Berbuka Puasa bersama Brother Ir. Fuad Abdullah

Fuad Abdullah was the best student in STAR for the MCE exams in 1971.

it is the tradition of the school to engrave the names of Best Students on a plaque hanged on the wall of fame of the school hall.

However you can't find Fuad Abdullah's name. The name you can see taking that space is Yeoh Keat Hean!

There is an enlightening explaination to that. 1978 upon graduating with an Enginerring degree, Yeoh Keat Hean embraced Islam! SubhanaAllah...

I asked him tonight when we met for Iftar, "how did you first got attracted to Islam?"

He answered, "from STAR days. Even when I was in STAR i fasted during Ramadan" Allahuakbar...

He is today a Syariah advisor to a reputable financial institution in Malaysia.

Bro Fuad, after all these years, still is the same vibrant, unassuming, humble and deeply intellectual person whom I admired when he was my senior in STAR.

I was in form one when he left after his MCE exams.
Tonight is out first meeting since then.

May God continue to bless you brother!
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from STC

"Wahai hati...berjanji lah~!"

Malam tadi aku menyebut dengan hati

airmata keinsafan membasahi pipi

lalu aku bersaksi sekali lagi

"Tiada Tuhan Melainkan Allah,

dan Nabi Muhammad itu pesuruh Allah"

Wahai hati ku yang sering terlupa

pegang lah kepada janji

jangan lagi walau pun sedetik di mungkiri

berhambalah kamu kepada Nya

Iqra', bacalah

serta hayatilah surah Al Asr

supaya kamu tidak lagi kerugian

sedangkan sudah lengkap pedoman

Maha Suci Al Quran

Hadith sahih sebagai panduan!

Ya Allah, Ya Rabbi

di bawah bayangan kaabah Mu aku memohon

sepuluh jari tersusun, hati meruntun

aku sungguh kerdil dan kecil

aku lah insan paling mengharap

dan bersyukur dengan segala Rahmat

semoga zuriat2 ku dewasa di dalam iman

menjadi anak2 soleh meneruskan kehidupan

semoga aku bertemu nanti

anak2 dan isteri di Syurga Khuldi

dan jadikan lah hati kami beristiqamah

hidup kami biar lah di dalam ibadah

mati kami supaya di dalam keimanan

walaupun sesungguhnya,

kami sering tewas di goda Syaitan!

Nikmat Mu

tadi aku sungguh syukuri

sebutir tamar, seteguk zamzam

beribu langkah mengelilingi Kaabah,

dan saei di antara Safa dan Marwah

walau insan memenuhi bagai lautan

aku damai, kerana aku tahu

aku di sana, sebagai tetamu Mu!

Ya Allah, Ya Rahim, Ya Rahman

hanya kepada Mu aku meminta pertolongan

dan kepada Mu aku berserah

dengan ketentuan Mu,

jadi kan aku insan yang pasrah!

Wahai hati

bersama ku marilah berjanji

kepada Allah, kita hambakan 

rohani dan jasmani!

Ameeeen.

(Fajr, Jumaat 5 August, 2011, sepulangnya aku dari Mesjidil Haram)

Azizi's Do'a - part 1

 The morning sun kissed his cheek. Azizi squinted his eyes to look at the screen of his Blackberry Torch. No, he was not checking the time. Instead he was looking for any missed calls or messages. He sat up, stretched his arms and moved them in circular motion to loosen his frozen shoulders. He forced himself out of bed and walked into the bathroom to make Wudu' for Fajr prayer. 

"Better late than never!" That has been his motto. If there is any principle that  Azizi has managed to lived religiously by, it must be this one. He has been habitually late for his Fajr prayer.

In his doa after the prayer, he uttered doa for his mother and father, both have been dead for a while, followed by doa for his wife. He continued to ask for God's blessings and forgiveness, and for  success in his life and rewards of paradise in after life. Then he paused, and he went from quite whispers to complete silent. This part of the doa has been his most intimate moment with God for the last five years, three years after he married Aida. It has also been his deepest regret, and biggest hope. 

Picture from google image!

Azizi realized his faith in God was sometimes shaken, which made him shudder with fear each time. He knew he was a good man who had to protect himself against his own tendency to self-sabotage. A good man prone to sometimes be bad!

"Why God doesn't accept my Doa?" He grumbled to Isa one morning.

Isa, a work colleague who by nature a quiet character, did not normally like to indulge in small talk. However, that morning he moved his gaze from his PC screen to face Azizi.

"Azizi, the more you pressure God and become impatient, the more God will ignore your doa!" Said Isa.

Azizi retorted, "What do you know about doa?"

Isa pushed his chair closed to Azizi and spoke softly, "You may think that it doesn’t really matter where and when or how you make your Do'a as long as you are sincere and ask for good things. The way I look at it is, we must do our best to achieve what we are asking for. Part of doing our best is praying in the best way that we know as told to us by the prophet (SAW). Of course I'm not a scholar so everyone should do what they think is right."

With that, Isa moved back to his desk and continued with his work. Aziz got up from his chair, and before he walked out, he tapped Isa's shoulder and said, "Thanks Isa!"

That morning Azizi left his office and went looking for Haji Nasir, his childhood friend, also an Imam of the Kampung Cendana's Mosque.

He arrived at Hj Nasir's house about an hour before Zuhur. The last time they met was also when Azizi came seeking Hj Nasir's advise. That time Azizi's wife Aida refused to entertain his advances. It went on for more than two months of marital life without intimacy, too long for Azizi to endure.

"You have to be patient, and treat her with kindness. At the same time, you must lead her!" That was Hj Nasir's advise before going to to explain how to lead a wife using Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh). 

"Before you can expect your wife to be a good wife, you must be a good husband yourself!" Said Haji Nasir, then he added, "There is nothing better for a Muslim than to live by the Sunnah and the teaching of the Al Quran!"

Azizi listened and made mental notes. He actually bought a few books related to Hadith, Sunnah and the subject of being a good husband. Reading led to knowing, but knowing what were supposed to be done, he soon found out, was not the same as doing them. It took two to tango, and in their case, Aida just wasn't interested!

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was full of praise for virtuous and chaste women. He said:

"The world and all things in the world are precious but the most precious thing in the world is a virtuous woman. He once told the future khalif, 'Umar: "Shall I not inform you about the best treasure a man can hoard? It is a virtuous wife who pleases him whenever he looks towards her, and who guards herself when he is absent from her."

During that meeting, Haji Nasir also cited a sentence from the Quran, 

O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should you treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the dowry you have given them - except when they have become guilty of open lewdness. On the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If you take a dislike to them, it may be that you dislike something and Allah will bring about through it a great deal of good. (4:19)

This time, he wanted more than advice, he wanted to learn from Hj Nasir. 

They hugged, shook hand, and hugged again. Then Hj Nasir invited him to seat on the garden chair located by a Koi pond. The morning sun was filtered by a row of betel leaf plants which obviously have been planted to form a natural shade for the garden.

"Ramadan Mubarrak!" Said Hj Nasir  breaking the ice. 

"To you too Haji. Actually I need help!" Said Azizi straight to the point. A character he has developed after working in an American company for ten years. Although he has often got into trouble due to his directness when dealing with ordinary Malaysians, he did not seem to care to change.

"InshaAllah, if ana can help...." Said Haji nasir before he was abruptly interrupted by Azizi.

"I want to learn how to say doa so that God will grant my doa!" 

Haji Nasir leaned back. He took a deep breath, played with his beard, and simply looked at Azizi. His face pensive. 

(....besok lah pulak sambung...dah mengantuk!)

Sebutir tamar...

Sebutir tamar, seteguk air
Perantau beriftar, di padang pasir
Kerinduan berputar, berbagai tafsir?

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from STC

Malam pertama~!

Malam ini malam pertama solat Jemaah Teraawih untuk tahun ini. Mesjid besar di ladang udang kami hanya satu pertiga penuh. Tidak ramai hadir ke Mesjid utama kerana besoknya hari kerja dan di ladang ini ada 17 Mussolah kesemuanya.

Aku di saf ke lima dari hadapan. Di sebelah kanan, seorang saudara dari Indonesia dan di sebelah kiri seorang dari India. Kelihatan wajah-wajah yang lazimnya aku hanya bertemu ketika waktu kerja, malam ini aku terharu bertemu mereka di dalam saf. Mereka kelihatan kemas dengan pekaian berseterika, sama ada berpelikat atau berseluar, atau berjubah lazim rakan2 dari negara Arab.

Imam Azman, seorang Hafiz, membaca Al Quran begitu merdu sekali suara, dan baik sekali lagu dan tajwid nya. Aku hampir terlupa membaca Al Fatihah kerana asyek mendengar bacaan beliau.

Selepas Terawih, aku bagaikan hilang punca seketika. Tercari kedai mamak, tiada! Tiba di bilik kediaman, aku ke dapur mencari buah melaka atau pun pengat pisang. Tiada!Aku di sedarkan dari lamunan dengan ketibaan Zuraimi, seorang sahabat senegara, "Pak Pin, ni kawae bawop icecream dan  susu Laban, kita morehhh~!"

Alhamdullillah, tersebut di dalam hati rasa keyukuran kerana mempunyai rakan2 yang sama2 berkelana. Kami berbual membuat perancangan untuk ke Mekah di dalam minggu ini, dengan harapan untuk berbuka puasa, dan solat terawih serta membuat ibadah Umrah. InshaAllah.

Tadi, isteri sempat bertanya, "Malam ini abang sahur makan apa?" Walaupun sudah membuat perancangan untuk bersahur dengan Mee segera Maggie, tidak sampai hati untuk memberitahu begitu.

Lantas, aku menjawap, "Sahur di kantin...belum tahu apa menu nya tahun ini!"

Semoga isteri yang berada jauh di Malaysia tidak lah terlalu risau memikirkan suaminya di sini.

Satu perkara penting untuk kami di Saudi ialah meminum air yang mencukupi di waktu malam. Suhu panas sekarang boleh mencapai 47 darjah Celsius di waktu siang. Air sangat penting...

Malam pertama, mesjid tidak penuh. Semoga semakin ramai jemaah pada malam-malam berikutnya. Bukan seperti kebiasaan di Malaysia, mesjid penuh pada minggu pertama, dan kedai kopi penuh pada minggu2 berikutnya.

Pesta Ramadan - Jeddah, 2011

Punah ranah bersepai segala azam

hadis dan sunnah, tidak kesempatan

menjadi pengajaran.

Nafsu perlumbaan mengaut 

segala 

mengisi perut

yang seharusnya damai
berpuasa!

Aku terhenti di pintu Ramadan

malu dengan segala kelakuan

berpura-pura lah kita seangkatan

mendayu-dayu melaungkan azan

memanggil ke arah kejayaan

namun kita tewas dengan

nafsu makan

nafsu dahaga
atau
mungkin berlumba-lumba
dengan tamak, dan haloba
demi dunia!

Sekali pandang

Tadi, petang

bagaikan pesta

berduyun umat ke pasaraya

berkarung di pikul, di jinjing, di bawa

"Untuk apa?" aku bertanya

"Bekal berpuasa!" Jawap mereka.

Sejak bila pula di ajar Nabi

apabila berpuasa harus berpesta begini?

Bukan kah dengan tamar dan zamzam

begitu sunnah Nabi, sudah mencukupi!

Berpuasa itu menahan nafsu

berpuasa itu memahami saudaramu

yang kehidupan mungkin lara

ramai kelaparan dan dahaga!

Marilah kita berpuasa

bukan berpuas-puas

semoga mencapai kemenangan
terhapus dosa, meningkat keimanan!

(Jeddah - Ahad, 31 July)

Masih kah kau ingat...?



A red carpet welcome for Dato Sri Rafidah!

Bunga manggar dan kompang mengalu2 kan ketibaan.



Bersama YB Dato' Dr Zaharah.
I wonder apa khabar beliau sekarang?

   

Bersama M Nasir, dan YB Dato Sulaiman ,

Menteri Penerangan ketika itu yang bergusti tangan dengan

the MD of Texas Instruments Malaysia.



Mengimbas memori

satu waktu dahulu, realiti

meniti tangga koperat

daya saingan hebat

selangkah demi selangkah

tak pernah mengaku kalah!



Aku di lahirkan anak petani

namun aku di ajar menjadi berani

berbekal kasih sayang ibu

dan bapa memberi semangat jitu

di lahir kurang harta

namun di penuhi kasih bonda!

Di Texas Instruments bermula kerjaya

keringat mengalir, ilmu di timba

politik koperat menikam berbisa

 ku tepis dengan budi bicara

kepada sifu-sifu aku terhutang

jasa mu tuan2 terus ku kenang!

empat belas bilangan tahun

berbagai kisah segar serumpun

kepada kawan dan lawan jari ku susun

salah silap, ku mohon ampun!



Bermula sebagai jutera

merangkak belajar supaya pandai

setapak demi setapak mencuba

alhamdullillah, cita-cita tercapai.

Terimakasih kepada semua

yang pernah berbudi kepada saya

operator pengeluaran, juru teknik dan setiausaha

pengurus, akauntan, tidak terbalas budi mu semua

imbasan memori ini

kepada anda penghormatan di beri!



1985- Pak Pin went to Dallas, Texas

did

I rented an Oldsmobile! My first experience
of driving an American car, on American road
which was obviously on the 'wrong' side!

I was a young engineer with Texas Instruments when I was chosen to work on a project at the HQ, in Dallas Texas for three months.

It was my first business trip ever! The Americans had problems pronouncing my name as A-R-I-F-F-I-N, and most of them would say, A-R-A-F-A-N, so I told them what my friends called me, simply Pak Payne! A name which started in STAR during school days has traveled to Texas, and more places since then. I knew that the name Pak Pin has gone global, as far as a name is concerned, when a delegate of Ministers came to Jeddah and two chielf Ministers were looking for me by asking the other attendees for 'Pak Pin'!

That was a start of a career filled with traveling. All in all I have been to more than thirty countries on business travel alone.

I have lived a full life - a life I can say with contentment, I have been there, and done some of that too! Not bad at all for a Kampung boy!

I revisited the HQ twice after the first one, both of the later visit were when I was the H R director of the company, in mid nineties!

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from STC

Di dalam kamar SJ08

Sudah lima hari Rosman terlantar di atas katil di dalam kamar SJ08, hospital swasta lima bintang itu. SJ08, ialah bilik ke-lapan untuk Sakit Jantung. Kesemuanya ada sepuloh bilik. Lagi dua kosong. Ke dua penghuni sudah pulang, tetapi bukan ke rumah masing2. Mereka pulang ke Rahmatullah. Seorang malam tadi selepas maghrib, dan se orang lagi awal pagi tadi. 

Tidak sempat mereka menyambut Ramadan tahun ini!

Jam di dinding di hujung kaki menunjukkan jam 1 tengah hari. Waktu  makan tengah hari, fikir Rosman. Begitu lah resamnya, dia terlupa hari itu untuk ke Mesjid menunaikan fardhu Jumaat. Sebaliknya waktu-waktu begini Rosman mengambil peluang bertemu Laily, kekasih gelapnya. Waktu rehat tengah hari yang panjang, memberi ruang untuk kedua mereka menyelinap ke studio apartment berhampiran Mid Valley. Studio apartment yang di sewa khas oleh Rosman untuk tujuan mereka memadu kasih haram. Rosman dan Laily, dua pasangan yang sudah berkahwin tetapi bukan suamii isteri. Suhaila isteri kepada pegawai pemasaran di syarikat kepunyaan Rosman. Seorang pegawai yang sering di hantar untuk mencari pelanggan di seberang laut!

Sejak lima hari terlantar, Laily hanya datang sekali menziarahnya. "Takutlah nanti ter serempak dengan bini awak tu!" Jawap Laily apabila Rosman bertanya kenapa dia tidak datang!

Isterinya Suraya, menggunakan setiap waktu terluang datang ke sisi suaminya. 

"Tak perlu lah datang selalu sangat!" Kata Rosman, ada udang di sebalik batu!

"Kenapa pulak. Saya risau lah tengok abang ni. Nanti dah baik, berhenti lah merokok tu!" Jawap Suraya.

Setahu Suraya, satu2 nya tabiat buruk suaminya ialah merokok. Itu saja yang dia tahu. Jika lah dia tahu apa yang dia tidak tahu, mungkin masa itu juga dia pengsan! 

"Bila kita mula berpuasa?" Tanya Rosman lagi, apabila Suraya mendiamkan diri memerhati skrin Holter
yang mempamirkan degup jantung di sisi katil.

"Mungkin Isnin!" jawap Suraya. Selama ini Rosman tidak pernah berpuasa, semoga dengan kejutan serangan jantung ini dia insaf, doa Suraya di dalam hati.

Suraya minta izin untuk pulang, kerana terpaksa memandukan anak lelaki mereka ke Mesjid untuk Solat Jumaat. Sudah begitu lazimnya tugas nya. Didikan ugama anak tunggal mereka, Imran, tidak di abaikan.

"Mama, kenapa abah tak solat?" Pernah Imran yang berusia tujuh tahun itu bertanya.

Terkedu Suraya mendengar pertanyaan itu. Pada malamnya, ketika mula melayari bahtera asmara, ketika Rosman membelai rambutnya, Suraya berbisik  memberitahu Rosman mengenai pertanyaan Imran tadi. Terus bertukar mood romantik di kamar tidur mereka. Rosman bingkas, mengenakan kembali kain pelikat, dan keluar dari bilik. Suraya juga bangun, dan mencari baju tidur yang sudah tercampak ke lantai. Tergendala adegan asmara mereka gejala satu pertanyaan yang di tanya di salah masa dan di salah tempat.

Sejak itu, Suraya memainkan peranan sebagi pendidik ugama kepada anak mereka, tanpa lagi mengharapkan lagi  sumbangan dari Rosman. Sudah berbuih mulut meminta, dan memujuk lebih baiklah biarkan saja dari asyek bergaduh kerana it! Begitulah mengadu Suraya kepada kawan rapatnya di pejabat.

Setelah Suraya meninggalkan nya, Rosman terus mencapai telefon bimbit dan mendial kan nombor Laily
"Sila tinggal pesan, I will call back as soon as I can!" Kata perakam suara dari telefon Laily.

Satu perasaan yang tidak pernah muncul sebelum ini datang mencuit hatinya. Cemburu dan prasangka.
Dia mula cemburukan Laily. Meragui di mana kekasih gelap nya itu berada? Dengan siapa?

Dia menalifon suami Laily.

"Shukri di sini!" Jawap Pegawai pemasaran itu.
"Shukri, ini Rosman. How are you? is every thing okey!"
"Yes, every thing okey Encik Rosman. Saya di Singapore bertemu client!" Kata Shukri.
"Bagus lah kalau begitu...see you when you come back then" Kata Rosman dan menutup telefon.
Rosman ingin bertanya mengenai Laily, tetapi terpaksa di batalkan niat itu. Tidak ada sebab untuk bertanya dengan tiba-tiba.

Perasaan cemburu dan prasangka terhadap Laily membuak2. Mungkin kah dia dengan lelaki lain? Memang itu lah yang di lakukan Laily setiap kali Shukri outstation, Laily mencari nya. Kali ini dia terlantar sakit, siapa pula sebagai pengganti?

Tidak pernah sekali pun dia merasa cemburu atau ber prasangka begitu terhadap Suraya.

Terasa sakit di dadanya. Nafas nya sesak. Dia menoleh ke arah skrin Holter. Degup jantungnya, turun naik tanpa rentak. Tercungap2 Rosman mencari nafas.

Wajah anaknya Imran menerpa di mata. Soalan yang pernah di bisikkan isterinya di satu malam dulu, "Kenapa abah tidak solat?" bergema!
Wajah Suraya yang sering bagai menyembunyikan perasaan di hati menjelma dengan tiba-tiba. Tangisan tanpa air mata seorang isteri yang cuba memahami suami dan  bapa yang masih belum bersedia menjalankan tanggung jawap dengan sempurna walaupun berpangkat tinggi dan mampu mengendalikan syarikat besar.

Wajah Laily dan wajah Shukri datang serempak menari-nari di depan matanya. Semakin sesak nafas. Dadanya bagai di tindih, berat dan padat. Tiba-tiba siren berbunyi dan jururawat bertugas bergegas masuk. Beberapa saat kemudian datang pula Doktor pakar Sakit Jantung.

"Cardiac arrest!" Doktor terus memberi arahan kepada Jururawat, "Apply Electrical shock!"

----

Rosman mendengar suara isterinya membaca Al Quran di sisinya. Namun masih belum boleh membuka matanya. Kesan ubat yang di beri Doktor supaya dia tidor untuk menenangkan perasaan dan jantungnya masih berkuasa.

Rosman memerah segala tenaga untuk mengukir senyuman apabila dia dapat merasai tangan Suraya menggenggam tangannya.
Senyuman Rosman membuat Suraya berhenti membaca, dan tunduk untuk mengucup dahi suaminya.
"Saya sayang abang, bersyukur abang selamat" bisik Suraya.
Rosman tidak menjawap. Airmata bergenang di kelopak matanya. Bibirnya bergerak-gerak. Suraya mendekatkan pipinya ke mulut Rosman untuk mendengar apa yang ingin di katakan.
"Abang, minta maaf..." Bisik Rosman perlahan, sekali gus airmata meleleh ke pipinya.

Ketika itu juga Shukri memberi salam. Dia berhenti sejenak di pintu, seolah-olah meminta izin untuk masok.

Beberapa saat kemudian Shukri berjalan menghampiri Rosman, bos nya, yang juga kekasih gelap isterinya sendiri yang tidak di kenalinya selama ini.

"Assalamualaikum Tuan, alhamdullillah tuan selamat!" Kata Shukri.

"Dia masih belum cukup pulih lagi...tapi dia boleh dengar" Jawap Suraya. Kemudian menyambung, "Encik Shukri apa khabar, Laily juga apa khabar?"

"Saya sihat...alhamdullillah. Laily...ermmm...puan tak tahu ka?" Jawap Shukri.

"Tahu apa?" Tanya Suraya.

"Dia tu di tangkap basah dua malam lepas dengan Mamat Hitam dari Afrika !" Jawap Shukri, bernada marah.

Tiba-tiba siren berbunyi! Jururawat bergegas masok ke kamar SJ08. Dia meminta Suraya dan Shukri untuk keluar. Doktor menyusul beberapa saat kemudian.

Di luar kamar, Suraya memekup muka menangis di atas sofa di ruang menunggu. Shukri terus ke bawah mencari ruang menghisap rokok. Resah dan rasa bersalah kerana meninggikan suara tadi di sisi Rosman.

--

Doktor keluar dari kamar SJ08, sugul. Dia menghampiri Suraya, yang terus menangis teresak-esak.
"Sabar lah puan, Allah lebih menyayangi suami puan" Kata Doktor.

Suraya bangun dan berlari ke kamar SJ08. Di dalam dia terus memeluk sekujur tubuh Rosman.
 "Saya maaf kan abang...saya maaf kan!" bisik nya berulang kali.
----

Tamat.

Moral of the story: What goes around comes around. Wanita yang berlaku jahat dengan kamu, akan terus berlaku jahat juga dengan orang lain. Isteri seperti Suraya sering tidak di sanjung kerana kurang 'excitement' tetapi terlebih excitement can kill too ~!

Menjelang Ramadan...semoga ibadah kita di terima Allah~!

Saya hairan!

Sewaktu di Malaysia baru2 ini, banyaknya kain rentang mengiklankan 'Juadah berbuka puasa' dengan berbagai pakej dan promosi di hotel2 ~! Waktu itu, umat Islam sepatutnya di ingatkan dengan rukun2 dan hikmah2 berpuasa. Minda anak-anak seharusnya di dedahkan dengan sunah2 Rasul ketika berpuasa, ketika berbuka puasa, dan juga ibadah sebelah malam! Bukan nya di celarukan minda anak2 dengan berbagai juada di menu yang belum tentu ibu bapa mereka mampu membawa mereka merasai!

Lalu sebagai sumbangan kecil...di blog ini saya kongsikan pautan kepada beberapa tulisan Dr MAZA mengenai

1. Hukum2 berbuka puasa sebagai musafir - di sini

2. Penjelasan mengenai solat Terawih - di sini

3. Sahur dan hukum2 berkaitan - di sini

4. Adab2 berbuka secara Sunnah - di sini

Saya mengucapkan selamat berpuasa, dan semoga puasa dan ibadah kita di bulan mulia Ramadan ini di terima Allah!

Seen on Arab News!

Mengenai kartun.
Kesian kat anak!
Belum pun faham apa erti divorce sudah di ganggu emosi dengan keruntuhan rumah tangga ibu bapa!

Mengenai tajuk berita d bawah kartun.
Membuat saya teringat kepada tanah air tercinta!

Monkey Business...

Monkeying around is okey, as long as no one gets hurt~! . . . . .


Hawau punye Monyet~! hahaha

 .. . .

Friends with benefit? boleh taken for a ride gitu... .

An Orange is just an orange, until...

An orange is just an orange, until you see a Sunkist~! That is the power of branding. Seeing a Sunkist little blue sticker gives us the confidence to pick up that particular orange, and not just any oranges. Before we pay for it at the check out counter, we already can smell it, and taste it in our mouth, simply by seeing that blue sticker.

The brand promises us a certain type of taste, and a cetrain type of quality.

Friendship too has to be tested...~!

At the Jarir Mall Coffee Bean this morning - For Breakfast.
(Somebody took my photo, so I wasn't alone...hahaha~!)

The advance of social network has brought a new meaning to friendship. We now have such terms as FB friends, Blog-sphere friends and Cyber friends.

Let me take you back momentarily to those days when the word 'internet' was probably marked as a wrong spelling by teachers.

Then, friendship was limited to people we met at work, at places we studied, neighbours, and the more adventurous amongst us would have had pen-pal friends and friends in girls schools whose registration numbers match with ours. Gosh, going back this particular memory lane brought me to a particular girl in STF; pony tailed, oval faced, round eyed, Colgate-smile, and her MCE registration number was the same as mine! We exchanged letters, swapped exams questions and a few personal details, and of course I received that one photograph of hers for which I fell in love instantly. That deep impulsive love was what ended  our friendship! Who would blamed her! I asked her to marry me. Since we were both in form five and about to face the MCE exams, she concluded that I was mad and emotionally unstable. She might have been right, but it had left a life-long cut on me. Ever since, until I met my wife, I kept asking every girl who smiled at me to marry me.
But, I digressed.

The point I wanted to make was, in the old days, we got to know the person first then only friendship blossomed.

In other words, we would have gone through the 'Chemistry test', the 'Trust-worthiness test', the 'Argument-and-make up test' before seeds of friendship were sown. These friends, proven over time, they have the tolerance and endurance. Little hiccups didn't bother them. Big differences brought them closer together, and huge arguments resulted in tearful sessions of forgiving and seeking for forgiveness.

Now back to the present, and to the days when we embrace friendship through interactions in the cyber world. Where pictures, words, and self-created persona are the media for others to know, judge and decide whether too befriend or not. Many friendship start hastily, and end equally abruptly. The are no time for any level of 'Chemistry test', no real opportunities for 'Storming and Norming', as any good management book would recommend as a necessary step in starting a relationship!

Little wonder, therefore, many of friendships which endure over time are friends we have met and made through the 'Real world'!

Unfortunately, even 'Cyber initiated friendship' involved 'Real persons and real feelings' which therefore in my view deserved  real respect. This was the only point which prompted me to think about writing this piece while having breakfast at the Coffee Bean this morning~!
Thank you for bearing with me while I digressed.

Pak Zawi's work of art on my walls!



Ayam jantan ~!



Kupu-kupu



Dua lukisan bunga - sesuai untuk bilik anak gadis~!



Terjuntai menawan ~!



Lima dari lukisan Pak Zawi menghiasi dinding rumah saya!

Banyak lagi, tetapi untuk tatapan d lain hari pula.

My favourite is the Ayam Jantan!

I am sure, one day these painting will be worth thousands of ringgit! For now, I will be happy to accept any offer higher than  RM2500 for any of them, or RM11,500 for all five. All the proceeds will go to charity! (The money will used towards buying furnitures for the project rumah anak yatim yang saya sedang usahakan d Kelantan).

The paintings are in Kuala Lumpur, and will be delivered to any part of Malaysia at our cost.

Pak Zawi, I hope you will be happy too if there are generous people out there who wish to contribute towards a charitable deed, and at the same time own these work of art by you!

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Gone very green in my absence!

When we were leaving for our vacation on June 28, we instructed to water our lemon grass and banana plants.

I came home last night to a very green patch of wild grass surrounding our lemon grass and providing company to our two banana seedlings.

Wow! Now I anxiously await my next water bill. I wonder how much water he had used to turn my little dry patch into an oasis.

I also wonder, if this is related to the invoice I received from him today of SAR199 for the repair of a burnt water pump!

Our water pump was burnt when there was no one at home!

He tendered resignation today!
And, this too left me wondering why?

The indoor plants were kept healthy too.

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Ready to fly!

I am ready to fly, but not ready to leave.
I have had a whirlwind two weeks of days away from the office. Everything I planned to do, done! All the food I wanted to eat, eaten! People I wish to meet, with exception of a few,I have met!
Thank you to everyone who have made my time in Malaysia a happy one.
To my family, soon I will be back, until then stay happy! Banyak tu preparation kena buat for the wedding and for the new house!
Bye, maaf zahir batin jika ada salah dan silap!
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Bahaya!

Satu tindakan bahaya dari seorang bapa!
Kata orang malang tak berbau...tapi jika cuai dan alpa, kemalangan seperti sengaja d cari!
Picture taken at 1255pm today on Genting Klang road. What was even worse, the motorcyclist went through a red traffic light!

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The world of work~!

Picture taken from HERE
Thank you my FRIENDS ~!

The world will continue to go round. For many, work, remain at the center of their Universe. Easily justified to please those around them, that they dedicate their lives to their job for the sake of their  their loved ones~!

Late tonight I find myself in a situation where the demands of my work conflict directly with the rhythm of my heart beats. In 12 hours I will be leaving home for KLIA. Destination? Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Work, and its demands await me there. I know they are because everyday during my vacation I have been reading and replying to emails from my Blackberry. Work has been my ghostly companion for the last two weeks! 

My family will be staying on in KL until after the Hari Raya. This time, unlike previous summers, there are significant milestones in our family history. Amirul will be enrolling into a college in Malaysia, thus leaving our troop of five which has been expatriating from city to city since year 2000. 

Adlil will be getting married! Thus, officially graduating from being one of the  cabin crews to being a captain of his own jet! 

Preparations for both Amirul's and Adlil's next phase of their respective life will be made in my absence! Somehow, that does not feel right!

Add to those two, yesterday I purchased a new house for the family and I have set a target to move in before December 1st, in time for Adlil's wedding reception~! Renovations, installations, decorations,  furnishing of the new home and finally the relocation, will also be done in my absence!

My heart aches at the thought of leaving tomorrow! I want to be here planning and executing the changes. 

Work wins, and as heavy as it feels, I will be pulling my trolley bag through the immigration gate tomorrow! And I hate the very idea that I am not able to say, for once,  that my family and not work is at the center of my Universe. 

Unlike before, tonight my own justification to myself that I work in order to provide the best I could for my family sounds hollow. Even if I am able to buy for them a new and bigger house. Perhaps, because when I inform them I have purchased the house - they asked a common question and almost in unison, "Why? What is wrong with this one - we like it here~!"

Is it possible that my definition of what is best for my family comes out different from theirs?


To be the master of our own destiny, to be able to choose what we want to do, and able to be where  wish wish to be, that surely is the reward for being successful~! Until then, we are all slaves in our world of work~!

I have nine hours of flying time tomorrow and I plan to do some more reflections about the world of work versus what really are at the center of my world! 

Morning Coffee!

We woke up to the sound of falling rain. I was so tempted to curl up for an extended snooze. An appointment at 10am at Mid Valley with someone from a bank motivated me enough to kick off the blanket and walked myself into a hot shower.

After an LRT ride from Melati to Bangsar, and a short travel by taxi we arrived at the Mid Valley on time for the appointment. Miss Amira got there on time too despite a call from her earlier to say she might be late due to the rain.

Her puntuallity made a positive impression! A good start.

As soon we started our discussion, it was obvious that she was prepared, and knew exactly what information she wanted from me. Another very positive point.

Despite her young age, she was professional and confident. I was impressed.

That summarized my positive impression of her. Both my wife and I had good vibes about her and really wanted to give her the opportunity of arranging the loan to finance our recent property purchase.

She only indulged into a more personal conversation after all the formalities have been completed. This being another good tip for any rookies out there - to always remember that the appointment was a business and not a social appointment. Therefore, get into business mindset. Personal conversation was at the discretion of the clients.

After ending the meeting on a positive note, my wife and I wandered off looking for a pair of shoes for her. It was while we were in Lewre shoe outlet that Mamasita arrived for our second coffee meeting in the morning.

Unlike the first, our meeting with Mamasita was purely social in nature. Mamasita was full of enthusiasm, and shared with us her plan to go for a second Umrah trip at the end of July.

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