Journey into Full Moon country

Dark lumps of cloud gathered above my head as I crossed the border late that evening. The big sign board on my left reminded me that I was entering my home state. ‘Welcome to Kelantan in Peace’ it said. My leisurely drive took me about five hours before I reached the border. With eight people including four kids on board I had to be extra careful knowing fully well that I was on one of the most accident prone roads in the country. There is no highway in this part of the country. I have a feeling that people in Putrajaya, with four-lane highways crisscrossing their small enclave, somehow think people from this part of the country do not deserve good road system. Not while this state is living under the curse of the full moon.

The rain that had been falling for quite some time in hilly areas of Southern Kelantan took its toll on the road too. (I am saying that just figuratively – there are no tolled roads in Kelantan, that’s why its roads are still Third World standard!). The main road from Gua Musang to Kuala Krai, which is used by hundreds of thousands of Kelantanese rushing to get back to Kelantan during festive season, was completely closed due to landslide. Traffic was diverted to the less popular alternative road passing through Dabong and Jeli before one could go to Tanah Merah and Pasir Mas. Lucky for me, I drove back on Monday, way before other people did. I heard they got stuck for hours on Wednesday on the way to Kelantan because of the heavy traffic and half-closed roads. Some used the longer route travelling through LPT to Kuantan and Terengganu with the consequence of paying more for tolls and petrol. Which makes me think that every raya it is not just us celebrating it; Samy Vellu also has good reasons to enjoy the season.

The rainy season in Kelantan was still in its full steam. This year for some parts of the state the yearly flooding was more severe than usual. Excess water from Sg Golok had overflowed to low lying areas of Pasir Mas especially close to Rantau Panjang, a small town on the border of Malaysia and Thailand. Up to ten thousand people living close to Rantau Panjang had to sacrifice the comfort of home and stay at evacuation centres on the day of Raya Qurban. As usual whenever there is a disaster, there are also opportunities, especially to the most opportunistic of them all, the politicians. With general election just around the corner, here is the not-to-be missed chance to smile in front of national TV distributing goodies to flood victims, funded by other people’s money, for their own political mileage. The local daily Sinar Harian was filled with tireless UMNO leaders wading knee deep water with boat in tow distributing packed rice and canned sardines to villages. I am sure PAS leaders also cashed in on this opportunity. After all, it was a time to show that they also cared. But, their face was nowhere to be seen in the newspapers or TV. I guess their face was not handsome enough to be in the newspapers.

I did not stop over at my family house. Instead, my final destination was my mother-in-law’s house, the house which I always go back to whenever I visit Kelantan. After my parents’ death more than 5 years ago, none of my siblings decided to live in the house. Before long white ants claimed it as their own and it is now no more than a skeleton of rotten planks and rusted zinc. I felt less attached to it because it was not the house where I grew up, having spent most of my life either in rented house or boarding school.

My wife’s family house is in a village close to Rantau Panjang, about 20 km from the Thai border. Even without rain, the village is like an island, located quite far from other villages, connected by roads going through paddy fields. When it rains, it is easily surrounded by water from all corners, cut off from nearby villages. This time, the water level on the roads leading to the village was about waist deep. Overnight the roads became Venice style canals and the villagers had to use boats to connect with the rest of the world. The water level inside the kitchen was about 1 foot deep forcing my sister-in-law to move the fridge and washing machine upstairs. Still it was not that bad. They were not forced to evacuate. Thank God it did not go beyond the point of causing slight inconvenience. Quite the opposite, the kids seemed to enjoy it very much when all of a sudden open spaces around their houses were instantly turned into giant swimming pools. There was plenty of opportunity for them to practice double somersaults. For the folks, it was time to cast their nets as there was abundant supply of unsuspecting fish roaming free in the murky water tasting their new found freedom. The water levels however quickly subsided and by the morning of Raya Haji, we were able to go to the village surau without wading through the muddy water, perform the prayer and the Qurban afterwards. The sacrifice was not for me though. The cow which was supposed to be sacrificed for my children’s Aqiqah contracted foot-and-mouth disease and his life was spared.

Because the road to the village was under water, my family and I had to wait for two days for the water to subside before we could reach our final destination. We spent two nights at my sister’s house in Tanah Merah on our way to Pasir Mas. The main road from Jeli to Tanah Merah, part of the trunk road linking Perak to Kelantan, was strewn with potholes and cracks. Drivers had to reduce speed to dodge them. The traffic was made worse by JKR workers working hard to fill in the potholes in time for Pak Lah’s visit to Bukit Bunga, a small border town close to Jeli, on the second day of Raya to open a bridge crossing Sg Golok. There was plenty of opportunity for national live telecast for both prime ministers. And I think it served both politicians because while people from this side of the river would be going to the polls anytime early next year, the Thai would be doing so on Sunday.

Unlike the one proposed across the southern border, this bridge is not crooked. It cost RM9.2 million funded jointly by both sides. They appropriately named it “Jambatan Bunga” probably because it is in Bukit Bunga. It symbolises close connection between the communities living on either side of the border. Communities which share same race, religion, language and even passion for bull fighting, but are somehow separated by red line on a map. If not for unfortunate twist of history, the four muslim provinces in the south of Thailand could well have been a district of Malaysia. Nonetheless, not all is bad. They give us cheap supply of fragrant Siam rice and delicious tom yam while we sell them cheap petrol and sugar.

My visit to Pasir Mas this Raya also included a brief stop at my auntie’s house. She was not well and her children were considering whether to let her go for another skull operation to remove a recurring tumour. If they agreed, this was going to be her fourth time going under a surgeon’s knife. The doctor said at her age an operation on the head posed very high risk. But not doing it might not improve the odds either. She was lying in bed most of the time and her husband was the one entertaining us in the living room. He told me about a recent mock election in selected areas in Kelantan conducted by UMNO to gauge people’s mood in the coming general election. He was transported to and fro the polling station in a car and given free lunch. The organiser was satisfied with people’s choice and declared itself winner of the mock election. I could gauge from the conversation that to folks like him it was bread and butter issue that mattered, not abstract stuff like video clips, fair election or fight against corruption. To be realistic, I had to painfully agree with him too. To people like him, which party can build roads and who can give him subsidised fertiliser is more important than independent judiciary or transparent ACA. So those urban educated elite out there who thinks that a video clip will bring the PM down or a court case will cost a minister his political life, be prepared to swallow a bitter pill.

After a week in Kelantan, my raya homecoming was drawing to a close. More people who had been evacuated in the last few days were then allowed to go home. Visiting my childhood home village was nice but after some time I was also starting to miss my home in Kajang too. I missed the comfort of my own home, the freedom to roam on the Internet and my weekly trip to the shopping malls. When it was time to go back to Kajang, the local radio Kelantan FM announced that the two roads to KL going through Gua Musang were closed to all traffic due to landslide. I decided to believe it for my own sake although in the same programme the announcer gave a more questionable advice urging the people of Kelantan to make a change and vote for a new state government. The road closure forced me to take the longer route going through Jeli, Grik, Kuala Kangsar, Ipoh and then down south via the PLUS highway. I had no choice but to endure the heavy traffic and pay more for tolls and fuel. Samy, looks like you won again! It took me 13 hours to finally reach my home in the early hours of Monday morning.

As I was crossing the Kelantan-Perak border from Jeli to Grik, the sky over the hills was unusually clear. There were some menacing grey lumps above but I was sure they would soon be gone. The Zulhijjah full moon would be shining beautifully in the night as it had always been in the last 17 years. Many would hope dark clouds would permanently cast their shadow on the full moon. But many more would hope that the full moon would keep shining in this state for at least another five years. Driving my car negotiating the sharp corners and stomach-churning curves along the East-West trunk road, I was certain about crossing the border, but less so about which political weather my home state would have to endure.

Kajang
25 Dec 2007.

Bersih Rally - why I felt ashamed of myself

After reading what happened at the Bersih rally for electoral reform today, I felt ashamed with myself. Instead of joining them at the rally, I decided to go to Hari Raya open house. Today is the last day for Hari Raya open house and I got four open house invitations to attend. I regret that I have opted not to get involved in pushing for change although I am disgusted with the arrogance, corruption and abuses of power of the present government. I felt like I was a coward.

Depending on which medium you get your information from, it is estimated that about 40,000 people turned up for the rally despite heavy rain, police presence and harsh warning from the authorities that the rally was illegal. It was the biggest people’s march since Anwar Ibrahim’s sacking in 1998. The state-controlled Bernama news agency estimated only about 4000 people were involved. The Bangkok Post claimed “many thousands”, al-Jazeera said “tens of thousands” and Malaysiakini.com put the figure around 40,000. Whatever the number the rally did take place despite PM’s warning and IGP's threats.

I regret that I missed the chance to stand proud with those 40,000 people and be part of history in Malaysian politics. I was not there in yellow t-shirt to march together with those people who cared about freedom in this country. I am disgusted with myself because I crave for better Malaysia but am not brave enough to be part of the struggle for change.

The Bersih coalition is made up of 71 NGO and opposition parties calling for free and fair election in Malaysia. Malaysia is expected to hold next general election end of this year or early next year amidst mounting pressures on ordinary Malaysians’ lives because of increase in prices, corruption of high-level government servants, and judicial scandal involving former Chief Justice and a prominent lawyer. Bersih demands changes in the electoral process including elimination of postal votes, use of indelible ink during voting, fair use of state-funded media and clearing of phantom voters from the electoral roll. These demands are essential to be fulfilled for a truly democratic election and legitimacy of the elected government.

The rally ended without any untoward incident and the people’s memorandum to the Agong was handed over to the king at 4.00 pm by PAS president Hadi Awang. Although Tuanku was not there to personally receive the memorandum (Tuanku was in Terengganu for official business), his secretary accepted it on his behalf. It is the people’s hope, especially those from the opposition side, that Tuanku will have a close look at the demands and truly act as king for the people. Indeed, the rakyat have nowhere else to turn to when all power of Parliament, Judiciary, the police and other government agencies openly and shamelessly side with the powers that be even in matters for which they are supposed to be independent.

Looking at how important today is in the history of democracy in Malaysia, and it happened right on my doorstep here in Kuala Lumpur, I cannot feel anything else apart from shame, guilt and cowardice that I was not there today. Even more so when I saw women among the crowd. I pray that this yellow revolution will start a fire of reform and the institution of Monarchy will once again act as a check and balance against excesses of power by our political leaders.

Daulat Tuanku!
Daulat Tuanku!
Daulat Tuanku!

10 November 2007.

Teh tarik with an old friend

Last weekend I had a teh-tarik session with an old secondary school friend. The last time I met him was in 1991 - 16 years ago. It's been a long time since then. Both of us have changed in appearance. I think if we brushed shoulders in a pasar malam somewhere before we met, I would not have thought that was him, and I am quite sure he would not have recognised me.

He initially contacted me through our ex-school e-group. We exchanged a few e-mails and found out later that we were living in the same municipality. In fact he works in a nearby area as a government servant. It seems like this e-group is an excellent thing to keep old friendship alive and bring people together again.

After isyak on Saturday we sat at a kopitiam and talked about our life since SPM. He went to a local university and I was sent to London after two years of A-Levels to do engineering. He told me how he enjoyed himself a lot during university days and did not really push hard. All he wanted to do was just getting through university. After university he started working for the government. His interest in academic studies grew and he eventually obtained his master’s degree and a diploma. The next logical step is to go for a doctorate, which is the highest academic qualification that a university can offer.

He learnt recently that his application to do a PhD in the UK had just been approved and he would be flying to the UK by end of the year. I think his past work performance must have been very good to qualify him to be considered for overseas postgraduate studies. Not many people get the opportunity to study at the highest level with all fees fully paid by the government. So he said he was not going to let it go. Now that he has been given a chance to do a PhD, he wants to make up for the lack of attention he paid to his studies during his undergraduate years. According to him, in his area of work, Malaysia still needs people with expertise to be at par with other developed nations. He also told me that it was not just for him. Apart from getting his qualifications, he wanted to expose his children to life and education in the UK too. His children will also benefit from getting four years of free UK schooling. They will be able to experience an education system that is certainly different from what we are used to in Malaysia.

I cannot offer any advice on how to do a PhD because I have not done it myself, but I know that to complete it, one needs a lot of commitment, mental determination, enthusiasm, and perhaps a little bit of luck. Talking to friends who have got a PhD, I was told that in most cases it would not bring monetary returns commensurate with the effort and sacrifice that you put in. But the personal satisfaction is priceless. The joy of discovering new knowledge for the benefit of humankind is what drives some people to go through those four years of mental torture. I admire his enthusiasm to continue his studies to the highest level. Unfortunately for me, as my age approaches 40, I feel my stamina to go through the riguors of formal learning has waned down.

At this age, both of us have moved into a different phase of our life. We are now a father of four. Most of us are now pre-occupied with bringing up our children. And to most of us, after so long living in our comfort zone, having to go through another four years of burning midnight oil is just unthinkable. I think it is a lot harder to consentrate on deep thinking and research when we have so many other commitments at this phase of our life. That’s why I admire and salute those who have decided to take up the challenge.

Time seemed to run very fast. We did not realise we talked until the early hours of the morning until the coffee shop and the tomyam restaurant nearby were closing. It felt really nice to be sitting around one table again, sipping black milk coffee reminiscing about our school life and the places that we had been to over the last 16 years. Good luck to you my friend. I hope in three to four years time we’ll meet here again, sipping coffee, eating more toasts, while telling stories about your intellectual adventure. And by that time, I am sure I will be calling you a doctor.

Koleksi Pantun Raya SMS 1428H

Raya tahun ini saya banyak menerima SMS Raya dari kawan-kawan. Saya telah cuba menjawab setiap satu dengan rangkap-rangkap pantun di bawah. Setiap pantun dikirim kepada individu berlainan mengikut situasi masing-masing.

(untuk seorang kawan KL Boy)
Anak teruna pergi ke pasar,
Ikan bawal dijual Cina.
Sekian lama tingal di bandar,
Tiba syawal raya di mana?

(untuk seorang kawan dari Terengganu beristerikan orang Perlis)
Anak bilis dimakan penyu,
Ikan aya ikan gelama.
Anak Perlis anak Terengganu,
Bila raya balik ke mana?

(untuk seorang kawan yang beraya di Pasir Mas)
Pulau Chenok airnya dalam,
Hantu raya mati lemas.
Walau seronok tinggal di Kemaman,
Sambut raya balik Pasir Mas.

(untuk kawan-kawan yang bekerja di Kertih)
Burung merbok minum teh,
Buaya mati di tepi telaga.
Memang seronok duduk di Kertih,
Raya nanti di kampung juga.

(untuk seorang kawan yang beraya di Batu Pahat)
Baiki rumah paku besi,
Hujan turun paku berkarat.
Ramadhan sudah berlalu pergi,
Tuan berkampung di Batu Pahat?

(untuk kawan-kawan seangkatan yang dah lama tak dengar berita)
Pergi mengail pasang pelita,
Pelita dipasang dalam perahu.
Lama tak dengar khabar berita,
Sibuk memanjang setiap waktu.

Pulau Merbok di tengah lautan,
Lima dara duduk berkawal.
Walau sibuk tugas harian,
Bersama keluarga sambut syawal.

(untuk kawan yang ditugaskan ke Turkmenistan)
Paya Chini di hujung titi,
Paya Pekan di tepi hutan.
Raya ini di KLCC,
Raya depan di Turkmenistan?

(untuk kawan yang akan meninggalkan Bangi)
Paya Chini bersih dan wangi,
Paya Pekan merah airnya.
Raya ini masih di Bangi,
Raya depan hijrah ke mana?

(untuk seorang yang menetap di Ampang, tetapi berasal dari Dungun)
Tanam kurma di tepi hutan,
Buka puasa tercekik timun.
Sekian lama tinggal di Ampang,
Hari raya balik Dungun?

Hantu raya penunggu rumah,
Alarm dipasang lampu dibuka.
Di jalanraya pandu berhemah,
Elak kemalangan selamat tiba.

(untuk seorang yang beraya di Pasir Mas)
Kalau tuan belayar mudik,
Belikan hamba segantang beras.
Dari Kajang hamba balik,
Sambut raya di Pasir Mas.

Stories from my Kitchen 3 - "Sedekad di bumi ini"

Bulan ini genap sedekad aku menetap di sini. Tahun ini juga genap dua abad bandar ini ditubuhkan. Pada mulanya aku hanya mengenali Kajang kerana kemasyhurannya sebagai pekan sate nombor satu di Malaysia. Ia juga pekan yang berhampiran dengan UKM, salah sebuah universiti awam yang unggul di Malaysia. Persekitarannya dikelilingi bukit-bukit sederhana besar di kawasan Hulu Langat yang menjadi kawasan tadahan hujan dan tasik-tasik takungan air di Semenyih. Lokasinya bersebelahan dengan Bandar Baru Bangi, sebuah kawasan elit dan bandar baru yang didiami ahli akademik, profesional dan usahawan Melayu baru. Anak-anak Melayu baru hasil didikan DEB seperti aku.

Bermula dengan hamparan estet-estet getah dan kelapa sawit, tuntutan pembangunan menggantikannya dengan deretan rumah-rumah pangsa dan teres. Bukit-bukit dipotong, hutan ditebang dan pokok-pokok hijau dilupuskan. Ramai pemilik tanah menjadi kaya raya dengan nikmat pembangunan ini dan lebih ramai lagi yang terpaksa membayar harga yang tinggi untuk mendapatkan satu lot tanah tapak rumah mereka.

Pada lewat 1990an tiba pula bandar pusat pentadbiran kerajaan di Putrajaya. Ramai kakitangan awam bekerja di sana. Lalu ada di antara mereka yang tinggal di bandar Kajang ini samada menyewa ataupun membeli kediaman dengan pinjaman kakitangan kerajaan. Bandar ini menjadi bertambah pesat membangun. Bangunan tinggi dan kondominium mewah tumbuh dicelah-celah lereng bukit yang diratakan. Kos hidup mula naik, harga rumah melambung dan lalu lintas juga menjadi sesak. Lalu pada tahun 2004 lebuhraya Sistem Lingkaran Kajang (SILK) mula dibuka untuk menyuraikan kesesakan di pusat bandar.

Pembangunan melangkah begitu cepat di bandar ini berbeza dengan perubahan di kampung. Dalam sedekad aku di sini wajah bandar ini berubah dengan mendadak sekali. Gedung-gedung besar tumbuh di sana-sini, ada yang subur maju dan ada juga yang akhirnya ditinggalkan kosong kerana lokasi yang kurang sesuai. Segala kemudahan awam terdapat di sini. Masjid, perpustakaan, taman permainan, pejabat-pejabat kerajaan dan pusat-pusat hiburan. Lebuhraya baru menghubungkannya dengan Putrajaya. Kini Putrajaya hanya 15 minit dari rumahku dan ia adalah destinasi utama kami bila saudara-mara dari kampung datang berkunjung.

Di Bandar Baru Bangi, sebuah bandar baru yang terletak di kawasan Kajang, bertumpu pusat-pusat latihan dan penyelidikan bagi bank dan agensi-agensi kerajaan. Kedudukannya di pinggir bandaraya Kuala Lumpur menjadikannya lokasi yang ideal untuk tujuan latihan dan kajian. Di sekitar kawasan ini juga terdapat pusat pengajian tinggi awam dan swasta. UPM, Uniten, UKM, Universiti Multimedia, Unitar, KLUIC, MFI, Limkokwing University dan Nottingham University (Kampus Malaysia) semuanya berada di kawasan berdekatan. Di kawasan ini mungkin terdapat tumpuan bijak pandai berpangkat PhD paling padat di Malaysia ini.

Perpindahanku ke sini pada pertengahan tahun 1997 adalah kerana mengikut lokasi baru syarikat tempatku berkhidmat. Pada awalnya aku menyewa rumah teres bersama dengan beberapa orang kawan seangkatan yang sama-sama belajar di universiti. Namun pada lewat 90an, seorang demi seorang dari kami melangkah meninggalkan zaman bujang dan memulakan hidup baru dengan pasangan masing-masing. Aku sendiri berbuat demikian pada awal tahun 1998 dan menyewa rumah sendiri. Namun aku masih berada di kawasan ini kerana ia berdekatan dengan pejabatku dan juga tempat kerja isteriku. Akhirnya, kami membuat keputusan untuk membeli rumah sendiri di kawasan ini.

Selepas sekian lama dengan syarikat lamaku akhirnya aku meninggalkan pejabatku di Bangi untuk berhijrah ke syarikat baru. Namun tempat tinggalku tetap di Kajang kerana aku telah memiliki rumah sendiri di sini. Isteriku juga bekerja di bandar ini. Anak-anakku dilahirkan di sini dan bersekolah berdekatan dengan kawasan perumahan kami.

Memang aku akui keseronokan tinggal di kampung tidak diperolehi di sini. Di kampung tiada pagar dan tembok konkrit memisahkan kita. Di sana jiran adalah saudara mara. Di sini kita tidak mahu diganggu ataupun mengganggu. Aku dengan urusanku dan kau dengan masalah kau. Sekali-sekala kita bertanya khabar, itupun hanya sekadar di pintu pagar. Bukan hanya tembok batu yang memisahkan kita, tapi mungkin juga jiran kita berlainan bangsa, agama dan adat resam dengan kita. Walau apapun kita tidak akan mendapat segala-galanya. Kita hanya mampu membuat pilihan selepas menghitung segala kebaikan dan sanggup menerima sedikit kekurangan.

Aku masih ingat arwah ibu-bapaku juga merantau untuk mencari sesuap nasi. Di mana ada pokok getah untuk ditoreh di situ mereka berhijrah untuk membesarkan anak-anak. Namun kedua-duanya pulang ke kampung asal mereka sebelum menghembuskan nafas terakhir. Sekali-sekala aku akan pulang ke kampung untuk menjenguk sanak-saudara. Bila tiba hari mulia Insya-Allah jika ada peluang aku akan cuba bersama mereka. Namun ibu-bapaku sudah tiada. Kunjunganku ke kampung kini tidak istimewa seperti semasa mereka masih ada. Selepas sedekad, tempat yang dulunya asing kini sudah menjadi taman mainan anak-anakku. Di Kajang ini juga tempatku mencari rezeki dan membesarkan mereka. Aku sedar bahawa aku telah bertapak kukuh di sini. Di sini aku mula berhijrah dan di sini aku ditakdirkan menetap. Mungkin di sini aku akan bersara dan menghabiskan hari tua. Suatu masa nanti mungkin di sini juga hidupku akan menemui noktahnya.


Kajang
22 Julai 2007.

Stories from my Kitchen - 2 - "From Departure Hall to Labour Room"

I was deep in my dreams when I got a call from my wife Friday morning at 6 o’clock. She told me she was having labour pain. I didn’t know what to do. It would have been simple if I was lying next to her, but I was in a hotel some 1000 km away. Panic rushed through my head. What would I do? My scheduled flight home was 6 o’clock in the evening and all MAS flights were fully booked. I already told myself to be with my wife to receive the baby because this was going to be our last child. I felt that having four young mouths to feed was enough. I am grateful to be blessed with beautiful and healthy children and having four of them is a good point to call it a day.

I jumped out of the bed, turned my laptop on and got connected to the Internet. At RM26 per hour, the hotel Internet charge was a rip-off but it was not a time to think about money. I needed to be home for the baby. I typed AirAsia.com to book a ticket to KLIA because my original MAS ticket would be too late for me to see my wife deliver the baby. The Internet site did not respond. Maybe the server was down I thought. The address could not be wrong. It’d been etched on my memory. It’s written big and clear on the Airbus fuselage. I couldn’t get it wrong. I tried to call the hotline number but the response was confusing. May be I was so confused by then that I could not even understand a simple instruction. I called my wife again at about 7 o’clock and told her to ask my younger brother to take her to the hospital. I was still hoping that her pain would just go away and that the baby would not come out so soon. After all, she had false alarms a few times before and the due date was still 2 weeks away.

After failing with the website and the confusing hotline, I already gave up hope of getting home on time. From across the South China Sea, there is no other mode of transport to get home except by air. I was away on a project for a sister company, a subsidiary of an oil and gas giant. I had planned to be home for 2 weeks starting today so that I could be with my wife in the labour room. Although the due date was the end of the month, experience from the past three children told me that our baby would arrive early this time. Two weeks was enough windows for the arrival of the baby I thought. Now that my wife was already in labour pain, the only thing on my mind was to get home immediately.

There was one option. I could just go to the airport and try to get an earlier flight. I might just be lucky to get one from somebody who cancels their flight at the last minute. After breakfast I called the AirAsia number again. I was told that there was a flight to KLIA at 10.05 am, and that I needed to check in by 9.15 am at the latest. The other flight to KL was at 7.00 pm in the evening. That would be too long for me to wait. The clock was showing 8.40 am and I only had 35 minutes to check out from the hotel, take a cab to the airport, buy a ticket and check in for the flight. I prayed to Allah to help me beat the odds. I’ve not heard of anybody who does all this in 35 minutes. Whatever the odds I felt I should pursue this to the last possible option.

I quickly grabbed my stuff and dumped it into my travel bag. There was no time to fold things and put them nicely as I would normally do. I went straight to the hotel lobby, checked out and called a cab. There was already a taxi waiting and I needed to get to the airport by 9.15 am. I kept watching the car clock while the driver was telling me stories about his daily routine. Honestly, I was not paying attention to what he was saying. I pretended I was interested in his story by saying yes when I thought he expected me to agree with him. My only focus was to get through the gate by 9.15 am as I knew AirAsia was very strict with check-in time. I was refused entry once early this year and I had to buy a new ticket for the next flight even though I felt I was there on time.

I reached the airport at 9.10 am and rushed through to AirAsia ticket counter to ask for the 10.05 am flight. The man at the counter pulled out his walkie talkie and spoke to somebody to get confirmation whether they could still allow another passenger to buy a ticket and board the plane. I held up my breath as I listened to the confirmation from the voice coming through the device. I was given all clear. My worst fear was over. I would be flying home on the morning flight. Although AirAsia was well known as a low fare airliner, at that last moment, I was not hoping to get a RM9.99 ticket anymore. The fare was actually about the same as MAS flight and no in-flight meals were served. It was fine for me. I was not really hungry anyway.

Again I rushed to the check-in counter and saw there were still several passengers checking in. My spirits were up again. I was going to be allowed to fly. I went through the Immigration counter to get my Immigration chit stamped. Barely five minutes in the departure hall, we were called to board the Airbus bound for KL.

They say AirAsia is well known for delays. But my flight was right on time. The flight over the South China Sea took about 2 hours and 15 minutes and around 12.30 pm we touched down at LCCT. I usually have a slight fear of flying but this time I was so focused on the baby that I forgot everything else. I was prepared for any eventuality. Most likely I thought I would not be able to receive the baby in the labour room. In the past, it never took my wife more than 4 hours and she had been having the pain since 4 o’clock in the morning. It had been more than 6 hours. I did not know whether my wife could wait any longer.

Upon reaching LCCT, I told the cab driver to take me straight to maternity ward at Kajang Hospital. It was Friday prayer time and the road was packed. I think it took about an hour to get from the airport to the labour room. When I reached the hospital my wife was already lying in pain in the labour room. The nurses said that she had asked them to delay the birth because she wanted to wait for me. I was asked to wait outside the ward and they would call me when the baby was about to come out. It is not a normal practice in government hospitals to allow husbands to be in the labour room during delivery but I think they made an exception for me. My wife is a nurse at the hospital and among those in the labour room were her own colleagues . I was asked whether I would be fine seeing a lot of blood. After getting my assurances they agreed to allow me to be beside my wife during the delivery. My prayer was answered. At exactly 2.26 pm a baby boy was born weighing 2.8 kg. My life is now complete. I have 2 pairs of children – 2 sons and 2 daughters. I could not ask for anything better from God.

When I look back at the whole episode, I remember it again. As my bag slid into the X-ray machine and I went under the metal detector gate at the airport, I was overcome with emotions. I was so thankful to AirAsia for carrying me home. The face of its founder Anthony Fernandes, better known as Tony Fernandes came to my mind. Had it not been for his visions, many people would not be able to fly today. If there were no AirAsia alternative flights, I would not be flying home on time to be with my wife when the baby arrived. Thank you very much Tony! If you had a muslim name I would have named my baby after you. The closest muslim name to yours that I can think of is Ahmad Firdaus. It’s Arabic for “Heaven”, a name that has very good meaning indeed. It rhymes well with Anthony Fernandes too! I have come across many Firdauses in my life, and as far as I can remember, they are all generous and well mannered people. Maybe it was just a coincidence. A week earlier I was sailing to an offshore oil platform on a superfast crew boat named “Firdaus II”. I am not superstitious and I don’t believe in any signs. But I think it’s a nice name and I will not run the risk of not having enough spaces when I fill up the forms at the National Registration Department.

Not many stories these days end with a happy ending. I am glad mine did. Alhamdulillah, it all went well and God safely took me home from a departure hall some 1000 km away to the labour room at Kajang Hospital to welcome my baby. Welcome to the world my son. Welcome to the world Ahmad Firdaus!


At home in Kajang,
Currently on paternity leaves.
17-7-2007

07.07.07

They say this date comes only once in a century. But actually all dates only happen once. Every moment that has passed will never come back. That is why every second of the day is special. So what is your memory on this special date? Well, mine is quite exciting to me because at 7.07 am that day I was traveling on a super fast crew boat to an offshore platform off the coast of Sabah. I was on a day visit to the platform to do a review on some offshore pipelines – those big cylindrical pieces of metal that carry so much of oil and gas from beneath the surface of the Earth through the bottom of the sea down to an oil/gas terminal on the mainland. We don’t see them that much because they are usually either lying deep in the ocean or buried a few feet beneath our feet. They are mostly invisible but are indeed lifelines for the oil and gas industry. I’d say they are everything that a politician is not - silent, low profile, unglamorous but yet do their job in the most efficient way.

Many people grabbed the opportunity to hold important events on this date. Couples tie the knots. Expecting mothers pray for their babies to come out. Punters queuing up for hours to buy the number only to be told that somebody else already bought it. It’s funny why some people are so obsessed with numbers. I remember almost 19 years ago when it seemed like half of the world’s Chinese got married on 8.8.88. Supermarkets held super sales with items selling from as high as RM8888.88 to as low as RM8.88. I was still a student then. Didn’t really have money to go on shopping spree.

On a different note, people in the UK were remembering their 7/7 bombing in London 2 years ago. Security was tightened, as there were fears of another attack on the second anniversary of the deadly underground terrorist attack. Again, it’s funny why they think the terrorist would choose to attack again on the same date, when any thinking man would figure out that their potential victims would be most alert! If the terrorists were somehow connected to al-Qaeda, why would they choose a date of attack that coincides with an anniversary according to the Christian calendar, something, which I assume, is the last thing for them to follow. If they do celebrate anniversaries and somehow plan to attack again on the same date, I would assume they would use the lunar calendar instead. The terrorists might be using weapons made by the West, or technologies developed by the Infidels, but most probably they don’t give a damn about the Western anniversaries or calendar system.

I think it’s just us being human. We like parties and celebration. And this seventh day of the seventh month in the seventh year of the millennium is another excuse for us to celebrate. Punters loved it because they felt lucky that day. Capitalists embraced it for the profits and terrorists chose the date for reasons known only to them. The rest of us liked it simply because it was easy to remember. I wonder what reasons we can come up with to welcome 08.08.08 next year. Till then, keep celebrating!

Miri
12-07-07

Stories from my kitchen - 1

To go or not to go – a dilemma



Dedication: This post is specially dedicated to SK and KTS – you guys are now global pipeliners! And to all Malaysian expatriates out there.

“Hujan emas di negeri orang,
hujan batu di negeri sendiri”

By the end of the month (June) two of my ex-colleagues, who are both pipeline engineers, will have left the country and landed in a foreign land. One will be going to the Middle East and another to Europe. Their overseas adventure will be temporary as I believe they never intend to permanently live in those countries. Theirs is merely a journey for new opportunities to learn, experience different culture and of course much better pay! They will join many Malaysians before them who have stepped out of their comfort zone into unfamiliar life in a faraway land.

Both of them, and the majority of people I know who have left the country, are in oil and gas industry. No doubt it is doing very well these days because of the high oil price. More fields need to be developed and more crude oil needs to be extracted. Everybody is thirsty for oil, but China and India, driven by the need to power their industrialisation, are sipping up more and more barrels by the day. While supply of this fossil energy is limited, the demand seems to be endless. Crisis in Iran and Iraq, both being major oil producers, pushes the price even higher. But not all is gloomy. My friends in Petronas are all smiles. Only yesterday Petronas announced record pre-tax profits of RM76 billion on the back of strong oil price. With another 6 months bonus (hopefully), my dear Petronas friends, that new Honda Accord is no longer beyond your reach!

If you look at the recruitment section of popular newspapers, there has not been a week without job advertisements for posts in the Middle East. Some of them even go on recruitment roadshow here in Malaysia to attract experienced people to join their company. I am not sure why they need to look east this time around. Traditionally they would naturally seek help from the West to help extract their oil. Maybe because of fear of terrorism, more Mat Salehs find it less attractive there, and we are more than willing to fill the vacuum.

But not all is “brain drain”. In the current age of globalisation, Malaysia, like other countries, has seen a lot of foreigners coming in to seek better opportunity and life in this country too. Millions of workers arrive on our shores to work on our plantations, factories, petrol stations and our own homes. This phenomenon has been widely discussed in the media partly because of the increase in crime rate and social problems brought in by the flood of immigrants, and probably not less, by the misterious dissaperance of stray cats and dogs on our streets! What is less discussed is the fact that this country is also host to about 100,000 expatriates from developed countries who work at senior positions in our banks, hotels, IT companies, engineering and other high-tech industries. Within the company I work for, more than half of the staff are expatriates. As part of a global oil and gas giant, most of them are here on a 3 to 4 year assignment, and will move on to a new location after that period. But to Malaysia’s credit, a recent survey in Expatriate Lifestyle magazine reported that they are staying here for longer period and many actually buy houses under the Malaysia My Second Home incentives. With average income of about RM32,000 per month, and insatiable appetite for Malaysian food, sand, sun (and sex?), their contribution to our economy is not insignificant.

All those wonderful stories about fat salaries, overseas vacations, big cars, nice house and the all glamourous expat life sometimes make me ask myself why I am still here. My RM salary will never be able to buy that kind of luxury. Not that I have never been enticed into it before. A few years ago I was asked by an engineering manager of a Middle East petroleum company whether I would like to be considered for a position at his company. I said I would give it a thought but after considering potential inconveniences to my family and other matters I decided to decline the offer. I guess I am too confortable in my current life. I am afraid to take the plunge into uncertainty. I don’t deny the opportunity for better life that is available there. I wish my friends and all those who have taken up the challenge best of luck. I am sure they will come back with invaluable skills for the future of Malaysia. As for me, I am comfortable here. Yes my current job offers less money and the KL traffic gives me stress. I agree our schools could be better and our society needs to be more equitable. I can tell you I hate paying expensive tolls or putting up with rampant corruption. Our government officials need to do more and our politicians suck. But, despite all the imperfections, I am still here because it's the only place that I can call home.


Kajang
30 June 2007

Iklan Makanan Ringan di TV diharamkan

Saya amat mengalu-alukan keputusan kabinet untuk mengharamkan sepenuhnya iklan makanan segera seperti Maggi, Mamee, KFC, McD dan yang sejenis dengannya di kaca TV. Sebagaimana iklan rokok dan arak sebelumnya, saya berpendapat ianya memang keputusan yang tepat. Kepentingan kesihatan rakyat Malaysia perlu mengatasi keuntungan syarikat-syarikat TV dan juga syarikat makanan ringan berkenaan. Statistik kementerian kesihatan menunjukkan peningkatan masalah kesihatan yang berkaitan dengan pemakanan kurang sihat di kalangan golongan muda di negara ini. Malah saya berharap kerajaan bertindak lebih tegas lagi dengan menaikkan cukai terhadap makanan tersebut untuk membendung gejala peningkatan jualan makanan segera yang merosakkan kesihatan itu.

Suatu ketika dahulu kita lihat bahawa syarikat rokok menguasai stadium sukan kita dengan menaja acara-acara sukan besar. Kebimbangan bahawa sukan Malaysia akan merosot disebabkan kehilangan sumber kewangan nampaknya tidak berasas kerana sukan kita memang sentiasa di tempat tercorot pun!

Namun usaha untuk menggalakkan orang Malaysia mengamalkan pemakanan sihat tidak perlu terhenti setakat pengharaman iklan makanan segera sahaja. Budaya makan di luar di mana kita dihidangkan dengan serbuk perisa MSG, garam dan gula yang berlebihan juga perlu dikikis.

23-6-2007

Book Review: "I am Muslim" by Dina Zaman

I like reading slim books that I can finish before I lose interest in it. And this 236-page book fits well with the definition of a slim book. It’s been on the local non-fiction best seller list for quite a while. The author is a well known writer on the news website Malaysiakini.com. The book is not exactly a continuous story but instead a collection of previous writings by the author which have been rearranged under different chapters with different themes. It is obvious from the writings that the author is a liberal muslim. She was educated in the UK and had been to many places around the world as she followed her diplomat father but somehow could still relate with her hometown in Terengganu. I think her upbringing inevitably shaped her worldview and liberal interpretation of Islam. Generally, people tend to be more liberal when they mix with people of various cultures.

She writes on various dilemmas faced by modern urban muslims trying to fit in with modern secular life. As a journalist she is not afraid to spend time in a different community in order to find out about their belief and practices. She has been able to juggle her seemingly contradictory lives pretty well. She spent a month with a zikir group in Indonesia (Nursyifa) to purify her soul, hung out with gay friends in KL and talked openly about it, consulted her local ustaz on religious matters and, being Malay, also sought the help of a shaman (bomoh). There are also pieces about her struggle to grasp the meaning of life after her divorce.

If you are looking for guidance on Islamic law or way of life, this book is definitely not a source. It is just a Muslim woman’s personal experience of seeing Islam through her own Western-educated liberal thinking and trying to make sense of the society in which she lives.

"I am Muslim" is published by Silverfishbooks and priced at RM30.00

Kajang
23 June 2007

You are still my Wira

(Read a story about a man's love affair with his car)

Our love affair started in a Proton showroom somewhere in Selayang back in December 1997. It was a particularly disastrous year for the rest of the country. Malaysia was choking with thick haze, the worst environmental problem that this country had ever faced. Our ringgit was tumbling down into what was going to be the worst financial disaster as well. With the help from somebody who had connections, we were officially engaged three months earlier after I beat some other prospective buyers in a normally 6 month long waiting list. Your lot was that popular back then. Your more curvy sisters, the Gen2 and the Savvy, and your more muscular brother, the Waja, were not yet born. They painted you blue, not because I couldn’t differentiate red and green but because blue was my favourite colour. We started our life together on the first day of Ramadan that year. It was the first time I entered the world of mobility.

Just over a month later, we greeted the coming of my other life partner, somebody who would occupy the front passenger seat for most of your working life. You were witness to some of our romantic times together as newly wed couple. I was on top of the world. I had a brand new car and new wife too! What else could a man want? Friends joked about the similarities and differences of a new car and new wife. One said I needed to treat both of them gently. One I paid cash while the other was on a loan. I was told to avoid going into potholes with one but not the other! And whatever they said, truly I enjoyed both.

Exactly one year later you faithfully took my wife and me home through the jungles of Pahang and Kelantan while the baby inside her could pop out any moment along the way. She wanted to deliver our first baby with family members around and you safely delivered us home. We celebrated the third member of my own family, somebody who would be occupying one of your seats at the back. No complain from you and you kept performing like new. I took you to a Proton service centre for regular check-ups. Just the normal lube and filter change. I complained about them charging too much but I knew I had to go to them because you were still under warrantee. You clocked more than 20,000 km in the first year, a distance far enough to go around the world. Your water pump started making abnormal noises but you were perfect again after I was forced to replace it. You drank very little – a 30 ringgit fuel would take us from Kajang to Pasir Mas. Of course as you get older, you drink even more. Now you need 60 ringgit worth of fuel to go the same distance. But I know it’s not just because you drink more, it’s also because fuel price has increased a lot in 10 years.

Because of my lack of driving experience, you had a number of bruises and a few near misses in the first few years of you life, but so far you have spared me from any bruises. I got your broken bumpers and dent mudguard replaced, repainted and you became spotless again. The roof started to show signs of blisters after a couple of years. Over the years it corroded even more and I had to replace it. That was the time I decided to change your colour. It was time to give you new clothes I thought. But underneath I know you are still you.

Three years after you came into the family you proved to be useful again. I will never forget taking my ailing mother from Pasir Mas to Kajang to spend her last days with me. I also remember how well you performed when we trailed the ambulance from Kajang to Pasir Mas bringing my mother home when she was gravely ill and wanted to breathe her last in her own home. Though she is no longer here, I am sure she enjoyed the ride taking her to places that she had never been the whole of her life. The family went to Melaka to see Hang Tuah, to Pangkor and Port Dickson for holidays, to KLCC to see the tallest twin towers in the world. I could see how appreciative she was going to these places after spending nearly 50 years of her life in rural Kelantan.

Over the years I have been tempted to dump you for a new one. There are so many attractive new prospects in the market with various easy payment schemes. The temptation is always there. Probably something that can carry more people as my family has grown in number and size. Perhaps something more comfortable from the MPV species. But every time that thought comes up, I look back at how faithful you have served me and my family and I quickly find reasons to still keep you in my garage.

I admit I have not been a good owner. I am not the man who spends two hours every Sunday morning caressing his car. I am sure you will understand that I’ve got other more important things to do. Sometimes you go for months without bathing, left in the hot sun to bake yourself or soaking wet in the afternoon thunderstorm. But you should know by now our relationship is based on a simple motto: you are here to serve me, not the other way around. They say the average Malaysian changes their car every four to five years. Our relationship has survived twice that long because you have become so sentimental to me. We grow old together. I have raised my family with your help. You make me feel guilty to dump you for something new.

Yesterday I went to the JPJ office to officially cancel the ownership claim from my previous employer who had financed the loan. I know I have fully repaid the loan two and a half years ago but I kept postponing the trip to JPJ until yesterday. They put a stamp on your registration certificate and now you are officially my Wira. I don’t know how much longer can I keep you in the face of so much temptation out there. But for now at least, after almost 10 years, you are still my Wira.


Kajang
9 June 2007.

Four Weddings and A Funeral

I remember this expression as a popular British romantic comedy movie in the early 90s starring Hugh Grant. It was hugely popular in the UK around 1994 and if I am right it was the movie that established Hugh Grant as the best romantic comedy hero that Britain has ever produced.

This time around, the school holiday season was greeted with wedding invitations from friends and relatives. The first wedding I attended was that of a friend who works at the engineering consultancy company where I used to work in KL. I must say that the wedding invitation came as a surprise for me as I did not expect him to get married that early. But then according to him “the call has come” (sudah sampai seru). It was on Sunday so it was a breeze to get to central KL where it was held. The ceremony was accompanied with the beating of kompang and later followed by a live band playing songs from the 60s.

Later in the evening I was again attending a wedding of an old friend. This one was a rather grand one as it was held at a golf club in a KL sub-urb. It was the first time I attended such a grand wedding ceremony. I did not know the way to the place so I decided to get a lift from a friend who also got invited. Five of us who attended the same university as the groom were seated around the same table. It was quite an experience since some of us had not met since we left the university. Twelve years of stories to catch up in a space of about 2 hours. Not so much to catch up with the groom though as he was busy with the bersanding ceremony. But never mind, instead we were entertained with jokes and pantuns from a very well known TV presenter, Wardina Safiyah who was the MC and happens to be a student of the groom. My friend, the groom who is now an architect with his own practice, has chosen one of his own workers, as his wife. I knew him as the most hardworking and committed student during his university days. With that kind of passion in his craft, I am sure one day he will be a very successful architect and businessman. I wish both of them the best of partnership.

Fast forward six days later, I was back in my kampong attending the wedding of my cousin. She is the daughter of my uncle who had played host to my brother’s wedding a year ago. I felt that I was very much indebted to my uncle’s family as he had acted as “our parents” in all matters that needed presence of family elders since my parents’ death. The daughter had also helped baby sit my children for 3 months before I got a maid. So it was a kind of obligation for me to be home for the occasion. Fortunately, my wife’s leave was approved and the whole family could travel up to our home village for a few days.

The wedding was held in full Kelantanese tradition (plus a bit of Thai influence as we were in Pasir Mas!). The kompang and live band of KL is not the taste here. Instead the couple was greeted by a performance of silat cantik followed by tomoi (Thai boxing) complete with traditional musicians playing gendang (goat skin drums), gedombak, serunai (flute) and gong. I thought this was the time to meet all my relatives in one place all within one day! And I did meet most of them that day. One that I also met was my mother’s cousin who invited me to her son’s wedding the day after. So off I went to the fourth wedding in a space of one week! I couldn’t escape it as I was personally invited by the Mak Cik herself.

The next morning I got an SMS from a friend informing me of his grandmother’s death. Unlike weddings, one can never plan to attend a funeral. But it’s something that must happen when the time comes. I knew my friend’s grandmother as a rice trader in Pasar Pasir Mas. Until a few years ago, when she became ill due to old age, I used to buy rice from her before my trip back to Kajang. The rice from Pasir Mas, which mostly comes from across the border, is special not only because it’s cheaper but also because it tastes better. Her passing symbolises the passing of one generation of Pasir Mas woman traders from the scene. No doubt, new generation of Kelantanese woman traders are already hard at work. Life must go on. From Allah we came, to Allah we Return.

Kajang
8 June 2007

An observation of European and Malaysian work culture

I work for a European-based multinational company at their
regional office in KL. Let me try to explain what I
find interesting about European work culture and
Malaysian (or Asian generally) work culture.

Half of the staff in my offcie are Mat Salleh and they
bring their work culture here i.e. we are not
monitored on how long we stay in the office, but
instead on our deliverables. The first day I reported
for duty my boss told me that he was not going to
monitor where I work. All he is interested in is I
deliver what I am supposed to deliver in the given
time.

We practise "work from home policy". I can work at
home if I like. I just need to inform my boss that I will
not be in office, but I will be working at home. We
have Virtual Private Network by which I can get access
to all my office files on the office server. I can
check my mails, run applications, and even have
telephone conference with people in office as if I was
in the office. Not just that, some depts within the
company (mine not included though) even get their
broadband Internet bills paid by the company so that
they can access their mails and office files from
home. It's quite a "culture shock" for me being so
used to the Malaysian way of monitoring the person and
not the product!

The other culture is "work life balance". I dont think
I can ever get used to this practice after a decade of
spending 10 hours a day in the office. We place too
much emphasis on how much time we spend in office. To
us spending long hours in office is good, honourable
and productive to the company. They have completely
different view. They feel guilty if they spend too
much time in office or don't go on holiday when they
are supposed to. Many times I was asked why I was
still in the office late in the evening by the boss on
his way out. And I can tell you the way he asks the
question is definitely not like he's going to give you
a pat on your back!

To encourage staff to live a balanced life, all staff
are entitled to use the well equiped gym located on
the ground floor of the office building. Most of the Mat
Salleh use this facility. As for me, getting stuck in
traffic jam or getting squeezed in an armpit of a
fellow commuter in the KTM train is enough to raise my
heartbeat as much as I could get from running on a
treadmill!

They try their best to make the office environment as
relaxing as possible. That may sound conflicting as
you are supposed to work in the office, not to relax!
But you won't belive me if I tell you that they plan
to install a massage chair in the office so you can
sit on it and treat youself to a relaxing massage
after long hours at the workstation. Just recently
they installed a Starbucks-like coffee brewing machine
( I heard it costs as much as a Kancil) so staff can
treat themselves to freshly-brewed coffee in the
office. Instant Nescafe is just not their taste!

They also place top priority on safety. Every week an
electronic newsletter will be circulated with reports
of incidents, near misses, and lesons learnt. As most
of us are consultants and need to travel a lot to
client sites, they issue Travel Alerts every week
advising staff of possible dangerous situation in the
place where we're going. And according to company
policy, we have to fasten our seat belts even if we
are sitting at the backseat whenever we travel on
company business.

In some of these work aspects, may be we are already
moving in the right direction. But I think there's
still a lot we need to catch up with them.

Kajang
19/5/2007

Komen terhadap emel "Mekah dan Las Vegas..."

"Makkah sekarang sudah seperti Las Vegas”. Mungkin tajuk emel itu tidak sesuai kerana kota suci Mekah diletakkan seolah-olah sama dengan Las Vegas. Semua orang tahu bahawa Las Vegas adalah ibukota judi dan maksiat dunia sementara Mekah dianggap oleh orang Islam sebagai kota suci mereka. Namun saya percaya apa yang ingin disampaikan oleh penulisnya adalah untuk membuka mata umat Islam semua bahawa mereka sedang diulik lena dengan kesenangan dunia di tempat yang paling suci bagi mereka.

Mari kita kupas satu persatu kebimbangan yang diutarakan oleh penulis.

Komen 1: “Ka'bah yang terletak di tengah masjid Haram dan menjadi arah sholat Muslim sedunia, semakin tenggelam oleh berdirinya gedung-gedung tinggi.”

Sebagai kiblat umat Islam secara simboliknya ia tidak patut ditenggalami oleh bangunan lain yang mencabar simbol ketinggian syiar umat Islam. Bahkan di Malaysia sendiri jika kita perasan, banyak masjid dibina diatas bukit atau di tempat yang lebih tinggi dari tempat ibadat agama lain. Inikan pula kiblat umat Islam, sudah tentulah jika ia ditenggelami oleh bangunan kommersial ia menampakkan umat Islam sendiri yang lebih mengagung-agungkan dunia dari akhirat. Dan yang lebih penting ialah, Kaabah adalah kiblat umat Islam. Jika ia dipenuhi gedung-gedung komersial yang sinonim dengan dunia, bukankah secara simboliknya juga kiblat kita sudah berubah kepada kebendaan?

Komen 2:“Makkah saat ini makin penuh dengan bangunan-bangunan tinggi mulai dari hotel, pusat perbelanjaan dan toko-toko besar yang menjual produk Barat. Sebut saja kedai kopi Starbucks, Cartier and Tiffany, H&M dan Topshop.”

Apa yang juga membimbangkan umat Islam semua ialah dengan popularnya jenama dan produk-produk Barat itu, bukan saja ia mengagung-agungkan keduniaan melebihi akhirat, malah kita umat Islam dijajah minda dan ekonomi. Minda kta dijajah dengan mendewa-dewakan jenama Barat dan ekonomi kita dijajah kerana membelanjakan wang yang dikumpul seumur hidup demi menunaikan haji sebaliknya untuk memperkuatkan ekonomi Barat yang sememangnya anti-Islamik.

Komen 3: “…mempertahankan peninggalan- peninggalan bersejarah di Makkah, Madinah dan tempat-tempat lainnya di Arab Saudi.”

Ini satu lagi sebab mengapa kesucian tanah Haram perlu dipertahankan. Kita tahu Mekah adalah penting di dalam sejarah umat Islam. Dengan membina bangunan tinggi mungkin ada peninggalan sejarah Islam yang musnah samada secara sengaja atau tidak. Ingat pada zaman ini, musuh tidak perlu melancarkan bom atau roket untuk menakluki Negara Islam. Mereka hanya perlu melekakan kita dengan produk dan budaya mereka yang memuja-muja dunia. Bila kita sudah leka dengan sendirinya kita akan menerima apa saja yang mereka bawa tanpa perlu paksaan lagi. Malah cara halus ini lebih berkesan dan merbahaya kerana kita akan terus leka tanpa menyedari bahawa kita sebenarnya berada di bawah telunjuk mereka.

Strategi Barat, terutamanya Amerika, untuk menjajah umat Islam dan menguasai sumber asli hasil bumi kita tidak pernah berakhir. Kalau sebelum perang dunia kedua ia diketuai oleh British kini tugas itu dipegang oleh Amerika. Pada awalnya Negara Arab mundur dan ekonomi mereka langsung tidak bergantung kepada orang lain. Namun setelah penemuan minyak, mereka mendapat kuasa ekonomi baru. Strategi Barat untuk menindas Negara Arab berada di saat genting pada tahun 1973 apabila pihak negara-negara Arab telah bersatu dan mengenakan sekatan ekspot minyak ke Negara-negara Barat yang menyokong Israel semasa perang Arab-Israel. Pada ketika itulah setengah pemimpin Arab sedar bahawa minyak boleh digunakan sebagai senjata. Sekatan tersebut telah membuatkan harga minyak naik mendadak di Amerika dan negara Barat. Sedar dengan hakikat itu, Barat telah merangka strategi untuk menguasai Timur Tengah yang kaya dengan minyak itu dengan cara halus jika boleh. Tapi kalau tak berjaya mereka akan gunakan kekerasan seperti mana di Iraq.

Selepas peristiwa pahit itu, Barat juga mahu menggunakan minyak kepunyaan Arab itu sebagai senjata mereka. Mereka sedar bahawa Arab selalu berpuak-puak dan selalu berebut takhta dan wang. Mereka telah membuat pakatan dengan pemimpin Arab untuk “menolong” membangunkan Negara Arab yang mundur dengan membawa masuk segala bentuk kemodenan yang berorientasikan Barat. Barat berjanji mereka akan membantu Negara Arab keluar dari kemunduran dengan membawa teknologi mereka untuk membina prasarana di Negara-negara Arab. Tapi pertolongan mereka bersyarat; Negara-negara Arab mesti memberi kontrak pembinaan kepada syarikat mereka dan melaburkan semula hasil durian runtuh kenaikan harga minyak di Amerika. Maknanya walaupun Amerika terpaksa membayar harga minyak yang tinggi, mereka mendapat balik wang mereka melalui syarikat-syarikat mereka yang “membantu” membina jalan, lebuhraya, lapangan terbang, bangunan dan sebagainya. Malah mereka dapat lebih dari itu kerana pemimpin-pemimpin Arab ini “diminta” melaburkan semula wang hasil minyak mereka di New York, Wall Street, Chicago, Boston dan kemungkinan juga di Las Vegas! Sebagai balasannya pihak elit pemimpin Arab ini akan dipastikan terus memerintah Negara mereka selagi mereka sanggup melaksanakan agenda Barat itu. Dengan cara itu lama kelamaan ekonomi Negara Arab ini menjadi lebih bergantung kepada Amerika dan Negara Barat lain. Dan dengan kebergantungan ini, adalah mustahil Negara-negara Arab akan mengenakan sekatan minyak terhadap Barat kerana ekonomi Negara Arab juga akan musnah jika mereka mengambil tindakan itu.

Strategi di atas adalah penjajahan secara halus. Namun jika cara ini tidak berjaya atau dihalang oleh pemimpin Arab yang dilihat sebagai ancaman, cara kekerasan akan digunakan. Lihat saja apa yang berlaku kepada Saddam Hussein di Iraq yang dahulunya merupakan sekutu Amerika semasa Iraq memerangi Iran. Hukuman yang diterima oleh Saddam merupakan amaran kepada pemimpin Arab bahawa mereka akan menerima padah jika cuba melawan Amerika.

21/4/2007

The 1A Grand Prix

17 March 2007

The SPM results were announced last week. Students throughout the country finally ended their wait. Again there was brouhaha as to who scored the most number of 1As in the country. Some people jumped the gun by announcing to the whole country that a student from their neighbourhood had obtained 19 1As even before the results were officially announced by the Ministry of Education. They later learnt an embarrassing lesson that they should have been a little bit patient when the said student fell a little short of expectation by getting only 14 1As 2 2As and 1 3B. Even the PM was dragged into the ensuing row when he told the Malay paper which published the story to apologize to the student and her family for causing false hope.

At the other end of the country a student from religious stream scored 17 1As and 1 2A, which even beat the current record of 17 1As achieved in 2004, did not get publicized in the mainstream newspapers for reasons known only to them. When asked to comment on it, the Education Ministry DG said a student was considered the best only if she got all 1As. The logic of the DG completely baffles me. So folk, next time tell your kids not to take more than the minimum subjects because she’ll risk getting a 2A, ruin her chance of becoming a best student and your chance as happy parents to put your pictures in the newspaper too.

With so many smart students trying to outsmart the others, it is a matter of time a student will try to get 25 1As and commit suicide because she only gets 24 1As. Some quarters are pushing the authority to put a cap on the maximum number of subjects to stop the rat race of top scorers. It seems we are putting too much emphasis on our girls to get more As than the girl next door. If the number of As is any indication of our improved quality of students and education we will have no problem of producing 20 Noble laureates by 2020 as inspired by our former PM. But education is not just memorizing and regurgitating facts. It needs creativity and new ideas and somebody who is dare to push them forward and challenge existing convention. A student who thinks she is worthless because she only gets 24 As out of 25 is unlikely to pursue something new because she is afraid of failure. All her school life she expects and gets perfect score but real life is not an exam with specified curriculum. Failure is part of life’s learning process. The Americans and the Europeans do not take as many subjects in their secondary school but come out as inventors and pioneers in almost all fields of knowledge. The richest man in the world for 13th year in a row, Bill Gates, failed at university and yet contributed so much to our daily life. What originality have we achieved in the field of knowledge other than blatant copying of software and intellectual property of other people? With so much emphasis on rote learning, sometimes I wonder what kind of childhood my five year old son will have when he is burdened with homework every day.

The other thing I was wondering was whether any boy took SPM last year. Does SPM really stand for Sijil Perempuan Malaysia? All the top scorers are girls. What is happening to people of my gender? Are they going towards extinction? Are we evolving into Mat Gian and Mat Rempits? Are we becoming dumber and dumber? Hey you guys out there, I need some answers.

On good economic figures, jobless graduates and the next general election

There have been a lot of speculations about the date of the next general election in the press lately. I am not sure whether this is a sign of an impending general election or just another news item to divert the public opinion from a real issue. The signs are there: good economic figures, victory from recent by-election in Batu Talam, and talks within BN coalition members of seat allocations. But despite the good economic indicators being splashed in the papers almost everyday, living expenses are up, foreign factories are closing down leaving for cheaper countries and more graduates find themselves going after fewer jobs.

I am not sure if the majority of the people are benefiting from the supposedly good economic performance. Toll rates are up and so are prices of essential goods. Unemployment is rampant. Only today the NST reports that too many people are chasing too few jobs in the public sector to the point that graduates are also applying for jobs which do not need university qualifications. For every vacancy advertised by a government department the number of applicants easily exceed the number of available places by 100 to 1. Although looking at the positive side this can be interpreted as more people are now choosing to work for the government possibly because of better perks, it could also mean these people are unmarketable in the private sector. In other words, they have no other choice. They simply are not at par with the demands of the better paid private sectors. As for the date of the next general election, I think the best indicator so far would be to look out for Umno flag poles being erected, their branch office signboards being put up or repainted, and Umno men roaming around with party membership forms. It proved to be accurate in the 2003 election. Most likely it will be accurate again this time around. I believe that when the Umno flag poles are up, the poll will soon follow.

5 March 2007.