Sunday, March 29, 2009

Belated pictures of Dhaka trip


It was good


Meeting Lunch at one of the universities we visited

Another visit at another university

Our pilot and flight engineer

More pilots and flight engineers

Beach scene on the longest beach in the world

Men on beach

at lunch at the hatchery

We had to pay this guy to walk on the bridge he built (it's better than him begging for nothing)

This is the bridge he built

One of our alumni (with grameenphone now)

He posed for me

Javed, one of our alumni (helps out with investments in Bangladesh)

poster boys on the beach

Hassan is going to Canada soon

happy times

beach boys

my fav pic.Look at the colours!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Of Hijjas Kasturi, Rumi and Love

The Tehran Ensemble

Prof Zikrgoo, Iranian painter, poet

Hijjas (doesn't he look like Sultan Selangor yang lama tu?)

Hijjas loves talking to students
(and they love him too)


A full day indeed.

We had Hijjas Kasturi as a guest speaker for KAED students. A bit kecoh as Dr. J was away and we found out things were not really in order.Hijjas came early.We were not late, just him being early to set up his stuffs at KAED.I had to miss out Mahmud's talk (which I had looked fwd to) but Hijjas is a guest.Luckily Dr. Aldila was around to mc the event.What a relief! And Hijjas is such a humble person..dia tak kisah pun takda orang sambut dia when he arrived.He said he's familiar with the place having been an Adjunct Prof at KAED before.

He told the crowd his humble beginnings.Born in Spore in 1936 (that's before the 2nd world war, OK?) and how out of 80 applicants, he was one of three to win a Colombo scholarship to study in Adelaide. Came back to turbulent Spore and when Spore was separated from Msia, Tun Razak plucked him out of the island (paid his bond) to bring him back to KL and get him to set up the first Architecture school for MARA.He combined art and architecture but some clowns later on separated the two schools hence ending imagination/creativity via exposure to culture, literature, music and performances, etc.An architect needs all these to understand his/her surroundings before he/she can create anything.

I learned a lot today.And hey, the Tabung Haji building was his creation, OK? Often I'm told a NZ architect designed it.Not true.NZ engineer helped out, yes, but not a NZ architect.The building was done based on Islamic concepts (er..not qualified to go into details except to mention the 5 pillars, the colour white to symbolise purity and the word Allah on top of the building as something Islamic that I can relate to).

Why no Sultan awards Hijjas any Datukship or Tan Sriship? This man has contributed a lot to our architectural landscape.I'm glad he's gone global (his architectural pieces have won awards in Saudi, Pakistan, etc.Had it not been for the econ slow down, Saudi would have its Saudi Jewel which is taller than KLCC.That project is put on hold for now)

We finished late (borak2 with Hijjas over tea) but I wanted to go to listen to Rumi music at ISTAC.Had to pick Z dulu (tuition).Then rushed to ISTAC.What an evening!Nik's away.Itulah pasal terkejar2 like this.

Prof Zikrgoo gave us a treat: an ensemble from Tehran playing Rumi pieces, followed by an inspiring talk on Rumi by himself, more Rumi poems/songs and more music. Zikrgoo said people fall in love instead of walking into love (if in control). I love that difference.Fall vs walk.Walking into love is like with your eyes open, yah? Falling means your eyes are close and you are so 'ngok' to fall. :))

Mathnavi and the couplets we know in our Renaissance sonnets mcm similar je...

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Back at work

You are NOT going to believe this but I was told at 9 am that my paper at ISTAC was scheduled to be at 11.15 am!(I thought it'd be tmrw) I had not put anything on the powerpoint!

Whoa, what a test! Mcm lipas kudung I menaip.

When it's done, I lost my way pulak to the new ISTAC.Masuk wrong turning.I'm so hopeless with directions.

If you think main campus IIUM is bad, ISTAC is worse and there's hardly anyone to ask where was where.Hadoi...the staircases are obviously for young people who had been in Olympics.Aku tak larat betul nak panjat tangga! http://www.iiu.edu.my/istac/gallery.php

I was sharing a session with Dr Baharuddin and the session was chaired by Ustaz (Dr) Uthman Muhammady who I respect so much. The trick is to stay cool.After all, topic ni memang area I, kan? I thought I'd just spend 10 mins je but as I spoke, I had so many stories pulak to share sampai Dr Muhammady had to warn me I had 5 mins left.Hahaha!

But we had a good discussion, many questions and I'm glad both Dr B and Dr M were there to answer the question on why some sufi groups are banned in Msia.Both of them memang ahli kumpulan sufi (I know Dr B is)

Adoi UMNO Assembly...why depa ni terjerit2 mcm tak sopan?And I think Shahrizat talks too much.I don't think the Wanita had much of a choice.Rafidah is too old to stay on but I think she is definitely a better worker.Cuma sombong tak tentu arah je.Orang mesti tak suka ketua yang sombong.

Anyway, good luck to all of us.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A real treat

The lunch we enjoyed so much

Fantastic view!
This on our way to Cox's Bazaar


This is Dhaka from air, folks

Aarong is a place where they sell handcrafts by underprivileged people (so a bit pricey here)


After hardwork, our alumni took us on an 8-seater plane (they got some company to sponsor the trip) to see the nation from air (my!my! it's unbelievable that it could be so pretty from up there.The rural side which is just outside Dhaka looks like England! Tak percaya? I'll post some pics but the smog may get into your eyes.Dhaka is very smoggy.Jerebu) But outside it, it's truly beautiful..we saw the salt boxes (like marbles, from the air)and the rivers, lakes and hills.Hoiyooo...bak kata Baibonn..is it time for me to go when Allah gives me all these?? Ada flying classes tak kat Msia? Mahal tak? It's a nice feeling, cruising like that.

Er jangan jeles...I had 2 pilots, 2 flight engineers and my young energetic alums and colleagues from the uni to accompany me or rather I was the only female accompanying them.Hahaha.But tak rasa pompuan pun cos' they didn't treat me like one.We talked, we discussed, without thinking of the gender difference (although I went"yang ini mcm rupa Shahrukh Khan, yang itu Rishi Kapoor, yang lagi satu macam Amitabachan, however you spell his name").Hahaha.But the men tak kisah pun I sorang pompuan.Patut they have no prob having women Presidents!

Then we took a ride to Cox's Bazaar from the small airstrip (Cox ni dulu British colonial officer ke hapa ke) and went further in to Naning ke hapa ke to visit a shrimp hatchery (the one we visited won best award for being best hatchery.The process is canggih.The tiger prawns are exported to Europe and to meet EU requirements is tough, kan? No child labour (they have someone to visit frequently to check on this), this that but they did it.Towkay dia tu second cousin to the flight engineer so I guess his arm was twisted to give us free lunch (udang besar2)but I was told people from Chittagong area memang pemurah and tak terkejut perniagaan mereka diberkati Allah.The lunch we had was like from heaven.It was simple tapi bila makan rasa nikmat satu macam.I guess rezeki yang diberkati tastes like this.No wonder the two notables of faith only wanted to eat at Rabe'a's home sebab dia kata punca rezeki is always clean and blessed.

I'm still too exhausted to upload pics.Hope Z is in a gd mood to help out.
We flew back to Dhaka, rushed our shopping (dalam 30 mins? Nothing much I could grab with that time) The materials are cheap here.Kalau nak kawin, beli kain kat sini.Cantik2 (the ones from India memang cantik2.Next time I go to Euro Moda I nak marah mrk sebab jual mahal giler!)

We dined at Msian High Comm then rushed back to go home.Memang very rushed trip ni.Patut I rasa macam nak mampuih!I ingat balik on 25th.Rupa2nya 23rd tengah malam (24th).

I slept till noon, lepas tu pi spa (hot stone spa.Best giler)

I AM home.Finally.Ku panjatkan syukur ke hadrat Allah.Sampai KLIA je terus makan nasi lemak!

Of the launch, private universities and prejudices we have

Alumni
More alumni and guests at the launch

Dr Kazi, speaking at the launch at Westin Hotel
(sitting from right are yours truly, Deputy Rector Dato' Hamidon and a rep from the Malaysian High Comm in Dhaka)
Press Conference with our alumni
(ramai juga media people)

The 10th IIUM alumni chapter was launched at Westin, Dhaka.There were visits to a couple of unis and a press conference was held just before the event.Later, it was the usual stuffs: speeches, dinner and networking with those who came from all over (corporate alumni, academic alumni, high comm, the second secretary is also an alum! and reps from some ngos..one of the regional directors used to work at IIUM, Dr Wilmot, Wardina's dad).

I had fun meeting and talking with everyone.We have some ideas over what we wanna do after the launch.Watch this space.You may get invited! :))

The following day was even busier.We were invited to 5 private universities within a day (Manarat, NUB, AUB, BIIIT, BIU).You need someone fit to do this job, not someone in high heels! But as an academic, such meetings are important and I'm glad I went and spoke and brainstormed with so many great minds (many had served as consultants to various governments of Bangladesh and institutions in the US/UK).IIUM is nothing compared to the vast experiences the Profs have.Pulak tu they were all very da humble.Ada satu Law Prof..fulamak...bukan sahaja dia nampak muda at 80 something but his face transmits a certain kinda radiance/peace.He smiles all the time.I thot, "I wanna take this man home".

On private unis: it's amazing how one's love for education and desire to see the nation transformed could be so motivating that one is moved to set up private unis.Not one branch but many.They rely only on students' fees.The government tak bantu sesen apa.And I thot all the academics combined in Msia, takda sapa pun terfikir nak buat a good private uni (if they do, mesti with subsidy mentality..duit nak juga dari gomen).I guess byk sgt redtapes.Kena fulfill itu ini.But hey, Lim Kok Wing did it...and many others with the private college unis.

More private unis means more access to education across all walks of life.I guess with a population like Bangladesh, the need is there to do so (there's 15 million in Dhaka alone.Jual nasi lemak pun boleh jadi jutawan).

Bangladeshi has produced many great minds and they are all over (brain drain is bad here but those who stay are truly committed to reform the country and the middle class is expanding.I am pleased to know this).Bangladesh has so many potentials...it's rich in resources,it has no prob with human resource.What it needs is another Mahathir (in the words of an alum!) Apparently Tun M's grandfather came from this part of the world.They joked, "We want him back!".We joked back,'Take!Take!".Hahaha.

I think amidst other sub-continent people, the Bangladeshis we met are the most generous and humble.Please, next time you see a Bangladeshi brother,return the kindness he may give you if he's hosting you in his country.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Greetings from Dhaka

My bathroom at Westin (bunga and rose petals tu orang bagi)

My room at Westin

Dhaka from my hotel window on 17th floor

The team (of 3) arrived last night around midnight (Msian time is 2.30 am). It's hard to buy Taka at the airport at KLIA.Budak at the money changer counter gelak2 when I told them I was going to Bangladesh and wanted to buy Taka.Azilee, applying for visa to travel to Dhaka (at the High Comm) was asked, "Encik nak bawak orang ke?"/"Are you bringing people in, Sir?" (ie. bringing in Bangladeshi workers).

For whatever prejudices we may have of the 'other' (our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters), the Bangladeshis are among the few Muslims who are diligent and take care of their appearance.No matter what their occupations are, they always dress smart and clean.This is the teaching of Islam which most Muslims seem to forget (I have bumped into students at IIUM who look like terrorists! They don't comb their hair, don't tuck in their shirts and smell bad).

Upon touch-down...whoa..the airport does not look poor at all.I sms-ed Nik and told him, better than Brunei lah!

I didn't get to see the city yet cos' it was dark (my sister kata diaorang ni berak bersepah2 tepi jalan) I'm sure not!! Semua ni prejudis kita.

The hotel...well...we are travelling as uni officials so we get to stay at 5-star hotel which makes me marah...sebab hotel2 macam ni are built for mat salleh (memang betul...at breakfast, the locals only serve.Mat Salleh ni semua jadi tuan2 dan puan2.Macam zaman kolonial)

Remember East India Company? They started with trade sebelum the state came in and menjajah militarily?

More updates later.I hope to see my Fulbright friend who is the Director of Research at a government think tank).We met in Denver during our Fulbright stint in 2007.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Really?

News from William and Mary College (from Francis, my brother in humanity) is this: Zainah Anwar of Sisters in Islam went visiting and read two of my poems.Francis wrote:

Subject: Zainah Anwar at William and Mary.She read two poems by Faridah--the veil poem, and poem for taliban. She was moved to tears. WE loved her. Not as much as we love Dr. Manaf :-)
Geez...I'm humbled by this news and I'm glad Francis' students are coming to do their bit for needy fellows in Malaysia.This IS Love! Allah is Great! And it is not by accident I read Mansur Al-Hallaj (a sufi from Persia) who propagated that we have to love beyond our race, religion, nation, gender, etc for all of us are creatures of Allah.I see things unfolding before me along this line.
And how it moved me to tears as well last night as I read about the sufi lady Rabi'ae al Adawiya as related by another great sufi writer from Persia (Farid Al-Din Attar, translated by AJ Arberry, Muslim Saints and Mystics) about how poor her family was at her birth that they didn't even have a drop of oil to anoint her navel, let alone light the lamp but her father had entered into a covenant that he would never ask any mortal for anything. So when his wife asked him to go to the neighbour's for a drop of oil to light the lamp on the birth of Rabe'a, he went out and just laid his hand on the neighbour's door, and returned. (p.40)
The poor woman wept bitterly and her husband too was sad and slept with his head on his knees. He dreamed he saw the Prophet who said this:
Be not sorrowful. The girl child who has just come to earth is a queen among women, who shall be the intercessor for seventy thousand of my community.Tomorrow go see Isa-e Zadan the governor of Basra. Write on a piece of paper to the following effect.'Every night you send upon me a hundred blessings, and on Friday night four hundred.Last night was Friday night, and you forgot me.In expiation for that, give this man four hundred dinars lawfully acquired.
Rabe'a's dad did as told (sent the message to the governor by the hand of a chamberlain). The governor's response was:
Give two thousand dinars to the poor as a thanksgiving for the Master remembering me.Give four hundred dinars also to the shaikh and tell him, I wish you come to me that I may see you.But I do not hold it proper for a man like you to come to me.I would rather come and rub my beard in your threshold.However, I adjure you by God, whatever you may need, pray let me know.' (p.41)
Upon reading this I also thought of the poor girl in Kelantan who got 20As in her SPM despite living in poverty (the family could not even afford to have their own home.They rented a house which looked like it would collapse at any time.And the father had not been paying the RM90 a month rent for the last one year cos' they were too poor. But er, the Chief Minister had given them a house after the news was highlighted in local media). Both stories show us how God is ever watching the poor and has ways of assisting them...if they seek not assistance from others...
And I also discovered this: when I let go (not whining over the fact I do not have sponsors from those I begged to help), one kind sponsor confirmed! Takbir! :))
So folks, let go and put your complete trust in Allah (tawakkal).He'll take care of you.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

My friend, Baibonn

Baibonn is in town. We went out to have a drink at KLCC yesterday (I rushed after work).Remember how we cried at Hussain's in Manila? (she was telling me how she escaped marriage at 9 and how her parent was butchered by the Marcos regime?)

Well, we cried again in KL. It's really funny.We are usually strong women (she is!) but when we talk about things we want to do (or have done) for the ummah and how Allah is with us all the time (like how people out of nowhere would offer assistance, etc) we cry in wonder...we cry in humility of Allah's greatness! At one point Baibonn was so overwhelmed by the help she gotten, she asked God, "Is this time for me to go? Are you giving all these becos' it's time for me to go?" Hahaha..yes..Baibonn is also a bit crazy in the head (I say this in a kind way)

Baibonn is a peace builder.I'm arranging that the peace building team comes to IIUM to run workshops for our young ones (who come from all over the world).

Watch this space, folks.You may get invited.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Masa untuk bersuka-ria

Calling ALL BENL alumni!!!

We have a homecoming charity dinner (the dinner is free but we expect you to give during a fund-raising drive for the needy) You'll see your friends dancing, singing and dramatising for a good cause.Datanglah beramai-ramai.Tangan yang memberi lebih mulia dari tangan yang menerima. :)

Pls pass on this link to your friends esp. batches 1980s/1990s (we miss them so much!)
http://www.iiu.edu.my/alumni/newsdetail.php?id=10

Pasti gamat!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

March Blues

this is easy to do (cos' raymond and rabithah helped me! hahaha)

i stood on a chair to get this view

(my wedding cake.I did all those flowers from gum paste and did those buttercream roses, without raymond's help)

cantik juga, apa


my friend's art work

(he teaches baking in Penang)


I didn't find myself in the cake decoration short course I did over the weekends.I rarely make mistakes in my judgement (heh!) but enrolling in this short course thing could have been one of the BIGGEST mistakes ever made by me.You tau, nak uli tepung pun hampir 2 jam? (it's not sebarang tepung..it's called gum paste..you make flowers, roses out of it...you have to dye the gum paste into colours of the flowers you wanna make.And the roses were NOT easy to make) Aiyooo...I was bored the first 2 hours already ...I would always be the first to complete every assignment (cos' I nak balik cepat2!)

My chef was in the same class with Jamie Oliver when they were students in London.Raymond is nice.I like him.He had worked in London and Bermuda before.I like him cos' he helped me with many of the assignments.Hahaha...The cake pics I will upload here would be his work (much of it! The flowers of the wedding cake I did myself, though).But I guess I can decorate my own cake now.That would save lotsa money already. :)

Ministry of Heritage REFUSED to financially support our Nov. symposium.Buat penat I mengadap the KSU aja...Itulah I am so sad now...March blues..pergi sana sini nak cari duit..hampeh!Berdosa, kan, tak tolong orang?

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Happy Maulidur Rasul

quoted from http://www.bt.com.bn/en/focus/2008/04/14/maulidur_rasul_a_bridge_to_divine_mercy



Maulidur Rasul a bridge to Divine Mercy
Gabriel Haddad
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN


Monday, April 14, 2008


ABLESSED Quranic verse often mentioned in Maulud celebrations over the world conjures us, "In the bounty of God and in His mercy: therein alone let them rejoice — It is better than what they hoard!" (10:58). The greatest exegete Ibn Abbas said: "The bounty of God is The Science, and His mercy is The Prophet." Accordingly, the two months of Rabiul Awwal and Rabiul Akhir (March-April this year) see many Bruneians take to special gatherings in mosques and homes in which they recite, among other zikir texts, Maulid Syaraful Anam (The Birth of the Pride of All Creatures) and Maulid Daybai (compiled by the Yemeni scholar Abdur Rahman al-Daybai). This practice is rooted in the very beginnings of Islam.

The historian Ibn Sayyid al-Nas relates that when the Prophet conquered Mekah, he turned to his poet Hassan bin Thabit and asked him to recite something extemporaneously, whereupon Hassan replied:

Pillar of those who rely on you,

Immunity of those who seek refuge in you,

Resort of those who seek herbiage and rain,

and Neighbouring Protector of those in need of shelter —

You whom the One God has chosen for His creatures

by planting in him perfection and purity of character —

You are The Prophet! You are the best of Human Kind.

Open-handed one, like the outpouring of a swelling sea —

Both Mikal and Jibril are with you,

helpers to victory, sent by One Mighty, Irresistible!

Thus, the recitation of poetic praise of the person (and not just qualities) of Prophet Muhammad, upon him blessings and peace, began in his very lifetime at the hands of his Companions, who left no stone unturned in fulfillment of the Divine command in the Holy Qur'an to "invoke abundant blessings and lavish salutations of peace on him" (33:56) and rejoice in his blessed person. Whoever hears his name and is not instantly moved to bless him, in fact, is characterised in the Hadith as a rank miser.

Blessing him was — and is — an easy command to fulfill, since it was the very person of the Prophet and the very fact that he had been created which impelled those who knew him to extol him to their fervent utmost — not with noses buried in booklets as we tend to do today, but with thundering emotions and unbridled, hyperbolic joy. Thus did al-Abbas bin Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet's uncle and one of the major Companions, explicitly refer to the Prophet's Birth when he addressed him before the crowd of the Sahaba:

When you were born, the sun rose over the earth and the horizon was illumined with your light.

So we — in that radiance, that light, those paths of guidance — can pierce through!

In the wake of the early generations, the Ulema of Islam through the centuries similarly vied in poetic and historical praise of the Prophet. Uniquely famous in the genre is the 162-line poem formally entitled al-Kawakib al-Durriyya bi-Mad-hi Khayr al-Bariyya, "The Stellar Pearls in Homage to the Best of All Creation" but commonly known as Qasidat al-Burda or "The Mantle Poem" by the pious Moroccan littérateur Sharafuddin al-Busiri. This masterpiece of Arabic sensibility is sung from East to West in countless gatherings, especially at this time of the year, and contains lines of unsurpassed beauty among panegyrics, though virtually untranslatable:

(Muhammad) Whom lofty mountains endeavoured to turn from himself with offerings of gold, whereupon he showed them greater loftiness,

And what confirmed that he renounced them was his need: Even dire need has no sway over those God makes immune!

For how can need attract to the world the one were it not for whom the world would not have come out of the void?

The title of this great poem is derived from two incidents, one historical, the other a dream. The first took place when an earlier lover of the Prophet, the Companion Kaab ibn Zuhayr, recited a similar poem before the Prophet which contained the line inna al-rasula la-nurun yustada'u bihi, "Verily the Prophet is a light from which one's light is sought". Upon hearing this moving line, the Prophet rose and placed his mantle on Kaab's shoulders as a gift of appreciation. The dream was experienced almost seven centuries later when al-Busiri (d 696 H), at the time partly paralysed by a stroke, was visited by the Prophet who, in the same gesture, placed his mantle on al-Busiri's shoulders in appreciation of the latter's poem, whereupon he woke up hale and sound.

One of the last caliphs of the Ottoman State, the pious Sultan Abd al-Hamid Khan ibn al-Sultan Ahmad Khan looked back to al-Busiri's lines when he began his own poem in praise of the Prophet with the line Ya sayyidi ya rasulallahi khudh bi-yadi ("My liegelord, Messenger of God, take my hand!"). This poem was calligraphied in full on the walls of Lady Aisha's room where the Prophet was laid to rest in Madinah. Al-Busiri himself had looked back to Hassan ibn Thabit both in form and content: both the Burda and Sultan Abd al-Hamid used the kamil or "perfect" metre chosen by Hassan ibn Thabit in the four lines he had improvised for the Prophet.

The perennial theme is the Prophet as humanity's last and greatest hope. The Qur'an names the Prophet "nothing but a Mercy to the Worlds" and the Prophet describes himself in the Hadith as "nothing but a Gift of Mercy". Maulid poems seek to capture the direct experience of that Divine Mercy. In the following lines from al-Daybai's Maulid Eulogy we recognise the longing cry familiar to visitors to Madinah:

There stands the Green Dome wherein is found a Prophet whose light dispels pitch darkness!

True has his good pleasure with us proved, as communion grows near

and commendation greets us from all sides.

Say to your soul: Enough delay! Today from the Beloved no veil blocks us.

Your fill of the Beloved take, therefore, to all intents.

Felicity is ours, banishing opposites!

Similarly we hear, among the delicate lines of Brunei's oft-recited Maulid Syaraful Anam:

Best of all those who trod the earth, whom all creatures seek for intercessor,

By him break the shackles of every sinful slave,

There is no one like him, by whom triumph all followers;

Whoever dies loving him reaps every imaginable prize!

The Qur'an compares human hearts to hard rocks but adds that water is known to gush even from rocks. Our own hearts may also melt when we experience poetry praising our Beloved Prophet the way he deserves to be praised, and tap its treasures for the refreshment of our souls.

The Brunei Times
*********************************************************************************

You'll find some stories on the Prophet here
http://www.ezsoftech.com/stories/rasool2.asp

But the one which I often carry with me is this:

There's a blind old Jew at a Meccan market who would rant against the Prophet, calling him many names.That the Prophet was a madman, power crazy, a liar, etc etc.

One day as a man fed him food, he noticed something amiss.He said: You are not the person who daily feeds me.

Says the feeder: Indeed I am not.How do you know the difference?

Blind man: because he was gentler, ever sensitive and I feel his sincerity.Who are youa nd who is he that is so kind to me?

Feeder: (starts to sob). I am Abu Bakr, the companion of your previous feeder, Prophet Muhammad.He had passed away and I wanted to do everything he did including this one.

Blind man: (starts to wail) Ohh what a fool I am!!! I never thought that the man I had been bad-mouthing would be so kind to me despite my ill feelings of him! ohhh...ohhh...I am damned..I am damned! (blogger: of cos' ladies and gentleman, this script is a bit dramatised by me)


And the story went that the old blind Jew converted to Islam and became a pious man.

Are you at this level? (you'd feed your enemy with all kindness and sincerity? I may not feed, I avoid!)

Now the sounds/songs of praise of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

1.http://www.mawlid.ca/downloads/Music/Allahumma%20Salee'%20alaa%20Muhammad.mp3
2.http://www.mawlid.ca/downloads/Music/Ya_Muhammad.mp3
3.http://www.mawlid.ca/downloads/Music/Al_Mustafa_Al_Hashimi.mp3

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Guess where?

Guess where I was today?

At a meeting on pembangunan bandar dan desa! I went on my 'Save Sg Pusu' concern.Sat with relevant authorities, consultants and contractors.Wough..I had to be noisy la, kan? Sg. Pusu's well being is my deep concern.Hari2 I tengok ikan2 trying to survive.

Our MP Hassan Ali officiated the function.I must email him to tell him speech kena jaga.Tak leh buat mcm masa dia jadi pakar motivasi, cakap lepas je.I was surprised with his chauvinistic language (maybe he's not aware of it but I cringed.He was educated in the West...he should be sensitive.Even if it's not because of this, he is a Muslim.More reason to be sensitive over NOT hurting people's feelings..dia cakap orang Sg Pusu bangun tidur, makan tidur, year in year out,not concerned with pembangunan diri, till it's time to die.A bit harsh, tak? I know some poor in Sg. Pusu.They have 2-3 jobs to make end's meet.Then he asked berapa ramai anak Sg. Pusu dapat masuk UIA.At lunch some penduduk told me their kids may not make it to IIUM but they go to other unis/colleges). Dr. Hassan is a good man.I must write that email before dia tersasul sekali lagi.We all need to be reminded every now and then.Itu penting ada PR man/woman to take care of your speech, your kelakuan when you are a public figure.Look at Obama.Beli buai anak pun goes to the whole world beritanya just so people feel they can relate to their new Prez (who lives an ordinary life).Kalau tak, beli je la, kan? Buat apa nak tell the world.

What I leant at the meeting today was this: mentality para contractors kita ialah ini=> pembangunan is building buildings only.They kept saying kita perlukan pembangunan (kita tu maknanya merekalah kot?). They want kawasan bukit dibolehkan utk buat pembangunan then say with proper engineering, takkan ada masalah cemar alam etc.I had to interject...yang dah buat tu..mana pi engineering skillnya sampai sungai pun nak mati?Yang ada, tak ter-engineering kan, nak kerat lagi segala bukit yang ada? Orang kampung bukan nak bangunan...mereka nak pendidikan, pekerjaan...DUIT.Kalau buat bangunan..kontraktor je yang kaya....kalau bagi depa tanah dan bantu buat pertanian ke, pelancongan ke (buat kampong tradisi where we can learn how to buat bahulu, dodol, etc)..masuk juga duit (and I gave some examples how they can generate income)

I balik ofis pening kepala lah (kena pulak ngajar Browne, Spenser, Milton, Donne but my pgrads were well-prepared and well-read.We had wonderful, wonderful discussions!)

But I think I made enough contacts at the meeting to help anak2 Sg Pusu.Terasa bersalah IIUM indah gah tapi anak2 miskin di luar pagar tak berubah hidupnya.I don't care about parties.Bak kata Prof K, we should go beyond parties in our attempt to help the poor and needy.We should ingat parti Allah...bolehkah kita tidur jika jiran2 kita lapar dan tak bersekolah or are unemployed?

Kadang2 rasa nak marah.Governments (tak kisah parti apa) are not moving fast enough.

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Calling all companies....

If you are or know someone who is looking for fresh graduates to work for your company/your friend's, please check this link (and pass it on to those who will benefit from it) http://www.iiu.edu.my/icc09/

If you have relatives/sons/daughters/girlferen/boiferen who are looking for jobs, ask them to email us their cvs.Check the link too to find out who to email.

If you think it's easy helping others find a life, check the link again and assist in whatever way you can (send us names of companies/names of individuals we can talk to, etc)

We cannot have our MPs meet under trees.Civilisation must be returned back to the people.Help us find employment for our young ones.Let us be your MPs.Heh. :)