari

5. Syeikh AbduLlah al Syubrawi al Misri

Beliau telah belajar daripada mereka pelbagai ilmu pengetahuan. Di antaranya ilmu saraf, nahu. mantiq, ma'ani, bayan, adab, fiqh, usul fiqh, faraidh, matematik, hadith, mustalah hadith, tafsir, dakwah, kejuruteraan, arudh, kalam, bahasa, sirah, qiraat, suluk, tasawwuf dan sebagainya.

Apa yang berlaku pada zaman mutakhir ini, sesetengah ahli masyarakat melemparkan tuduhan bahawa beliau bukan seorang ilmuwan Islam. Anggapan yang tidak berasas ini, menyebabkan kitab maulid karangannya yang selama ini diterimapakai di dalam Majlis Sambutan Maulid Nabi sallaLlahu 'alaihi wasallam di kebanyakan negara Islam dituduh mengandungi banyak perkara khurafat dan bertentangan dengan Al Quran dan Hadith.

Oleh kerana itu, untuk meneutralkan tanggapan negatif ini, adalah wajar diketengahkan sanad beliau yang menghubungkan ilmunya dengan dua buah kitab hadith yang muktabar; al Bukhari dan Muslim sehingga kepada RasuluLlah sallaLlahu 'alaihi wasallam bagi membuka mata dan meyakinkan kita bahawa pengarang Kitab Maulid Barzanji yang kita baca selama ini bukanlah calang-calang ulama.

Sanad Jami' Al Sahih Imam Bukhari

Sayyid Ja'far al Barzanji belajar daripada,

1. Syeikh Muhammad Tayyib al Fasi, belajar daripada

2. Syeikh Ibrahim al Dir'i, belajar daripada

3. Syeikhah Fatimah binti SyukriLLah al Uthmaniyyah, bonda nendanya Sayyid Muhammad ibn Abdur Rasul, belajar daripada

4. Al Syams Muhammad ibn Ahmad al Ramli, belajar daripada

5. Syeikh al Islam al Qadhi Zakaria ibn Muhammad al Ansari, belajar daripada

6. al Hafiz Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Hajar al Asqalani, belajar daripada

7. Syeikh Ibrahim ibn Ahmad al Tanukhi, belajar daripada

8. Syeikh Abi al Abbas Ahmad ibn Abi Talib al Hajjar al Dimasyqi, belajar daripada

9. al Siraj al Husain al Mubarak al Zaibidi, belajar daripada

10. Abdil awwal ibn Isa al Harawi, belajar daripada

11. Abdir Rahman ibn Muzaffar al Dawudi, belajar daripada

12. Abi Muhammad AbduLLah ibn Hamawih al Sarkhasi, belajar daripada

13. Syeikh Abdi AbdiLlah Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Matar al Farabri, belajar daripada

Pengumpulnya, Amirul Mukminin al Imam al Hafiz al Hujjah Abu AbdiLLah Muhammad ibn Ismail al Bukhari.

Sanad Sohih Muslim

Sayyid Ja'far al Barzanji, belajar daripada

1. Syeikh AbduLlah al Syubrawi al Misri, daripada

2. Syeikh Muhammad Zurqani ibn Abdul Baqi al Maliki al Azhari, daripada

3. Al Hafiz Muhammad ibn 'Ala' al Babili, daripada

4. Syeikh Abi al Naja Salim ibn Muhammad al Sanhuri, daripada

5. Al Najm Muhammad ibn Ahmad al Ghaiti, daripada

6. Syeikh al Islam Zakaria ibn Muhammad al Ansari, daripada

7. Abi al Nu'aim Ridhwan ibn Muhammad, daripada

8. Syeikh Abi Tahir Muhammad ibn Muhammad, daripada

9. Abi al Faraj Abdur Rahman ibn Abdul Hamid al Maqdisi, daripada

10. Syeikh Abi al Abbas Ahmad ibn Abdud Daim al Nablusi, daripada

11. Syeikh Muhammad ibn Ali al Harani, daripada

12. Faqih al Haram Muhammad ibn al Fadhl al Farawi, daripada

13. Syeikh Abi al Husain Abdul Ghafir ibn Muhammad al Farisi, daripada

14. Abi Ahmad Muhammad ibn Isa al Jaludi, daripada

15. Syeikh Abi Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sufyan al Zahid, daripada

Pengumpulnya al Imam al Hujjah Muslim ibn al Hajjaj al Qusyairi al Naisaburi.

Kepakarannya di dalam bidang keilmuwan telah menarik ramai orang datang menemuinya untuk mempelajari ilmu. Beliau mengikuti dan menyelami jalan ahli tasawwuf dan meninggalkan kerehatan dan tidur lebih dari 20 tahun sehingga beliau mempunyai kemahiran di dalam ilmu naqli (berasaskan al Quran dan Sunnah) dan aqli. Beliau pernah mengambil tariqat daripada Sayyid 'AtiyatuLlah al Hindi dan Sayyid Mustafa al Bakari.

Beliau telah mengarang banyak kitab yang menakjubkan dan bermanfaat. Di antaranya ialah kitab Maulid Nabi sallaLLahu 'alaihi wasallam yang tidak pernah ditulis oleh pengarang sebelumnya yang dinamakan dengan 'Iqd al Jauhar fi Maulid al Nabi al Azhar sallaLlahu 'alaihi wasallam.

Hubungan Sosial

Beliau juga mempunyai kredibiliti yang tinggi dalam masyarakat sehingga dilantik sebagai Mufti Mazhab Syafie radiyaLLahu 'anhu di al Madinah al Munawwarah. Beliau memegang jawatan tersebut sehingga kewafatannya dan dianugerahkan dengan kebesaran yang tinggi sehingga kata-katanya diperkenankan dan dilaksanakan oleh raja-raja dan pemerintah-pemerint ah di Haramain (Makkah dan Madinah), Mesir, Syam, Rom dan sebagainya.

Kata-katanya juga diterimapakai oleh Jemaah Menteri Kerajaan Uthmaniyyah dan pembesar-pembesar negara tersebut. Suaranya tersebar seperti burung yang berterbangan di seluruh pelusuk dunia hingga hampir tiada sesiapa yang tidak mengenalinya. Karyanya tersebar luas dan kelebihan kitabnya tiada tolok bandingnya pada zamannya.

Akhlaknya

Beliau mempunyai akhlak yang mulia, bersifat tawadhu', hati yang bersih, cepat memaafkan orang lain dan tidak mengabaikan hak orang lain. Beliau merupakan keturunan dari keluarga RasuluLlah sallaLlahu 'alaihi wasallam dan di kalangan ketua yang menjadi tempat rujukan keturunan Baginda sallaLlahu 'alaihi wasallam pada zamannya. Beliau juga merupakan seorang yang zuhud, wara', berpegang dengan al Quran dan Sunnah, banyak berzikir, sentiasa bertafakkur, mengorbankan harta dan jiwa untuk melakukan kebaikan serta banyak bersedekah sehingga dikenali sebagai seorang dermawan.

Beliau juga mempunyai karamah yang dizahirkan oleh ALlah subahanahu wa Ta'ala. Di antaranya, beliau pernah dipanggil dari tempat solatnya pada Hari Jumaat menaiki mimbar RasuluLlah sallaLlahu 'alaihi wasallam. Pada masa tersebut, sedang berlaku kemarau yang panjang. Maka orang bertawassul dengannya supaya diturunkan hujan. Dengan kehendak ALlah subahanahu wa Ta'ala, maka hujan pun turun dengan lebatnya dan tanah yang kering kontang menjadi subur. Ramai di kalangan ulama' yang memujinya sebagaimana yang dirakamkan di dalam syair gubahan mereka. Di antaranya :

"Dahulu sayyiduna Umar RadiyaLlahu 'anhu pernah bertawassul meminta hujan dengan Sayyiduna al Abbas radiyaLLahu 'anhu, dan kini kami bertawassul dengan Ja'far radiyaLlahu 'anhu, maka diturunkan hujan kepada kami"

Khalifah Umar ibn al Khattab radiyaLlahu 'anhu sepertimana yang diriwayatkan oleh al Bukhari dan Muslim daripada Anas radiyaLlahu 'anhu pernah bertawassul dengan bapa saudara Nabi sallaLlahu 'alaihi wasallam, iaitu Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib ketika berlaku musim kemarau. Umar RadiyaLlahu 'anhu berdoa :
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Ya ALlah! Sesungguhnya apabila kami menghadapi kemarau, kami bertawassul kepada Engkau dengan Nabi kami (Muhammad sallaLlahu 'alaihi wasallam) maka Engkau menurunkan hujan kepada kami. Dan sekarang ini, kami bertawassul kepada Engkau dengan bapa saudara Nabi Muhammad sallaLlahu 'alaihi wasallam, maka turunkanlah hujan jepada kami." Anas radiyaLlahu 'anhu menyebut, "Maka hujan pun diturunkan ke atas mereka."

Sila lihat di dalam Kitab Syifa' al Saqqam karangan Syeikh Taqiyuddin al Subki H:171.

Kewafatannya

Beliau wafat pada Hari Selasa selepas Asar 4 Sya'ban 1177 Hijrah.

Sumber Rujukan: Haji Muhammad Fuad Kamaluddin al Maliki, Al Bayan 8, Cet Pertama 2008, Sekretariat Menangani Isu-isu Akidah Dan Syariah, Majlis Agama Islam Negeri Johor. Malaysia.

IbnuNafis:
Sudah lama isu ini berlaku, golongan opportunis (yang suka mengambil peluang) tidak kiralah samada dari mana-mana parti politik. Begitulah juga kepada yang memusuhi intitusi ulama dan mufti di negara Malaysia ini. Pada satu masa mufti dilihat apabila menyebelahi mereka, maka akan disanjung-sanjung, dipandang tinggi. Tetapi apabila menyuarakan perkara yang penting untuk maslahah ummah dan terkena pada golongan yang lain mufti jugalah yang akan dimaki hamun, dikata kesat. Demi sebuah kebenaran, saya perlu mengulas isu ini.

Penghinaan dan fitnah terhadap Mufti

Lebih mengejutkan lagi apabila yang menghina dan memfitnah institusi mufti itu sendiri adalah dari kalangan mufti sendiri seperti yang pernah dilakukan oleh seorang bekas mufti di Perlis iaitu Dr Asri Zainal Abidin. Sila lihat sahaja perkataannya :
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Saya berhenti menjadi Mufti, bukan saya serik. Jadi mufti apa nak serik. Boleh duduk diam-diam dan enjoy dengan jawatan. Jangan banyak cakap atau bangkang. Boleh pergi mesyuarat hotel sana, dan hotel sini. Lawatan sana, lawatan sini. Masuk ke tempat mahal-mahal. Ada kereta rasmi, terbang sana, terbang sini dan cukup bulan ambil gaji. Diam dan jangan peduli sangat apa yang sedang berlaku, maka jawatan itu satu nikmat yang 'sukar hendak dilepaskan.
- Al Islam April 2009, m/s 28-29. Juga di laman web DrMaza: Klik Di Sini

Maaf cakap, entah berapa ramai di sana yang taksub dan taqlid membuta tuli percakapan dan fatwanya yang menyelidik tentang erti sebuah kebenaran dan akhlak yang datang dari seorang ilmuwan agama? Sudahkah membaca artikel KEMBARA ILMU KE INDIA yang ditulis oleh Dr Asri di laman webnya dan kemudian telah dibuang beberapa hari selepas ditulis? (Artikelnya dipost semula : DI SINI) Dan akhirnya kebenaran tetap ALlah tunjukkan dengan tulisan ini Tanggapan Artikel Kembara Ilmu Ke India - Dr MAZA. Tidak perlulah saya mengkhabarkan tentang sikap beliau yang lain. Ingin juga menjawab sahaja di dalam laman web DrMaza.Com tetapi saya masih tidak terjumpa lagi ruangan komen. Dimana ya?

Saya teringat kata hikmah Ibn Sirin (w. 110H/728) mengungkapkan
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"Sesungguhnya ilmu ini agama, dan perhatikan dari siapa yang engkau ambil agama ini".

Alangkah apabila dilihat kalimah ini semakin terlihatlah kebenarannya kini.

Bukan sedikit pula yang mencaci maki ulamak seperti yang terjadi kepada Mufti Perak (lihat isu politik di Perak), dan mufti lain yang dituduh sebagai hanya memanaskan punggung di tempat duduk. Bahkan ada yang mengatakan binatang yang diharamkan lebih mulia dari mufti - silalah rujuk : Babi Lebih Mulia.

Dan begitulah, siapa yang ingin menyelidik akan sebuah kebenaran?

Terkadang saya berfikir - mengapa ya sesama umat Islam bukan main lagi dimusuhi, mudahnya dihukum sesat, mudahnya dihukum musyrik. Tetapi dengan orang kafir yang ada tugasnya sebagai missionari Kristian disambut dan dibela (sila rujuk : Isu kalimah ALlah hendak digunakan oleh Kristian di Malaysia). Apa kita lupa firman ALlah :
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"(Sesungguhnya orang-orang Mukmin adalah bersaudara karena itu damaikanlah antara kedua saudaramu dan bertaqwalah kepada Allah supaya kamu mendapat rahmat)"

(QS. Al Hujurat : ayat 10 )

Bukankah telah disabdakan oleh RasuluLLah yang bererti : Dari Abi Hamzah bin Malik radiyaLLahu 'anhu, khadam RasuluLLah sallaLlahu 'alaihi wasallam dari Nabi sallaLLahu 'alaihi wasallam sabdanya :

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Tiada sempurna iman seorang kamu hingga ia mencintai saudaranya apa yang ia cintai untuk dirinya.

(Riwayat Bukhari dan Muslim)

Kita mengatakan telah beriman kepada al Quran dan Sunnah, bahkan ada yang mengaku ingin menjadi pendokong kedua-duanya. Apakah ucapan itu hanya pada jari jemari sahaja tanpa ada penghayatan?

Bila Mufti dihina dan difitnah, siapakah pula yang membela mereka?

Adakah kita sebenarnya tahu siapa mufti di negeri masing-masing? Dan mengambil tahu hal ehwalnya dan dimana mereka turun ke padang mengajar di kelas pengajian, di masjid? Jika di Johor ini, bekas Mufti Johor Dato' Noh Gadot (sekarang ini penasihat Agama Islam Johor) selalu turun padang dalam memberi ceramah dan aktivitinya dapat diikuti dari buletin Agama Kerajaan Negeri Johor, begitulah juga Mufti yang baru iaitu Dato' Haji Ta h r i r bin Kiyai Haji Shamsudin.

Di Negeri Sembilan, bekas Mufti iaitu Dato' haji Mohd Murtadza selalu mengadakan ceramah dan kuliah hampir setiap hari dalam sebulan di 14 buah mukim. - Temubual Dengan Mufti Negeri Sembilan Demi Tugas, Milenia Muslim, Februari 2009, m/s 14-18) Begitulah... siapa pula yang hadir di setiap kuliahnya dan akhirnya menghamburkan fitnah pula kepada mufti?

Adakah kita tahu siapakah yang mencadangkan kepada Sultan Perak agar Menteri Besar Ir Nizar dilantik selepas PRU yang lalu? Takkan kita tidak mengambil tahu tentang peranannya dalam Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan sama-sama di dalam majlis syura mengeluarkan hukum dalam banyak perkara berkaitan feqh kontemporari yang kita sendiri pun tidak mampu hendak mengulasnya apatah lagi yang hanya pandai bercakap belakang hanya selepas fatwa diputuskan? Segalanya ada diulas di Milenia Muslim Bulan Mei 2009 muka surat 66-70. Anda akan tahu pendirian Mufti Perak ini berkenaan parti politik. Silalah beli dan baca untuk sebuah kebenaran.

Lalu saya tertanya juga di dalam hati : Adakah kita benar-benar inginkan sebuah kebenaran? Inginkan perpaduan dan bukan perpecahan? Ataupun selepas membaca tentang sebuah kebenaran tetap dipilih kebatilan? Dan tetap memilih dan menyokong mereka yang inginkan kepada perpecahan umat Islam? Siapakah pula yang ingin membela saudara seIslamnya yang dituduh dan difitnah bermacam-macam?

Memories from Past Ramadans (and Eids)

2009-09-30T06:36:00.001+13:00

Memories from Past Ramadans (and Eids)

Many years ago, when I was a young, my mother told me that during Ramadan, all the djinn and satans would be chained in Hell, they would not be allowed out to wreck mischief to us human.
That means a free license to roam the neighbourhood, play outside after Maghrib, sunset and go to the mosque with my father on the pretext to pray terawih, but play with friends outside the mosque. Real fun times. Ramadan also means that my nightly Quran class at the late Haji Abdul Ghafur’s place suspended for a month.
In those days, the mosque was the happening place at night. I would follow my father to the mosque for Isyak prayer. Then when the villagers started praying terawih, we kids would go out and play until its time for the moreh food was served. Then we would join the villagers to eat the food.
In later years I would just perform 8 rakaat terawih prayer, while the rest of the villagers continue on finishing 20 rakaats. I would spent the time chit chatting and helping some people preparing the sweet tea after the villagers finished performing their terawih prayers.
Towards the middle of Ramadan we kids would be busy playing cannon and firecrackers. We also prepared small kerosene lights to light up our house. Normally we just use milk can with a short section of jute. The cans were half filled with kerosene, make a small hole at the middle of top cover, then thread the jute through the hole. One end of the jute is dipped in kerosene inside the can, so when we light up the jute jutting at the top of the cover, kerosene would be sucked and feed the firelight.
Normally these lights would be placed from the road entrance to the front step of our houses. Sort of lighting the way to our front step.My parents told me that during Ramadan, the roh, the spirit of our dead relatives, grandparents would visit our houses during the night in Ramadan, especially during the last 10 days of Ramadan.

Memories of Past Ramadans (and Eid Fitr)

2009-09-23T05:53:00.000+12:00

Ramadan was always the time to play firecrackers and cannon. In those days firecrackers were not just bunga api, but the more popular type were the ones that give a loud bang. Normally red in colour, and sold in a pack of 12. The Chinese light them up during Chinese New Year, giving sound almost similar to gunfire. If it blew up in your hand, surely you would lose a finger or two.
By the time I was 8 to 12 years old, Ramadans had always been a wonderful time. Iftar time were usually marked by the booming cannons around the village. In those days, it was not illegal to build home made cannon from the trunk of bamboo, pinang or coconut tree.
I was making my own cannon from the trunk of pinang tree at 10. We cut a pinang tree at Rahmat’s place, got a trunk section about 6 foot long, drag it home and hollow it out in the next couple of days. I simply cut the trunk in half, lengthwise, and dig out the soft heart. Then tie it up with jute.
We use carbide (villager use this to ripen fruit, bananas, jackfruit before selling them at the market) that we bought at the village shop as fuel. Calcium carbide, when placed in water will boil and release ethane gas. This ethane gas would ripen fruits faster. It is also an explosive gas. Light it with match and kaboom. Many kids had been burned playing cannon.
I used a small condensed milk can half-filled with water and carbide. This can is tied up at the end of 6 foot long thin bamboo which I carefully lowered down the mouth of cannon. One end of the cannon is buried in the ground at about 15 degree angle. Once the carbide mix is lower into the mouth of the cannon, we close it with a bundle of damp cloth. Five minutes later, the inside of the cannon would fill up with gas, I would open the mouth of the cannon by pulling the bundle of damp cloth away. The with a small fire, I lighted up the small hole at the bottom of the cannon…

Kabooom..
Fire spew out from the mouth of the cannon.

Memories of Past Ramadans (and Eidul Fitr)

2009-09-22T05:56:00.000+12:00

Memories of Past Ramadans (and Eidul Fitr)

My early memory of fasting, was rather vague. I was probably about 7 years old when my parents encouraged me to fast. My father said I could fast half day. Yes, there is such a thing as half day fasting, said my father, eat sahur as usual, at 4am, ie before dawn, then don’t eat or drink in the morning, then when it has passed midday, and you cannot stand the hunger anymore, you can break fast..
So I was woken up for sahur, which usually was meagre fare of rice and ikan masin or fried eggs, as well as plenty of water to drink. After that my father would teach me to recite the niat for fasting.
“nawaitu sauma ghodin…”
I was taught to recite the niat, intention, or else my fasting would invalid.
After that I went back to sleep. Ah yes, it was a weekend, and I did not have to go to school.
In the morning, by 10am my throat was dry, and I was hungry too. So I asked my mother if it was half day yet, because my intention was just fasting for half day. My father heard, he laughed and then he asked my mother to cook rice for me. So that was my first half day fasting. Some of my school friends also related to me of their half day fasting.
In the later years, my father gradually encouraged me to fast for longer period, more than half day, eg, breaking fast at 2pm, 4pm or 5pm.
I remember that at one time when I was fasting, my father took me on a bike ride to town to buy groceries, and he introduced me to the Indian Muslim grocer, that I have been a good boy, but tired from fasting, I was so tired at 6pm, that when I lie down I saw stars. My father told me to break my fast at 6pm, only about half an hour before iftar time.

Only much later that I learnt that there is no such thing as half day fasting.

Ramadan has always been a special time for us kids. We would have sweet iced syrup water for iftar to quench our thirst. Usually it was rose syrup, reddish maroon in colour, sweetened with lots of sugar. In the days of no electricity, we would buy the block of ice from the ice seller. Our town, Tanjong Karang had an ice factory which normally supply ice to fishermen, and yes they have electricity in town. The factory produce ice in big chunk about one cubic meter. I normally saw two elderly Chinese gentlemen cutting down the ice block to smaller sizes using huge saw. Some enterprising older boys would buy one or two ringgit worth of ice, pack it into a square wooden box behind their bicycle and sell then door to door. To keep it cool, the ice blocks would be covered in wood shaving taken from the town sawmill.
So at around 4pm you would hear these enterprising older boys yelling “airbatu”, selling their ice block to villagers. Normally a block of ice the size of your palm is ten cent.

we shall continue another day..

Memories of Past Ramadans (and Eidul Fitr)

2009-09-20T06:10:00.005+12:00

My first memory of Eid ul Fitr would be back in the late sixties. I would have been 4-5 yrs old, and I was the youngest back then. One particular day, my parents were up early, and I had cold shower and got dressed with the best that we had. It was in the morning, and sat with my mother at the back of my father's bike. We went to my grandparents' house at Batu Enam. My grandfather's house was on stilt, painted greenish white with leaf windows. It had outer section, 'emper', the roof was made of nipah leaves, and the main living room was roomy with high roof. I thought my grandfather's house was cool and swanky, because it has wooden walls, instead of walls made of nipah leaves like our house. And the wooden leaf windows and walls were painted too.

I remember my cousins Munasir and the late Haji Sakuri as young boys about my size. I remember being shy and always hide behind my late father. I was aftraid to come near my grandfather Haji Daud. Everyone else 'salam' my grandfather, hold his hand and said something like, "Patang kulo kaleh sampean.." in Jawa halus, asking forgiveness, usually the younger person will go to the older ones.
I didnt, I just hide behind my father..very much afraid of my grandfather and all others, my uncles and aunties.

Later on I went inside in search of my mother, she was sitting and talking to my aunties and my grandmother, next to a big wooden box with black metal with small holes. I asked my mother, what was that? "Sound" she said. Only years later I figure out that it was speaker box.

The best food during Eid in those days was 'ketupat', rice boiled in young coconut leaves, eaten with chicken curry. One of 'kuih' sweetmeat that I remember was glutinous rice flour, mixed with sugar and pressed hard into fancy shapes.

I shall continue later with memories from other years.

Story from My Mother XIII: The invisible fence

2009-09-13T01:12:00.002+12:00

Ayat seribu dinar

Ayat Kursi

Title: Story from My Mother XIII: The invisible fence

Yesterday I left 4 old bikes at the verandah near the front door. Three of them were sold already sold on auction website http://www.trademe.co.nz/, but the buyer hasn’t collected and paid yet. They were gone in the morning, all of them. I didn’t expect someone would steal old bikes. Yes I needed to do something about this, but short of building a fence at the front of the property. The three sides of the property is already well fence, six foot high. I cant really afford building fence for the front yard to fully enclose the property. I also don’t have the space in the garage to store my bikes.

I remember my mother told me story that at one time my father’s old bike was missing from under the house, and a few days later it reappear under the power pole by the roadside in front of my parent’s house. Literally, the bike came back.
My mother also told me a story that one day a couple of years ago, she saw 3 men at our land at the back of the house, walking back and forth, to the west, and then walked back to the east more than a couple of times. So she ran back to the house and informed my father. My father simply asked my mother if she had any money, maybe 15 ringgit, and gave the money to them, 5 ringgit each. She did that, and the men walked away sheepishly, leaving behind a sack of coconuts.

I asked my mother, what did she used as ‘pagar rumah’, and she told me that it was ayat kursi, read with the intention to make ‘pagar rumah’ 41 times. First you must get a bucket of water, the best time to do it is after Asr, carry the bucket of water, and splash the water on the ground while reading the ‘ayat kursi’ around the house. You must fully circle the house if possible.
Ayat Kursi

Earlier today I rang my friend and asked him what did he used for ‘pagar rumah’, beside relating that I have lost 4 bikes last night.

My friend told me that he normally does it in this particular order:
Solat hajat.
Read Surah Yasin 7 times, each time you reach the verse ‘kun fayakun’ use both your palm of your hand and thump the ground.
Then in the evening before Maghrib, walk around the perimeter of your house and splash water with your hand in a wide circle as if covering ‘melindungkan’ the area. Read Ayat Kursi, Surah Ikhlas, Surah AlFalaq and Surah AnNas, with Surah AlFalaq given more emphasis, because Surah AlFalaq is to keep away 'sihir', black magic.

It is important to depend solely and ask help from Allah, without even a shred of doubt.
Here is a how to do solat hajat, that I copied from Mohd Sabri Ibrahim:
http://telukvila.blogspot.com/2009/04/ijazah-solat-hajat-dari-guruku.html

2 rakaat;
First rakaat; Fatihah, Ayat Kursi 11x or 21x
Second rakaat: Fatihah, Ayat Kursi 11x or 21x

Or 4 rakaat;
First rakaat; Fatihah, Ayat Kursi 10x
Second rakaat: Fatihah, Ayat Kursi 20x and salam
Third rakaat: Fatihah, Ayat Kursi 30x
Fourth rakaat: Fatihah, Ayat Kursi 40x
After salam read ayat seribu dinar and ask from Allah.
Ayat seribu dinar

InshaAllah, I will do this Thursday night.

NOW, have a happy trip balik kampung. If you leave your house empty, who will keep away the burglar? Only Allah will.

pictures of spring 2009

2009-09-04T15:48:00.002+12:00

pictures of spring 2009

2009-09-04T15:44:00.001+12:00

N95 and H1N1

2009-08-24T22:21:00.000+12:00

Please realize that this is not an official advice,
especially the one about face masks or N95.
Most N95 respiratory are designed to filter 95% particulates of 0.3,
while the size of H1N1 virus is about 0.1. Hence, dependence on N95 to
protect against H1N1 is like protecting against rain with an umbrella
made of mosquito net. Tamiflu does not kill but prevents H1N1 from
further proliferation till the virus limits itself in about 1-2 weeks
(its natural cycle).H1N1, like other Influenza A viruses, only infects
the upper respiratory tract and proliferates (only) there. The only
portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/ throat.
In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible not coming
into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1
is not so much of a problem as proliferation is. While you are still
healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1infection, in order to
prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptomsand development of
secondary infections, some very simple steps - not fully highlighted
in most official communications - can be practices(instead of focusing
on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):
1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications) .
2. "Hands-off-the- face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any
part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).
3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't
trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the
throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms.
Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt
water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has
onan infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and
powerful preventative method.
4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day
with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or
SutraNeti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but blowing
the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds
dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral
population.
5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin
C(Amla and other citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with
VitaminC tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
6. Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. Drinking warm liquids has
the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash
off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they
cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.All these are simple ways
to prevent, within means of most households,and certainly much less
painful than to wait in long queues outside public hospitals

Salam Ramadan.

2009-08-21T19:54:00.004+12:00

sunset.. behind my house. the cloud is thick, impossible to see the new moon.
But checked at the FIANZ website, someone in NZ has seen the new moon, hence Ramadan is here.
I have been busy digging my backyard for the past week. maybe about an hour a day before sunset. It has been raining for a couple of days this week, and i didnt dig on rainy day..too soggy.
just the same garden, different angle.

Now I have to wait until the frosty mornings and nights are truly over before i can put any seeds/seedlings in the ground.

Ramadan New Moon

2009-08-21T08:32:00.003+12:00

the picture above is the expected moon visibility as in www.moonsighting.com.

(just click ignore warning, and proceed to the website) .

Moonsighting for Ramadan 1430

The Astronomical New Moon is on August 20, 2009 (Thursday) at 10:01 UT. This moon can not be seen in any continent. There is a small chance to see only in Polynesian Islands on August 20. On August 21, it is very difficult to see in Europe and Canada. It can be seen with difficulty in India, Pakistan, Middle East, and Northern Africa. On August 21, it can be easily seen in Australia, most Africa, and Americas.

Quote from the Book, shown on left:
"In the year 2006, the Fiqh Council of North America took the position that the scientifically authenticated astronomical calculations are a valid Islamic source of confirming or negating a lunar Islamic month. Subsequently, a number of papers appeared refuting the Fiqh Council's position. Among the papers written against the Fiqh Council's position, the two authored by Shaikh Hamza Yusuf were perhaps the most systematic. These two articles titled "Cesarean Moon Births" were also perhaps the most provocative in the sense that they forcefully challenged the use of astronomical calculations in confirming the Islamic months as totally un-Islamic. In his writing, Hamza Yusuf insinuated that such a position was nothing short of deliberately opposing the "infallible" (mutawatir) commandments of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and was equal to following the pitfall of the Children of Israel all the way to their lizard hole....................."

well, what do you know..my instinct says, I agree.
check the website HERE.

The Black Sheep Story..

2009-08-20T19:33:00.002+12:00

This story about Rohaizat Othman is interesting one.

What is right, and what is wrong is clear.

1. Using clients' monies to loan it to another client is WRONG.
2. Using clients' monies for company's use, to expand operation or to pay wages is WRONG.
3. Denying that you know nothing is WRONG, worse if you are the signatory to the cheque account.

Bekas rakan calon BN tampil bela diri

Abdul Rahim Sabri
Ogos 20, 09
12:14pm

Bekas rakan kongsi Rohaizat Othman - calon BN di pilihanraya kecil DUN Permatang Pasir - hari ini tampil memberi penjelasan bagi membersihkan dirinya daripada 'dikambinghitamkan' berhubung kes membabitkan pembelian hartanah oleh Koperasi Pekebun Getah Negeri Pulau Pinang (KPGNPP) pada 2002.

Yusri Isahak, bekas rakan kongsi firma guaman Saif Ariff dan Rohaizat, membuat penjelasan itu sebagai menjawab laporan Utusan Malaysia yang memetik ketua penerangan Umno, Ahmad Maslan sebagai berkata Rohaizat hanya bertanggungjawab ke atas tindakan yang dilakukan rakan kongsinya.

Ahmad Maslan dilaporkan berkata, tindakan tatatertib ke atas Rohaizat berdasarkan aduan KPGNPP membabitkan pembelian satu hartanah yang dikendalikan firma mereka, waktu itu.

Ahmad juga dilaporkan berkata, semua urusan jual beli untuk pihak KPGNPP dikendalikan Yusri dan diterima secara eksklusif dan dideposit ke dalam akuan klien firma tersebut di Bank Islam Cawangan Butterworth.

Menurut Ahmad lagi, akaun berkenaan termasuk semua surat berhubung KPGNPP ditandatangani dan diuruskan Yusri yang menjadi rakan kongsi beliau dari tahun 1999 hingga 2003.

Berikut adalah kenyataan penuh yang dibaca oleh Yusri dalam satu sidang akhbar di Pulau Pinang hari ini.

Pada tahun 2002, Koperasi Pekebun Getah Pulau Pinang Berhad mencadang membeli sebidang tanah untuk meluaskan perniagaan mereka dan telah melantik Firma Guaman Saif Ariff and Rohaizat untuk menguruskan pembelian tanah tgersebut.

Yusri dan Rohaizat telah berbincang dengan lembaga pengarah koperasi tentang syarat syarat perjanjian jual beli. Setelah semua dipersetujui Yusri telah menyediakan perjanjian jual beli tanah tersebut.

Untuk tujuan pembelian ini, koperasi telah memohon pinjaman RM320,000 dari Jabatan Pembangunan Koperasi. Pinjaman tersebut telah diluluskan dan wang tersebut dideposit ke dalam akaun klien di firma guaman.

Namun atas sebab masalah komunikasi dengan penjual, yang tinggal di Acheh, jual beli tersebut telah tidak disempurnakan.

Dalam pada itu, koperasi memerlukan sejumlah wang untuk tujuan pengembangan perniagaan mereka. Yusri telah menandatangan satu cek berjumlah RM100,000 atas nama koperasi dan diberikan kepada pihak koperasi. Maka baki RM220,000 masih tersimpan di dalam akuan firma.

Sementara itu, seorang pelanggan, kenalan Rohaizat yang telah membeli sebidang tanah dengan harga RM130,000 telah memohon jasabaik firma (guaman) untuk membiayai bayaran baki RM100,000. Beliau terdahulu telah membayar RM30,000 kepada penjual.

Firma telah bersetuju untuk meminjamkan RM100,000 yang diambil dari wang koperasi kepada pelanggan (tersebut) untuk menyempurnakan jualbeli tanah tersebut dengan syarat beliau membayar balik pinjaman.

Setelah pelanggan gagal membayar balik pinjaman, Rohaizat telah berbincang dan bersetuju untuk mengambil alih milik tanah berkenaan dan melupuskan pinjaman tersebut.

Malangnya, firma gagal menjual keseluruhan tanah (tersebut) sebagai pecahan lot dan tidak dapat membayar kembali wang koperasi yang telah digunakan.

Sebahagian daripada baki dalam akaun pelanggan dan akaun syarikat telah digunakan untuk memberi pinjaman kepada salah seorang pengarah sebuah syarikat pemaju perumahan yang juga kenalan Rohaizat yang menghadapi masalah kewangan yang teruk dan juga untuk pengurusan cawangan baru firma di Ipoh.

Saya bertanggungjawab menguruskan cawangan firma di Ipoh, sementara Rohaizat menumpu sepenuhnya di firma Butterworth.

Saya tidak lagi memantau akaun-akaun pelanggan di cawangan Butterworth sehinggalah saya meninggalkan firma pada November 2003.

Merujuk kepada kenyataan yang dibuat oleh Ahmad Maslan seperti yang dilaporkan oleh Utusan Online bertarikh 19 Ogos 2009 bahawa Rohaizat tidak mempunyai apa-apa penglibatan dan tidak tahu menahu tentang perkara tersebut, saya ingin tegaskan bahawa ia adalah satu pembohongan.

Ini adalah kerana segala urusan pembelian tanah tersebut dan penggunaan wang koperasi di buat dengan pengetahuan dan penglibatan Rohaizat seperti yang dijelaskan di atas.

Mana mungkin pengaliran keluar dan masuk wang dalam sesuatu akaun syarikat tidak diketahui oleh Rohaizat yang juga penandatangan yang sah untuk akaun-akaun tersebut.

Sepatutnya Rohaizat menceritakan perkara sebenar dan tidak meletakkan tanggungjawab dan kesalahan hanya kepada rakan kongsi untuk membebaskan dirinya sendiri.

Merujuk kepada kepada kenyataan Ahmad Maslan yang mengangkat Rohaizat sebagai “wira” kerana membayar balik wang koperasi baru-baru ini, saya ingin tegaskan sesungguhnya beliau sewajarnya menyelesaikan pembayaran pada 2003 lagi ketika cawangan Ipoh telah menjana pendapatan yang agak lumayan.

Seyugia diingatkan bahawa cawangan Ipoh ditubuhkan dan diuruskan dengan sebahagiannya menggunakan wang dari akaun klien koperasi pekebun getah Pulau Pinang.

Layakkah title itu diberikan oleh Ahmad kepada Rohaizat? Saya percaya Ahmad Maslan tidak sedar akan kedudukan sebenarnya atau lebih malang lagi kalau beliau sengaja berpura-pura tidak tahu?

Wirakah Rohaizat ketika enggan, cuai, dan gagal menghadirkan diri di hadapan Majlis Peguam pada 14 September 2007 untuk memberi penjelasan ke atas satu kes besar yang beliau hadapi.

Dakwaan Ahmad Maslan bahawa Rohaizat tidak mempunyai apa-apa penglibatan atau pengetahuan mengenai transaksi jual beli tanah itu, menggambarkan Rohaizat selaku senior partner di dalam firma tersebut, tidak tahu apa-apa tentang urustadbir pejabat.

Apakah dakwaaan Ahmad Masalam ini lojik dan munasabah? Transaksi sebesar ratusan ribu yang dijalankan rakan kongsinya, didakwa tidak diketahuinya?

Tidak masuk akal langsung sebagai seorang yang berpendidikan tinggi!

Saya berharap dengan penjelasan ini, saya dapat membersihkan diri saya daripada dikambinghitamkan dalam kes kecuaian Rohaizat yang membawa kepada pembatalan pendaftaran beliau sebagai penguambela dan peguamcara.

The New Moon for Ramadan

2009-08-20T13:23:00.002+12:00

I used to follow www.moonsighting.com in the past to check the possibility of the new moon being sighted. They publish the angle of the moon from horizon and what time the moon set, as well as the time when the sun set.
But lately, the website has been down.
Well last year, www.moonsighting.com went a step further than predicting when the new moon was suppose to appear and suggest to Muslims look out for the new moon (hilal) to ascertain the start of Ramadan and Syawal. Khalid Shaukat of www.moonsighting.com announced the start of Ramadan and Syawal based on his calculations. Yes some Islamic Associations in North America followed suit.
Hmm talk about a genius being confident with his ability...even Prophet Muhammad SAW didnt do that.

But Alhamdulillah FIANZ in New Zealand still follow hilal, some people are still being sent out or voluntarily go out and look out for new moon.

here is the website:
http://73k.org/islam/globalsighting.html

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِِ

Global Moonsighting, a Modern Bid‘ah

Ironically, one Muslim website (from a certain masjid that "calls to the sunnah") quite openly stated the following on its main page before this article became public. Now it can only be found on their Yahoo Groups message list:

"As you know, Masjid ______ follows the opinion of wahdatul matale' (unification of the horizon), so if the moon is visually sighted anywhere in the world (without relying on calculations), then we break fast as numerous hadeeth on the subject expressly indicate. Our position on this has been same from day one."

First of all, what they are essentially doing is calling people to bid‘ah, because,

Nowhere will you find a single hadith that tells about one country (like Egypt) following the sighting of another country (like the Arabs of the Arabian peninsula). I challenge any shaykh to find such a hadith, because no one could travel great distances or use telephones and satellites to report such sightings until about 50 years ago, if even that early. On the contrary, we find that Muslims living much closer to one another with different sightings never bothering to follow one another:
A narration of Ibn ‘Abbas in Sahīh Muslim indicates that local moonsighting alone was the prevailing method in the time of the Blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and was a part of the teachings of the Blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) to the Sahābah. The narration goes like this:

بيان أن لكل بلد رؤيتهم وأنهم إذا رأوا الهلال ببلد
‏حدثنا ‏ ‏يحيى بن يحيى ‏ ‏ويحيى بن أيوب ‏ ‏وقتيبة ‏ ‏وابن حجر ‏ ‏قال ‏ ‏يحيى بن يحيى ‏ ‏أخبرنا ‏ ‏وقال الآخرون ‏ ‏حدثنا ‏ ‏إسمعيل وهو ابن جعفر ‏ ‏عن ‏ ‏محمد وهو ابن أبي حرملة ‏ ‏عن ‏ ‏كريب ‏ ‏أن ‏ ‏أم الفضل بنت الحارث ‏ ‏بعثته إلى ‏ ‏معاوية ‏ ‏بالشام ‏ ‏قال فقدمت ‏ ‏الشام ‏ ‏فقضيت حاجتها ‏ ‏واستهل ‏ ‏علي رمضان وأنا ‏ ‏بالشام ‏ ‏فرأيت الهلال ليلة الجمعة ثم قدمت ‏ ‏المدينة ‏ ‏في آخر الشهر فسألني ‏ ‏عبد الله بن عباس ‏ ‏رضي الله عنهما ‏ ‏ثم ذكر الهلال فقال متى رأيتم الهلال فقلت رأيناه ليلة الجمعة فقال أنت رأيته فقلت نعم ورآه الناس وصاموا وصام ‏ ‏معاوية ‏ ‏فقال لكنا رأيناه ليلة السبت فلا نزال نصوم حتى نكمل ثلاثين أو ‏ ‏نراه فقلت ‏ ‏أو لا ‏ ‏تكتفي برؤية ‏ ‏معاوية ‏ ‏وصيامه فقال ‏ ‏لا ‏ ‏هكذا أمرنا رسول الله ‏ ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏وشك ‏ ‏يحيى بن يحيى ‏ ‏في ‏ ‏نكتفي أو ‏ ‏تكتفي

Sahīh Muslim Book 6
Chapter 5: THERE IS A SIGHTING OF THE MOON FOR EVERY TOWN
THE SIGHTING AT ONE TOWN CANNOT BE HELD VALID FOR THE
OTHER TOWN SITUATED AT A CONSIDERABLE DISTANCE FROM IT

Kurayb narrates that Umm al-Fadl sent him to Mu‘āwiyah in Sham for something.
Kurayb says, "I went to Sham and finished the job. I was in Sham when the month
of Ramadān began and we saw the moon the night of Friday. When I reached
Madinah at the end of the blessed month, Ibn ‘Abbas asked me about Sham.
(After answering him) He then asked me when we saw the moon.
I said, 'We saw the moon the night of Jumu‘ah.'
He asked, 'Did you see it as well?'
I said, 'Yes, I saw it too and many others saw it and we all kept fasting and so did
Mu‘āwiyah (that is according to that moonsighting).'
Ibn ‘Abbas said, 'But we saw the moon on Saturday night, therefore, we will keep
fasting for thirty days according to that unless we sight the moon on the 29th.'
I asked, 'You don’t think the moonsighting of Mu‘āwiyah and his fasting is enough
for you?'
Ibn ‘Abbas replied, 'No, this is how the Blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) taught us.'"
(Muslim H.1819, Tirmiðī H.629, Nasa'i H.2084, Abū-Dāwūd H.1985, Musnad Ahmad H.2653 Dar-qutni H.2234)

This hadith is clear evidence. When Ibn ‘Abbas was informed by the person who himself sighted the moon that the people of Sham had begun Ramadān one day before, he responded that it was not only his opinion, but also the teachings of the Blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that the moonsighting of another locality was not compulsory upon them.

Shaykh ‘Uthaymīn has issued a very clear fatwa to Muslims in the Americas and other lands outside the Arabian Peninsula with no ambiguity whatsoever regarding this matter:
It is well known amongst astronomers that the time the moon rises differs from place to place. The moon might be seen in one place and not in another. Therefore, according to the verse, whoever does not see it is not obliged to fast. . . . If, therefore, each place has its own ruling due to the variation in the time that the sun rises and sets, the same also applies due to the variation in the time that the moon rises and sets. . . .
Therefore, the answer to the question is clear. It is obligatory for you to follow the sighting of the new moon in the place where you are. Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymīn
al-Aqalliyāt al-Muslimah - Page 84, Fatwa No.23

In the system of "global sighting" (wahdat-ul-matale') one is de facto not following any moon sighting at all, rather one is following calculations instead! You see, Saudi Arabia is always the first to announce the beginning of any new month because they follow either their calculated Umm-ul-Qura calendar, (which is generated by mathematical calculations of the New Moon, a phase that precedes the actual hilāl!), the Jewish Calendar, or sometimes the Kuwaiti Algorithm implemented by the Microsoft Windows operating system. Here is the evidence: Is Saudi Arabia following the Sunnah, the Jews, or Microsoft?

According to the Islamic Crescents' Observation Project (ICOP), "Most people think that Saudi Arabia always adopts the actual sighting of the crescent as the basis to start Islamic months. But during the previous years, it was very clear to the public as well as to astronomers that most of the Saudi months were wrong if the actual sighting is the basis for starting the Islamic month. Fortunately, the Jordanian Astronomical Society (JAS) received a telegram from The Highest Religious Council "Majlis al-Ifta' al-A‘ala" in Saudi Arabia confirming that Saudi Arabia adopts the astronomical calculations and totally ignores the actual sighting. Below is a literal translation of this telegram." (see ICOP - The Actual Saudi Dating System)

One experienced moon sighter, Salman Zafar Shaikh, writes, "In the case of ‘Īd-ul-Fitr 1420 AH, I myself went with the Makkah committee to a sighting point on a hilltop of Shamesi outside the city of Makkah Mukarramah on Thursday evening. Neither I, nor the other 5 committee members sighted the Hilāl. But we came back to the Harām Sharīf and were astounded to hear the announcement that ‘Īd-ul-Fitr was next day (Friday). In fact moonset was before sunset in Makkah for Thursday evening. In this case the error was quite brazen" (see Hilāl Sighting in Saudi Arabia: A First Hand Report). Brother Salman goes on to explain, ". . . apparently it is the same few [Saudi] people at certain locations, reporting on those occasions when the claims are extraordinarily early in Saudi Arabia, year after year. WAllāhu A‘alam!"

If you look at 15 years of the Umm-ul-Qura calendar one will be surprised to see that only 20.6% of the dates correspond with possible naked eye sightings of the hilāl under good weather conditions:

Color Code	Visibility possibility under good weather conditions	How many times this condition is met in 180 months	Percentage of times this condition is met in 180 months
Green	Visible with the naked eye	37/180	20.6%
Yellow	Visible with optical aid	31/180	17.2%
Brown	Not visible at all	110/180	61.1%
Pink	Month begins before new moon	2/180	1.1%

Shaykh Qaradāwī has given a fatwa on what to do in case one has gotten caught up in this mess of Saudi using calculations instead of calling the new month by actual sighting, as was the case on January 07, 2000 which they claimed was ‘Īd-ul-Fitr 1420 AH, but was actually only the 30th of Ramadān.

On December 31, 2005, the sun should set (drop completely below the Makkan horizon) at 17:49 local Saudi time with the moon already dipping below the horizon 5˚ to its left at 18:03, insha'Allāh. At 18:08 (only 19 minutes after sunset) the moon too will be compelely below the Makkan horizon, insha'Allāh, making it totally impossible to see any hilāl. All experienced moon sighting observers know that with only 0.5% phase and less than 8 degrees of separation between it and the sun, no hilāl can be sighted under such poor conditions. But just wait and see, Saudi Arabia will officially announce that they "sighted the hilāl" like they always claim, so that it matches their calendar, making January 1, 2006 the 1st of Ðūl Hijjah, and thus, ‘Īd-ul-Adhā will fall on January 10, 2006, unless of course, the Saudi regime repents from following calculations and goes back to the sunnah of actually sighting the hilāl.

Update: Saudi Arabia came through again and delivered as expected, announcing that Ðūl Hijjah 1426 started on January 1, 2006, just as predicted by their pre-calculated calendar.

If Saudi Arabia really did see the hilāl on Oct. 03, 2005 around 18:08 local Saudi time, with only 2 minutes between sunset and moonset for sighting it, why could it not be seen with much better visibility chances further to the West? Consider how the moon moves around the earth in its orbit while looking at this sky charts in which the horizonal line just above the sun represents the horizon, i.e. everything below that horizontal line in the middle has already set (gone down below the horizon) and cannot be seen, even with a radio telescope from that location.

Sky Charts at sunset on Monday, October 3, 2005:

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (the moon actually set before the sun!)
Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Madinah, Saudi Arabia
Marrakech, Morocco
Los Angeles, California, USA
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, USA

Allāh says in His book: الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَانٍ which has been translated by Khan in the Noble Qur'ān (the English translation preferred by those who support "global" sighting) as: "The sun and the moon run on their fixed courses (exactly) calculated with measured out stages for each (for reckoning, etc.)." (Sūrat-ur-Raĥmān 55:5)

Since the scientists have measured the synodic period of the moon to be 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2.8 seconds, i.e. the length of time it takes for us to observe a complete orbit of the moon from earth, if the Saudis report having seen a crescent moon on Monday, October 3, 2005 around 18:08 local Saudi time, that means an observer like myself with excellent viewing conditions should see and even bigger crescent 30 days, 7 hours, and 32 minutes later, espcially given the quality Nikon 7x50 binoculars and a 35mm SLR camera equipped with 300mm telephoto lens using FujiFilm:

[01] [02] [03] [04] [05]
[06] [07] [08] [09] [10]
[11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
[16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
[21] [22] [23] [24] [25]
[26] [27] [28] [29] [30]
[31] [32] [33] [34] [35]
[36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

Even in the case of ‘Īd-ul-Adhā, there is no evidence from the Qur'an or sunnah that the Messenger of Allāh (صلى الله عليه وسلم) or any of the Sahābah ever tried to establish a so-called "Wahdatul Matale' (unification of the horizon)":

"If, as we are told by those postulating the 'Day after Arafat' position, that ‘Īd-ul-Adhā is dependent on the Hajj date, then why did the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) make no effort to ascertain the Hajj dates in Makkah for his ‘Īd celebration in Madinah? After the conquest of Makkah in the seventh year of the Hijra there would have been no problem in finding out when the Hajj was going to be since there would be ten days for a rider to travel to surrounding areas with the glorious news. The Messenger of Allāh (صلى الله عليه وسلم) made no attempt to know, or to inform the Muslims in the areas around Madinah about when the Hajj was in Makkah. Every Muslim community prayed according to its own sighting of the crescent of Ðūl Hijjah. Accordingly, all the scholars of Islām are unanimous that ‘Īd-ul-Adhā is on the 10th of Ðūl Hijjah which is determined by the sighting in each locality, and NOT ON THE 10th OF ÐŪL HIJJAH IN MAKKAH. It is a bid‘ah to try to impose a Vatican-like dogma on the Muslim ummah, although the propagators would tell you that they are simply following a 'universal horizon.' Don't be fooled. In Ramadān of 1999 it was claimed that the moon was seen in Yemen and Libya, and the Muslims of those countries began fasting on December 8, 1999. Those who claim to accept any sighting anywhere in the world conveniently ignored those Muslims, opting for the 'universal sighting' of their choice. The Companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) opposed every attempt to impose the moon sighting in one town over the others, even in close proximity, when it was not seen on a clear horizon, or when the horizon was cloudy on the 29 day of the Islamic month." (The Community News, a newsletter published by TARIC, vol. 107, March 8, 2000.)
To call people to follow a "global sighting" is to defy the laws of Allāh. Just as He has ordained for us to pray five times a day at times according to the position of the sun relative to our own horizon where we happen to be at that time, so has He ordained for us to look for the hilāl and sight it where we happen to be living or staying during that time of the month. To say there is one universal horizon, or a "unity" of the horizon is absolutely absurd. It would be the same as arguing that we should follow the prayer timings of Masjid Al-Ĥarām for the sake of unity. To call people to pray in perfect global synchronization with Makkah would be a profound bid‘ah, just as it is to call people to the falsehood of "one horizon," would be to ignore that the planet earth is round, and imitate the ignorant Christians of earlier centuries who fought science tooth and nail, maintaining that the earth was flat.

There are inifinite horizons since the earth is round and covered with many visible obstructions of a clear horizon. If you don't believe it, try to go outside and watch the sun set just before Maghrib. Chances are, you'll need to drive outside of the city to avoid having tall buildings obstruct your view, or you'll have to move a few meters to the left or right of that tree that's blocking your view.

You see, just moving a few meters has changed your view of the horizon, so let's examine the situation of the sun and the moon. At any given time, the sun is hidden to half of the planet earth, while the other half can see it, and thus has daylight. As the earth turns on its axis, Maghrib is constantly happening for a thin band along the surface of the earth where late afternoon is turning to night. Likewise, on the other side of the planet, the first light of dawn is rapidly moving along a narrow band of the earth's surface towards the West. So, Fajr is constantly happening somewhere in the world, 24 by 7, never stopping. Even though we may be eating our dinner, for someone, somewhere, it's their Fajr time.

The moon, just like the sun, is never visible to more than 50% of the earth's surface at any time, day or night. What the proponents of "wahdat-ul-matale" have never seemed to grasp is a simple truth, a decree of Almighty Allāh, that the moon moves ever so slowly apparently from West to East, i.e. it is slowing moving in the same direction that the earth is spinning! If these people who call to the bid‘ah of global sighting would take the time to reflect on this simple fact, they might understand this all-important second fact:

"North America lags the rest of the world in time (they are 10 hours behind South Africa), quite often they will see the new moon before the rest of the world, and thus start the new month ahead of the rest of the world. This is a consequence of the fact that the sun sets last over the American continent, giving the new moon more time to age and become visible."
Jamiatul Ulama (KZN) - Hilaal Committee

So, this is why global sighting is wrong, why it was never implemented by anyone until less than 50 years ago: Allāh has made it impossible to implement!

Proof: If a new moon (not a hilāl, but an "invisible" moon) has been born and only develops into a mature visible hilāl by 20 minutes after sunset in Honolulu, Hawaii, which would mark the beginning of Ramadān for them, what are the Saudis, Kuwaitis, and Bahrainis going to do about their fasting? It's 18:30 at night in Honolulu and by the time they got to a phone and called anyone in Saudia it was 19:00, that's 07:00 in the morning, the next day in Saudi Arabia. Too late to get on Saudi TV 1 to announce the beginning of Ramadān. Oops! They also missed out on the first night of praying tarawīĥ! For Manila in the Philippines and many places in Australia, their Muslims will have no chance whatsoever of starting Ramadān on time since it is already 12:30 in the afternoon (or later in some Australian time zones) the NEXT DAY! How can someone say that Allāh (سبحانه وتعالى) would prefer this type of unfairness to be imposed on His slaves just west of the International Dateline?

From this proof, we see their is no ĥikmah whatsoever in the so-called "global" moonsighting (wahdat-ul-matale'). Please note that this proof is completely devoid of "calculations" or the use of star charts. This is just plain common sense that shows how ridiculous "global" sighting really is. With local sighting, Muslims are not following any ethinic group, tribe, political affiliation, or regime/government. No one feels slighted. No nation/state is preferred over another. That's the Islamic way: the fair way, the just way, the way that Allāh (سبحانه وتعالى) commands us to follow, and the way His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) taught Ibn ‘Abbas (remember the Kurayb Hadith?).
Any so-called fatwa from any of the four great Imāms supporting "global" moonsighting (wahdat-ul-matale') can never be applied to this current bid‘ah simply because none of them lived during a time when travel across thousands of kilometers could be achieved in the same day, nor could they speak with someone sitting on the other side of the planet over a telephone to inquire about hilāl sightings.

Any fatwa from any of the four great Imāms would at best be considered a "local," "regional," or if one wished to stretch it very far, a "national" sighting. From an astronomical point of view, the differences between positions and phases of the moon for positions on the earth that could be reached by a fast horse in less than a day are for all practical purposes, exactly the same. Please review the following star charts for Makkah and Madinah:

Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Madinah, Saudi Arabia

In conclusion, there is no evidence from the Qur'ān or the sunnah, supporting a so-called "global" moonsighting (wahdat-ul-matale') that relies on sighting attempts from observation points spanning thousands of kilometers around the globe. Until 50 years ago, it was technologically, logistically, and financially impossible to implement. Regarding the fasting of Ramadān, a proof was given in point number 4 that is not even possible to implement this so-called "global" moonsighting (wahdat-ul-matale') according to the sharī‘ah.

Appendix

Shaykh M. Ibrahim Memon quite eloquently states, "During the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), moon sighting was always conducted locally and the people of Makkah and Madinah maintained their own [separate] Islamic calendars. One of the proofs for this can be found by carefully analyzing the sīrah.

"When Rasūlullāh (صلى الله عليه وسلم) performed his one and only Hajj, the 9th of Ðūl Hijjah was a Friday. He passed away three months later in Madinah on Monday, the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal. These historical facts are established through hadith. However, when one tries to reconstruct the Islamic calendar given those days, the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal does not fall on a Monday, any which way you try.

Based on the local Makkan moon sighting, if every month was 29 days, 12th of Rabi al-Awwal would fall on Thursday.

Based on the local Makkan moon sighting, if every month was 30 days, 12th of Rabi al-Awwal would fall on Sunday.

Concerning local sighting Shaykh M. Ibrahim Memon states, "not only is this way easy, but it is actually a of the tradition of the Blessed Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and of the people after him throughout the history of Islam."

Additional Resources

Starting Date of Hijri Months: Is Saudi Arabia following the Sunnah, the Jews, or Microsoft?

Report of Six Official Saudi Hilāl Sighting Committees
"Majlis Al Qadah Alala started Ramadān, Shawwal, and Ðūl Hijjah 1426 AH utilizing the calculated dates of the Umm-ul-Qura civil calendar which corresponds exactly to the first starting day for the months of the Calculated Rabbinical Calendar of Israel namely Tishrei (4th October/1st day of Ramadān in Saudi Arabia), Cheshvan (3rd November/1st day of Shawwal-‘Īd-ul-Fitr in Saudi Arabia) and Tevet (1st January/1st day of Ðūl Hijjah in Saudi Arabia), respectively. Many of our Islamic Scholars who know the truth continue to be silent."
It seems the report forgot to mention that the calculated "Saudi" 1 Ðūl Qa‘idah 1426 for December 2, 2005 is also exactly the same as the 1st of Kislev 5766. Looks like a good starting point for some Interfaith Dialogue between the Saudi Royal family and the Likud Party of Israel!

Saudi ‘Alim Asks Muslims in North America not to pray ‘Īd on Day after ‘Arafah

U.S. Naval Observatory: Crescent Moon Visibility and the Islamic Calendar: "The record for an early sighting of a lunar crescent, with a telescope, is 12.1 hours after New Moon; for naked-eye sightings, the record is 15.5 hours from New Moon. These are exceptional observations and crescent sightings this early in the lunar month should not be expected as the norm. For Islamic calendar purposes, the sighting must be made with the unaided eye.

"If we ignore local conditions for the moment, and visualize the problem from outside the Earth's atmosphere, the size and brightness of the lunar crescent depend on only one astronomical quantity - the elongation of the Moon from the Sun, which is the apparent angular distance between their centers. For this reason the elongation has also been called the arc of light. If we know the value of the elongation at any instant, we can immediately compute the width of the crescent.

"This large range of possible elongations in the one-day-old Moon is critical, because at this time the width of the crescent is increasing with the square of the elongation, and the surface brightness of the crescent is also rapidly increasing. Some of the earliest reliable sightings of the crescent occur near elongations of around 10 degrees. Obviously, simply specifying the age of the Moon cannot tell the whole story. Of course, the elongation of the Moon does not tell the full story, either. But, of the two parameters, the elongation is a much more reliable parameter to use as a starting point in assessing the lunar crescent visibility at any given date and time.

Sacred Astronomy (‘ilm at-tawqit)

Moon Sighting Fundamentals by Youssef Ismail

Moon Sighting - an audio lecture by Hamza Yusuf

Causes and implications of the Saudi confusion about the dates for Hajj and ‘Īd
"The Saudi regime also manipulated the start and end of last Ramadān, as they had done many previous ones. While the overwhelming majority of Muslims worldwide celebrated ‘Īd-ul-Fitr on Saturday, January 8, the Saudis had announced the sighting of a non-existent moon on Thursday January 6 to 'celebrate' ‘Īd-ul-Fitr on Friday, January 7.

"One Saudi newspaper, Arab News at least had the decency to admit later (February 11) that the January 7 celebration was based on false information. The regime, however, kept mum. The Arab News story followed the discovery that there was a partial eclipse of the sun on February 5 which lasted until after sunset, thus making any sighting of the moon impossible even had the moon been there to be sighted. According to this analysis, the month of Shawwal, according to the Saudi calculation, ended up having 31 days, an impossibility from the Islamic point of view (lunar months can only be of 29 or 30 days).

"This regular confusion is despite changes made to the Saudis' calendar arrangements following criticism from around the world of their arbitrary practices. The Saudi regime has now set up Hilal (crescent) sighting committees in six cities: Makkah, Riyadh, Qassim, Hail, Tabuk and Asir. The committees comprise religious scholars, quddah (plural of qadi), astronomers, scientists and other qualified people, as well as volunteers. Yet the regime does not follow the information provided by these committees, instead apparently relying on sighting claims by laymen without applying any standard for verifying the information. Neither the Shawwal (‘Īd-ul-Fitr) moon nor the Ðūl Hijjah moon was sighted by the experts in the committees on the dates on which they announced their sightings. These committees have been appointed but they are virtually powerless.

Moon Sighting Announcements in Saudi Arabia Valid?
"Further, if the argument of the [former ISNA] article is accepted and it is held that the real intention of Qur'ān and Sunnah was to link the celebration of ‘Īd-ul-Adhā with the Saudi dates, as a mandatory provision for all Muslims in the world, it means that the sharī‘ah has stressed a principle which was not acceptable for 1300 years. It is not against the Quranic declaration that Allah does not make a thing mandatory unless it is practical for the human beings.

"If the authors [of the former ISNA article] argue that the celebration of ‘Īd-ul-Adhā was not linked with the dates in Makkah in the past but it has become a mandatory requirement of the sharī‘ah now, then the question arises, who has abrogated the previous principle and on what basis? There is no provision in Qur'ān or the Sunnah which orders the Muslims to celebrate ‘Īd-ul-Adhā according to their local dates up to a particular time and to link it with the dates in Makkah thereafter. Whoever considers this and similar questions arising out of this unprecedented theory advanced in the article can appreciate its fallacy.
(Source: Ask the Imam Online. Mufti Ebrahim Desai)

Moonsighting (Hilāl) in Saudi Arabia and its implications worldwide
"In view of the present discrepancies in moon sighting, the view that Ikhtilāf-e-Matālih is considered may be adopted and each country should make their own independent decisions. It is incorrect for the Muslims in North America (especially the Arab brethren) to follow Saudia Arabia's ruling on ‘Īd-ul-Fitr and ‘Īd-ul-Adhā due to the moonsighting being inconsistent with sharī‘ah laws of sighting the moon."
(Source: Ask the Imam Online. Mufti Ebrahim Desai)

Which Hilāl (Islamic Crescent) to Follow?
"Synchronizing ‘Īd-ul-Adhā worldwide with hilāl sighting in Saudi Arabia is not appropriate because it is neither ikhtilāf-ul-Matāle (multiple horizons/local sighting), nor wahdat-ul-matāle (single horizon - follow first report of hilāl - no matter from which country). . . . According to the Shaykh ibn ‘Uthaymīn (r.a) fatwa, and other scholars, Ðūl Hijjah determination is no different from other 11 months and should be by local sighting (ikhtilāf-ul-matāle). . . . Using sighting in Saudi Arabia for here [in North America] can force us to ignore our earlier local hilāl sighting. (The world is round - for certain years, e.g. North America should see hilāl one date before the Middle-East)."

Dark Side of the Moon

Wikipedia article on the Islamic Calendar "Nevertheless, the religious authorities of Saudi Arabia also allow the testimony of less experienced observers and thus often announces the sighting of the lunar crescent on a date when none of the official committees could see the lunar crescent."

Microsoft: Adjusting Hijri date in Outlook 2003 according to Um-AlQura algorithm

WebExhibits: The Islamic calendar
"Saudi Arabia doesn't rely on a visual sighting of the crescent moon to fix the start of a new month. Instead they base their calendar on a calculated astronomical moon."

A sample moon sighting

Friday evening, 02 December 2005: first hilāl of Ðūl Qa‘idah 1426
Cloudless weather conditions
Sunset was at 17:15 EST.
Sighted with Nikon OceanPro 7x50 7.2° CF WP compass binoculars at 17:28 EST.
Sighted with a 300mm telephoto lens at 17:34 EST.
Sighted with naked eye at 17:39 EST. Can you see it? It's already 31 hours and 38 minutes after the new moon. Pretty old for a first day hilāl. Remember the record sighting listed above of 15.5 hours by the U.S. Naval Observatory? There is nothing record breaking about his sighting, yet without knowing exactly where to look, a novice probably would not have been able to spot it.

Keep in mind that this hilāl, barely visible with the naked eye, boasts a 2.7% phase (percentage of surface visible) and is 17° away from the sun.

The so-called "sighting" reported by Saudi officials on Oct. 03, 2005 marking the premature beginning of Ramadān 1426 had a phase of 0.00% and was only 1.63° away from the sun. The moon was already partially below the horizon after the sun completely set! This so-called "sighting" happened only 4 hours and 40 minutes after the new moon! Remember the all-time record of 15.5 hours by the U.S. Naval Observatory? A hilāl sighted only 4 hours and 40 minutes after the new moon? I don't think so!

In the photos above, the moon was stayed in the sky almost 48 minutes after the sun went down completely, yet one had to wait 13 minutes before the sky was dark enough for the hilāl to be visible, and 24 minutes after sunset for one to be able to spot it with the naked eye, although the exact position with binoculars had been established 11 minutes before! Now tell us how the Saudis could see any hilāl with only 2 minutes of viewing after sunset and a visible lunar surface area of 0.00%.

Claude Monet - Water Lily Pond

2009-08-20T09:26:00.004+12:00

Claude Monet - Water Lily Pond.

bought this at salvation army shop yesterday. cost $15.
size 30"x40". oil on canvas.

Real? Nah. Not even signed. the canvas is newish. probably less than a year old.

compare the those two on top...

95% of all new cases of flu will be H1N1 Swine Flu

2009-08-17T18:43:00.003+12:00

here is new email thats going around at the moment..

To All - some useful information that will help us understand H1N1 better .
----- Forwarded by Prof Dr Hazadiah Mohd Dahan/FPEND17/ UiTM on 12/08/2009 13:25 -----

"Dato' Dr. Mohamed Mahyuddin Mohd Dahan"

10/08/2009 12:02

To	Myra Mahyuddin , Kamal Fariz , aniza mahyuddin , phazadiah@salam. uitm.edu. my, Zaleha Jaafar , Zakiah Jaafar
cc
Subject	Fwd: Fwd: USEFUL INFORMATION ON H1NI FLU - From the President, Medical Medical Association

David KL Quek | Aug 7, 09 11:16am

1) Can we distinguish between regular and H1N1 flu, without a lab test?
MCPX

No, the flu is the flu, but there are variations in presentation. Some symptoms such as cough, runny nose, fever, body aches, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhoea occur more or less in every flu patient, but may present differently by different people. Some infected people have very mild symptoms, some in between, and a small minority, probably less than 10%, have severe features including the dangerous pneumonia.

However, from sentinel testing and surveillance by the Ministry of Health the last few weeks have shown that almost 95% of all flu-like illness are now caused by the H1N1 virus. Earlier some months ago, seasonal flu variants caused by the B and other A virus were the main causes, the bug causing most flu these few days is the A(H1N1). This appears to be the case also in neighbouring countries, meaning that the new virus is causing more havoc and symptomatic illness than previous types of flu (which are still in the community).

Because almost every flu-like illness (influenza-like illness or ILI) is due to H1N1, the MOH is now recommending that no testing to confirm this H1N1 will now be offered.

Treat as if this is H1N1 for ILI—symptom relief for mild symptoms (paracetamol, hydration, cough medicines, etc) and self-quarantine, social distancing, be alert for complications.

Most (~70%) do not need any anti-viral medications such as Tamiflu or Relenza. Only severe cases need to be referred to hospital for further treatment.

2) How should doctors decide if a person be given further specific treatment for H1N1?

If after 2-3 days, fever and cough symptoms do not improve, a recheck with the doctor is recommended, especially if there are features of difficulty breathing, severe weakness and giddiness, or, if the following risk factors are present:

· obesity (fatter patients seem to have poorer outcome and more complications)
· those with underlying diabetes, heart disease
· those with asthma, or chronic lung disease
· pregnant women
· those with reduced immunity, cancer patients, etc
· those with obvious pneumonia features
3) Many anxious people with flu-like symptoms want to be tested or treated for suspected H1N1, but are kept waiting or sent home, without being tested. Is this practice right?

There is no right or wrong practice as this outbreak is extensive and is stretching our resources to the limit. This is also the case not just here in Malaysia, but also elsewhere around the entire world!

The recommendation is now not to spend too much time and effort trying to get tested at designated hospitals or clinics—there is probably no need to do so. I have been informed that as many as 1,000 patients queue anxiously at Sg Buloh hospital for testing, due to fear of the H1N1 flu.

So the message must be made clear: Most flu illness do not require confirmatory testing, and are mild and self-limiting. More than 90 percent will get better on their own, with symptomatic treatment—just watch out for possible complications, and risk factors as mentioned above.

Our resources are limited especially for testing. This is not just for Malaysia, but globally as well. The global demand for test kits and reagents for the H1N1 (PCR) is overextended and are rationed due to this extreme demand.

Some 200 million test kits have been deployed worldwide, but this supply is critically short because of excessive demand, so most countries have to ration testing to confirm only the worst cases, so as to monitor the pandemic better.

4) Are doctors confused as to what to do in this outbreak, especially when they do not have ready access to confirmatory lab tests?

Not really. Earlier on there was some confusion as to what to do next and who to test or who to refer for further testing and admission. Now the rules are clearer.
There is no need to do any testing to confirm the H1N1 virus for any ILI—just assume that this is the case in the majority of cases. Treat symptomatically when symptoms are mild, reassure the patients and ensure that these infected patients practice good personal hygiene, impose self-quarantine and social distancing, wear masks if their coughing or sneezing become troublesome, and keep a watchful eye on whether the infection is getting better or worse.

If there is difficulty breathing and gross weakness, then patients should quickly present themselves for admission. Understandably this phase of worsening is not always clear or easily understood by everyone... But there is not much more that we can do—otherwise we will be admitting too many patients and this will totally overwhelm our health services.

But prudent caution would help to determine which seriously ill patients need more attention and more intensive care. Unfortunately however, there will be that odd patient who will progress unusually quickly and collapse even before anything can be planned - hopefully these will be few and far between.

A more important note, is that all doctors and nursing personnel should be very aware that they too have to take precautions, and employ barrier contact practices, if there are patients with cough and cold during this period of H1N1 outbreak, which is expected to last a year or two. Carelessness can result in the physician or nurse or nurse-aide becoming infected!

5) Are there sufficient guidelines from the Ministry of Health to address this situation?

I think there are sufficient guidelines from the MOH. Although some politicians have blamed the MOH and the minister for being inept at handling this pandemic - in truth this is not the case.

It is useful to remember that this is an entirely new or novel virus, which no one previously had encountered before - thus its infectivity and contagiousness is quite high and almost no one is immune to this virus.

Perhaps, there will come a time when all the resources from both public and private sectors can be put to more efficient use. Some logistic problems will invariably occur, because human beings differ in their capacity to understand or follow directives, whatever the source or authority.

Also patient demands have been extraordinarily high and at times very difficult to meet - every patient necessarily feels that his flu is potentially the worst possible type and therefore requires the most stringent measures and testing.

Doctors are also unsure as to the seriousness or severity of this new ailment - and we are only now beginning to understand this better - so our less than reassuring style when encountering this new H1N1 flu is sometimes detected by an equally anxious patient and/or their relatives.

But there is only so much that we can do under such a pressure cooker of an outbreak which is spreading like wildfire! But nevertheless we should not panic, and remember that most >90% of infected people will recover with very little after effects. Possibly only one in 10 patients develop more serious problems which necessitate hospitalisation.

6) Is limiting H1N1 testing only to those who have been admitted to hospital justifiable?

I have explained the worldwide shortage of such testing kits and reagents. Also it is near impossible to test everyone, the world over. Besides, knowing now that almost all the flu-like illness in the country is due to H1N1 makes it a moot point to want to test for this, especially when most are mild.

The rationale for testing only those who need hospitalisation is to ensure that we are dealing with the true virus, and also help to isolate possible changes or mutations to this viral strain. The MOH is also constantly doing sentinel surveillance (random spot-testing at various sites around the country to determine more accurately the various virus types and spread that are causing ILI)

7) Are we short of anti-virul drugs (Tamiflu, Relenza)? Should I take Tamiflu?

These antiviral drugs were available to most doctors during the earlier scare of the bird flu virus, but now are severely restricted, although some orders are still entertained from individual doctors, clinics or hospitals. Remember that these have been block-booked by more than 167 countries who have been shown to have been penetrated by the H1N1 flu bug.

Our MOH has actually stockpiled some 2 million doses of the Tamiflu or its generic form. In the last inter-ministerial Pandemic Influenza task force meeting, this stockpile will be bumped up to 5.5 million doses to cover some possible 20% of the population.

Right now there is no shortage in the country. It is just that it is not readily available on demand for anyone just yet. The MOH is still of the opinion that this antiviral drug be used prudently and would like to register every patient given this drug.

The private sector on the other hand would like to have a looser control over the use of this drug—but we acknowledge that we should be meticulously prudent in its use. There is a genuine fear that resistant strains to this drug may develop with indiscriminate and unnecessary use—then we will all be in trouble with a drug-resistant H1N1 virus run amok!

Drug-resistant strains have been detected in Mexico, border-towns in USA, Vietnam, UK, Australia even. So we have to be vigilant and closely monitor the situation. Right now, the very limited usage of Tamiflu gives us good reason to be optimistic.

However, because of some unusual patterns of seemingly well people dying or having very critical infections, some people and doctors are wondering if these new strains have already reached our shores... or have we been too late in instituting proper treatment... ?

The rising number of deaths to 14 now, is quite worrisome, but our health authorities are watching this development very closely and are also checking the virus strain to see if this has mutated. We can only hope that this is not the case, for now.

8) What are some of the problems faced by doctors in dealing with the H1N1 problem?

It would be good if every medical practitioner keeps a close tab on the H1N1 pandemic, and remain fully aware of the developments and changes, which are evolving daily. Every doctor has to be learning on the trot, so to speak, to keep up with the progress of this outbreak and its management, so that we can serve our patients better.

Logging-in to the internet regularly, for more updated information will certainly help, instead of lamenting that not enough is being disseminated via the media thus far... Every doctor has to be more proactive and practice more responsible and cautious medicine during this trying period which is expected to run into at least one to two years. Importantly look out for lung complications, and the above stated higher risk profiles, and refer these patients quickly for further care.

Easier access to antiviral drugs and their responsible use and monitoring would help allay public fears of delay in treatment, but this should be tempered with care and not over-exuberance to dish out to one and all, the precious antiviral drug, just for prevention—this may be a very bad move which can inadvertently create a worse outcome of drug-resistant bugs.

However, in the light of the very quick deterioration of some young patients who have died, it might be prudent to use antiviral treatment earlier and more aggressively.

We look forward to the specific H1N1 vaccine, when it does come our way, probably towards the end of the year. In the meantime, encouraging those in the front-line, heart or lung patients and frequent travellers to have the seasonal flu vaccination is a useful adjunct to help stem the usual problems from other flu types.

9) Are we doing everything that should or needs to be done?

Yes, if you check what other nations are doing, we are doing relatively well. We are not overstating the dangers and we have been quite transparent on the possibilities of this pandemic. Earlier, many agencies and even the public and doctors have accused us of exaggerating the pandemic, and our response was dismissed as being too much, even over the top! Unfortunately, it was only when some deaths occur that many are now decrying that we have done too little!

Also if you are quite honest about it, just compare with the countries globally, and you will notice that no one health or government authority has got this right, spot on.

We are all learning about this novel flu pandemic, and each country's response is coloured by its past experiences. In Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia we have had the SARS outbreak, so we are necessarily more paranoid! Also here the experience is that flu does not usually cause death in our community, unlike the west where seasonal flu kills some hundreds of thousands every year!

So the fear factor for this H1N1 flu is not nearly as great in the west, although it is slowly sinking in that its contagiousness and infectivity is far greater, and fears of its reassortment to a more virulent mutant form is growing, into the so-called second and/or third wave of this pandemic, but we will not know until a year or so down the line.
10) Is the public in general doing enough to help in controlling the outbreak?

I think the public is now reasonably well-informed as to this H1N1 pandemic. Perhaps, they are too well-informed, that they have a fearful approach to this virus. But the proper thing is not too over-react and to panic, although I know this does sound easier said than done.

It is almost a certainty that this flu will spread within the community—in schools, universities, academies, factories, work places, offices, etc. WHO has projected that possibly some 20 to 30% of the population worldwide will become infected by this novel flu bug, after studying various models of spread of past infections—the huge and very rapid spread worldwide is mainly due to air-travel. While older flu pandemics took 6 months to extend to so many countries, this H1N1 flu did so in less than 6 weeks!

In the worst case scenarios of course, this outbreak will be alarming—hospitalisations may be required for 100,000 up to 500,000 Malaysians, with perhaps as many as 5000 to 27000 infected patients (depending on the case fatality rate or either 0.1 to 0.5%) succumbing to this illness.

But because we have been monitoring closely and containing the outbreak thus far, with heightened awareness and greater social responsibility, it is possible to ameliorate the infectivity, spread and fatality that will unfortunately accompany this pandemic... Just how successful we will be in limiting these adverse outcomes remains to be seen, but we can be hopeful.

How can the public help? First learn and acquire good personal hygiene. If sick, please be responsible and stay at home, even in your own room where possible, wear a face mask (a cheap 3-ply surgical mask will do, because large droplet spread is the main danger).

Do not go out, practice what is now known as social distancing (about 3 metres from anyone), and be socially responsible, don't go to public places and infect others - for young people this would be hard, but absolutely necessary - the spread is most rampant in this age group between 16 to 25 years.

When the illness does not go away after a few days or when you are deteriorating, get to the nearest hospital. Most importantly, be very aware and responsible!

Finally, keep abreast of all new developments, because these are evolving all the time. With keen awareness, prudent care, early detection and social responsibility, correct and prompt use of antiviral and other support medical care, and later mass specific vaccination, we can overcome this novel H1N1 flu! But it will take time, patience, public cooperation, much concerted effort and consume great resources.

DAVID KL QUEK is president of the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).

H1N1 Swine Flu: We should declare Curfew. NOW

2009-08-15T22:28:00.002+12:00

What this TPM saying that declaring and area as "hot spot" as not practical?

is it becoz " beri kesan negatif apanyer?...lebih baik kita tau mana kawasan panas...orang tidaklah pergi ke situ dan berhati berada di situ? ni tak, rakyat 1Malaysia diutamakan kena H1N1 ke? bodoh punyer TPM."
and "Issue ni tak lah digembar-gembur kan sangat.Nanti menteri yg in-charged pelancungan marah...Skrg ni semua menteri (konon-nya) ada KPI, Kalau pelancung drop, fulus tak mashuk, KPI tak meet, kena drop-lah.."

So out TPM would rather have the whole Malaysia rife with H1N1, and more and more Malaysians succumb to this flu? This is absolutely RIDICULOUS.

..WHEN POLITICAL MADNESS AND LOVE OF WEALTH (if investors knows the full detail they might pull out their money from sharemarket KLSE and share prices will go down..) TAKES PRECEDENT OVER THE WELL BEING OF MALAYSIANS.

Gov't against disclosing H1N1 hotspots

Aug 15, 09 3:39pm

The government has decided against releasing information on Influenza A(H1N1) hot spots in the country, with Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin saying it was not a practical idea.

View Comments (7)

1 - 7 of 7 comments

by fantastic4 - an hour ago
This episode always remind me whether our leaders actually think through the issues before annoucing or commenting to the media. This is certainly not the first time. Flip-flop policies seems to be the trademark. Many examples, like Education policies, internet censorship and then this ? Don't they think before they talk ???

by concerned - 2 hours ago
It's like not telling you where there is a minefield and letting you walk into it.
by Suhakam - 2 hours ago
Sometimes I wonder whether the government is really serious in tackling the H1N1 problem. The increasing death toll is extremely worrying.
by Lin Wen quan - 2 hours ago
Trademark of Malaysia Boleh - first deny then cover up and let the people go about their business in blissful ignorance. With already so many reported deaths, we are now talking about ordering additional the antiviral drug, Tamiflu. In Australia, at the first sign of an imminent outbreak of H1N1, all hospitals were issued Tamiflu as a standby measure. It looks like the drug house producing Tamiflu is obliged to entertain our order when H1N1 is now more or less a global curse and therefore immediate supply may be a problem. The moral is 'Take care of yourself and don't expect the government to take care of you'.
by Mykern - 2 hours ago
If a certain area is declared H1N1 free, then people may go there and inadavertantly infest it .... thus spreading it.
by Dennis Madden - 2 hours ago
... or maybe they dont even know where the hot spots are
by David Yau - 3 hours ago
Flip flop again... always engage brain before opening mouth lah!

H1N1 Swine Flu: We should declare Curfew.

2009-08-14T09:14:00.002+12:00

This morning i got this forwarded message.
Basically healthy body, and fitness, and lots of Vitamin C.
On the "what should be done" side, I believe that we should declare curfew, yes CURFEW.

No one shall get out of their house. Need food? The army of volunteers shall deliver to front gate, and "NO CLOSE CONTACT" either.
Then the curfew shall last at least 2 weeks. Businesses, shops, school and all other least necessary services shall close.

This virus spread through human contact, or close human contact. If there is less human contact, we shall be able to arrest the spread of this virus.

We should keep in mind, at the moment there is no vaccine in the market yet.

Here is the email that has been going around..

Latest info pasal H1N1(pengalaman family pesakit)-penawar Insya'Allah
> JUST 4 INFO... SEKADAR FORWARD UNTUK SEMUA MUNGKIN BERGUNA
>
> JUST A SMALL BUT MEANINGFUL INFO FM ME TO YOU AND YR FRIENDS....MY PERSONAL
> EXPERIENCE OF H1N1 SINCE IT PRACTICALLY HIT US LIKE A TIME BOMB.....
>
> My staff was crying herself sick on Tuesday morning...was told that her son
> was confirmed of H1N1 in his Uni at Kangar, Perlis...worse was that when he
> was bedridden 2 days the warden didnt even bother to sent to hospital till
> his dad came fm KL and with his friends assistance brought him to GH
> Kangar....
>
> No one bothered in the hospital and he was put in the normal ward for
> another 2 days!!! (imagine the amount of people he has infected!!)
> .....after 2 days and his eyes were turning yellow and saliva greenish...he
> was put in quarantined room...
>
> Called his mom to say...minta maaf and ampun la dosa dia, etc...she
> practically fainted just telling me the story.. cant do much cos she x have
> enough money to go to the north with the father...
>
> First thing we did was made her call the hospital and insist that they sent
> him to Sg.Buloh Hospital or any other hospital in KL since they seemed to be
> more alert and more equipt...they refused of course...so I sent her off to
> Kangar the same day to solve the problem.
>
> Whilst this was happening, SUBHANALLAH, I had a call from one Ustaz who was
> in town to "help cure" another H1N1 child in Shah Alam.....and was told this
> simple prescription by him.....of course kena redha pada ALLAH and niat
> dengan sesungguh nya...selawat 3x....
>
> *EAT MINIMUM 6 GREEN APPLES A DAY AND FRESH ORANGE JUICE** *
> for those with sore throat please blend the apples and keep on taking till
> your fever disappear and yr symtoms are gone....I cannot explain it but the
> child in Shah Alam was ok too after taking this tip....
>
> ALHAMDULILLAH. ..my staff's son was given the apple juice for the whole day
> on Monday/Tuesday and dengan kuasa ALLAH he was out of the fever yesterday
> Wednesday... .she called me and was crying on the phone to say that her son
> was out of ICU and was able to eat normally...all these happened within just
> 4 days today (thursday 6 august)...
>
> This is just to share with my fellow sisters and brothers and hope this
> small info could assist others as well, INSYA'ALLAH! !!!!!!!!! No harm in
> trying and kuasa ALLAH anything can happen!!!!

garlic from last year..

2009-08-04T19:05:00.004+12:00

that tree at the back is cabbage tree. no, not the cabbage that you eat as vegetable. but a native New Zealand tree, called cabbage tree.
emilie putting in the silver beet seeds.
last year we planted these garlic, they died off over winter. look how they come up this spring.

i'll do gardening..

2009-08-04T18:54:00.002+12:00

emilie, helping dad.. all those bikes at the back are for sale, anyone interested?

adam, has a fascination with tools, any tools.

emilie and dad getting the ground ready for silverbeet crop.

a couple of hours of digging, my back back is a bit sore already.

Do you think Ministers and MP should claim housing allowances if they have houses in the city?

2009-08-04T07:24:00.002+12:00

PM orders rethink on allowances

By COLIN ESPINER - Political editor - The Press

Prime Minister John Key has ordered a review of ministerial housing allowances after revelations that three of his ministers are claiming hefty accommodation expenses despite owning properties in Wellington.

Housing Minister Phil Heatley has collected $24,607 from the taxpayer in the past six months, or about $946 a week, despite already owning an apartment in central Wellington.

He also owns two homes in Whangarei, according to the MPs' register of pecuniary interests.

Foreign Minister Murry McCully and Trade Minister Tim Groser also own apartments in Wellington, but claim allowances from the taxpayer to live in larger apartments.

All three rent out their own apartments, pocketing the proceeds.

McCully claimed $12,865 for his new apartment, plus another $6000 for his one-bedroomed property. He also owns a holiday home in Whangarei through a family trust.

Groser claimed $7200 for his apartment before moving into a larger dwelling and has collected $8937 in expenses for living in that property so far this year. Groser also owns an apartment and a hotel room in Auckland.

McCully and Heatley are electorate MPs who formally live outside Wellington, while Groser is a list MP who lives in Auckland. All are on salaries of $243,000.

The spotlight on the three ministers' claims follows scrutiny of Finance Minister Bill English's claim of $23,763 to live in his own home in Karori. The Clutha-Southland MP gets the money because technically his primary home is in Dipton.

Key announced the review of the expenses system at his post-Cabinet press conference yesterday after several journalists began making inquiries about Heatley, McCully and Groser's claims.

Key said he did not believe any of his ministers were breaching the rules, but it was clear that "arcane" expense rules were leading to some "perverse" outcomes.

"They do not necessarily drive, in my view, the best outcomes, either for the taxpayer or the ministers themselves."

Key, who uses Premier House some nights during the week but does not claim any housing allowance, said: "There are huge demands on them [ministers] and the hours they work.

"Most New Zealanders would support me in my desire to see the marriages of my Cabinet ministers remain intact, and housing plays a part in allowing them to unify their families in Wellington.

"Having said that, I'm quite conscious of the issues the media have raised and I think the New Zealand public are entitled to answers to those."

Key said he had asked for terms of reference for the review by the end of this week. He expected changes would result.

It was logical that where ministers already owned Wellington properties they stayed in them, and there was a "very strong argument" that those who rented theirs out should receive a lower housing allowance, he said.

He would not have his ministers "persecuted" by the media.

"Let's put things on the table here. You are on the one hand arguing that Bill English shouldn't have stayed in his property and you're actually arguing Phil Heatley shouldn't have moved out of his," Key told reporters.

"You can't have it both ways."

A spokesman for Heatley said the minister owned a small apartment in Wellington, which he lived in while in Opposition. After becoming a minister he wanted to move his family, including three children, to Wellington.

"He wanted to have his family in Wellington, and they needed to be housed. The apartment was not big enough," the spokesman said.

"His advice was he was entitled to be housed. He recognises there is a cost to this and he is very appreciative of it."

A spokesman for McCully said the minister owned a one-bedroomed apartment that was not suitable for entertaining foreign dignitaries and other guests, so a larger apartment had been found.

Here is a Good Policy Example.

2009-08-03T07:35:00.000+12:00

Dole out, training in for unemployed youth

By COLIN ESPINER - The Press

The Government plans to scrap the dole for 16 to 18-year-olds as part of a $150 million plan to wipe out youth unemployment.

Prime Minister John Key yesterday unveiled an ambitious bid to put 16,900 people, aged 16 to 24, in jobs, training and study over the next 18 months.

He also confirmed National would introduce legislation before the end of the year ending the unemployment benefit for school-leavers under 18.

The initiative was the centrepiece of National's annual conference in Christchurch at the weekend.

It comes as the dole queues lengthen by 1300 people a week costing the taxpayer an additional $1 billion a year in benefits.

About 17,000 young people are now registered for the dole up from 4000 a year ago. Almost half are Maori and Pacific Islanders.

Key told delegates yesterday the sharp rise in youth unemployment could be extremely damaging, both for youth and the community.

"Some may be tempted to fill unoccupied hours with petty crime, drinking and drug use, or other activities that sell them way short of their potential.

"We simply can't afford to leave our young languishing on a benefit."

Under the Youth Opportunities package, the Government will subsidise a mixture of private job placements, community taskforce initiatives, in-work training, and military-style training programmes.

There will also be extra study places funded at polytechnics and summer scholarships at universities.

In total, 4000 positions will be offered for low-skilled young people in conjunction with businesses and another 3000 in community work.

Another 4000 positions will be offered under National's Youth Guarantee scheme, which provides fees-free places for 16 and 17-year-olds not in school.

The package will run for the next 18 months, and places will be funded for a maximum of six months.

The Government will subsidise the schemes at the rate of the minimum wage for 30 hours a week essentially offering those on the dole a pay packet of $375 a week rather than the average of $174 they would receive on a benefit.

Another 2500 places will be funded on the Burnham Military Camp Limited Service Volunteer programme, which will be expanded to include two in the North Island.

Key's cycleway also gets a mention, with $5.3m earmarked to provide 500 jobs for young people to work on the series of "great rides" around New Zealand.

The Government is pledging to fund another 700 positions at polytechnics for under 24 year-olds and 1600 summer scholarship placements in universities.

Employers will receive a lump sum of $3000 when they hire a new worker, with another $2000 paid at the end of six months.

About $120m is from the Government's Budget contingency fund. The remainder is being found through savings from not paying the dole. Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said under the community work scheme, local councils, the voluntary sector, and government departments like the Department of Conservation would receive payments for employing young people in projects such as cleaning up graffiti and tagging, tidying parks, or renovating marae.

Labour said the package was a step in the right direction but not ambitious enough.

"It only scratches the surface of the growing youth unemployment problem," the party's tertiary education spokeswoman, Maryan Street, said.

"The number of places to be provided falls well short of what is required."

Key said the Government could not force young people on the dole to join one of the schemes, but that would soon change.

"The (Government) is bringing legislation to the House which will make it compulsory that people are either in work training or employment, as per our policy in 2008," Key said.

Kenapa Seluar Teoh Koyak II

2009-07-18T21:28:00.002+12:00

I saw this comment in Malaysia-today, i think this theory has some credibility.

written by ez24get, July 18, 2009 17:07:54
I think the key to TBH's death is the badly ripped pants that he is wearing. It looks like a large part of his pants is totally ripped away. If you look at the photo he was sprawling face down but the ripped pants was facing up. That probably meant that the pant was not ripped when he fell down but before he fell down. There were no sharp edges at the window that could have ripped his pants if he had jumped out of the window. Where are the other parts of his pant? That would give a big clue to what happened.

There could be a possibility he was subjected to another round of interrogation between 8.00am to 1.30 pm (when his body was found). Remember there was an unaccounted time between he was seen napping at the couch in the wee morning hours and the time he was found at 1.30 pm. He did not want to go home most probably because he was told that there was going to be another round of interrogation at 8.00am and he just stayed at the MACC office instead of going through the hassle of office traffic jams coming back again in the morning. Or he is still being detained but allowed to take a nap in the MACC office which is the more likely scenario. Who doesn’t want to go home if there is no further need for him to be at the MACC? Why should he commit suicide if he was to be married the next day and more over he is not the accused but a witness. So the Director of Investigation Sukri was lying through his teeth when he said he did not know what happened between 6.00am to 1.30 pm when his staff heard the screams. He did however mention that he was supposed to attend another meeting at 8.00am.

He probably attended another round of interrogation from 8.00am. But this time the interrogation is probably more intense, intimidating and worst than the day before! That's where Sukri is afraid to tell the press lest his department would be questioned on the techniques of interrogation and accountable for his death! His body language on the TV interview reveals the traits of a lying man! He said to the best of his knowledge there were no CCTV. No CCTV in MACC? Or if there were to be found CCTV, he would just claim ignorance stating that it is to his best knowledge. He couldn’t account for the time from 6.00am to 1.30pm at all? That is strange!

I would speculate the interrogators probably intimidated him by holding him out of the window by clutching at his pants threatening to release him if he had not agreed to frame his fellow colleagues. He could have been brought to another building where it is convenient to do that act of intimidation. But the pants ripped and TBH went falling down with his face down frantically using his hands to try breaking the fall. Hence the unique face down position of his fall and the explanation of his ripped pants!

Kenapa Seluar Teoh Koyak?

2009-07-18T08:31:00.003+12:00

WHy did his trousers ripped? See picture.

I also guess that he might hit the ground shoulder first, which might indicate that he might be alive until he hit the ground.

As for the ripped trousers, I believe that someone, or some people might be holding on to his legs and trousers out of the windows before he fall. Alas, the strength of this person or people (if more than one) is not enough to hold on to him.
This person's (or people's) intention could be just scaring Teoh, eg by threatening to let him go from their grip, but Teoh might have struggled and they couldnt hold on to him, so Teoh fall to his death.

Well thats just my theory, you might have one better.

The unfortunate young man panicked. He went ballistic when he saw the distance he would have to travel before hitting the ground floor. He struggled.

2009-07-17T22:17:00.003+12:00

and the rest in history..

at least thats RPK's theory. I also believe thats whats happened.

Notwithstanding what DPM Muhyiddin tell us, 'nasi sudah menjadi bubur' or as they say in English, things has turned into custard..
This event, will change Malaysian political landscape. Yes I am sure of it.
You see even DPM Muhyiddin has given up, as well as Khir Toyo.
This has changed the people's sentiment towards BN, whatever BN says or do.

MY DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY AND FIANCE OF TEOH BENG HOCK.

READ more in Malaysia-today.

This has been going on for far too long. The MACC acts like God. They kidnap families and torture those they arrest. They threaten those they interrogate with death if they refuse to talk.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
by Raja Petra Kamarudin

READ ARTICLE ONLINE

The writing was already on the wall very much earlier. Alarm bells were wailing like banshees. But this was largely ignored. It was ignored because it was Malaysia Today that had triggered the alarm bells. Malaysia Today is not the most reliable source. It does not offer the best of information. What Malaysia Today dabbles in are rumours and innuendoes.

When the Anti-Corruption Agency, now called the MACC, kidnapped the family of a police inspector, Malaysia Today raised the alarm. They had kidnapped the wife and child of a police inspector who had investigated a Chinese underworld boss on the instructions of a higher-up with the rank of ASP.

The inspector was just doing what his boss had ordered him to do, and that was to open a file and launch an investigation into the activities of the Chinese prostitution, loan shark, drugs and gambling syndicate. And this resulted in the detention of three syndicate bosses.

What the MACC wanted the police inspector to do was quite simple. They wanted him to change his report so that the three underworld bosses can be freed from detention.

And he would have to do that if he wants to secure the release of his family.

The police inspector refused to do that. Instead, he made a police report. And so did his wife. But nothing was done about the matter. The MACC officers were not arrested and dragged to court on kidnapping charges.

The MACC then leaked information to the media that they are investigating a very senior police officer, the Director of the CCD, for the crime of not declaring RM27 million worth of assets. The fact that MACC investigations come under the Official Secrets Act was not a hindrance. After all, the OSA is only used against opposition supporters and not against those who serve those who walk in the corridors of power.

Nevertheless, the Director of the CCD was finally not charged for not declaring RM27 million in assets. He was charged for using police property for his personal reasons, something that all government officers, ministers and politicians do blatantly every day of the week. But his real crime is that he detained several Chinese underworld bosses who control the prostitution, loan shark, drugs and gambling business all over Malaysia.

Then they arrested the lawyer who acted for the CCD Director. The MACC officers came to his office on the eve of Hari Raya and handcuffed him after roughing him up like one would do to an armed bank robber. To ensure that the lawyer suffered the greatest embarrassment this Hollywood-style arrest was done in full view of the entire office.

Malaysia Today wrote about all this. Malaysia Today not only wrote about all this but Malaysia Today repeated the stories again and again to make sure no one would say they somehow missed the story. But still nothing was done. No one denied the story. More importantly, no one did anything about what Malaysia Today revealed.

The MACC has been a tool of those who walk in the corridors of power for a long, long time. Officially, Barisan Nasional has 14 component members with Umno as the lead partner. Unofficially, Barisan Nasional has seventeen component members. The Election Commission is the fifteenth component member of Barisan Nasional, the Malaysian police the sixteenth, and the MACC the seventeenth. They all serve the interests of Umno and the Prime Minister.

The writing was already on the wall very much earlier. Alarm bells were wailing like banshees. But this was largely ignored. It was ignored because it was Malaysia Today that had triggered the alarm bells. Malaysia Today is not the most reliable source. It does not offer the best of information. What Malaysia Today dabbles in are rumours and innuendoes.

“Where is the smoking gun?” they ask. “Show me the body!” they demand. No gun, no body, then no crime has been committed.

Well, today, there is a body. It is the body of a most unfortunate Chinese opposition member who was arrested and tortured by the MACC officers. Yes, he was tortured. And he was tortured because the MACC wanted him to talk.

But he could not talk. He could not talk because there was nothing to talk about. The MACC wanted him to finger his comrades in the opposition. They wanted him to implicate his friends in the opposition for various crimes that the MACC alleges had been committed by those in the opposition.

He tried to explain that he is not being stubborn. He tried to explain that no crime had been committed. He tried to explain that he could not possibly implicate his comrades in the opposition for various crimes if these crimes are merely a figment of the MACC’s imagination.

So they continued to torture him. And he could no longer stand the torture. After all, he is not the macho type of man. He is but a gentle man who only wanted to get married this weekend. That was all that he wanted.

They threatened to kill him if he refuses to talk. With tears running down his cheeks he begged for mercy and pleaded with them not to harm him. They threatened to throw him off the top floor if he refuses to talk. Sobbing like a baby he went down on his knees and begged for his life.

They dragged him across the room and opened the window. Then something went terribly wrong. It was supposed to be just a threat. They just wanted to put fear in him. They did not really want to throw him off the top floor. They just wanted him to see what the ground floor looks like from the top floor.

The unfortunate young man panicked. He went ballistic when he saw the distance he would have to travel before hitting the ground floor. He struggled. They could not hold onto him. Gravity took over and the life of this young man was prematurely snuffed out.

The MACC then announced that they had released him the night before. They failed to announce that they had not released him from custody but released him from this world. Then they suddenly found his body the day after. He jumped. He committed suicide. He took his own life. He was never tortured. He was not dragged to the window with the threat that they would teach him how to fly.

This has been going on for far too long. The MACC acts like God. They kidnap families and torture those they arrest. They threaten those they interrogate with death if they refuse to talk.

And now one young man has really died. But no one will be punished. No one will be punished because they will say the young man took his own life. Why he took his own life no one knows. He was never tortured. He was never threatened with death. He was not made to look how far down the ground floor is. He was not accidentally dropped when he panicked and struggled and they could not get a good grip on him.

That is what they will be telling you and me later today.

Maid Issues; In Malaysiakini

2009-07-01T01:52:00.002+12:00

my writing appear in Malaysiakini today.
I might as well cut and paste other people's writing on the same issues

Move towards being a 'maid-less' society
Noor Hamzah
Jun 30, 09
5:55pm
We should do away with 'maids', either foreign or local. All these years living in the West, I hardly encounter any Western family who employs maids in their households.

I have seen advertisements for 'home helpers', a few hours a week worth of work, to take care of kids after school, or another few hours a week to help with household chores, but not full-time maids. In fact, you can hire 'home helper' on a regular basis, but they are not called maids.

At the government level, we should legislate that anyone who works, either in domestic or commercial premises, should be compensated accordingly and be accorded rights under the law, ie, they should get at least minimum wage as well as Sosco and EPF contributions.

A worker is a worker whether local or foreign and they should get the same rights and benefits.
Yes, we know that Malaysia doesn't have any minimum wage law, but it's never too late to act now and legislate a minimum wage law now.

Enterprising Malaysians might set up 'Early Childhood Education Centres' in housing areas and villages, and charge parents by the hour. So parents can leave their young children at these centers before going to work, and pick up their children after work. In fact there are already businesses of this nature in the country.

High income parents might not have problem sending their children to Early Childhood centres, but low-income families might not be able to afford it.

Therefore, the government should subsidise low-income families so that they may be able to send their children to these centers, even for limited number of hours/days. Some households or parents should be encouraged to run this business, taking in children from the neighbourhood.
'More money that the government will have to pay out' you might say, but the cost-saving by not importing foreign maids would be in the hundreds of millions. Furthermore, we would be employing locals and reducing unemployment.

For those who can afford to employ 'home helpers', they must pay at least minimum wage as well as other obligations like workers' insurance, Soco and EPF contributions.

It is more desirable that in a two-parent (husband and wife) family with young children, one of them stay home to raise the family. The government should encourage this by giving better tax breaks and subsidies, so that they don't end up living in poverty.

My maid doesn't want a weekly day off
Dr MA Nair
Jun 30, 09
5:57pm
Indonesia's decision to 'hold-on' to the sending of maids to Malaysia must be a knee-jerk reaction. Indonesia should not come up with a blanket ruling to ban maids from working in Malaysia just because of some isolated cases of abuse by some Malaysian employers.

Not all maids are abused and ill-treated and not all employers are mean in this country. Let's be more pragmatic about the whole issue.

The ideal way to resolve this problem is for the Malaysian authority to come up with a proper and periodical 'check-on-maids' procedure to protect maids from being abused.

The government can come up with a rule on this and try to convince the Indonesian government that 'we are serious' when it comes to maid abuse in the country. Malaysians do not condone maid abuse and this is our stand. Our culture abhors this despicable and inhuman act.

And to those who employ maids, please be generous, gentle and kind to them. I have this to share with you all.

Why should we ill-treat our maids? Is it necessary that maids are given a day off each week? These are the two issues being hotly discussed by many interested parties in the country.

Essentially, a maid is as human as anyone else. A maid should be treated with respect. If you are kind to her she will, in turn, be kind to you. But then, some would say that there are bad apples among them. But then, there are also bad apples among the employers.

If a maid cannot perform her duty to the employer's expectation, a respectful way of rejecting her is by sending her back to the agency, or courteously making them return to their home country. Torturing her is shameful and dishonourable.

These maids are poor women who have to come to this country to seek a decent living. It is poverty that has driven them to this country. Some have left their children and loved ones to come here to earn a living. They hence deserve to be treated sensibly.

Of course, employers cannot expect faultlessness in them. As employers, we need to bear with their inadequacies and inexperience and learn to be tolerant with them. With time, they would be able to adjust and adapt to our expectations. If still they fail you, send them back gracefully.

As for a day off each week, it all depends on the maid. When I mentioned this matter to my maid, she responded politely, 'Tak perlu Pak. Nanti bikin susah semua orang.'

I understand why she responded this way. She has been with us for the past 15 years. She would only go out of the house with us or with our children. She has demanded nothing from us more than what we pay her. Neither do we pay her a fortune.

She is not bothered about that and had never asked for a salary rise since. The reason is, she finds it happy to stay with us and that matters most to her. Her secret desire in life is to perform the Haj one day. We have decided to help her fulfil this wish.

What's more, we have treated her just like one of us. We have taken her as part of our family. Our children are more attached to her as she spends all her time with them when we are busy with our jobs. We eat whatever she cooks. We often seek her opinions on matters that we find difficult to resolve as parents.

On her part, she is willing to learn anything she can to please our family. My children have officially included her as part of the family in all the forms they fill up in when at school. When we are away or outstation, she takes charge of the house and the children.

She has lived with us with a lot of trust built in. This attachment has made us feel that she is indeed a faithful human and is essentially part of our family unit.

We are not saying that all maids are the same. We consider it very lucky to have a maid who has stayed with us this long. On our part, it all boils down to how we treat her. We treat her well and she has treated us well in return.

This formula has worked for us and we are happy about it. We also hope that this formula will work for others. So when we offered her a day off each week, she does not want it. Thus, let it be the way she decides. This makes us a lot happier.

Maids need time away from their employers too
Dennis Madden
Jun 29, 09
6:31pm
I refer to the comment in the Malaysiakini report Jail those who break their quarantines.

The writer wrote: 'My current maid has a scheduled rest day on Sundays. She goes to church with us in the morning where she socialises with her friends; she joins us at a local mall for lunch and some window shopping.

'In the afternoon, she rests in her room - no need to take care of kids or clean the house. I have let her go out with friends on certain public holidays, dropping her off and picking her up as well as giving her pocket money.

'We treat her as one of the family and provide her everything she needs, often at no expense to her at all.

'I believe I'm a fair and considerate employer, and I think this arrangement, built on mutual respect and trust, has worked out well for both parties.'

And I say, 'Oh what hypocrisy, oh, what a devilish attitude you have towards other human beings.

You don't say how old is your maid is but it seems like you are treating her like a 13-year-old.

So you take her to church with you, do you? How generous of you. Does she get to choose whether she wants to go to church with you?

And then you allow her to go window-shopping and lunch with you at the local mall. No doubt you take your children along with you to and expect you maid to deal with any problems that arise.

'In the afternoon she rests in her room'. Where she is still potentially under your thumb. Has it ever occurred to you that after living 24 hours a day, seven days a week with you, she might actually want some time for herself?

'I have to let her go out with friends on certain holidays...dropping her off and picking her up and giving her pocket money'. So generous...and how controlling

And then we come to the final insult and the oh-so-Malaysian touch... money
'We treat her as one of the family and provide her everything she needs, often at no expense to her at all.

Malaysians have become 'unabashed hypocrites'
CH Ong
Jun 26, 09
5:07pm
I refer to the Malaysiakini report Shocking! Maids are humans too.

A few examples from a long list to show that Malaysians have become big, ugly and unabashed hypocrites:

1. Many Malaysians love to buy and own residential properties on hill slopes and hill tops.

After they have moved into their hill slope and hill top homes, they demand that the owners of the remaining undeveloped private land should not be allowed to develop the hill slope and hill top land.

They conveniently forget that their own homes are sitting on hill slopes and hill tops.

2. Many Malaysians, after buying and moving into their new homes which are built on de-gazetted forest reserves, demand that the remaining forest reserves must remain permanently as forest reserves and must not be developed.

An example - owners of homes in the part of Kota Damansara adjacent to the remaining forest reserve.

They conveniently forget that their own homes were built on forest reserve land which was recently de-gazetted so that their homes could be built.

3. Malaysians love a 'pasar malam', provided that the 'pasar malam' is not near their own homes.

The fact that the 'pasar malam' is right outside other people's homes and causing an extreme inconvenience to the affected owners is irrelevant.

4. And now, a local newspaper has just conducted a survey and discovers that more than 75% of Malaysians disagree with giving their maids a weekly day off.

I am not surprised.

If the newspaper had extended the survey and asked the same respondents (excluding those who are self-employed) whether they agree to working 12 hours a day, seven days a week for their employers, how do you think they will respond?

Sorry, no prizes for the correct answer.

How Western Society Handle Childcare Issues

2009-06-28T00:44:00.001+12:00

Title: How Western Society Handle Childcare Issues

We should do away with “maids”, either foreign or local. All these years living in the West, I hardly encounter any western family who employ maids in their household. I have seen advertisement for home helper, a few hours a week worth of work, to take care of kids after school, or another few hours a week to help with household chores, but not full time maid. In fact you can hire home helper on regular basis, but they are not called maids.

1. At government level, we should legislate that anyone who work, either in domestic or commercial premises should be compensated accordingly and accorded rights under the law, ie they should get at least minimum wage, SOCSO and EPF contributions. A worker is a worker, local or foreign; they should get the same rights and benefits.
2. Yes we know that Malaysia doesn’t have any minimum wage law, but it’s never too late to act now and legislate minimum wage law now.
3. Enterprising Malaysians might set up Early Childhood Education Centre in housing areas and villages, and charge parents by the hour. So parents can leave their young children at these centers before going to work, and pick up their children after work. In fact there are already businesses of this nature in the country.
4. High income parents might not have problem sending their children to Early Childhood centres, but low income families might not be able to afford it. Therefore government should subsidize low income families so that they may be able to send their children to these centers, even for limited number of hours/days. Some households or parents should be encouraged to run this business, taking in children from the neighbourhood.
5. “More money that government will have to pay” you might say, but the cost saving by not importing foreign maids would be in hundreds of millions. Furthermore, we would be employing locals and reducing unemployment.
6. For those who can afford to employ home helpers, they must pay at least minimum wage as well as other obligations like workers insurance, SOCSO and EPF contributions.
7. It is more desirable that in a two parent (husband and wife) family with young children, one of them stay home to raise the family. Government should encourage this by giving better tax breaks and subsidies, so that they are not living in poverty.

Do we really need maid?

2009-06-27T01:40:00.000+12:00

Title: Do we really need maid?
Of course we do, majority of us would say so, to do our household chores that we loath and too lazy to do ourselves, and free our precious time so that we can go shopping and do other things.

When we were young, we loath to do housework, be it making up bed in the morning, doing dishes after breakfast, and dinner or cleaning up around the house. Our parent indulged us, on the excuse that we need our precious time to study. We never change, when we are adult, we continue to loath housework, preferring instead to work and earn more money, or going out with friends etc.
These are just a few excuses; of course we could find a thousand other excuses under the stars. There are some legitimate excuses too, especially if we have many young children and some invalids in the household. But do we have to call our home helper as “maid”? The word maid give an image of someone of lower social status, whose presence is at the “beck and call” of the master and mistress of the house, and whose purpose is to serve “someone above” her.
This description reminds me of the old days when rich American households in the South have slaves, and rich gentry in the old Europe employ maids. We have read about rich Arabs in the Gulf countries mistreating their maids, not that we are any better.
I applaud the government for legislating a law that requires the maids be allowed one day off a week. But that is hardly enough, we should treat home helper “maid” just like any other workers in the country. They should get fair treatment in other aspects as well, hourly wages, SOCSO, contribution to EPF and insurance among others.
Above all, workers should get at least a livable minimum wages. It’s a shame that Malaysian Government has been dragging its feet on minimum wages. We still don’t have minimum wages law, recession and competitiveness has always been the excuse.

Treat the maids fairly, ie like any other Malaysian workers with full entitlement to minimum wages, insurance, SOCSO and EPF then we would eliminate the need to import foreign maids.

Indonesia acts in maid abuse row
By Karishma Vaswani
BBC News, Jakarta

Some Indonesian workers have fled to a shelter at their embassy in Malaysia
Indonesia says it will temporarily stop sending domestic workers to Malaysia, after a meeting with Malaysian officials in Jakarta.
It is the latest move in a long-running row between the two countries over the treatment of Indonesia's migrant workers by Malaysian employers.
Labour groups have been pressing for better treatment of Indonesia's maids and other workers in Malaysia.
More than a million Indonesians work in Malaysia, most as maids or labourers.
Indonesia has been debating whether to temporarily halt the flow of its domestic helpers to Malaysia ever since pictures of abused Indonesian maids started appearing in newspapers here.
One case in particular has repeatedly made the headlines - that of Indonesian domestic worker Siti Hajar.
Photos of her scarred body have been broadcast on TV channels recently, after she was reportedly tortured by her Malaysian female employer for three years.
Little protection
Hers is not an isolated case. There have been a number of high-profile cases of Indonesian maids reportedly abused in Malaysia over the last few years.
Indonesia's labour minister Erman Suparno says that from Friday, Indonesia will temporarily suspend sending domestic workers to Malaysia to work, until a meeting takes place between the two nations next month.
Malaysia is home to over one million documented Indonesian workers. Most of them are employed as maids or construction workers and often receive meagre wages for their long hours.

A Story of the Supernatural Kind; Bergaduh dengan Jin, Fighting with Djinn II

2009-06-14T20:39:00.002+12:00

A Story of the Supernatural Kind; Bergaduh dengan Jin, Fighting with Djinn II

May Allah give us all His hidayah, and keep us in the straight path of Islam. This story I have written is 20 years old. ‘A lot of water had passed under the bridge’ since then. A few years after that incident in 1988, Arqam was disbanded by Malaysian Govt and their members had been put into reeducation camp to correct their belief. So Arqam and Aurad Muhammadiah no more. May Allah keep us all in the right path.
links that maybe of interest:
Manakib Muhammad bin Abdullah AsSuhaimi
Ustadz Ashaari Muhammad
Definition: this definition is my understanding.. Please correct me, or add any terms.
Yakazah – soul purification ceremony, whereby the participants (usually a few people sitting in a circle in a room or hall, cried and asked forgiveness from Allah for his/her past misdeed. As per definition, yaqazah is the meeting of a Muslim with Rasullullah while the person is awake, not in a dream.
Kashaf – Whereby a man/woman reached a stage where he/she can see the unseen in his/her surrounding and happenings in faraway places.
Suluk – A tasauf method of knowing yourself and knowing Allah, separating ourselves and our nafsu. I don’t know anything about tasauf, sorry cant explain. BUT suluk is normally done over 40 days, with guidance of a teacher/guru normally the month before fasting month, eg Rajab, Syaaban.

I went home for good (well that was the intention) back in July 1990. After a couple of weeks, or was it a month, my father and my younger brother asked,
“What was that about?”
I knew straightaway what they were referring. That incident in 1988, which had wide coverage in Malaysian newspapers, whereby a group of Malaysian students in Auckland stayed in a house for almost a month, without ever going out to get food, with dire consequences.
“They were given ijazah, wirid and zikr by their guru, so they amalkan, practice, but their guru left them after that, not staying on to bimbing, teach and show them” I explained.
“They started seeing things that were normally unseen, men without head, men with pig head and other scary creatures” I continued.
“Oh macam tu, memanglah itu salah guru yg bagi ijazah wirid tu. Guru memang sepatutnya kena bimbing supaya muridnya boleh menghadapi dugaan macam tu” My father understood straightaway. It’s the duty of the teacher to guide the disciples. He was disappointed.
How did my father understand these things? Only much later that I figure out that he had previous experience of the same magnitude.

Really, the part above should be the end of the story, not the beginning.

Long before then, there was a halal slaughterman, who used to stay at the mosque whenever he was in Christchurch. He was active in PAS and had many friends who were active in PAS. One day he told me not to join Arqam, because Ustadz Ashaari have a djinn. He told me that one of his PAS friend could see the unseen, and this friend went to a ceramah of Ustadz Ashaari, and saw the djinn beside Ustadz Ashaari.
I was bemused, and didn’t say anything.
Then he told me another story. There was an Arqam man who lived at Sg Penchala. One maghrib, he went to the surau to perform maghrib prayer. He wasn’t gone long, and his wife noticed that he came back in a hurry and as soon as he was inside his house, he asked for sex. As a dutiful wife, she complied, even so close to maghrib time. But she noticed that her ‘husband’ behaved differently, he was in a hurry and his eyes look red. As soon as it was over, the ‘husband’ got out of the house, presumably to go for shower.
(In those days, the male communal bathroom was by the river, about 20 metres away from the surau)
So when the husband came back from maghrib prayer, the wife asked if the husband came back just before maghrib.
No he didn’t. So who did she had sex with? He look like her husband, sound like her husband but behaved a bit different. So they left Arqam permanently.

Did I believe this story? Yes I trusted my friend the PAS man, but I didn’t care too much.

A month or two before the incident (I don’t remember whether it was one, two or three month) there was a flurry of mission activity. First there was a break up in Arqam leadership, with the co-leader and also co-founder of Arqam leaving the group. Then there was a flurry of activity, whereby the leadership of Arqam visited every far flung branch.
There was a Southern Filipino man, by the name of Suhaimi (birth name or given name I do not know for sure). He couldn’t speak nor understand Malay, but at certain times, as if some other being take possession of his being, he spoke fluently but with different voice. The purpose of the leadership visit to every branch was to conduct ‘yakazah’ ceremonies for every Arqam member. ‘Yakazah’ is basically soul or heart purification ceremony. Worthy Arqam members who are good well behaving Muslims, with undivided commitment towards the movement would sit in a circle, and cry asking forgiveness from Allah for past mistakes and misdeeds. The master of ceremony is Suhaimi, who would say that such and such person in the group look like a big snake, and another person had a head resembling a pig because of past misdeed or bad habits etc. Indeed this man could see that the snake head or pig head, and after much crying and asking forgiveness from Allah, the snake head or the pig head would turn to normal, presumably their sins had been forgiven, and they have remove the bad habits from their hearts. Then after this purification, the members will be given ijazah, wirid to recite after every obligatory prayer. The master will unroll his turban (or using a long piece of cloth) and asked the disciples/members to hold on to the turban. Then he will teach them the wirid which they shall recite after every prayer/sholat.
My friend’s comment:
Have you seen ‘orang menurun’? Nope I said. ‘Orang menurun’ is djinn entering that person’s body and speak and act on behalf of djinn. So that was djinn who was speaking. Another thing, it was djinn that sit in front of the ‘yaqazah’ participants and make his head look like pig’s head or snake head. The fact that this person ‘Suhaimi’ who cannot speak Malay but suddenly can is sure sign that he ‘menurun jin’. It was djinn who was speaking and not him. A guru tasauf cannot divulge what he seen or say about his disciple/student to another person, only to that student alone, because that Allah’s secret. In the practice of suluk, as in Tariqat Naqsyabandiah Kadiriah (follower of Shekh Abd Kadir Jailani) at the beginning of the night the teacher will chalk on the student’s fingers, and then the student was left to do zikr, Lailahaillallah and Allah. In the morning the teacher would ask the student, “What did you see last night?” The student might say that he saw a beautiful maiden, she kissed him all over. He didn’t do anything. So the teacher would bring a mirror and showed the student chalk marks all over his body. So it was not a pretty maiden after all, but the student himself and his nafsu.

What is the wirid? Basically Kalimah Shahadah, with the addition of reciting the names of the first 4 Caliphs and Muhammad bin Abdullah asSuhaimi as Khulafa ur Rasidin.
“Asha du alla Ilaha Illallah wa ashadu anna Muhammadar Rasulullah, Abu Bakar as Siddiq, Umar alKhattab, Uthman ibn Affan, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Muhammad bin Abdullah as Suhaimi”
My friend’s comment:
So instead of 2 Kalimah Shahadah, they have FOUR. Then there are more wirids that include Lailahaillallah depending on the level, which also recite the words to the effect that Imam Mahdi as the Caliph. There is only 2 Kalimah Shahadah, you cannot add more.
When asked, they were saying that they were merely acknowledging Khulafa ur Rasidin as the rightful leaders of the Muslims. But they were reciting this wirid to the point of obsession, reciting and counting using counter machine until the machine broke down. I was told that this was the wirid as given by Rasullullah to Sheikh Suhaimi inside the Kaabah, thus this is called Aurad Muhammadiah. ‘Yaqazah’ as per definition is the meeting of a Muslim with Rasullullah while the person is awake, not in a dream.

Later, things started to get a bit weird and scary. One of the female member of the group claims that she started seeing the unseen and seeing events at other places, and other cities. She described seeing a group of followers of Dajjal (anti-Christ) gathering at the Octagon in Dunedin ready to start a fight with her. On another occasion, she described what was happening in Auckland, where a group of Arqam members holed up in a house and didn’t get out for a month. She said that the house was surrounded by scary creatures, headless human etc. This condition is called ‘kasyaf’, whereby Allah has removed the hijab, the sight barrier that we can only see what is near us. Of course ‘kasyaf’ has many stages, and this is kasyaf of the eye.
My friend’s comment:
No this is not that stage kasyaf yet. Djinn has removed the hijab so that that person can see djinn. At that time she is not fully convinced so the djinn asked Allah to remove hijab to the djinn world. The djinn prayed to Allah thus, “Ya Allah, your servant is on the way towards kufr, please remove the hijab so that we can push him/her towards kufr completely” So the djinn will show itself and fight etc to convince the person towards kufr.

One night we were invited to a ‘nikah’ marriage ceremony, the woman was the bride and the groom was one of my flatmate. The men were in the main hall, while the ladies at the kitchen. There were nasyid, Asmaul Husna etc being recited before the nikah ceremony. The kadi, and witnesses are amongst the Arqam men. When the ceremony just finished, we were told that Abu Bakr, Omar alKhattab, Ali bin Abu Talib and Uthman ibn Affan were there, giving their blessings. And then, Rasullullah came. She could not see Nabi’s face clearly because Nabi’s face was so bright. I do admit that that particular time I felt happy and contented, well it was difficult to describe the feeling. We did sing nasyid as the people of Yathrib welcomed the Prophet of Islam.
My friend’s comment:
Is it true that was Rasullullah? See that she cannot see Nabi’s face? That’s because Iblis, syaitan and djinn cannot imitate Rasulullah. As for the other’s is it true it was Abu Bakar et al?
One particular night, she asked help from other Arqam members to recite zikr at her place to assist her fighting this one follower of Dajjal. I had the opportunity to come along. She was in her room, while we were at the main hall. Her husband was the go between who instructed us what to recite, Ayat Kursi, Asmaul Husna or LailahaIllallah. Sometimes one of us was asked to Azan. The fight started with a bang in the next room, we heard sound of fight, with sounds of the walls and the ceiling being hit. As the fight goes on, we were reciting with one voice and one heart, and apparently if we were reciting with one heart, that would help in the fight against the djinn, or whatever it was. In the end the djinn lost the fight, but our friend was so tired she couldn’t speak, as we were told by her husband.
My friend’s comment:
Notice afterward that these things died down, no more fight with followers of Dajjal. Since they have followed the way of the djinn, the djinn now will help in whatever he/she does. The pact with the djinn varies, what you ask and the price that you have to pay depends…

At one time, long after the fight with the djinn incident, probably not that long, a month or so, my Arqam friend told me of his dream one night training horse riding with Ustadz Ashaari and his son. The horse was big..

May Allah give us all His hidayah, and keep us in the straight path of Islam. This story I have written is 20 years old. ‘A lot of water had passed under the bridge’ since then. A few years after that incident in 1988, Arqam was disbanded by Malaysian Govt and their members had been put into reeducation camp to correct their belief. So Arqam and Aurad Muhammadiah no more. May Allah keep us all in the right path.

Perak Negeri Jin..Bertendang

2009-06-10T06:03:00.000+12:00

Still continuing on the subject of Jin..

I found this article which might be of interest to you.

HERE

A Story of the Supernatural Kind; Bergaduh dengan Jin, Fighting with Djinn

2009-06-03T06:29:00.001+12:00

A Story of the Supernatural Kind; Bergaduh dengan Jin, Fighting with Djinn

My friend’s sister in law is a good looking woman, even more so in her younger days. As is normal in any society, good looking woman would attract powerful and sometimes bad men, and the man who managed to woo and marry her was a powerful man who already had another wife. However her father didn’t agree to the union, but she was besotted with him.
Sound like a good story? Well, read on.
They didn’t get married until after her father passed away. The powerful man worked in high office of Perak State Govt. He was a womanizer of sort, a playboy. He confessed to my friend that he had supernatural help in wooing the women. He had two djinns, one black and one white, named Hitam and Putih. Hitam’s duties was to take care of his properties, he was tough and strong. Putih duties were to help him charm the women. Guess what, he was charming and wily.
Eventually the once powerful man gets old and died. His two djinns were still living in his house.
The negative thing thing about djinn is, everything that belongs to the master, also belong to the djinn. That means the house, the properties and also the wife or wives. Djinn can assume the appearance of the master. So even though the man has died, Hitam and Putih were still living in the house, and sometimes show themselves to my friend’s sister in law.
My friend was asked to find someone to persuade the djinns to move away from the house. So he enlisted the help of one of the disciples of Ustadz Haron Din, who agreed to come over. The first time he came over, the ustadz didn’t even enter the compound.
“I have to prepare myself, I will come over when I am ready” he said.

A few days later the ustadz came back. He set the stage in the main hall, cleared the furniture and asked that all the doors and windows be closed. My friend and his sister in law was allowed to sit at the corner and watch. Reciting prayers and zikr, the ustadz persuaded the djinns to leave, and when the djinns refused, he started fighting the djinns. My friend could not see the djinns, but his sister in law could. There were thumping sounds and things moved as if something has been pushing them. Then he heard a loud bang on the ceiling fan, the ceiling fan moved from side to side. Apparently the ustadz had thrown one of the djinns to the ceiling, hitting the ceiling fan. After that the djinns were persuaded to leave the house, but they might still come back from time to time for ‘old time sake’.
My friend told me that its quite common for older generation Perakians to own djinn or ‘saka’.
“They used djinn to look over their properties and to help them in war” he said.
“Whoever inherits the throne of Perak, also have to inherit the djinns ‘saka’ of that throne. Every ‘alat kebesaran diraja’ has a djinn taking care of it” he continued.
“Oh, that is interesting, I never heard of that” I said.
“In fact during the coronation ceremony 15 or so years ago, one of the things that the Sultan did was got on a boat on upriver Sungai Perak that was to inherit the djinn” my friend was explaining the power of Sultan Perak.

“Nizar Jamaluddin shall be careful with his ‘sembah derhaka’, he can only do thing up to certain point, and certainly not invite anger of Sultan Perak” I thought. He might need to ask help from Ustadz Harun Din if he get the wrath of Sultan Perak... (dont quote me, its just my thoughts)

Have I witnessed someone fighting with djinn? Yes, I have, but not with my eyes, instead with my ears. Many years ago, circa 1988.
At that time I was staying behind the mosque at Deans Avenue, in a horse stable that had been converted into living quarters. My flatmates at that time were religious people who were with Arqam movement. But the djinn fight didn’t happen there, it was at a house in Riccarton.
I shall continue another day…

A Story of the Supernatural Kind; Of Pati Geni and Ilmu Putih

2009-06-02T05:36:00.000+12:00

A Story of the Supernatural Kind; Of Pati Geni and Ilmu Putih

Definition: I know, my definition is useless, because basically I know nothing about any of these..

Pati Geni: An old Javanese Hindu origin knowledge and building of inner strength through fasting and staying still… Read article from Ahmad Zain An Najah, MA
Ilmu Putih:as opposed to Ilmu Hitam..black magic.

Continuing from previous posting..
Back in the early 70’s, this friend was young man. His older brother was working as a caretaker at Masjid Abu Bakar in Johor Baharu. So he used to stay at the mosque, and in the old days, mosque was a haven for poor travellers and the homeless. There was one old man who was a bit different that the others. He had long hair and dressed like the legendary warrior Hang Tuah in the Malay movies. At night, after Isha, the main prayer hall and the offices are usually locked. The travellers are allowed to sleep at the veranda and the outer section of the mosque. Every morning just before subuh, the caretaker notice that this old man came down from the minaret, whereas that section was locked. Still the caretaker didn’t ask or say anything, just make sure that the next night is not inside the main prayer hall or offices.
One night after Isha they were invited for kenduri at someone house, so everyone went there. The caretaker makes sure that the mosque is empty and then padlocked the main gate. But when they got back from kenduri, the caretaker notice that he forgot to bring the key, so they were locked out of the mosque compound.
“What happen?” the old man enquired.
“We forgot the key” the caretaker said.
The old man came in from the rear, and without anyone realising, he pushed a bit the caretaker, and suddenly the caretaker was inside the mosque compound. He was dumbfounded, how on earth did he get in?
“Aha, you are inside, so go get the keys then” he said.

One time this friend and his brother the caretaker wanted to go to Singapore. The old man wanted to came along.
“Uncle needs to have a passport to go to Singapore” my friend said.
“Its okay, I can handle it” the old man said
So they drove to Singapore across the causeway, going through immigration checkpoint and the old man seem to pass through okay, the officers seem not to notice him at all.

Being a curious young man, my friend asked the old warrior what kind of ilmu that he practice? The old warrior told him that he originally came from Muar, Johor. He went to Java travelling and seeing places, until he met a teacher who taught him pati geni. My friend said that a man who practice pati geni only eat a handful of rice a day. The rice must be done in a special way. Boil rice in a pot, when its just boiling, grab a handful in your hand and hold it until it cools down. That rice should do for your breakfast sahur before fajar and breakfast at sunset. You are supposed to fast during daylight hours.

The first time I heard of this word pati geni was last year, during rambling conversation with a Sarawakian of Javanese descent. Apparently the fasting whereby you only eat a handful of rice is called poso mutih (spiritual body cleansing), which normally has to be done for 40 days consecutively. Hence ilmu putih.
I have heard of this kind of fasting when I was a teenager, when my late father told me his story of what happened back in 1969. Not only you have to eat only plain white rice, but you can only drink air putih, plain clear water. You also cannot sleep at night, so to keep awake, you have to walk around…
I remember my late father told me that near the end of his forty days fasting, he saw a tiger, a huge snake and a beautiful maiden. No, not at the same time, and only fleeting.
Apparently this is what the old warrior was practising, eat only sparingly and keep awake all night reciting zikrullah.

My Sarawakian friend once told me that his uncle could see places thousands of kilometres away and describe whats going on as well as the situation of the place (whether the pace is spooky/keras or not) if you tell him the address.

So my friend and his group started learning things from the old warrior.
Being knowledgeable in religion, the old warrior also taught Quran and Fiqh and over the years Majlis Agama Islam Johor hauled the old warrior to the Shariah Court for teaching Islam without credentials and accusing him of being deviant. But the prison means nothing to him, he still turn up at his Quran class to teach as usual, while at the same time residing in prison. Towards the end of his life he built a small hut in the forest near Mersing. My friend visited him once; he saw tiger marks around the compound.
“Living in the forest? So who uruskan jenazah when he died?” I asked, perplexed, for an old man living alone in the forest, what happen when he died, I thought.
“He call his anak murid, disciples before he died” my friend said.

A Story of the Supernatural Kind; Of Djinn and Orang Bunian

2009-05-28T04:27:00.003+12:00

A Story of the Supernatural Kind; Of Djinn and Orang Bunian.

Before we start, let me define what I mean by:

Jinn, Djinn, Genie or Jin are the same thing; see the definition in Wiki. In Islamic belief, djinn are creatures of unseen, but they can see us human beings, have long lives, up to 600 years. Allah created djinn out of fire, unlike human from clump of clay-earth.

Orang Bunian see definition in Wiki Indonesian. Another unseen human like creatures, they are like human, they can see us, but unseen except to some people.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend who run a massage and facial centre told me that her business premises have been ‘blocked’. It all started after a known ‘bomoh’ visited her business. The woman ‘bomoh’ came in and asked for treatment, so she was treated like any other customer, soon after she left, this friend notice that it felt different in the premises, feeling sleepy and lack of mood as well as strange noises being heard in the house. Noises like as if there is someone in the next room, when there is none.
Mind you, before this friend opens the business, she has ‘cleansed’ the place by reciting Yasin and Ayat Kursi. So there is nothing much anyone could do except ‘cleanse’ the place again, reciting Yasin again many times.
She told me that the place has become spooky, when she was reciting Yasin, there was some strange noises as well as stomach ache etc. But soon as she finished reciting Yasin, the feeling was gone.

So I asked these things to an older, wiser friend. He explained to me that ‘blocking’ phenomenon is quite common in Malaysia. He gave an example of a row of restaurants somewhere in Johor, all selling a variety of foods, but one, operated by an Indonesian is always full, people queue to get a seat. While the other food outlets are almost empty all the time. “There is no difference in the quality of food, just normal food. Not that the waitresses are pretty. But why people have preference for that outlet?”
“I myself kept going to that shop, because I felt ‘senang hati’ eating there. Only sometimes I went to one of the other outlets, even then, I felt uneasy, ‘tak senang hati’ at the other outlet.” He continued.
He said that the restaurant owner enlist the help of djinn to ‘block’ customers from going to the other food outlets.
“Your friend is lucky that the djinn is kafir. If that djinn is Muslim, he would just laugh and follow to read Yasin as well. The Djinn would even laugh if the tajwid and idheram is incorrect.”
He explained further that we are all Allah’s creatures, doesn’t matter whether Muslim or not. Whatever we asked, Allah will grant it. Some people asked or pray to Allah through Iblis, syaitan or djinn, and Allah still grant his/her wishes. While some people pray directly to Allah. Still there are some people asked the help of pious and religious person to pray for him/her.

I have read somewhere that Allah will grant the prayer of people who are oppressed, pious and pure, in that order. So be careful sons and daughters of Adam, if you wronged someone, because Allah will grant the prayers of people who are oppressed or suffer injustice, I mean everyone, doesn’t matter he/she is Muslim or not.

Then my friend told me of his former boss, who was Ministry of Health director for Perlis, whom as soon as he was transferred to Perlis suffered a debilitating illness and paralyzed from chest down to his toe. He spoke only Siamese language, even though all his life he had never spoken Siamese. Strange but true.

He has also experienced the wrath of ‘bomoh Siam’ when he was working in Alor Star. He employed ‘orang gaji’ a Siam girl, who was good looking. After some time, his wife noticed that the girl starting to fuss over him, and when he was late home, she set aside food for him. At some stage, when cleaning the house, my friend noticed that there were sand in the house. His wife was not happy, and terminated the girl’s employment. He kept having fights and arguments with his wife whenever they were in the house. Later the girl came to meet him with her mother and grandmother. The grandmother told my friend that she wanted him to marry the girl. He was not interested in the girl. In the end he had to sell the house.

Another story he told me was when he was stationed in Johor Bharu. He was staying at staff quarters with his wife. He noticed some strange going on in the house. His son complained that someone hurt him, and when asked who did it, his son pointed to the corner of the room. Yet he saw no one there. Whenever he wore black t-shirt to sleep, the next morning the black t-shirt was chucked outside. On some other occasions, there was large size woman’s underwear hanging on the clothesline in the morning. One time his sister came over for a visit and stayed overnight. The next morning she asked him why he slept next to her on the single bed. The bed was narrow, not enough space for two.
“I didn’t sleep there” he said.
One afternoon he was sitting by the front window, and he saw a big human like creature as high as the power line. Realising that the house was spooky, he sought help from an alim, who came and visit his place. The alim confirmed his suspicion, saying that the place is ‘keras’, spooky. There were unseen beings coming over and visit from time to time. This alim in turn asked help from another alim, a religious man who lived in Mecca, but came back to Johor Bharu every month to spread Wirid Haddad.
This alim, asked him to buy a ‘kati’ of coarse salt and give it him. The next day, the alim gave back the salt and told him before he go to sleep that night to recite Ayat Kursi and spread the salt around his house especially the problem areas at the back of his house.
The next morning when he woke up, he checked around, and saw blood splattered on the walls and on the courtyard.
The alim assured him that the djinn wouldn’t come back again; the salt was like broken glass and sharp object to the djinn.

I asked him about orang bunian.
“They are human being just like us, some of them Muslim, some of them not, and some of them are good Muslim, while some are not. He related a story of an Ustadz he know who went for hajj. In Mecca he befriended another man who was also a Johorean. The man introduced his wife who was also doing the hajj. They talked and the man invited the Ustadz to visit him, giving him his address at Batu 37, Jalan Jemaluang Mersing. The man also given the Ustadz an ayat to recite before going on the journey. Those days, most people don’t have car, and the Ustadz was going to visit his friend by bus. So the Ustadz asked the bus driver to stop and drop him off at Batu 37 Jalam Jemaluang Mersing.
“Batu 37? Tempat hutan Ustadz. (That place is forest)” said the bus driver.
When the bus driver dropped him off, there was a car by the roadside, his friend whom he met in Mecca was there waiting for him. The Ustadz was driven into the village, just like normal village, with tarred road, houses and masjid. The small difference is the all the womenfolk wear tudung, covered up. He was introduced to his friend’s wife and children. Ustadz even stayed overnight at his friend’s place. The next day when it was time to leave, Ustadz was driven to the main road to catch the bus. His friend told him not to look back, but just go straight ahead. Ustadz was also told to recite the ayat whenever he wants to come back and visit this friend.
His bus driver friend asked, “ Did you visit your friends place Ustadz?’
He said, “Yes”
“Whats there at Batu 37 Ustadz?”
“Forest”

Living in the West for a long time, I never heard of such unnatural, spooky phenomenon for a long time. Yes I have heard of such stories in my childhood in the village.

Funny Fake Message ..

2009-05-27T06:00:00.001+12:00

No, this is not real..

FW: A Message from John Key

Dear People of New Zealand,

Due to the current financial situation caused by the slowdown of the economy, your Government has decided to implement a scheme to put workers 50 years of age and older on early retirement.

This scheme will be known as RAPE (Retire Aged People Early). Persons selected to be RAPED can apply to the government to be eligible for the SHAFT scheme (Special Help After Forced Termination).

Persons who have been RAPED and SHAFTED will be reviewed under the SCREW program (Scheme Covering Retired Early Workers). A person may be RAPED once, SHAFTED twice and SCREWED as many times as the government deems appropriate.

Only persons who have been RAPED can get AIDS (Additional Income for Dependants & Spouse) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance). Obviously, persons who have AIDS or HERPES will not be SHAFTED or SCREWED any further by the government.

Persons who are not RAPED and are staying on, will receive as much SHIT (Special High Intensity Training) as possible. The National government has always prided itself in the amount of SHIT it gives out. Should you feel that you do not receive enough SHIT, please bring this to the attention of your local MP. They have been trained to give you all the SHIT you can handle.

Sincerely,

John Key

Prime Minister

13 Mei 2009 Political Crisis in Perak; 13 Mei 1969 Political Crisis in Selangor

2009-05-13T07:56:00.004+12:00

Nah, I am not drawing comparison, because those 2 dates are incomparable.

So far 13 Mei 2009, its only start of the day. Nothing happened yet. Its only start of the day.

Events leading to this day:

Pakatan Rakyat, a loose coalition of Opposition Parties managed to pull a surprise in March 2008, by getting more seats than BN, thus forming a coalition Govt in Perak.

February 2009, 3 ADUNs left Pakatan Rakyat and joined BN, each allegedly rewarded handsomely, rumour says up to RM25 million.

The Sultan of Perak invited Zambry Abd Kadir the leader of opposition from BN to form a Government, but Nizar Jamaluddin, the Pakatan MB hasnt resigned nor forced from his position through formal vote of confidence. His appeal to the Sultan to dissolve the State Assembly felt on deaf ears. He seeked redress through court.

7 May 2009, In a State Assembly sitting, all hell broke loose, BN brought in police and use strong arm tactics to take out the Speaker, a spectacle never seen before in civilised world.

11 May 2009, Federal Court ruled that Nizar Jamaluddin as the rightful MB of Perak. Thus declaring Zambry Abd Kadir as illegal usurper for the position of MB.
12 May 2009, Zambry Abd Kadir managed get a stay pending appeal to the decision at the Court of Appeal. Leaving the politics of Perak to continue in limbo.

13 Mei 1969

10 Mei 1969, Opposition parties won big in Selangor, Penang and Perak in a Peninsula wide election. Opposition were poised to form State Govt in those states.

READ MORE HERE

There is a parallel in these two situations....

Its about naked power. Its about the Malay rule. For some people, I mean a section of the Malays community, they are not ready to be ruled by the Chinese Malaysian, or Indian Malaysian. And they would NOT accept that Nizar Jamaluddin, even though he is a Malay Muslim. Some Malay Muslim still think that DAP Chinese are the power behind Nizar Jamaluddin, "memerintah sebagai boneka".

Lets accept that the situation in Perak is very fragile now. BN, as asserted by PM Najib, would NOT hold statewide election, because they know BN will lose.
Hence the dogged effort to prolong the crisis, to stay in power by all means.

What if the Court of Appeal rule in favour of Zambry? Then the fiasco/crisis would die down until the next Malaysiawide election PRU13.

What if the Court of Appeal rule in favour of Nizar? If BN give up, Nizar would ask the Sultan to dissolve the Assembly, hold statewide election, and Pakatan would more than likely win bigger majority, given current sentiment.
This is what BN DO NOT WANT. A bigger majority for opposition would have a snowball effect.
BN could ask the Sultan to suspend the Assembly and impose Emergency Rule for the State of Perak, on the pretext of 'huru hara' in the state...

In My Humble Opinion, Pakatan Rakyat would be better off lose this state, Perak, and keep the momentum going in garnering the support of the people if the Court of Appeal rule in favour of Zambry. Let Zambry rule, let the hatred of Malaysians, Perakians especially accumulated and snowball, to materialised into Pakatan winning more seats, and the Govt hopefully in the next PRU13.
Losing the battle doesnt mean losing the WAR.

Nizar The Rightful MB, I kind of Expect that after reading Najib's in The Star yesterday

2009-05-11T20:30:00.002+12:00

this is what I wrote last night;

http://nooryahaya.blogspot.com/2009/05/najib-admit-that-he-made-blunder.html

Zambry, go eat your shorts!

And now to the car auction business, what do you think the people of Perak do about it?

Beside that, there is the business of embarassing melee and coup at the Perak Assembly. What an embarassment to Najib and Zambry.

Keep it up Najib and Zambry, at this rate no one would vote for BN by the next election.

Najib Admit that He Made a Blunder.

2009-05-11T01:33:00.003+12:00

Read this in the Star.
Are we expecting that the court ruling in favour of Nizar as the rightful MB tomorrow?
I think so, even mainstream media are not in favour of BN Zambry goon tactic.

Published: Sunday May 10, 2009 MYT 5:11:00 PM
PM: BN ready to work with opposition to resolve Perak crisis

PEKAN: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Barisan Nasional government is willing to cooperate with opposition parties to resolve the political crisis in Perak but that does not mean that it would agree to a coalition government.

The prime minister said the cooperation should be based on the spirit of mutual respect and adherence to the country's law.

"Cooperation does not mean forming a coalition government. It doesn't have to be in that form... it can take various other forms but the most important thing is that there should be mutual respect," he told reporters after opening Pekan Umno branch meetings here Sunday.

Najib was commenting on the statement by DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang Saturday that he (Lim) was willing to meet Najib to discuss the Perak political impasse.

Najib stressed that the Perak political crisis could have been avoided if all parties had adhered to the law and respected one another.

"If we respect the law, and everyone should respect the law, there won't be any crisis and things won't turn into a crisis. But when all are claiming that they are right, then there are bound to be problems," he said.

Najib said the Barisan government had always kept an open attitude and had given best service to the people.

"We don't want the situation (in Perak) to prolong. We want to serve the people, for everyone in Perak and throughout the country," the prime minister said. - Bernama

Ahad Mei 10, 2009
Krisis politik Perak: Campur tangan Sultan penentu penyelesaian?
Oleh NURUL AIN MOHD HUSSAIN

BERTIKAM LIDAH... ADUN Pakatan Rakyat dan Barisan Nasional terlibat dalam pertikaman lidah pada sidang Dewan Undangan Negeri Perak Khamis lalu.

PETALING JAYA: Di sebalik krisis politik Perak yang telah masuk bulan ketiga sekarang, penganalisis-penganalisis berpendapat parti-parti politik perlu berkompromi manakala Sultan perlu campur tangan walaupun raja "berada di atas politik".

Penganalisis politik Dr. Sivamurugan Pandian dari Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) berkata, kekecohan di Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Perak Khamis lalu tidak sepatutnya berlaku dalam konteks demokrasi diamalkan di negara ini.

“Kita tak seharusnya sampai ke tahap mentaliti politik yang negatif seperti yang berlaku dalam Parlimen di Taiwan,” katanya.

Jelasnya, imej negara tercalar atas kekecohan yang berlaku dan kemelut politik yang melanda Perak tidak akan selesai sehingga pilihan raya umum yang ke-13 jika tiada langkah segera diambil.

“Sudah tiba masanya baginda (Sultan Perak) campur tangan bagi menyelesaikan masalah ini.

“Saya melihat Sultan wajar mengeluarkan kenyataan bagi memaklumkan pendirian baginda berhubung keputusan yang telah dibuat (melantik Menteri Besar BN, Datuk Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir).

“Walaupun Sultan berada di atas kuasa politik tapi dalam situasi seperti ini, saya melihat campur tangan itu perlu untuk meredakan kemelut politik di Perak,” kata beliau kepada mStar Online.

Mengulas lanjut mengenai isu tersebut, Sivamurugan yang juga Timbalan Dekan Pusat Pengajian Sains Kemasyarakatan, Universiti Sains Malaysia berkata, baginda boleh mengisytiharkan darurat di Perak dan menyerahkan urus tadbir negeri itu kepada kerajaan Persekutuan untuk sementara waktu. “Langkah ini boleh diambil kerana pentadbiran di Perak telah menjadi kucar-kacir dan rakyat yang mangsa. Pemimpin politik ini perlu berhenti bertelagah,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, perbuatan pembangkang tempoh hari lebih bersifat populis untuk meraih sokongan rakyat untuk menunjukkan seolah-olah mereka menjadi mangsa diskriminasi dan percaturan politik BN.

“Mereka (Pakatan Rakyat) sengaja berbuat demikian kerana ia akan memberi kesan kepada pola pengundian pada pilihan raya umum akan datang.

“Rakyat Perak dijangka menterjemahkan melalui pilihan raya, mereka akan undi pembangkang sebagai undi protes kepada BN yang dilihat merampas Perak daripada Pakatan Rakyat,” katanya.

Tambahnya, bagi menyelesaikan konflik politik itu salah satu pihak perlu mengalah, tetapi sama ada BN mahupun Pakatan kelihatan tidak akan mengalah dengan mudah.

“Jalan penyelesaian terbaik adalah kita harus serahkan kepada mahkamah. Sememangnya akan ada pihak yang tidak berpuas hati dengan keputusan mahkamah Isnin ini.

“Amalan berpolitik keterlaluan yang berterusan hanya merugikan negara dan rakyat akan terus mangsa,” katanya.

Pensyarah Pusat Pengajian Sejarah, Politik dan Strategi Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Prof Madya Dr Ahmad Nidzamuddin pula menyifatkan insiden tersebut sebagai satu lagi rampasan kuasa selepas tumbangnya kerajaan Pakatan Februari lalu.

“Apa yang berlaku semalam tidak betul dan salah dari sudut perlembagaan. Mereka (kerajaan Barisan Nasional) tidak boleh memecat Speaker dan pelantikan penggantinya yang baru (dari BN) juga tidak sah," katanya.

Jelasnya, kekecohan itu juga memberi tanggapan negatif masyarakat luar negara terhadap negara ini.

“Bukan sahaja ekonomi Perak akan terjejas, malah ada kemungkinan pelabur-pelabur asing akan was-was mengenai kestabilan politik di negeri itu.

“Ini secara tidak langsung memberi kesan kepada industri pelancongan ekoran urus tadbir yang tidak sempurna,” katanya.

A Stranger Who Made Our Sofa Home

2009-05-10T17:08:00.003+12:00

he has grown fatter for the past month..

and knows how to make sorry face too, to make us feel sorry and let him stay..
We call him Ginger, for the ginger colour.

Perak: A Coup if You can call it

2009-05-07T22:04:00.003+12:00

It is shameful what is happening in Perak today.

Please READ up to date account on Drs Khalil Idham Lim blog.

I can summarise as; the main Opposition ie BN assemblymen staged a coup, remove the current sitting speaker, and install their own speaker. Then install their own people as government. Plainclothes police personnel were used. They might as well stage a coup, like in Fiji.

One thing is sure, Perakians would not tolerate this, regardless of their political leaning. UMNO and BN popularity among Malays is at all time low. BN would not win people's heart if this is what they are doing to hold on to power.

The only right thing to do is to go back to the people, hold another statewide elections, get a fresh mandate.

At this rate, I am not very hopeful that the High Court would rule in favour of Nizar's on Monday. But we all know that if the judges are impartial, they should rule in favour of Nizar.

BN is their own worse enemy. They keep committing mistakes after another.

Pakailah T-Shirt Sopan Sikit, Apalagi bila Sembahyang.

2009-05-07T07:56:00.003+12:00

Article and Pictures from Malaysia-Today

that gut in black t-shirt..

did you read what the T-

Malaysia-Today has this article which caught my eye..

HERE

No its not the article that made me laugh, but the pictures..

JAIP haramkan sembahyang (UPDATED)
Thursday, 07 May 2009 02:11

(Suara Keadilan) - JABATAN Agama Islam Perak (Jaip) dikatakan telah mengeluarkan arahan untuk tidak membenarkan sebarang aktiviti mulai Maghrib sehingga ke Subuh, pagi ini.

Menurut sebuah blog, pemudabesut.blogspot.com, arahan berkenaan telah diberikan kepada Masjid Ittihadiyyah, Kg. Tengku Husein malah dikatakan beberapa masjid di sekitar Ipoh turut menerima arahan yang sama.

Arahan berkenaan dikeluarkan bagi menghalang orang ramai dari menunaikan Solat Hajat dan Munajat yang dijadualkan akan diadakan di masjid Ittihadiyyah pagi ini.

Tale from Swine Virus...quarantine

2009-05-04T05:51:00.004+12:00

What happen in case of suspected or person at one stage sat close to swine flu suspect? Here is an example of steps taken for quarantine.
Big cities has commandeered some hotel as the place to quarantine suspected cases. So travellers will be directed to go to these hotels..

Hello all,

At 1815 this evening (Sunday May 3), Mr. ##$$$$%%^^ walked into the hotel. Mr. $%^&^&** is a regular guest, and is the GM of $%^^&&&* in #$%^&&*&*.

Mr. $%^^&&&* returned to New Zealand yesterday on a flight from North America, and was seated 2 rows away from another passenger who is showing symptoms of influenza. Mr. %$%^^&& was driving into Christchurch this evening when he was contacted by the Canterbury District Health Board Community and Public Health Services, and advised that he is being placed in quarantine.

His mandatory quarantine period finishes at 5am on Tuesday morning.

It is highly unlikely that he is unwell, Mr. %^&^&** has not shown any symptoms, and his quarantine is strictly a precaution. It is his choice to stay with us (rather than at the %^&^&** where they were going to put him). He is staying two nights and checking out Tuesday morning. He will settle his own account.

For our protection, CDHB Community and Public Health Services have asked us to do the following:

General

No staff are to enter his room until the CDHB have advised us that it is OK (will likely be early Tuesday morning). Mr. $%^&^& will leave his Privacy sign out to signal this.
Mr. %^&&**( is allowed to leave his room and will, there is no risk in open areas if he stays as least one meter away from others.

Food and beverage

He will have all his meals room service, the meals are to be taken to the room (knock on the door) and left on the ground outside the door. Mr. %%^^&&* does not need to sign the docket, this is to avoid handling possibly infected items.
We have taken cutlery to his room which he is to retain for the duration of his stay. He has some dishwash liquid and will wash his cutlery himself.
Dishes from his meals will be placed outside his room and he will contact ^&^&&**(((). Any handling of his dishes by our staff is to be done with gloves on, and the dishes are to go straight into the dishwasher and washed as normal. He has said he may wash his own dishes and retain them in his room until Tuesday.
No staff are to enter the room until we are given the all-clear by the CDHB.

Housekeeping

His room is not to be serviced on Monday Apr 4, and he is not to receive turndown.
Mr. %^&^&** will call reception if he needs extra towels, otherwise he does not require anything from housekeeping until he departs.
We have taken some general purpose cleaner for him to clean his bathroom with if necessary.
No staff are to enter the room until we are given the all-clear by the CDHB.

CDHB will advise us in the extremely unlikely event that Mr. %^^&** is infected with Influenza H1N1, in which case they will also advise full procedure for handling the room, and it will need to be disinfected by an outside contractor at their cost.

If there are any circumstance that requires our staff to enter the room in the meantime (there shouldn’t be), any soiled linen and rubbish from the room needs to be handled with rubber gloves, and staff working in the room will need to wear face masks.

Mr. %^&^&** is fully aware of all of the above, and is a little embarrassed at his predicament. He keeps saying he doesn’t want to be any trouble, and will help us in any way he can!

I have blocked the room as held over on Tuesday just in case!

-------is Manager of Public & Community Health at the Canterbury District Health Board, and he telephoned and gave me the above details. ---------is a Health Promoter P&CH at CDHB, and visited Mr. $%^&^&&* to deliver a course of Tamiflu and some hand sanitizer.