Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Dewan Masjid

Maka kami pun berkumpul di Dewan Masjid serba indah itu.Janji pukul 10 am.Jam 10.25 am tak start2 lagi.Kata wal 'asr sangat.Habis majlis selalu baca wal 'asr.Tepati masa idak juga.How to work fast like this? So I pun membebel2 pasal the need to observe time ni to..of all people..Mahmud dari group Alumni NZ yang sering I guna nama dia dlm cerpen2 kontemporari saya. :) Rupa2nya dia pun ahli NGO (dan yang tolong mengendalikan program hari ini).Press conference mereka mungkin dah keluar.Ni pasal mendaulatkan kedudukan agama Islam sebagaimana termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Maka ramailah religious activists yang lainnya, ahli2 politik, peguam2 dan bekas2 hakim (both civil dan syarie..ada yang tak sempat nak dtg).Tan Sri Zaman Khan pun ada.Dato Hashim Yaacob pun ada (antara orang kuat).Mufti2...ramai yang tua dari yang muda (I guess org muda sibuk bekerja).Kawan2 ACCIN I ramai juga.I sat next to this lady who said she came from Kajang.Masa minum I asked datang dgn siapa? She said dgn suami.Then I saw Dato Nakhaie kasi dia karipap ke hapa.I asked is he your husband? She said yes.Oh. I asked bukan Dato tinggal di Jakarta ke? She picked it up fast.She said orang dok tuduh dia ada business kat Indonesia...suami saya bukan ahli perniagaan..itu hari baru lepas saman org yang tuduh dia macam2.Ooops...I asked: sapa yang start dulu? Mesti someone you know (batu api).So she named that someone.Oh.Apa pasal dia buat macam tu? Tak baik.Bla bla bla.

I got to use the VVIP rest room sebab rest room lagi satu kena lalu depan PC yang tengah berlangsong.Fuiyooo..carpet merah awak.Dalam VVIP waiting room.Bersih.Gamaknya betul kata moderator (whose speech was so touching) who said sapa yang duduk dlm majlis yang menyeimarakkan nama Allah akan Allah mudahkan urusannya dan akan Allah bawa nama2 yang hadir ke majlis yang lebih jauh dari Dewan serba indah itu.

I just wanted a clean Ladies room.
Alhamdulillah I got it. :)

Moral of the story: sapa sayang Allah, Allah bayar cash.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Ma'thurat 43

"O Allah! We beseech You to grant us a tongue made pliant by constant remembrance of You, a heart that is filled with gratitude towards You and a body that is full of humility and suppleness in obeying You O Allah, we beseech You to grant us perfect faith and suppleness in obeying You O Allah, we beseech You a heart that is humble, and we beseech from You knowledge that is beneficient, and we beseech from You true and firm conviction, we beseech from You firm obedience that is straight, and we beseech from You the deliverance from every kind of trial, and we beseech You to grant us complete independence from people.Bestow upon us the reality of faith in You, to the extent that shall make us fear, wish or worship non other than You.Bestow upon us, our wives, our children and who are with us Your Mercy with generosity and do not let us alone (even) for a moment nor less than that, O You who are the best to reply."

What a beautiful doa to start a day!
And I had a good start to the day..was with the OIC people on an Islamic Economics conference (well..I went for the opening ceremony but the Econs people were so nice that they put me on the VIP seat.Dah la orang ingat I ni CEO or DG of an org ke hapa ke (ter- narcississtic again).Ahaks.I had a couple of guys coming to me, asking which org I was from.An Egyptian Economist and an Econ Prof from the UK.Nice networking - I pun mula bercakap mcm Jomo.:D But I particularly enjoyed the keynote on how OIC was doing/not doing economically  speaking)

Well folks, it ain't rosy (and kita dok ingat OIC ni kaya sangat). Although my Economist friends kata they knew but for me, having the data thrown at my face like that was a real shocker.Dalam segala hal, our percentage below performance in comparison to developed and developing countries.The questions from the floor were apt.Where do we go from here..how can we work together..yang kaya tolong yang miskin.Yang terlebih qualified people datang tolong yang perlukan expertise.Jgn dok fikir duit je, dong.Where is the togetherness, the ummah.Kalau nak kekal dipandang sampah, work-lah in isolation..lepas tu tunjuk kat dunia, negara kita ni kaya sgt, menara menjunjung langit, jiran seberang sempadan mati tak makan.

You'd be surprised, folks, nama Indonesia naik byk kali in terbaik, terderas. :) Nampaknya decision mereka meminjam dari IMF berhasil. Kalau kita ikut advice Anwar Ibrahim dulu, tak mcm ni susah hidup kita (you bukan setakat pinjam, babe..depa monitor serbi serba so that you boleh bayar balik dgn baik.tak begitu, Aslam?). Ahaks.Bak kata another friend, Msia ni tak habeh2 in the middle..neither here nor there.But we do well as exporter of high tech products (tertinggi di carta).Itupun bukan biz orang Islam, kan?

Apa-apa pun, one question was: what do we do with growth, with technology..they still don't make the masses happy/rich.Pasal impact on environment, jgn cakap lah.Tu sebab I like what Bhutan is doing..instead of measuring how much a country makes, depa measure how happy their rakyats are (mengambil kira impak economy segala...what I wanted to say in my ikim interview but didn't have the space to say it).

I'm glad Z is doing Economics.I can see how she'll function with this group of people.And I can imagine her impatience in wanting to do more. InsyaAllah.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Malaysia yang terbilang

How's your long weekend getting on, folks? It's the weekend we had berangan to fly here, there everywhere (from Bali first choice to Bandung to Bangkok and now, not even anywhere.Nik said nak drive long distance his new baby bought a couple of months ago.I said moh kita ke PD.In this rain?Baik nap.Haha)

We had to postpone the trip sebab disebabkan Malaysia dah menjadi terlalu glamour ( yang ter-best negara Muslim to visit; the best to retire in in the world and lately, the no. 4 best country in the world to shop di mana 3 of our malls listed the best juga, yah? Ini menurut laporan CNN.Anak I yg ckp.I mana tengok TV or baca papers dah.I now have a foreign correspondent in the UK utk melaporkan berita2 sensasi), ramai le kawan2 dari overseas dtg and mereka akan telefon kita biasanya sari dua sebelum sampai atau sebaik2 tiba di airport.Kah3.Kita pun buat gitu juga, ya yob? In all honesty, I love it when friends come visiting.I have the excuse to melepak kat restaurant2 baru dan yang belum pergi.And what nice way to do it but with friends and relatives ( marah pulak relatives I yang membaca ni nanti).

Disebabkan I didn't do much this lazy weekend, ain't got no news except tiba2 hari ni teringat a story told by my Sociology Prof many decades ago of one tribe somewhere yang suka nak outdo one another (cerita mcm kita tengok jiran kita tukar langsir/perabot every raya as dihidangkan oleh para ustaz/ah kita lah menjelang raya) sebab nak tunjuk sapa lebih terrer(ist). Maka menurut cerita my Prof ni (orang putih), bila jiran tambah ruang rumah, yang satu lagi tambah lagi besar.Akhirnya yang sorang bakar rumah, yang sorang lagi bakar lagi besar apinya. :D

Moral of the story: jangan main mancis.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Tears for Saidinatul Khadijah

Lusa Thaipusam.I avoided lalu depan Batu Caves and took Duke.Dari simpang from Gombak right up to tol dekat my home jam gila! Nak termuntah,semua ada.Nasib ada radio IKIM.

But lagi tambah pening kepala I cos' I was sobbing hard as I listened to ustaz cerita kisah Rasulullah menangis terkenangkan Khadijah when he went back to visit Makkah from his hijrah to Madinah.

In case you missed the story, here it is again (dengan pesanan: jgn menangis!):

1. Sebaik baginda turun dari untanya, baginda bersabda, "Aku merindui seseorang di Makkah." Para sahabat pun tertanya2 siapa yang dirindui baginda dan berasa sedikit cemburu.
2.Sebaik kedua2 belah kaki baginda mencecah tanah Makkah, muka baginda berubah merah dan baginda menangis teresak2.
3.Sahabat bertanya mengapa wahai Rasulullah.
4.Kata baginda di sinilah dikebumikan Saidinatul Khadijah, wanita yang ketika semua org membenci ku, beliau menyayangiku.Ketika semua org tidak mempercayaiku, beliau tetap di sampingku.
5.Ustaz cerita sebab apa Saidinatul Khatijah meninggal.It was during the 3 months food sanction...Rasulullah cuma makan pucuk2 daun kurma ke hapa dan isteri baginda jatuh sakit sampai tak boleh bangun.Matanya tak terangkat.Apabila baginda tengok, sedih sangat sampai menitis airmatanya.Airmata itu terjatuh di atas pipi Khadijah.Dlm sakit itu, beliau membuka matanya dan melihat baginda menangis, sgt gundah hatinya sekiranya ada sesuatu yg dibuatnya yg menyedihkan Rasulullah.
6.Lantas tegak dia bangun dan bertanya apa yg membuat baginda sedih.Rasulullah memberitaunya.
7.Kata Saidinatul Khatijah sekiranya sakitnya itu akan membawa ajal dan dia tidak punya apa2 to protect him and Islam anymore,maka ambiklah tulang rusuknya dan asahlah buat pedang.

Sedih, kan? Dahlah I nak muntah segala masa jam dekat 2 jam tu, nangis dengar cerita ni lagi..woii...mcm nak pecah kepala I time tu.

When I told Nik the story, dia pun mcm nak nangis.He said you sayanglah kat I mcm Saidinatul Khatijah.I said no way ...cos' you are not Rasulullah..you would really take my rusuk and asah buat pedang!

Wakaka...gurau orangtua, gitu ler. :)) But I find the story so menyedihkan.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

News from abroad


If you have money, visit Greece (cantik banget!)


Good and bad.

Haji Zaidon's sister passed away 2 days ago.Al fatihah.I met her a month ago when I dropped by her place after lunching out with HZ.I didn't think her illness was that bad cos' dia boleh berbual mcm biasa.Remember she asked me to tlg carikan HZ isteri? Such a caring sister.I hope she'd be placed in jannah.

Another fren whose marriage was on the rock, is now back with his family.Happy news indeed!

The vote of the week goes to Imam Tariq who's working on a degree prog for inmates in California.Sometimes I am so humbled by how people spend their time.Yang ini dah 4 tahun buat curriculum utk banduan2 dan sekarang about to launch it.Bayangkan the life transformation yg bakal tiba..yg berjaya mengubah org jahat kpd manusia beriman dan berguna kpd masyarakat.Prog tu utk banduan Muslim.Satu pesanan Imam T kpd I: yakinlah bila Allah provides, He also guides.Wough, sungguh inspiring.

Selebihnya was a blessed maulidur rasul for us.Spent the evening at the surau.Ceramah tu OK jugalah but apa pasal ustaz tu kata sanggupkah kita nak sacrifice rokok kita, arak kita, kain tudung fesyen2 nor faridah kita apabila kita tubuhkan negara Islam? I think he wanted to say tudung siti nurhaliza..terkeluar nama tu.Kah3.I don't know him, he doesn't know me (ustaz luar yg baru pertama kali dtg surau ni)...perlukah i ter narcissistic di sini? :D
His point is do not ask for negara Islam if we fail to Islamkan diri kita, keluarga kita,masyarakat kita.He was also very critical of Islamic banking.

Oh Zafirah, if you are reading this, we have a new place ganti Zenzation.3 tingkat, babe.One stop.The hairdresser tukang gunting rambut permaisuri agong.I got a cheap coupon and had access to massage,jacuzzi, facial and pedicure tadi.Syukurlah tak pyh pi jauh2.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Peace and greetings upon Muhammad Mustafa (Happy Maulidul Rasul)

I often pray that I'd get to meet him in my dreams. So far no luck - possibly not up the mark ...yet.I think he's very good-looking.And kind.And sweet.And shy.Definitely a gentleman.

Sempena hari yang mulia ini, beberapa hadis pilihan:

1. A generous person is close to Allah, to Paradise and to the people;but he is far from Hell.On the contrary,a stingy person is far from Allah, from Paradise and from the people,while he is close to Hell.
2. A true Believer is never characterised by the following two qualities:stinginess or immorality.  3.Faith and modesty are together.When one leaves, the other departs too. 
4.Rude talk does not bring anything except shame! Modesty and decency decorate wherever they may be.



Tuesday, January 22, 2013

A note of friendship


Suka bersongkok even when Queen Elizabeth
visited William & Mary (the second oldest uni in the US had produced
3 US Presidents and I too had spoken there.:) ) 

I must record this.

I celebrate a 10th year friendship with my Filipino-American friend (now like a family member to us) this year.He would send me and Nik an annual picture card of his family and this year is no different.Only touching my heart was his note of friendship (received today) which reminded me of our fated meeting 10 years ago.

As an aftermath of Sept 11.

He was introduced to me by a mutual Filipino friend via email.I was organising an Asia-Pacific Indigenous Folklore Festival (APIFF) in dire need of international participations.I wanted in particular a Filipino participation.I got 2-in-1 from Francis.He was a Filipino living in the USA making that, 8 Asia-Pac countries participating in APIFF.

I had lots of challenges organising it.There was a time, he shared my tears online, giving me moral support, telling me not to quit.The world needs APIFF, he said then.

It was also not easy for him to participate.Every move was suspicious.He was interrogated by the powers that be on his side, so curious why an American subject would want to work with an International Islamic University in Malaysia.Remember, this was after Sept 11 where people in the USA got shot for being thought Muslims.

Even during the Festival itself, all forms of harassment took place (see? I'm so used to being harassed that any attempt will be BODOH, ok?)
APIFF brought people of different races, nationalities and creeds together.We were like a huge family at the end of the festival.Islam and Muslims were better understood.Better loved.You guys should have seen the kids hugging and crying as they said their goodbyes at the airport.

Only Francis and I knew how hard it was to get that done and how rewarding it was afterwards! (well..not really true..those who were involved in APIFF would know too)

Good friends (those who do not take advantage of you) are hard to come by but when you have one, say alhamdulillah.

May there be more than 10 years to come, my brother Francis!

Halwa hari ini



nb: resilient to any form of harassments.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Tunggang langgang, lintang pukang

 HE. Paul Jones (US Ambassador to Msia), Prof Dato Gendeh (ENT surgeon,also
President of Msian Fulbright Alumni Association and Dato)

 Young American grads to teach English in rural/small town schools
in Malaysia 
Msia-US Students Exchange

a pretty garden

old home at Langgak Golf but spacious
I do not know this pretty woman.Ahaks.
Biasalah, kan? Over! (with Dato from
Tganu..tak silap I..dialah initiated the prog)

The Ambassador and Obama

Left work after Asr to attend a dinner at US Ambassador's home at Langgak Golf (a couple of doors away from NZ High Commissioner's home).Thought I was early but in KL, you are either early or late.Can't beat those crazy traffic jams.

It's a celebration of 10 years US prog in Msia (sending American teachers to teach English in rural schools here.The prog was actually a Tganu state initiative..bila dah berjaya,diambik oleh Federal Government as their own.Tak ramai yg tau ni but I know.I was thr masa the launch of first batch tu.)

Anyway,it's good that more states would have access to the prog.I met ramai bdk2 muda baru graduated and do not know how rough it would be in the smaller towns.2-3 org yang I jumpa akan ke Kulai, Muar dan one gal said she'd be posted to Pahang.I asked where.She said Raub.Kah2.So I pun ceritalah yg molek2 je..whitewater rafting, hill resort,national park...walhal nama sekolah dia nak pi tu pun I have not heard of.Entah kampong manalah tu.:) But according to coordinator prog ni, the past batches..semua enjoyed their 10 months' stay.Budak yg kena pi Kulai tu I cuba comforted.If you get bored later, Spore is close by for a weekend trip.He said oh no no..I'd rather visit other states ( and he started to berangan: Kuantan, Trengganu,Penang,climbing Mount Kinabalu).Iyalah tu, wok!

I also met the older Fulbrighters..mostly dancers and musicians.From Hawaii and California. I left the party early sebab lupa I had to pick up Zarah at LRT station.She arrived from Bangkok for a seminar at IIUM.Caught in the jam,I suruh dia ambik cab je ke rumah I.I took my time solat Maghrib and Isyak kat Bukit Dsara.Bumped into an old neighbour.

Balik, jam giler.Lintang pukang, tunggang langgang!

Part 2

After dropping Zarah off at her seminar at IIUM (she came all the way from Bangkok to listen to this guy..I pun tak tau menahu..will share her findings.Apparently the speaker is a prominent speaker..many followers..don't knw from which country), I rushed to attend my ACCIN meeting.Weii..macam2 ada.Nmpk mcm penuh agenda kita for 2013.Tun Mahathir pun dah bersemangat nak giat semula, kata Dato Zainal, pengerusi ACCIN.Byk la cerita Dato time dia pegang Pusat Islam dulu.But to date, we have yet to meet up Menteri Bahagian Agama kita ni.If I were him,I would be eager to touch base with Muslim NGOs ni semua.One of my colleagues at the meeting asked whr could he read my writings..ada blog ke, fb ke..I said cerita mengarut kat personal blog ada lah.:)) 

Part 3

One of the advantages sitting with God-conscious people is having the access to ilmu agama.Some stuffs I heard at the meeting: 1.Peri pentingnya menjadikan umat Islam ni umat contoh since Allah dah kata Islam itu agama yg lengkap.Kedudukan Islam pada umatnya.If umat tidak boleh jadi contoh yg baik, bagaimana kita promote Islam as the best? 2.Jangan kita ikut hawa nafsu kerana hawa nafsu adalah syaitan dan syaitan itu seteru kita. 3.Good Muslims are pewaris Nabi so kena guide org lain esp. youths. I also heard this (elsewhere): Doa org kaya yg tidak sombong amat makbul.Kalau jumpa org kaya yg beriman dan tidak sombong ini,suruh dia baca fatihah kat air, insyaAllah apa2 doa yg diminta tolong doakan, akan dimakbulkan Allah, dgn izinNya (quoting the ustaz).

Friday, January 18, 2013

Ma'thurat 42

"O Allah! Grant Your pleasure upon our leaders Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali and to all the Companions (of the Prophet) and followers and those who followed them in good deeds until the Day of Judgment.Glory be to our Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power! He is free from what they ascribe (to Him),and peace be upon the apostles and praise be to Allah, the Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds"

What a Friday! Diminta tulis speech utk Sultan. So I told them I tengah sibuk on this other project (dah commit sebab akan dibayar 5 figures utk kerja 2 minggu..but wait...harta karun akan dibahagi 3.I accepted for the experience of it) but if they pay for my RA for the speech project, bisa diatur, yah.I need time to do some thorough research.The speech gotta be fun to listen to.To be fun, you gotta have good points.Intelligent points.I don't have the time to be intelligent at the moment but throw me an RA, InsyaAllah can try.So mereka kata no problemo.OK guys, bring it on.A pleasure if things are made easy for me.Alhamdulillah.

But cerita Jumaat kita hari ini is about my cucu saudara, Aiman.Everyone loves him.Well-mannered, kind and very, very intelligent.Makbapak dia doctors.Sorang doktor pakar, sorang with Health Ministry (doktor yang suka buat admin work nih).Both excel in what they do.Both are workaholics.Sabtu Ahad pun kerja.Kalau on call, tak kira hours.

I guess Aiman and his kid brother grow up like that.
A couple of days ago,Aiman rang me up (pagi buta) tanya what time ofis buka on Saturday at my uni.I was like..ha? Bdk ni mengingau ke hapa ni? So I told him, Sabtu mana ofis buka.Then he asked, hari Ahad pukul berapa buka? (dlm hati I..bdk ni jadi gini sebab byk sangat belajar ke hapa ni?)

Patiently I told him: Sabtu& Ahad, office semua tutup.Semua pejabat kerajaan cuti Sabtu Ahad.Sekolah awak cuti hari Jumaat ke dan buka hari Sabtu? (he and kid bro go to a private school)

He said no but usually the office at his sch buka Sabtu and Ahad (biar betul budak ni)
But to cut a long, confusing conversation story short, I told him to call my uni and find out how he could apply for Medic.He said he'd do that besoknya.

When I told Nik the story, he said, mana tak, makbapak dia kerja siang malam, Sabtu Ahad...so he must have thought office hours is 24/7!!!

Why didn't I figure that out???!

Kesian, kan? I cepat2 called my niece (at 9.30 pm).No answer.Left my sms.
Pagi buta tadi, she text-ed me back saying she dah fell flat at 8 pm!

My advice to all young families (and old ones) : take it easy.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Like a zombie

I'm beginning to feel like Hantu Mak Limah..terkejar sana sini.I mixed up all my meeting times..patut ptg, ingat pagi (pagi meeting lain).Haiyo...too many going on at the moment.Ingat nak cuti..tengok2 calendar penuh sampai ke hujung tahun.Pengsan gue macam ni, pengsan.

Images of the past.Can you spot P.Ramlee and Saloma?
(di FINAS lounge)

But alhamdulillah meeting with KP Finas went well.Yg Mulia Raja is an old name in the film industry (30 tahun with Filem Negara, now with Finas).Othman Hafsham is such a dear.I like him a lot.Dia ni spirited, humble, cekap buat kerja.We'll continue to pray that all will work well accordingly, yah? There was a joke between KP and ZI.Secretary dia kata you have an appointment with Zi.Zi mana pulak..he knew he had an appointment with me and Hafsham.I menyampuk, "Pompuan mana pulak ni.." Kita semua ketawa esp when Datuk ZI kata tengok2 pompuan tak lawa.Kah3.Raja said takpa..idea lawa...There's chemistry there.These people are so nice-lah.

But we still need to work harder.I kena approach OIC lagi (via the Uni so our OIC rep dah kata kasi je surat tu kat dia..nanti dia fwd kat DG OIC).

And I need to make an appt to meet up with Tan Sri Petronas, our Patron.Belum update dia lagi what we have up our sleeves.

Pls doa.I lepas selesai event ni, nak retreat masuk gua. :)

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Pengembaraan Aji Kitul

This is my latest short story (published in Mingguan Malaysia, Jan 13, 2013). I must admit it was not easy writing this because I went through writer's block and also I was dealing with fragments of my family history (Ngah Tupin, De Misong are real names but the fiction here isn't their lives.That we will have a sequel ~ if there's a demand.Ahaks). I must thank Nash, Saniah, Mawar for their early responses/comments (even if only to say we like it! Nash gave some ideas merepek but they gave me the boost I needed to finish up the fiction).

I hope you'll enjoy this piece. :)

********************************************************************

TIADA siapa tahu kerja sebenar Aji Kitul. Tetapi setiap senja, dia di tepi tebing menjala ikan di sungai yang berlumpur. Tiada siapa tahu berapa ekor yang ditangkapnya setiap senja tanpa rasa jemu.


Di bulan purnama, Aji Kitul akan duduk di dalam perahunya. Tiada siapa tahu mengapa dia berbuat demikian. Aji Kitul hidup sebatang kara dalam usianya yang hampir mencecah 70. Kulitnya sudah berkedut, kepalanya sentiasa berserban. Dia belum naik haji tetapi masyarakat memberikannya gelaran Aji kerana serbannya itulah. Tiada siapa pernah nampak Aji Kitul solat. Di pagi raya, orang hanya nampak beliau membersihkan selipar berlumpurnya sahaja selepas dan sebelum solat raya. Tiada siapa tahu mengapa dia berbuat demikian. Tiada siapa pun perduli. Orang kampung melihatnya sebagai lelaki tua yang sudah hilang perhitungannya. Dalam erti kata lain, Aji Kitul sudah gila.



Namun, tidak jauh dari tebing sungai tempat Aji Kitul sering berlabuh, ada sebuah rumah usang kepunyaan De Misong, seorang perempuan tua yang lima tahun lebih ceria dari Aji Kitul biarpun dari segi usia biologinya, De Misong lebih tua dari Aji Kitul. Begitu kehendak Tuhan. Kebahagiaan dalaman adalah rahmah. Bukan boleh dijual beli. Mereka berdua bersahabat baik. Arwah isteri Aji Kitul adalah sepupu kepada De Misong. Ngah Tupin meninggal semasa pergi mengail di tepi sungai itu. Arwah terjatuh ke dalam sungai dan dibawa oleh arus sungai yang laju. Mayatnya tidak diketemui sampai kini. Dikatakan orang kampung bahawa setiap bulan purnama, Ngah Tupin akan muncul di tebing sungai, memancing. Ramai anak-anak muda dikatakan lari lintang pukang apabila terserempak dengan Ngah Tupin. Sejak berita ini tersebar liar, tiada lagi anak-anak muda keluar berpacaran di tebing sungai itu di bulan purnama.



"Aki, buat apa tu, Aki?" Cikgu Sahak yang baru pindah ke kampung itu dari kota menegur Aji Kitul di satu senja. Dia di dalam perjalanannya untuk bersolat Maghrib di surau di kampung itu.


Aji Kitul memalingkan mukanya dari mengamati pengailnya ke arah Cikgu Sahak. Memang anak muda ini peramah. Kadang-kadang Cikgu Sahak akan memberinya bungkusan nasi untuk makan malamnya. Anak-anak kampung yang lainnya tidak pernah berbuat demikian terhadapnya. Mereka memandangnya tetapi tidak melihatnya. Dia tidak wujud di mata anak-anak kampung yang lain yang sibuk mengadap komputer di kedai Internet Haji Dahalan.

"Mengail macam biasa. Nanti kau balik dari surau, boleh kau tolong hantarkan ikan-ikan keli ini kepada De Misong kau? Dah seminggu aku tak sedekahkan hasil tangkapan aku kepadanya." Cikgu Sahak tersenyum. Memang dialah yang sering menjadi orang perantaranya. De Misong akan terus memasak ikan-ikan keli kiriman Aji Kitul dan mengajaknya makan sekali. Memang Cikgu Sahak tidak akan melepaskan peluang ini. Dia yakin rezeki halal jika tidak ditolak akan bertambah berlipat ganda. Tetapi dia juga tahu bahawa rezeki yang haram, walau sebanyak manapun tidak boleh dibawa sampai ke mati. Malah, tidak pernah cukup. Juga, tidak pernah memberi ketenangan jiwa.


Cikgu Sahak selalunya dia pergi menziarah De Misong dengan Tok Siak surau. Walaupun tua dan bertaraf nenek kepadanya, Cikgu Sahak tetap berhati-hati agar jangan sampai orang kampung menabur fitnah bahawa dia telah menjadi anak ikan De Misong pula. Na'uzubillah min zalik. Zaman sekarang bukan boleh berkira. Kecilkah, mudakah, tuakah,isteri orangkah, suami orangkah seolah-olah kerangka moral sudah tiada dan tiada sesiapa yang ingin menegur jika melihat maksiat berlaku di hadapan mata. Salah satu sebab mengapa dia minta ditukarkan mengajar di kampung ialah kerana tidak tahan lagi melihat dosa-dosa dan maksiat-maksiat di kota. Selepas dia difitnahkan mencabul kehormatan seorang pelajar tingkatan lima, dia sudah serik. Walaupun pihak berwajib akhirnya mendapati Cikgu Sahak tidak bersalah, Cikgu Sahak benar-benar serik. Jika manusia enggan dididik (pelajar itu adalah seorang bohsia yang cuba diasuhnya supaya menjadi manusia biasa tetapi sebagai protesnya telah menuduh Cikgu Sahak sebagai pencabul kehormatannya) maka dia akan berhijrah ke tempat yang benar-benar memerlukannya. Kampung Pokok Cempaka, kampung Aji Kitul, adalah sebuah kampung yang agak terpinggir. Kebanyakan anak-anak muda sudah meninggalkan kampung untuk bekerja di kota-kota lain termasuk menjadi buruh di Singapura kerana tawaran gaji yang lebih lumayan di samping kebebasan sosial yang tidak dipantau. Kampung yang majoriti penduduknya adalah Melayu dan beragama Islam, juga mempunyai kelompok minoriti kaum Cina dan India yang rata-ratanya petani dan penoreh getah.Di dalam kelasnya sendiri, pelajar cemerlangnya ialah Ek Kang, anak seorang pekebun sayur dan Sami, anak seorang mandur ladang getah yang berhampiran. Baru beberapa hari yang lalu, Cikgu Sahak membantu mereka mengisi borang secara online untuk masuk ke universiti tempatan. Cikgu Sahak terpaksa menggunakan komputer ribanya kerana komputer sekolah terlalu perlahan sambungan internetnya. Seringkali pula terputus-putus. Ini juga bermakna maklumat di kawasan-kawasan di pendalaman seperti Kampung Cempaka ini sampai agak lambat dan kerana ini, mungkin juga tidak relevan lagi.


"Aki ikut sahaja saya dan Tok Siak makan malam di rumah De Misong nanti", Cikgu Sahak mengusik Aji Kitul seperti biasa.


Haisssh kamu ni....De Misong tidak sukakan aku, kata Aji Kitul terbatuk-batuk.

"Tapi semua orang kata De Misong tu kawan baik Aki. Girlfriend Aki, kata mereka", Cikgu Sahak mencuba nasib lagi untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut tentang lelaki tua yang penuh misteri ini.


"Nanti bila kamu balik dari rumah De Misong kamu, kamu singgah di sini semula. Nanti aku ceritakan kesemuanya. Kamu jangan datang dengan Tok Siak. Aku menyampah dengannya. Kamu datang seorang."


Berderau darah Cikgu Sahak. Dia melihat ke langit. Bulan purnama. Sebaik pulang dari rumah De Misong dan selepas selesai solat Isyak di surau, Cikgu Sahak terus ke tebing sungai dan perlahan-lahan melangkah masuk ke dalam perahu Aji Kitul.


"Sshhh...kau jangan bising sangat pergerakan kau itu", Aji Kitul mengingatkan Cikgu Sahak.

Cikgu Sahak duduk perlahan-lahan di sebelah Aji Kitul. Dia menunggu Aji Kitul bersuara sebelum ingin dia memulakan. Sejam. Dua jam berlalu. Aji Kitul tidak berkata-kata. Matanya terus melampaui hitam malam. Udara pekat dengan kesunyian. Nyamuk juga tidak berani hinggap pada kedua-duanya. Cikgu Sahak yakin Aji Kitul ini banyak ilmunya. Masakan tiada seekor nyamuk yang berdesing di telinga mereka.

"Aki.." bisik Cikgu Sahak, tidak lagi sabar.


"Hmmph?" Bisik kembali Aji Kitul.


"Ceritalah!"


"Apa yang kamu nak tau?"


"De Misong. Aki janji tadi nak ceritakan semuanya."


Diam.


Aji Kitul diam sahaja. Matanya masih mencari sesuatu di penghujung gelap malam itu.


"Aku dulu kelasi kapal. Kata orang, at every port, there is a woman".


Terkejut besar Cikgu Sahak mendengar Aji Kitul berbahasa Inggeris. Tetapi dia harus jangan menunjukkan sebarang reaksi. Bimbang nanti akan mati angin Aji Kitul ingin bercerita.


Ketika itu, Aki dah berkahwin dengan Ngah Tupin, sepupu De Misong. Mereka berdua memang rapat. Macam adik beradik. De Misong salahkan aku bila Ngah Tupin hilang dibawa arus deras sungai ini. Dia tuduh aku tidak bertanggungjawab. Dia tuduh memang aku sengaja ingin Ngah Tupin mati kerana tergila-gilakan Cik Kiambang, janda beranak dua di hujung kampung ini. Aku ini bekas kelasi. Aku sudah bosan mengejar perempuan sekembalinya aku ke kampung untuk tua bersama isteri kesayanganku, Ngah Tupin. Tapi De Misong kau tidak percaya. Akhirnya aku nikahi jua Cik Kiambang. Alang-alang hidup difitnah, baik aku jadikan ia realiti agar puas hati semua orang. Rupa-rupanya jangkaan aku meleset. Cik Kiambang ini bukan wanita yang baik. Dia yang ingin menjadi suamiku. Bukan isteri. Aku keluar malam, dia keluar malam. Aku tidur siang, dia tidur sampai ke senja. Rumahtangga tidak akan damai begitu. Apabila orang kampung menangkap basah Cik Kiambang dengan Cina jual getah, aku dengan lapang hati menceraikannya dengan talak tiga. Kata orang, hanya satu talak yang gugur tetapi aku tidak ingin nak rujuk semula dengannya. Bukan boleh ku tumpang hidupnya".



Cikgu Sahak mendengar dengan asyik pengembaraan hidup Aji Kitul. Cerita Aji Kitul macam gosip di ruang akhbar tabloid tetapi dia terpegun. Hebatnya hidup seorang tua bernama Aji Kitul ini.


"Habis tu Aki? Apa yang Aki buat duduk di dalam perahu setiap bulan mengambang seperti malam ini? "

"Aku menunggu Ngah Tupin pulang."

Bulu roma Cikgu Sahak tiba-tiba meremang. Ingin sahaja dia bangun dan lari sekuat-kuat hatinya keluar dari perahu Aji Kitul. Seperti dibaca fikirannya, Aji Kitul pantas menangkap dan memegang erat lengan Cikgu Sahak. Cikgu Sahak terperangkap. Sempat dia melihat jam tangannya. Sudah 12 tengah malam.

"Itu dia, Ngah Tupin kau dah sampai! Kau bernasib baik malam ini!"

Aji Kitul bangun berdiri. Lengan Cikgu Sahak dilepaskan kerana Aji Kitul sekarang menghulurkan kedua-dua tangannya ke malam yang pekat, seolah-olah menyambut kedatangan seorang puteri. Menyambut kepulangan seseorang yang begitu lama dinantinya. Kepulangan Ngah Tupin.

Perlahan-lahan, Cikgu Sahak mengundurkan diri dan keluar dari perahu itu sementara Aji Kitul sedang kemaruk memeluk Ngah Tupin dan menari-nari dengan kekasih hatinya. Cikgu Sahak terjatuh di tebing sungai. Habis baju Melayunya basah dan terkena lumpur. Dia bangun dan meraba-raba punggungnya. Mengibas-gibas lumpur yang basah. Kemudian dia tidak tunggu lama lagi. Terus memanjat basikalnya dan berkayuh selaju boleh. Tetapi di satu jarak yang agak selesa dan dikira selamat, Cikgu Sahak menoleh ke belakang. Dari jauh, Aji Kitul masih memeluk tubuhnya sambil tersenyum dan mengusap-usap rambutnya sendiri.

Sampai di kedai Haji Dahalan di mana Tok Siak dan anak-anak muda yang lain masih berkumpul, masing-masing dengan aktiviti malam mereka (yang tua bermain dam sambil menghirup kopi manakala yang muda melekap di komputer sama ada bermain permainan di internet, berjudi atau membuang masa bersembang dengan orang yang tidak mereka kenali).

"Ai Cikgu, pucat nampak muka Cikgu? Cikgu terjumpa dengan Ngah Tupinkah?" Mahmud, pelajar corot di kelasnya mengusik Cikgu Sahak. Usikannya disambut gelak ketawa semua di kedai Haji Dahalan termasuk Tok Siak dan Haji Dahalan sendiri.

Cikgu Sahak tidak bekata apa-apa. Biarlah apa yang dialaminya sebentar tadi hanya berakhir dengannya. Penduduk kampong tidak akan faham. Mereka juga tidak akan peduli perihal seorang tua yang kesunyian.

Yang hanya menanti mati.


Artikel Penuh: http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/Sastera/20130113/sa_01/Pengembaraan-Aji-Kitul#ixzz2I2KFYxsh

© Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd

Sunday, January 13, 2013

On call

You remember my Filipino friend, Baibonn? She kirim gifts via a friend visiting KL.So Maryam called me and I went running.Dengar gifts je..mesti run.:)

I thought it was the other Maryam but this is a new Maryam.New as in baru 2 bulan masuk Islam.Subhanallah..while anak muda yg lain (dan juga org tua) masih fooling around, anak muda ini (about Zafirah's age) was given hidayah but not without her own hard work mencari da truth.I wish I could put her pic up this blog but her parents masih tak tahu and her dad mmg tak suka Islam habis-habisan.Mak dia kena stroke and tak leh cakap but she knows sbb Maryam solat depan mak dia.Kata Maryam, mak dia senyum je.Mana tau, kan? Mak dia tak leh ckp but maybe kasihsayang ibu mengatasi segalanya.Maryam ialah anak tunggal.

So we spoke.Nyata budak ini amat bright ( udahlah cantik rupanya..tinggi lampai pula).I know why Baibonn hantar dia kpd I..sbb I ni Muslim cracko mcm dia juga.So Maryam was so grateful with the meeting...mudah2an she gets all the support she needs with the new ties.I pun mcm mak2 dialah..belikan baju, long skirt, scarf..iyalah..she needs to have more clothes to tutup aurat now, kan? Baibonn yg tak bertudung pun dpt scarf.I hope dia faham maksud tersirat.Ahaks.

But I told Maryam, jgn tergesa2 nak tukar terus.Nanti terkejut bapanya.Jaga akhlaq dulu.Then slowly break the news bila daddy dah terperasan pasal anak dia dah jadi terlalu mulia kpd ibubapanya.It's not easy, folks.We'll pray that it will work well for M and her family.


2013 weddings

(Suhaimi, me and Mazlan went to the same primary sch!)
Pengantin-pengantin tua :)
 
 Anak menantu Suhaimi

 The wedding at Jln Duta

 Dhoha Zein and her husband

 These cuties were caught doing this!

Family members of a Yemeni Minister.
Emily (UK), sitting right, just got married in Egypt recently.
Maha & Amal were two friendly beauties at the wedding.

...yup, weddings are not over yet.Was busy attending two weddings in ONE evening.

One was in Bentong...my primary school mate's son got married.Yup, kawan sekolah rendah.Nak ketawa, ketawalah.But it's such a good idea to hold it in the evening.Sgt2 nyaman and cool.Suhaimi looks like Pak Samad Said now.If Mazlan was not thr, I would not have recognised him.Nice wedding cos' for once, lauk pauknya bkn the usual ones..ohh..don't give me dalca, rendang, ayam goreng anymore.They didn't.In fact they served lauk2 kg...gulai nangka, ikan kecil goreng,ulam jantung pisang rebus and sambal belacan..ok..ayam goreng berempah and I tak ingat apa lagi but hey, it felt like mkn kat rumah.Ahaks.So tanpa segan silu, I tambah lagi.:)

Then rushed back to Jln Duta to attend my good friend's daughter's wedding.We were late but in time to catch the highlights of the wedding..the funny speeches by groom and his American friend.But too bad, I could not stay back for the performance (dance and poetry reading).Niklah..nak balik cepat sgt (sbb only women were allowed to watch.Wish I had brought my car.Boleh balik after the show).

Friday, January 11, 2013

Alhamdulillah...

 finally fruits 

oh my prada!

 salad

 to go with this roast chicken

 some roast veges

also spaghetti bolognese for a simple lunch

 marble-headed women

my close buddies at work

 teka berapa orang professor dan berapa orang datin 
di belakang masks ni. :D

we work hard.Sekali sekala jadi crazy..

my prada cake/s
(tak termakan sebab cantik sangat)

 I love you too

 surprise delivery at work (I had guessed 
but not 50 roses!)

 50 roses for the lovely young woman.Ahaks!

 the cake of the evening's celebration with the family

 you remember where I bought these?

a note of love

he on the left, who loves me sincerely (may Allah grant him
much happiness and reserve a place for him  in jannah.
I hope with me!)

...for waking up to another year.That was my first thought when I woke up this morning.Syukur alhamdulilah for our health, rezeki in all forms and most of all, our sanity.And of cos' for having people who love and care about us.These are all blessings from Allah and if you want more, you have to give more in addition to elak apa yang Allah tak suka kita buat, lihat, dengar dan cakap.Begitulah caranya.Bab cakap tu mmg susah sikit but let's try, OK?

I had a nice celebration with my close friends at work and felt the celebration online and through smses as well as with friends who chipped in to wish me good wishes.I thank everyone for their kind wishes and pray the same for them.Malas nak repeat the celebration at work (much went live on fb) but we had a nice time.Will try upload some pics.

Sebentar lagi, will be with my in-laws cos' it's a double celebration..me and my kid bro in law, Faisal.Will do a separate one with my family when everyone's bck for a long vacation,InsyaAllah.It does not have to be another bday celebration, kan? You age only once.:D

Thank you again folks.

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Ma'thurat 41

"O Allah! Grace our Master Muhammad, Your servant, Apostle and Messenger, the unlettered prophet and on his near kindied and his companions.And shower Your blessings on all of them as much as Your knowledge encompass as much as Your pen records, and as much as Your Book registers."

I dah tak larat nak tulis farewell poems to close allies who are leaving the university! One just emailed me the news. Prof. K and I went a long way.Ever since I became one of the youngest Heads upon my return from Australia, dia suka usik dan kata orang perempuan mana boleh lead.So mcm biasa, kita guna clorox cuci bersih his chauvinist remarks and I think after that, although we may disagree ALL the time with each other, there's mutual respect for each other.He calls me Teen Prof upon knowing I'd turn 50 soon (lusa).Kah3.And I said you are an injured lion which gals like us would never be cos' we'd never give up. :)) Gitulah caranya.

He'll be sadly missed.Dengan sapa lagi I nak bergaduh at work? Mungkin tajuk poem I for Prof K is "The Injured Lion" or "The Injured Richard Parker".Ahaks.

Meetings all day, folks.Have a good and productive day.

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Buzzling and sizzling

Back at work, still feeling stoned.Encouraged by much humour, I gagahkan juga pi kerja. :)

A few phone calls here and there, texts sana sini.OK, it's all set.Lights, please!

Monday, January 07, 2013

Wrong breakfast

Bibik did pulut kukus with kelapa and ikan sepat goreng for breakfast today.I instructed so last night, not knowing that my flu would get worse this morning.Kata orang, pulut is bad for urat.

But ada aku kisah? Dah lama tak makan mcm ni. :)
And finally, I'm taking an mc to rest the whole day (putting a do not disturb me sign on the door)
Night, everyone. :)

Saturday, January 05, 2013

On air

My talk on "Having the right attitude towards language and literature to promote unity and peace" on ikim.fm went well, alhamdulillah.The producer cum dj, Nazri was kind.There was a time I went blank and he kindly went on his " we'll be right back after the break" mode to give me a breather.Too much to say sampai blank.Kah3.But I enjoyed questions from the callers in the one hour talk show.

A few of my friends who happened to listen to the radio (6 to 7 pm - ikim's english segment) sms-ed me and told me they enjoyed listening to the talk and discussion.Dr. Haslina was driving bck from Putrajaya when she heard this muslimah Prof of English and was impressed with ikim's cleverness in getting her.Then she thought that voice sounded so familiar.That intonation and tht fav phrase.She then heard Nazri mentioned my name.Haha! Lawak betul.

And there were a few fb responses on ikim fb too.An old friend of Flinders' days also wrote in.Drop me a line, gal!

I promised Nazri to introduce him to my writer friends so they could read and discuss their work/s.


Islamic poetry


The handbag story...

...isn't done yet.

I wrote to the HQ in Italy and some good samaritan in KL rang me up to update the status of my complaint.

I told Ms J that I could easily buy another handbag,another pair of shoes but I'm pushing on on a matter of principle.This is Asia,OK? We are on top of the list on frauds.Credit card fraud, pirated movies, softwares...what makes you think branded handbags and shoes would not make to the list? Mula2 (before the complaint to the HQ) they offered to exchange the handbag.But I like the colour and they don't produce tht colour anymore.And I bought a pair of shoes to match.Mana bley, nak tukar2 gituh.Ada paham style? :))

Anyway, kita tunggu keputusan mrk.

Yang menguatkan kes ni sbb ada 3 cases lain ( two in KL, one in Spore) All different designers.Yg kat Spore tu, pihak berwajib just snipped off the handle of the handbag cos' they found out it was fake.Ha engkau! Yang kat KL tu feedback from a reader here after reading my blog entry.Yang lagi satu works at the handbag store...apparently kawan curi yg ori, ganti yang tipu.And some of you thought I was being vain, kan?

No, this is about consumer rights and possibly white collar crime.Always be on your guard,folks.

Update 25/1/2013:


They said I could get another handbag with matching shoes.When I asked same price ke tak, they said kena byr lebih sikit since new season.I naik angin.Mungkin jual yg tiruan, ada nerve nak suruh I beli yg lain.Service ke hapa benda tu? I said either I get both at no price or I get a refund.

That was 2 weeks ago.Hari ni depa setuju nak refund.And I pulangkan handbag biru yg walaupun mungkin tiruan..masih I suka sebab very da glam :). Namun begitu with the refund money,I could buy another in Europe nanti yah? InsyaAllah.Tidak hingin beli apa2 di sini lagi.


Update 12/2/2013:

Alhamdulillah, they gave me a full refund today for my handbag.No questions asked..I returned bag,took the cheque and said my thank you.But I was so,so tempted to buy a new one tapi bila ingat they might not be pure leather..kensel.Simpan untuk shopping kat UK pulak, God willing.Lesson learnt: always look for the serial number inside your handbag.Google up to know how to spot fake items.

Friday, January 04, 2013

Ma'thurat 40

"Glory be to You O Allah and all praise is due to You. I testify that there is no God but You; I seek forgiveness from You and I seek repentance from You"

This you'll need to recite 3x.Ma'thurat no. 39 you need to say 10x.

Some of us dipilih Allah utk menjaga ibu atau bapa lebih dari adik beradik lain.Pernah one ustaz said orang2 sebegini cuma ada dua pilihan: sama ada sah masuk syurga atau sah masuk neraka. Ahaks.He knows it ain't easy.Some friends who were in this position shared with me some of the difficulties they encountered caring for aged and ailing parent/s.Here's sharing dan semoga kita semua diberi hidayah dan kesabaran to observe what is expected of us:

Friend 1

Her father would not want anyone else because he was comfortable staying with her. She never married. She bent her back for him (most chosen ones would ~ Allah dah tau) but there would be times, when you are tired that you'd do something which you'd regret especially when the parent dies soon after your ill-treatment.

In this case, bapak my friend ni suka makan songel (ke hapa ke..the one you put in your mouth and it's addictive, right?). I think satu hari, the father nak songel but the anak was too busy to meet with his demand at the speed he wanted.I ingat tak ingat apa dia buat to the dad.In my memory, the daughter either marah the dad or goncang2 his bahu in her rage.

Of cos' they made up after that but in missing the aruah, only this scene would re-emerge.Kesian, kan?

Friend 2

Not really a friend.A relative, actually.He took care of his sick dad.Ini mmg cerita teladan.But my relative ni tak pernah berkedut mukanya menjaga ayahnya.So when he died, it was him who was honoured to do everything...dari mandi jenazah to imamkan jenazah to gali kubur.I wasn't there to witness but my sister told me.Memang dia belajar agama pun.One rare example of orang with that background who would show good example for others to live.Touching, kan? I wish he was my brother in law. :)

Sal and I would giggle2 about our (mine!) temperamental manner caring for our mom.But Sal is more sabar than me.Sungguh2 incredible!

And now I can discuss things with Nik too as he pun baru join this special group. :) But I think even Nik is more sabar than me in caring for his mom (well...with some encouragement from his wife..having a longer experience than him).

Remember this: the kids are watching (and I know Z stalks my blog!)
Z: Ibu nice to Wan. Both Wans, OK? :))


Thursday, January 03, 2013

Ma'thurat 39

"There is no God but Allah, alone and with no partner.For His is the kingdom and all praise belongs to Him; and He has power over everything."

Boy, do I need Ma'thurat no. 39 today! An early phone call from one of the radio stations reminded me of my talk on Saturday (I put it on hold last year sebab sibuk).Cepat2 email the producer my topic and issues I wanna address.

Then Prof Ibrahim dropped by and we got into serious discussions over where we were heading.My partner in crime Dr H was with me to work on delayed projects. Today baru hari ke 3 of a new year, dah mcm2 benda nak kena siapkan.I need the power of Ma'thurat 39.

But to have things to do is better than not having anything to do.That would really make me mati kutu.I simply need to move.And move, and move.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Ma'thurat 38

"Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Him, and there is no God but Him, and Allah is the Greatest."

It does not make any difference coming back to work in the 'new' year.My leaves ada dekat 100 hari lagi (itu pun 15 has gone to golden handshake..the max one can deposit).
You think kerja jadi academic ni mudah? Senang nak cuti? I should.I would.The body ain't a machine.Respect it. :)

I do not want the kinda holiday where you jump from one plane on to the other.Train to train.Sehari dua in a place, move on again.You end up feeling more tired than NOT going anywhere on a holiday.

Haji Ali text-ed everyone saying maulidur rasul is soon and surau is celebrating big time and would anyone like to suggest for activities? It gets better, right? (calling for community's participation..not just the ajk doing stuffs).I look fwd to this.Will beep you guys.

And someone said have comfort in joining the 5 series...at least we are 30 years younger than Tun Mahathir, he said. Kah2.What a comparison.And may I add  that we are more alive than Mahatma Gandhi, too? :))

Anyway, thank you for all those well wishes so early in the month.

Greg Smith is fun to read (his critics have missed his point on why he wrote the book).I will do a review of the delight soonest I'm done reading it (taking my sweet time now as I juggle work)

Tuesday, January 01, 2013

A book, a phone and an iBad

My in laws and Nik are all at the hospital.Today I minta izin Nik I tak payah stay up with him nunggu Mama.Ramai2 pun not good for her. They do shifts.And people never stop visiting.Mama is well-loved by friends and relatives.Jah, Nik's cousin visited 3 times semalam.I guess she missed Mak Su ( her mom who passed away some years back).Nik said he played the PR man.It's quite nice re-connecting with relatives and friends yg you meet at kenduris je.

I am reading a book by Greg Smith.Kejap2 ph bunyi.Kejap2 sms masuk.New year wishes.Ada satu kawan India I dah lama tak contact tiba2 text-ed.He lives in Dubai.Mmg from India betul. I'd never forget his story masa duduk kat India and when young.Petang2 adik beradik duduk berlapis2 kat tangga...cari kutu!A common image growing up in Asia.Here, kalau balik kampong, buat kerja yang sama.Yang umur paling tua duduk kat tangga atas and tangga ke dua someone younger etc.That would be in the late 60s and early 70s. Should jot down all these in a story or a novel (berangan tak habis).

Then I nak nap, an old sch friend rang to update another friend who was in coma since last Raya.Her condition worsens.And we spoke of this and that.She'll turn 50 in a few days..I follow suit a few days after.Waaaaa....I asked you tak rasa apa2 ke nak masuk 50 ni.She said mau tidak.Then kita giggle-giggle.Well, it's nice to know that I won't be alone.And my other friend whose bday is in March kata I don't look 50 and we are how we feel.Ya right.But we all agreed, a lot to be bersyukur for.

And here I am on iBad (cikgu Arabic I selalu usik ckp iBad for iPad) juggling an interesting book and friends who may be dealing with their own new year demons. :))

2013


The Islamic calendar not only marks the Islamic plane of Iranians' consciousness, but also pointedly distinguishes the Shia history from their Sunni sisters and brothers [AFP]
We live on multiple daily sites of our consciousness, no matter where we actually get up in the morning and hit the road to report to work. Does your week start on a Monday or a Saturday? Does your week end on a Thursday or a Friday? Is your "Sabbath" on Friday, Saturday or Sunday? Does your day start on sunset or sunrise?
Does your New Year begin on the first of January, the first of Muharram, the first of Nissan, or the first of Farvardin? The first of Muharram for Muslims means nothing like what the first of January means for Christians, nor does the first of Nissan for Jews. Eid al-Adha (celebrated during the very last months of the Muslim calendar) and Rosh Hashanah (celebrated on the sixth month of the Jewish calendar) are far more crucial for Muslims and Jews, respectively.
When is the world coming to an end - on December 21, 2012, when the 5,125-year cycle in the Mayan calendar came to an end, or was it on Y2k when people thought doomsday was fast upon us?
I grew up in Iran on three calendars, simultaneously asserting their cosmic weight on our young imagination. Well three-and-half calendars, to be precise - but before describing that mysterious "half calendar" let me explain the three wholesome calendars.
Three calendars
Three different calendars - Iranian, Islamic and the globalised Christian - informed us on a daily basis where in the world we were. The Iranian calendar is solar and has survived from the pre-Islamic period, with distinct pre-Islamic Persian names for the months (Farvardin, Ordibehesht, Khordad, etc).
The seasons have logical and natural divisions, and again all have distinctly Persian names (Bahar, Tabestan, Pa'iz, Zemestan) - all located logically within one calendar year (that the first day of the year is the first day of Spring) and not divided into two like in the Christian calendar (when the year begins 11 days into winter - and thus three months minus 11 days before the spring starts on the Vernal Equinox).
The single most important event on this Iranian calendar is the two-week long celebration of Nowruz (New Year), which runs from the last Wednesday of the year, Chahar-shanbeh Suri/Festive Wednesday, to Sizdah Bedar/Picnicking Thirteenth, a day of outings with family and friends, which usually coincides with April Fool's Day. The calendar is pre-Islamic but it was Islamised by its point of origin being designated from the migration of Prophet Mohammad from Mecca to Medina.
The second calendar is the Islamic calendar, which is lunar and marks the number of years from the migration of Prophet Mohammad from Mecca to Medina. As such it is punctuated at regular intervals with historic events, birthdays and mourning days of Muslim saints and Shia imams.
"The Iranian calendar is solar and has survived from the pre-Islamic period, with distinct pre-Islamic Persian names for the months."

It is a calendar that not only marks the Islamic plane of Iranians' consciousness, but also pointedly distinguishes the Shia history from their Sunni sisters and brothers. If the first calendar marks the national aspect of Iranians, the second specifies their Islamic identity. At times, these two calendars might be in tension with each other, but mostly they dovetail perfectly well.
The third calendar is the globalised Christian calendar, which itself has a dual dimension. The first is its colonial and Christian identity, thus marked as "Western". The second identity, on the other hand, signals the connectedness of Iranians with the world at large - not just the Christian world, or that of Western Europe and North America, but also the worlds of Latin America, Africa and Asia.
If one aspect marks "Western imperialism", the other marks Christian liberation theology. As such, then, the globalised "Western" calendar is, paradoxically, both colonial and anti-colonial. May Day (Labour Day), particularly important to the Iranian left, is celebrated on this calendar.
These triple calendars are where Iranian multiple consciousness is most palpably evident, embedded in these polyfocal calendars, as the space where the creative subject could always find room for political defiance, social manoeuverability, mental meandering, symbolic altercations, national identity, pious practices, global adjustments. I borrow the term "multiple consciousness" from WEB Dubois' "double consciousness" for African-Americans, but give it a more positive and defiant designation.
Half calendar
Now what was that "half calendar"? A couple of years after the Arab oil embargo of 1973 when the late Shah's oil revenue skyrocketed, so did His Imperial Majesty's coiling megalomaniac miasma. He thought of himself as Cyrus the Great incarnate and changed the Iranian calendar, so that instead of starting from the migration of the Prophet from Mecca to Medina, it commenced from "the coronation of Cyrus the Great!"
Suddenly, one fine morning we woke up and had no blasted clue how old we were, what day of the year it was and how many years on that calendar had passed by now. It was quite a mess. The Muslim clergy of course did not like the new calendar either and the first thing the ruling regime did when massive street demonstrations began to topple the Shah was to reverse that decision and we went back to our own habitual calendar and forgot all about Cyrus the Great's coronation.
When the Iranian Revolution of 1977-1979 happened, because the dominant regime was overblowing the Iranian calendar, the revolutionary rhetoric had a significant Islamic intonation to it, which led the Islamist revolutionaries to conclude that Iranians were all coagulated on this calendar and were first and foremost Muslims, as they understood the term.
But soon after the militant over-Islamisation of the revolution, people began to emphasise pre-Islamic practices, fromChahar-shanbeh Suri to Sizdah Bedar, which now led others to conclude that Iranians were, after all, Iranians first and foremost, and their Islamic identity was something artificial and imposed on them. They were both wrong - Iranians, by and large, were shifting symbolic register to oppose tyranny, of one sort or another.
The more calendars on your mind the more sculpted is your daily memories, precisely the same way that the more languages you know the more multidimensional becomes your conception of things.
So here is to the Christian New Year, as we quietly realise that on the Jewish or Islamic or Iranian or Mayan or Indian or Chinese calendar this festive hour when we New Yorkers like millions of other people around the world keep our eyes on that descending apple to celebrate "The New Year" on the American imperial calendar it is just one blessed ordinary day on any number of other calendars. That quiet re-numbering of the imperial numbers is what makes the history spin around the axis of its own logic and rhetoric.
Hamid Dabashi is the Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University in New York. Among his most recent books is The World of Persian Literary Humanism (2012). 

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.