Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
lama dah...
orait. nanti aku cari apa2 yg menarik dan copy paste kt sini.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Ipoh - mon petit chez moi
I wake up in the morning, pick up my things and drive to work. The next day - ditto. Hitting the same road again and again and again… day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year… If there is no Kiamat I think I will do this eternally. C’est ma vie…
And I've decided. I will settle down here in Ipoh. Everything. Living here is tranquil peacefully calm and cool damn relaxing. I know this city very well, her temperament, her curves, her ups and downs, her caches.
And if there ever be evil force wanted to invade Ipoh again I know where to run. If there war between the good and bad force ever erupted (metaphorically speaking of course, you know what i mean, dont pretend...) I know where is safe. I know yes I know every corner and every turn. I know the place like the back of my hand.
Ipoh the place notorious for its leng luis fatale. Where shopping malls, food stalls, pasar malam et al are normally attended by eyes popping lai, lai, lai sale persons, promoters or helpers; and crowd that sleeveless and short pant sexy dressing kind of thing are apparently their second nature without second thought; and where a more than elsewhere towkeys flaunting their Mercedes while Hondas sidelining Protons; and where abundance and impressive limestone hills are our beautiful backdrop but their setback are totally ignored and their natural beauties restrained and predominated by the ever encroaching shrine, temples, gated community et cetera; and where roadside pamelo sale girls aligning preparing ready to defeat you naturally; and where the scattered and abandoned ponds legacy from decades of tin mining left the short-sighted authority no other thinking but to reclaim and construct a vast sink prone housing area. Dan banyak-banyak lagi…
Alas, alas, alas, this is the place I grow up. This is my kampong. This is my joie de vivre. My comfort zone. I do not need to fasten my seatbelt when driving around. If this is my life sentence I more than happy to accept, it is much better than others I think. I made my decision. A fateful choice. Between a living or a life, yeah...
No! Not even if you try to swirl me with the most brilliant wisdom or philosophy, not even if my BMI indicates me to start exercise now, not even if I mirror the horror pattern of cellulite accumulating haha, not even if the my prosperity look- alike tummy now needs liposuction, not even if my only chance to own a BMW is to participate the Petronas Super Car Craze contest saja. I will not budge an inch, no, no.
I am prepared to pencen here. Aging gracefully here. I will lay back, twiddling thumbs, digging nose and wondering what ler all this people rush, rush, rush… enjoying my lethargic life style and practising some kind of my own version of hedonism. But please not mistaken me. I have not lost my heart, my guts. I have not lost my savoir-vivre yet. Je pete du feu ici! I am farting fire here. I will strike when the timing is right. from my comfort zone.
Give back my Gunong View...!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
So you think you can think
If we ever noticed, Al-Quran in many verses urges us to think, hear, see or have sense. Many of its examples and parables insist us to ponder, to think, to reflect. It’s a normal features of the verses that ended with that invitations for us to start to analyse and to ponder over its subject and meaning like - have you think about it, for those who can think, for those who understand, Oh! you that understand, etc.
Al-Quran obliges us to think. It is a command from Allah. By thinking, evaluating and reasoning the ayats, we can intensify our faith, answer our raison d'ĂȘtre and strengthen our taqwa. By thinking of the many questions posed are also the essence of the glory of the past Muslim scientists and scholars in the fields of science and technology such as Ibn Khaldun, Al-Kwarizmi, Ibn Battuta, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, etc. They rose to the glory by thinking of the many questions stated in the Quran – about this universe, about the magnificent creation of Allah, why is this, why is that, how was this created, how was that, how can we use this and that and etc, etc… They reasoned everything and made discoveries. They strived to find scientific explanation behind all while science and logic never replace their faith.
Now, lets look these few selected verses. I prefer to cite the Tafsir in my mother tongue as I found the meanings more profound, touching and captivating as compared with my newly adopted and twisted London’s tongue. Cari makan sikit. Before that, Achtung! I want to remind any soul there that I have not done any Islamic study and my interpretation might be wrong. Most of my thinking were done at the many abandon lombong (tin mines) at my place here in Manjoi. I warn you! I have to make this precautionary statement, I know. If you are interested to know the real details please refer to the authoritative Tafsir available aplenty on the net. You can do so by typing the equivalent surah name and the ayat numbers. There are overwhelming information more than you can handle. And you can be totally drowned in the ocean of blablabla (Hey! What I am thinking? I am writing for Time magazine or what. Anyway this article is made solely for my lone soul and my self prescription…).
(Surah Ali Imran, Ayat 190)
psssst: all the photos are not mine....just yet.
(Al-Quran ini) sebuah Kitab yang Kami turunkan kepadamu (dan umatmu wahai Muhammad), Kitab yang banyak faedah-faedah dan manfaatnya, untuk mereka memahami dengan teliti kandungan ayat-ayatnya dan untuk orang-orang yang berakal sempurna beringat mengambil iktibar.
(Surah Sad, Ayat 29)
Dan demi sesungguhnya! Kami telah berulang-ulang kali menyebarkan hujah-hujah di antara manusia melalui Al-Quran supaya mereka berfikir (mengenalku serta bersyukur); dalam pada itu kebanyakan manusia tidak mahu melainkan berlaku kufur.
(Surah Al-Furqan, Ayat 50)
Yang berusaha mendengar perkataan-perkataan yang sampai kepadanya lalu mereka memilih dan menurut akan yang sebaik-baiknya (pada segi hukum agama); mereka itulah orang-orang yang diberi hidayat petunjuk oleh Allah dan mereka itulah orang-orang yang berakal sempurna.
(Surah Az-Zumar, Ayat18)
The sahaba read only one book – Al-Quran. They modelled their lives after the Quran. They attained the highest pinnacle of moral development and achieved remarkable levels of knowledge. They set the foundation to the Islamic Renaissance or Islamic Golden Age, with Al-Quran as their main source of inspirations. It is this heavenly book that made them outstanding individuals in the history until to date.
Al-Quran has a mystical power that people constantly discovering miracles in it. Scientists are conducting research on the Quranic information and structure. Based on the Al-Quran’s emphasis on thinking and learning, the past eminent Muslim scientists penned some of the best and most eloquent praises of science that ever written. They became the unrivaled intellectual for philosophy, medicine, education and championed many other branches of knowledge.
Au contraire, we people of today proudly stated in our profiles that we read tones of books ranging from J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fantasy series to the many other unknown famous authors. As student, we spent part of our life studiously read and peruse volumes of books glutted with complicated theories, formulas, concepts and fundamentals. We surf zillion hours on the internet for piles and piles of information. Worst, we nonchalantly derive our ideas from newspapers.
We are not cultivating our inspirations at the right place. The one book that has compelled, generated and triggered gazillion of initiatives and efforts. We bother not to read the book that is authored by our Creator. The book of Allah, the life manual, to understand its philosophy, teachings and instructions.
Katakanlah (wahai Muhammad): Tidak sama yang buruk dengan yang baik, walaupun banyaknya yang buruk itu menarik hatimu. Oleh itu bertakwalah kepada Allah wahai orang-orang yang berakal fikiran, supaya kamu berjaya.
(Surah Al-Maaidah, Ayat100)
Dan tidak (dinamakan) kehidupan dunia melainkan permainan yang sia-sia dan hiburan yang melalaikan dan demi sesungguhnya negeri akhirat itu lebih baik bagi orang-orang yang bertakwa. Oleh itu, tidakkah kamu mahu berfikir?
(Surah Al-An'am Ayat 32)
What do you think?
I reserve this last verse for moi…
Patutkah kamu menyuruh manusia supaya berbuat kebaikan sedang kamu lupa akan diri kamu sendiri; padahal kamu semua membaca Kitab Allah, tidakkah kamu berakal?
(Surah Al- Baqarah. Ayat 44)
All these reflections and thoughts will be meaningless unless I start them off with my self imposing questions such as where I am heading for, what I am doing here, what are my contributions, etc, etc. I know these questions will haunt me for answers as I read again and again this writings as I am the most frequent visitor of my own blog… Btw, self questioning is what actually drives the excellence of a person and what differentiates between a thinking man from a non-thinking animal. I pray (and please doa me too) to be in the best of iman and aqal for the years ahead…ameen
wallahualam
sekian terima kasih
Sunday, December 23, 2007
U fly or u flop – u decide!
With the coming of the New Year and the review of my last year resolution; I am malu-malu-malu ashamed! I have nothing to be proud of, nothing much to show, nothing book-worthy story, no nothing, zero, zilch, nil, que dalle, Elek pochikk! So last year resolution carry forward again to this year…
I am feeling this same sort of emptiness for a quiet some times. I guess I have reached a point in my life where I start questioning the universe – lifefullfilling, soul searching, spiritual existence, personal excellence etc, etc…
I know that there is so much we can accomplish in this life while this life is short and temporary.
(Surah Al-Hajj. Ayat 47)
Mak oi! I am astounded to read the time relativity mentioned here. Between this world and the world after. I remember I took out my calculator and figured out… supposing to live to 60years… and huh! Found out that I would about to live only a fraction of few minutes according to the time of hereafter.
Then I bumped into another surah in Al-Quran stated:
“Dan (ingatlah) masa Tuhan himpunkan mereka (pada hari kiamat kelak), dengan keadaan mereka merasai seolah-olah mereka tidak tinggal di dunia melainkan sekadar satu saat sahaja dari siang hari. Mereka akan berkenal-kenalan sesama sendiri. Sesungguhnya rugilah orang-orang yang telah mendustakan hari menemui Allah untuk menerima balasan dan yang tidak mendapat petunjuk (ke jalan mencari untung semasa hidup di dunia).”
(Surah Yunus. Ayat 45)
Perfectly true. I have to manage my time here. And I long have been plagued with this epidemic - procrastination. Delay in everything. I postpone. I defer. I put off. I m slow learning konon...
Yes, life is a lightening short. I have to create time to be more productive. Life is like writing a book (or blog, in this case). Creating your own story. You are the main actor. With one page for every day. How you want to write the story. How you want to end your story. And surely one day you will end your story.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Floods
So what to do? We must start capacity building. We must raise awareness. We must educate the public. We must eradicate poverty as with poverty comes all its ugly faces. We must change our 3rd class mentality. We must advocate sustainable development, understand the ecological sensitive areas, study the hydrological cycle, master the needs of nature and reason the much debatable issue of global warming phenomena… tak tau nak tulis apa lagi dah…I run for Manjoi Mayor, vote for me...
Sekian terima kasih
Saturday, December 15, 2007
My Xmas xperience (part II)
Pakcik pun masuk le rumah diorg tu. Laa…ada anjing lagi..! Kali ni kechik comel punya, type mcm kartun Tin Tin tu. Warna bulu itam kenting2. Bila pakcik dok je kt sofa, anjing tu dtg dekat mula gesel2 kt kaki pakcik…degage!degage!...ish !ish ! tolak2...Tp kemdian tuup trus dia lompat dok atas riba. Laa..nak manja lak anjing nih...Akai pakcik pon jalan camne le nk naya anjing sekor ni lak… Tiba2 diorg panggil. Diorg introduce pakcik kt sume family dia… Diorg ada anak 3 org. Sorg sweet 17, sorg sunti dlm 13thn camtu dn sorg bdk laki dlm 10thn gitu. Kuarga angkat pakcik dlm umor 40-50an le camtu.
Baru je nak lepak smbang susun2 ayat. Mak angkat kata Meh! On n y va…Pakcik yg xtau pepe ni pon kut le. Diorg bwk le naik diorg punya bagnole yg xbebasuh brp lama tuh. Sampai tempat tuh...org ramai…jiran2 pon ade…laa diorg bwk pegi eglise… Diorg bwk gi sembahyang raya…messe de minuit. Mlm raya christmast (xmas eve) tuh. Alamak! Camne nih? Masuk dlm eglise tu byk jemaah dh ade dh. Ada bunyi2 gospel music… suasana samar2…malap2 je. Ada lilin2. Ada cross besar. Ada patong besar. Sejuk..ceh! diorg xpasg heater ke dlm nih..
Kitorg pon ambik tmpt duduk kt bench tgh. Saf agak dpn gak le. Bila nak mula ceremony sembyg tu kertas lyrics pun diedar. Kmdian paderi dpn tu bg speech sket kmdian dia lead the worship. Nyanyi2 pun start le…Brapa lagu, hymns, sequences, pakcik x ingat dah tp jenoh jugak le. Pakcik baca lyrics tuh…laa nie bole tpelencong ni kalu ikut nih..so pakcik diam je lah…Kt lagu2 tu ada chorus2 dn ada part2 yg kita kena bangun kena duduk kena knee. So part bangun pakcik bangun le part duduk pakcik duduk le. Ada jemaah yg dh hapai lagu2 tuh dn ada gak yg xhapai. Satu part yg pakcik xlupe dn pakcik rase byk kali gak yg diorg ulang2 ialah aleluya…aleluya…aleluya…. kira2 mcm alhamdulillah kite le tuh. Bila part nih bole gegar jgak satu eglise tuh sbb ramai2 ikot. Dlm hati pakcik masa tuh asyik baca surah2 quran je…Masa tu pakcik baru le tau koleksi pakcik x byk rupenya…so pakcik ulang2 pepe yg tau je…yg tbyk setakat nih. Bbrapa jam pastu bila nk abis ada le tok siak (kot le…pakcik xtau nk panggil apa) kutip derma dr saf ke saf. Byk org gak bagi derma tu tp pakcik xbg pepe. Bila nk smpai saf pakcik mak angkat kuor duit bg kt pakcik. Dia suruh derma le tuh gamaknye. Pakcik ambik kmdian pass le kt tok siak tuh. Dia senyum. Bila upacara nyanyi2 tu abis sume org pon pakat2 baris satu line. Arah ke altar tuh. Pakcik pon ikot baris. Pakcik ingat diorg nak pi salam dgn tok imam tuh. No hal punye…tp rupa2 line up nk pi ambik holy communion tuh…alamak!...sekian terima kasih (to be continue…).