Shortcut to paradise

Tonight's ustaz has an interesting personality.He speaks Malay with an Arabic accent (mcm P.Ramlee ckp "Ana mau fetola..fetola"), his English mcm Queen of England bercakap (with some exaggeration..but betul pronunciationnya) and his Arabic mcm Arab.He does not like the forum perdana setup di mana berceramah dlm suasana santai with people makan minum.He said his guru Sheikh Nuruddin ajar adab2 majlis ilmu..org tak boleh makan minum dan jgn menyampuk tanya soalan sedang guru berceramah.I think ada betulnya sbb kadang2 annoying juga kalau byk ngat senda guraunya.

Anyway, ada beberapa points je I nak share from the tazkirah yakni 4 perkara yang boleh melepaskan kita dari api neraka jika kita amalkan (zikirullah) terutama sepanjang bulan ramadan yag penuh keberkatan ini:

1. Zikir syahadah

2. Istighfar minta ampun dari Allah

3.Doa pohon masuk syurga

4.Doa pohon hindar dari masuk api neraka.

Baca 70,000 sehari.

Ada satu kisah di mana seorang pemuda kashaf telah dijemput makan kenduri tapi sedang dia nak ambik makanan, dia tak jadi sebab nampak ibunya kena siksa di alam barzakh.Pemuda itu tak jadi makan.Org tanya why.He told them what he saw.Tak jauh dari situ, seorang Sheikh yang dijemput telah terdengar cerita pemuda ini.Dari tadi dia dtg awal and sementara menunggu majlis bermula dia telah berzikir ashhadualla illahaillallah muhammadarasulullah sebanyak 70,000. Lantas beliau berdoa kpd Allah dlm hatinya,"Ya Allah, sekiranya zikir aku diterima oleh Mu,ingin aku sedekahkan pahalanya kpd ibu pemuda ini."

Tak lama lepas tu pemuda kashaf tadi bernafsu utk makan kembali.Dia telah melihat ibunya telah terlepas dari siksaan kubur.

Ustaz juga kata kalau kita nak hindarkan apa jua masalah kita ( from masalah kesihatan to finance to whatever) banyakkan beristighfar juga (70,000...more is better).InsyaAllah satu ketenangan dan pertolongan akan tiba.Let's try it and tell me how it worked with you.

Note I ni agak kabur mlm ni..there's one part where I scribbled baca 3x selepas setiap solat dan selepas iftar.Atas nota ini adalah 4 perkara yang disebutkan di atas tadi..you guys buat la dua2... Baca 3 x lepas solat dan iftar 4 perkara tu in addition to zikir 70,000 syahadah dan istighfar.

Poverty in Batu Kurau

As salam sidang kuliah kita hari ini.

I thought ceramah kat surau malam ni tak sedap sgt hingga uztaz dari Utara ni cerita pasal kerja2 masyarakat mereka di Perak and each day find poor people.Ustaz went with one of the imam muda and bdk muda tu menangis menengok satu dangau or danau? (rumah pondok kecik) kat Batu Kurau. Lantainya tanah.Imam muda took off his shoes kerana menghormati tuanrumah dan rumahnya.No toilet.Ada ibu tua yang lumpuh yg dijaga anak lelakinya berumur dlm 30an.Ditanya mana toiletnya..he said kat semak so every time mak dia nak buang air, he will usung her.Kesian,kan? So the religious activists panggil org bancuh simen buat lantai dan kasi kerusi roda kat anak muda ini so that dia tak payah la usung mak dia lagi.

Tak payah pi jauh nak bersedekah..kat Msia masih ramai yg dhaif..just go down and look for them.Urban poverty pun bersepah2.

Ustaz kata Mufti Mekah baru2 ini ditanya oleh rakyat miskin kat Somalia apa hukum puasa kami yg tidak bersahur dan tidak berbuka kerana kami tiada apa nak makan.Mufti tu menitis air matanya.Besok I don't want to buy kuih koci, murtabak,puding,kuih tepung pelita kat pasar ramadan.Beli air kauthar je.

Mengikut hadis Rasulullah s.a.w. ada 5 perkara yg akan mengurangkan pahala puasa kita atau puasa kita ditolak terus:

1. Berbohong/ berdusta

2. Mengumpat (terutama secara bersiri..tak habeh at workplace,sambung kat rumah)

3. Menjadi pengadu domba bagi meretakkan hubungan dua org beriman atau siapa saja.

4. Bersumpah palsu

5.Melihat sesuatu dgn syahwat

Again, the stress on sedekah during this month...malaikat akan doakan pagi2 lagi bagi mereka yg suka bersedekah agar ditambah lagi rezeki dan lain2 kebaikan termasuk kesihatan,terhindarnya musibah,dll.Kalau kedekut, malaikat doakan agar muflis.

Sekian utk mlm ini.But Z and I gelak berguling2 cos' the announcer ckp mcm dj radio (yg bahagian tengah mlm).Nik said dia top corporate guy.Mesti cita2 nak jadi dj masa kecik2 dulu.Haha.Is this bersiri or wht?

Momma's gal

Top left to right: Z with Tunku Abidin (2nd son of the YAM Dipertuan Negeri Sembilan); Johan Merican (CEO of Talent Corp); bottom left: Z with Azran of Asia-X and finally, Z with KJ.

Not tonight

Sorry folks, no kulliyyah ramadan tonight cos' I had to leave early..tengah syok jotting down ustaz's ceramah on memuliakan Al Quran esp. in Ramadan since Quran turun bulan ini,I was called to go home by Menteri Dalam Negeri.But intipatinya kita kena baca dan practise-kan apa dlm Quran agar berkat hidup kita.Makna berkat ialah kebaikan kita bertambah dan kita semakin bertaqwa cos' yang masuk syurga itu hanya org bertaqwa.Manusia bertaqwa adalah manusia yang paling baik di sisi Allah.

Pokoknya sidang hadirin yg dirahmati Allah (dah start daaah...haha) bagaimana kita nak jadi manusia baik di sisi Allah? ( ni nota dari ceramah separuh jalan tadi ni).Caranya ialah mempraktikkan akhlaq Rasulullah s.a.w. dan akhlaq baginda ialah akhlaq Quran.Membaca dan memahami Quran dgn betul adalah fardhu ain jadi jgn kita malas nak baca Quran sebab kita tak tau bila kita akan mati.Sabda Rasulullah..jgn kamu ingat kamu ada di pagi hari,kamu akan ada di petang nanti dan jika ada di ptg hari,jgn ingat kamu ada di malamnya.

Waktu I tengah syok jotting notes ni,Nik dtg melambai2 ajak balik cos' nak ambik Z from Hilton.Z ada berbuka puasa with McKinsey and para mentors internship prog dia (alhamdulillah she is so lucky..dapat dengar talks by captains of the industry..CEOs from everywhere and her dream came true dapat jumpa KJ! Tanya soalan panas kat KJ sampai KJ kata might as well I go home now.Haha.Lepas talk tu she told him pasal internship with KJ in which she was also shortlisted but his people tak call her back.KJ said he'd find out.Tak lama lepas tu,she got someone to speak to her but Z said now tht she's with McKinsey,and results A Level pun dah nak keluar, she does not think ada masa nak join).Apparently Z berdua je Melayu kat prog ni and the only one yang tengah tunggu A level..Yg lain tu dah kat uni or baru graduated.It should not matter..the experience should be good for her.Bdk2 Cina kawan dia kata wahhh..your English so good and you ask good questions..we got malay frens but they don't talk like you.Innocent kan budak2 ni? Of cos' there are others...cuma mrk tak jumpa cos' some of them went to Chinese school ke hapa.

Z also met the CEO of Talent Corp, Johan Merican; Tunku Abidin ( anak raja Negeri Sembilan who graduated from LSE and sgt2 vocal on many issues...a role model for our youth,really);Azran Osman-Rani of Asia-X; dan ramailah yg lain2nya.Kita dengar lah nanti cerita selanjutnya as Z works with her team on a project in rural Sabah.

I think it's wonderful that all these people from the industries are doing their bit grooming our young people not only teaching them leadership skills but stressing on the importance of giving back to the less fortunate.

We wish Z and those carefully chosen for this prog much success and that they would be better people after the experience.

Ramadan mengajar the power of consistency

Assalamualaikum folks.Kita sambung kuliah Ramadan kita hari ini.Mudah2an ada ilmu baru untuk kita baiki mutu puasa kita.

Another different ustaz today.Some of his jokes esp. on women I tak gemar sgt.And I find it rude also when men joke about nak kawin lain..especially depan isteri mereka.I thought ustaz semalam and hari ni pun lebihkurang je when talking about women.Yg semlm ckp women mcm jin sbb ada satu ketika tengah dia berceramah,he heard kelentang kelentong belakang tabir.Rupa2 the women menggoreng sesuatu.He said mcm jin.Hello..they might have been preparing for makan2 after the ceramah.But I didn't tell you this yesterday.I focused on good things je but after mlm ni..I feel like I have to record my protest and if ustaz or bakal ustaz reading this,please..have some respect for the women.Do not talk of them mcm kita ni sirens..pi masjid pun nak menggoda mrk (tundukkanlah pandangan mata tu if you ternmpk we tersinsing betis masa ambik wudhuk.Duh!Ha..mulalah I nak marah ni..haha).

Anyway, some new knowledge mlm ni:

1.Waktu berbuka puasa,just pray for anything you want..bkn setakat baca doa makan sebab doa orang berpuasa esp di bulan Ramadan, Allah kabulkan.Ingat, the first part of Ramadan adalah penuh dgn kemurahan dan kasihsayang Allah.Just ask.Nak kaya, nak cerdik, nak jadi lebih beriman,etc etc..say it waktu berbuka.

2.Banyakkan bersedekah esp. kasi org berbuka..pahala dan ganjarannya sgt besar..full marks wpun kasi satu org makan.One Prof from UM without fail derma RM4K every year.The 3rd year he gave RM5K cos that year dia naik pangkat.The following year, naik lagi pangkatnya and he gave more and more.

3.Solat tahajud kalau tak buat,banyak rugi.Tahajud menerangkan kubur kita nanti.

4.Jangan tinggal teraweh.Rasulullah s.a.w. tak pernah tinggal teraweh.

5.Lepas Ramadan..continue solat witir walaupun satu rakaat.

6. Jangan kerap pi tempat awam cos' that will kurangkan pahala kita..I guess sebab nampak byk benda2 kita tak patut nmpk atau byk buang masa dari mengingati Allah.

I like the cerita Ustaz cerita mula2 ceramah tadi.About 3 men who went to pray at the mosque whr the Prophet was and after prayer,the Prophet pbuh berceramah.The first chap duduk kat tengah2 sebab eager to hear, the 2nd chap duduk tepi sebab malu nak duduk kat tengah.The 3rd chap angkat bontot and blah.

Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda bhw pemuda 1&2 will be so much loved by Allah dan akan tolong mereka dlm semua hal.The 3rd one you can guess lah apa dia dapat.:)

Wallahualam.Saya cuma mencatat apa saya dengar.

Islam itu indah,Ramadan itu rahmat

Gosh guys, I love my surau.There's so much love showered on this place.Takda la besar mana but meriah.We have a huge space that they buat 2 rumah for the 2 resident imam and tok siak,siap ada library and they set up a stage ala2 forum perdana kat depan balai ilmu where the ceramah is done after teraweh and we have refreshments under tents in the open air.Syoklah suasana santai gitu sambil dengar ceramah sambil minum teh tarik and makan kuih muih.But we do not talk much with each other..yet.Senyum2 dan angguk2 je.I only know a couple of people sebab jumpa setahun sekali je kan? Soon my green friends and I would be organising activities so tht we bond with each other.

I go only to the surau in Ramadan and today's ustaz kata dia perasaan yg dtg ni are "regulars". I thought dia mengerling arah Nik and me.Haha.He said yg timbul only di bulan Ramadan tu org kat tempat lain.Kah3, perli,nampak.Anyway, this young and clean-looking ustaz is from Penang but kerap di KL as penceramah.He grew with our surau..dari bujang sampai dah kawin dia masih one of our penceramah.

Yg lawak he said I often wonder di mana tuan2 dan puan2 berada di luar musim Ramadan.Kerja tempat sama, rumah sama, kereta sama...apa tuan2 dan puan2 buat?

The topic given was wht was the difference between puasa di zaman Rasulullah dan sekarang.I pun terdetik di hati...apa ke kelakar sgt topik forum ini.But ustaz pun lawak juga..he said patut takda beza..mereka lapar,kita pun lapar, mereka dahaga,kita pun dahaga..cuma bezanya mereka dapat pertolongan dari Allah (dalam hati I..aik?Adakah Allah tidak menolong kita skrg?) Wht he meant was masa kaum Muslim yg awal ni berperang di bulan Ramadan satu ketika itu.Allah bantu mereka.

Then he said bulan ramadan ada 3 perkara yg bulan2 lain takda iaitu keberkatan, keampunan dan pembebasan dari api neraka which we have to work hard and pray that we get it.For example keampunan..kita kena minta..tak minta, macamana Allah nak ampun.

Besok I nak ambik noteslah.Byk points lupa.Memory like a fish!

Nik's BMW was hit by a car tadi ptg.Proudly he rang me up saying tazkirah semlm sgt berkesan mengingatkan perlunya transformasi diri, "I tak marah pun kat org yg langgar my car tu.Somehow I ingatkan diri I, I sedang berpuasa."

Then I said excellent.Tu mesti ada dosa2 you Allah nak peringatkan.Then he said, "You ni kan...bla bla bla bla" (marah)

I laughed and reminded him not to marah,dia sedang berpuasa, nanti kena jual.Guling2.But he laughed after that.I suspect marah kat I tu sebab the earlier marah was repressed.:) But I also should not have said tht,kan? :)

It is a struggle,isn't it? But try we must.Selamat berjuang!

Law of Attraction

Bismillahirrohmanirrohim,

Sidang pembaca sekelian,

Today no tazkirah but nak share an element of law of attraction hari ni.Bagi yg belum tau apa itu law of attraction, sila google sendiri.

Baru blog entry yang lepas kita cakap pasal Ustaz Hasrizal.Well folks, tadi Isyak and teraweh dia solat dengan kita kat surau kita! Dan beri ceramah lepas teraweh.Power giler! I think it's high time penceramah2 kita dtg dari kalangan mereka yang berilmu tinggi.This guy is.English dia pun superb.Arabic dia pun dasyat! Yoko...swooon sekali lagi.Haha.

Let me share with you some of his points today yang buat semua orang rasa terkantoi:

1. Bahawa Allah khaskan sebulan Ramadan ni for us to re-assess kehidupan kita..consciousness kita. Amat malang (in fact neraka la tempat kita) jika transformasi diri tidak berlaku selepas Ramadan should we die masih dlm kekufuran sebab ada hadith Rasulullah s.a.w. mengenai hal ini tatkala baginda s.a.w. turun dari mimbar bertangga tiga dan setiap tangga,baginda mengucapkan ameen.Sahabat bertanya apa yang diameenkannya.Baginda s.a.w. bersabda:

- Malaikat mendoakan bahawa tiada berkatlah kehidupan seorang anak yg sekiranya ibubapanya masih hidup dan dia tidak berlaku baik/menjaga mereka (maka baginda s.a.w. mengameenkan hal ini)

- Then the Angel also said - Rugilah mereka yang tidak berselawat apabila nama mu disebut

(baginda s.a.w ameenkan)

- Finally bisik malaikat: nerakalah tempatnya bagi mereka yang TIDAK memanfaatkan bulan Ramadan dan membuat perubahan diri agar semakin hampir dan bertaqwa dengan Allah

(dan baginda s.a.w. berkata ameeen).Kalau makin jauh dari Allah, something is wrong somewhere tu.

2.Ustaz kata raising our level of consciousness termasuk mengawasi cara kita makan di bulan ramadan, menjaga perilaku kita, kata2 kita dan sensitiviti kita terhadap penindasan yang berlaku di luar sana...dan mendoakan agar inilah ramadan terakhir bagi regime2 kejam di luar sana.

Deep, isn't it? Byk lagi but ni je yg ingat setakat ini. :)

Budak kecik superman yang suka bising tu takda mlm ni so my solat was so good and the imam punya bacaan mcm imam kat Mekah ( even Ustaz Hasrizal said if only his home were closeby..he'd want to pray at our surau daily.You know the imam baca doa dlm bahasa melayu juga? Wough..power giler..)

I hope yours went OK too.Enjoy your ibadah!

Stories at sahur, part 1

At least one complaint was lodged against me for not updating my blog. Puasa, folks.Tidak ada upaya to write! :))

I had to use my old Dior glasses yesterday cos' the one I usually wear tercabut screwnya.Maka tertanggal cerminnya.Thank God I still keep old glasses.Kalau tidak, another lack of insight, another poor judgment.Insights and sound judgments have loads to do with clear vision, methinks.

Sometimes we are tested so much that we tend to lose sight of the lessons Allah wants us to learn.I got this insight from a friend who is a non-Muslim but often talks about lessons to be learnt out of experiences we have.Good or bad.

This brings me to a story told by Z, returning from her ibadah camp in Bangi (as part of her preps to live overseas, by grace of Allah)

It came from one of the ustaz who went to study in Jordan in the early '90s.During his final year exam, he got locked in his home,missing his last two papers which he could only sit the following year.Then a series of mishaps happened to him..one after another..that I thought he just made up for dramatic effect, like an unfinished short story in which the editor would insist on adding more and more till he gets the right length or right drama.

The mishaps include the study fee increased 7 times more the year he returned for his exam..so he collected signatures to appeal to the authorities in Jordan and was accused of menghasut pelajar2 and his scholarship was suspended for 7 months, leaving him with much financial difficulty.So he went to London to work as a dishwasher to make money to pay for his study fee...then the British authorities found out his visa ran out just as he was leaving the UK.He was jailed for two weeks before deported back to Malaysia.His brother gave him some money later on so he could return and finish off his studies.

I think the tests didn't stop there.He met with an accident, had bad buasir, this that (I lost count!) and finally...8 years afterwards, got to sit for his last two papers.The lecturer who found out about why it took him so long to finish up his degree gave him an amanat...that he'd use his knowledge to remind others of the beauty of Islam.

So he became a daie..tried to be a fulltime lecturer..every time he enrolled in a postgrad studies, something would happen.In the end, he got the message..Allah wants him to stay a daie (he is also a successful businessman now)

Touching,isn't it? Sometimes it would take time for us to get it right.To get the lesson that God wants us to see.But whatever it is, it should take us back to Him.

Sekian, tazkirah Ramadhon kita kali ini.Wabillahi taufiq walhidayah,wassalamualaikum. :)

Ramadan Kareem

As salam,

Here's wishing everyone here Ramadan Kareem! May we do more this year to make up for lost years.

Eat less, pray more. :)

Sunday with Tariq Ramadan

comel

a bigot blogger in Vienna described him as the smiling terrorist (horrible labelling!)

After Nasi Padang lunch at Lina's, we went to listen to Tariq Ramadan's talk at ISTAC.The announcement was for 2 pm but he arrived almost an hour later.

He has aged, this man.But the fire and passion are still there when he speaks on certain issues.Much of what he believes in with regard to the arab spring or as he sees it - arab awakening,is similar to wht I think is happening too.That it didn't come outa vacuum, it would have taken time to plan, lots of financial support from here and there and that it wasn't just one group involved but many..wanting a share of control, etc.Yang funny was the first question from a rep of Perkasa...he wanted to say street demos are not Islamic and asked if there would be a spring in Msia too.Tariq kata how would he know...and said he knew the guy was hoping..haha..wrong...the guy is trying to stop it from happening..street demos not our culchah (culture).Soalan pertama selalu kelabu asap..:))

The Q&A spoke of more uprisings in MENA...now, that's really interesting to know.I must read up more lah on this.

Back on the road

Looks like my old routine is back.I have started reading poems again,thanks to Raja Ahmad's invitation to join his literary circle at his gallery at Dutamas.With the young ones.Ohh..they are very young and promising writers.A joy to meet them.Some with very bold voices who wrote of their or their personas' sexual tensions and desires.Raja and his lawyer friend,Razak and I a bit squeamish gamaknya.Ahaks.

I read 4 of my old pieces...2 in Malay, 2 in English.The young woman who sat next to me kata best...(I asked for her feedback..okay tak my reading?).Always ask for feedback so that you'd know wht work/not work.And that should give you some indications whether you should continue writing and reading poems. Kalau setakat syok sendiri, baik focus on blogging.Haha.

Many were held up by the police road block due to the march at the istana.Stopped to ask a policeman how else I could get to dutamas since semua jalan bapak mereka ditutup.One kind policeman advised me to go through Jalan Segambut.Tak sampai 5 mins dah sampai.Grin.A naughty sms said I hope you won't be the only one at the function.Kah3.Well, we had 20 people.Not bad lah,kan?

My Arabic class ended today.I hope I'd get the opportunity to polish up more after my big project's done next year.I intend to do my sabbatical in one of the countries in the Middle East.Mudah2an Allah perkenankan.Saudi, folks, Saudi. Madinah to be precise.

Z's generation

Z is home till Sept.I repeat: Z is home till Sept.

Please be prepared to read lots of Z's stories till then cos' I admit: I don't have a life.Haha.

You know that's not true but Z is such a good storyteller and I find stories of her friends worth sharing cos' the young minds would inspire us,the oldies.

By the way,she got the McKinsey internship thingy.It was pretty competitive to get in but alhamdulillah, she'll get some experience working with the best in the multinational org.Am proud of you gal.

But Z spoke of another brilliant friend (again, of mixed parentage) who won a scholarship to study in Hong Kong before going to the US to study in one of the ivy unis there.Let's call this bright and pretty gal Annie.She's a true genius cos' despite being surrounded by atheist and friends as well as teachers who mock religions and laugh at any show of religiosity,she came back every winter and summer break to learn more of Islam to strengthen and affirm her faith.Her family isn't particularly religious (but decent people) and I find Annie's decision to educate herself more of her religion truly touching.She went out of her way and enrolled in a course at IIUM..by herself! Wough..she has a clear direction of what she wants and needs,yah?Am deeply impressed cos' I also know of other kids her age who are easily influenced and sold their soul cos' of peer pressure and environs.Annie,may Allah give you strength to stay strong and wise (she does not wear tudung but it's obvious she takes great care of her iman and Z says Annie's constant prayer is she'd marry a good Muslim man to guide her.And this tall gal is very,very pretty,OK? Like a model.Her hair a bit blondish..naturally so)

Z has a seminar tomorrow ( on what ..I have lost track!) but watch this space to hear her stories when she returns.:)

Intellectual picnic by the lake

Keynote speaker, Prof Vijay Bhatia

me, Prof Wan and Dr Arbaayah

Prof Sabariah, Prof Bhatia and yours truly

the hall where I spoke

Today marks the end of MICOLLAC's 2-day conference.Dr.Rosli Talif was the one who founded the conference..now into its 7th year.Fantastic,isn't it?

I sat through some interesting lit. papers by young academics and pgrads.We had nice discussions on racial divides etc.Oh met Dr. Ida and got into Anthony Burgess' discussions...Zul was there too and the three of us had a bit of a laugh over Burgess' time in Malaya.

Mlm tu we had a barbecue at the Village.A long day.Beeped Jerry to get him to help out with my powerpoint materials while I keluar bersukaria.Thank you Jay for a job well-done.

My plenary session went ok.I terkantoi when a participant from Canada asked me why did I feature only male leaders in my presentation.Kah3.Then Rosli as my moderator HAD to rub it in by repeating the question...cheh cheh cheh.:))

But I had real nice questions during the Q&A.Prof. Bhatia and a few others said they too enjoyed the session.Baiklah Prof B ni.Kita berdua dok sok sek psl yg sorang tu yang tak pernah consistent dalam arguments nya.

Looks like ada ikatan kasih antara UPM and IIUM now.Congrats to Assoc. Prof. Wan Roselezam, Dr Sabariah and team.I enjoyed knowing all of you.Hope to do some research collaborations with you guys soon.

Footnote:All my 6 copies book of poetry were sold out at the conference.Alhamdullilah.Should have brought more.

UPM conference

I checked in at Pullman, Putrajaya late yesterday afternoon.This hotel and resort looks beautiful in the evening although the room I'm in is a wee bit odd (it has no writing desk..I have to do my work at the TV cabinet.I was told the place was built as a museum or a few museums to be exact but Putrajaya being Putrajaya...the place didn't have many visitors and ran a loss so some smart people bought it and converted it into a hotel..so spacious and exotic!)

We had dinner by the lake (at a restaurant called The Village.Like 10 times).Food was good.
At breakfast today, met Prof Vijay Bhatia (conference keynote, based in Hong Kong for the last 20 years or so) and had a very, very nice chat over breakfast.He's the Father of Genre Analysis and I learned more of GA at his workshop today.Mine went after his, after morning tea.I had to convert my intended lecture mode to Socrates style of learning (let the participants talk..with me in the b/ground asking questions and occasionally throwing in my responses to issues raised).What a wise last min decision! :)) A lot more inputs and a lot more inclusive that way.Thumbs up for Iranian/Gaza/Egyptian/Msian/Thai intelligent inputs.Ahh..enjoyed the discussions.Prof Bhatia's presence and input also added colour to what would have been a dull session had I not changed my modus operandi.Ahaks.

Fred's (from Finland) session was also interesting but I wish he had time for Q&A cos' I was a bit disturbed by his submission over dropping culture from any reference to or of multiculturalism.He said it's erroneous to say we meet culture when we actually meet people (hence, to treat people as individuals?... 16th century, isn't it? Very dangerous methinks..for this part of the world.It may work in Europe..to be culture-less is to be equal?) But imagine in this part of the world, what are we or who are we without culture (which would also include religion, I would argue). And he submitted that there's no such thing as a clash of civilisations..only clash of people.That's quite a nice argument but to advocate for individualism throughout...mmm...tak minat.Besok nak provoke dia sikit lagi.

I think Day 1 went well so congrats to Prof Wan and team.And to Dr. Daniel who picked us up in his brand new Mercz...thank you!
To Dr Arbaayah..nice touching base again.Hope to work on that book project soon.

Goodbye,Teja

Well folks, finally I found the courage to bid farewell to Teja.

When I took Teja for her usual injection, I asked Dr.Bilqis if there were anyone who'd like to take care of Teja.I no longer have the heart to hold her captive in her small cage.Nak lepas, takut hilang lagi.

Dr. Bilqis said Rafiq would not mind.Rafiq gave me an ear to ear grin.He's an Indonesian worker at the vet's and lives in Kg Jawa,Shah Alam.He's good with animals.He passed my interview,"Awak suka makan arnab?"

He laughed and said saya tak sanggup,Puan.

OK, passed!

So I took the last few pics of Teja which Dr. Bilqis kata is a male!Patutlah gatal sgt dok run after Tanjung and Tuah.We thot she was a lesbo!

I made a couple of calls to Z and Nik.Z was sedih.Nik supported my decision although a fortnight ago, he said not to give it away..for the joy it brought to us.But I think we all agreed Teja should not be kept captive.Bukan naluri arnab tidak melompat2.

Goodbye Teja.Thank you for all the love given to us all this time. Thank you for returning everytime your gps didn't work.Gonna miss you but you deserve a better life, a bigger space which Rafiq claims he has in Kg Jawa.

Rawa-land

Half of the clan are flying to Sumatera tomorrow.Queen Mother included (how she kissed and hugged me like it's me going just now...haha).There's so much excitement in their pre-departure.I'm a bit envious..I am not able to join mainly cos' of the conference in which I am one of the plenary speakers (in other parts of the world, that's keynote speaker for day 2 or 3, haha. Thanks UPM for that vote of confidence.I have always enjoyed speaking at your uni..this time it's at Pullman as well, yah)

Back to Queen Mother and her duckies.It's their first pilgrimage to their homeland..former Rawa kingdom.I just hope that they will not be sold by the guide, travelling from KL to where is it they are going...? Padang? I'm sure Mek and Sal will have heaps of fun stories.Mek is already funny sharing with us on how my mother bawak barang2 mcm nak balik kampong...bekal dia macam2..sambal belimbing..sambal jerok limau..berkotak2 instant noodles and tidak ketinggalan, her winter coat! Haha....we thought that was so cute.Padang is not England, Mom (she came to visit me in the UK in the 90s and had travelled to Egypt and Saudi quite a bit.Each trip she'd bring her wintercoat) This is her first trip abroad after years of being in and out hospitals in the last 4 years.A miracle, huh? Alhamdulillah.

Well, I'm glad Sal and family are having a break as well.She takes care of my mom a lot more than any of us put together.I wish them well.Tak sabar nak dengar cerita kelakar mereka (or horror stories of marble headed Rawa women travelling together!)

Watch this space in a few days.

The water monkey and I

Z is home till her A level exam results are out..you are looking at a couple of months bickering for iPad, air time, undivided attention just for her, etc.Water monkeys and tigers do not usually get on that well but separated, they miss each other a lot! :)

I see her time till August is almost full...with conferences, workshops, more internship interviews...another interview at petronas tower level 57.Interview junkie ke hapa budak ni.But Momma is proud,ok gal? Wish you all the best.Remember the slogan: it's OK to fail. haha.

I made time to listen to her endless stories about her friends.A fine lady was trying to impress a fine young man.At a function at this fine young man's home, the musicians were playing mozart..the boy told the gal..ahhh...i love classical music..Gal said: me too.Boy:Did you enjoy that wonderful piece by Mozart? Gal: ha? yah yah..that was fabulous (her cousin gave her an aside: you knew it was Mozart??)

I find this sooo cute.

Then there's another interesting friend..half French, half Malay. There was a family tradition in which gifts were given if a child lost a tooth (the tooth must be placed under the pillow).The French mom had not continued this tradition with the older kids but with a younger one, she did recently.The little one was pleasantly surprised.She thought it was the mouse that gave it to her.In her next trip to the dentist, she pleaded that all her teeth were taken out!

She lost another one but mom forgot to put the gift that nite.The little one was convinced when her mom told her the mouse got stuck in a traffic jam.Guling2.

The next morning, the little one asked if the mouse could get her a gift from The Girls.Mak dia dah beli pencil case NOT from The Girls.She said er...the mouse would not know where to buy The Girls' stuffs.

For parents with young children: does not this remind you of the moments when you have to lie a bit to make the little ones happy/motivated,etc? I had my moment or two too when Z was growing up.Well at least one lie..to make her lose her weight at 12.We told her she'd get her mobile phone.She lost a lot but only got her mobile ph at 17...5 years later.We didn't want her to bergayut too early.

Better late than never. :)

Happy 236th anniversary Uncle Sam

I got invited to the US Embassy's Independence Day celebration held at Marriott today...on my capacity as FAAM exec. I got to bring my spouse (who came late from work).

Pretty exciting cos' there were people I knew..Cathie Mulker of NZ High Comm..hug..hug..Chew from the US Embassy..then met new friends...the Ambassador of Afghanistan, spotted with Wahabudeen who just found out abt our blood ties..haha..janji nak balik kg bersama.And met up with someone from Kazakhstan and I learnt a bit more of the country.The country population is only 17 million,folks and so rich. Literacy rate is very high and they are inviting investors to do biz there mainly agriculture at the moment.Lots of land.Hope to visit one day.I have already an appointment to discuss possibilities (of other areas).Heh, the power of networking.

I also bumped into Sharifah's sis in law.And Khalid (now a CEO of an org while I guess still practising law ) and his friend from the Prime Minister's Office.I also got connected with this iron lady, a gutsy Dato from Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and we spoke of the spread of corruptions at all levels in the country.Universities included! Will invite her to speak to the kids at uni.They have to learn early that the hands that receive (bribes) and those which give are equally sinful and criminal.

The spread was good, folks.Authentically American.I loved the beef roast.Sedap giler.But I had churros and hot chocs just before the event so didn't eat that much.However, sempat juga merasa turkeynya.

Pics later.

To all my American friends...wherever you are...happy Independence Day...please get your government to leave Afghanistan, Iraq and support world peace in non-military ways.Congrats once again!

Here we go again

Saturday morning started with KL Hilton and ended with a lunch at Chynna,entertaining Prof. Alan Lew and his lovely wife. Z was with me.We had a nice time.Rugi you tak join with your wife, Dr. Bubbles.Even the green tea was nice.:)) Billnya pun nice juga.Haha..but never da mind. Alhamdulillah, we got da monehhh. :)

The talk on Speaking Tourism:Language, heritage and identity in Sabah did not attract much crowd.Miscommunication with KL Library..they only did the announcement after I asked them.Strange for a lib! Nak kena suruh ke? But those who came were interesting personalities with curious minds.I have to thank Dr. Bubbles who came to support.Not only that, he contributed to a lively discussion after the talk on his team's work addressing some issues on Sabahan street kids.Owh..so inspiring.

At lunch, Z and I got to know the Lews better, talking about growing up kids and the empty nest syndromme.Z and I had a nice time going through the day's event and her Spore trip experience while driving her to her spa.

By the time I got home, I was too tired to drive bck to Gombak to attend the workshop.So lepak with Nik till it was time to attend Dr. Aziz Bari's son's wedding in Taman Melewar.Hensem anak dia ni.He works in the US, I was told.Saw many PAS leaders there.We came late.Maybe thre were more before or after we left but met the gang and opened table to analyse local politics.Kah3.Told them, my struggle is bigger than my ego..this on why I agreed to the headship of cerdas (the directorship is reduced to headship as cerdas is brought back to kulliyyah) I need to see the end of projects I started.After that, I can move on to other things, OK? This morning, my new Dean rang to say he wanted me as one of the Deputy Deans but I told him the same thing I'm telling you here.I chose to stay at cerdas cos' of the on-going projects.Otherwise I would have said no to it as well.He respected that. :) For me, it has never been about positions but space and freedom to do what I believe in. I hope the new structure would not change that too much.

Have a good Sunday, folks.