Of belly dance and Port Lincoln oysters

Carcosa Seri Negara

Grand Marquee

cantik

Port Lincoln oysters: yum

So I had a wonderful dinner at Seri Carcosa last nite.It was hosted by South Australian Government and Australian Malaysia Business Council (SA) Inc. We had fresh oysters specially flown from Port Lincoln in South Australia...Oooooo...luckyyyyy....then semuanya dari Ozzie except the violinists and I was impressed.Sedap betul music dia and they were Malaysians (one of them was my daughter's former violin teacher).

When they served steaks,I tak berapa yakin it's halal and budak Filipino attending us tu pulak tak pandai cakap English sangat so when I asked, she brought me vegetarian meal.Haha.Nasib I dah kenyang makan bass (hmm, yum) and lotsa buns. Now, this is the issue I wanna raise (belly dancer tu kejap lagi).

WHY DO WE EMPLOY FOREIGN WORKERS IN EVERY INDUSTRY???? We should just employ in areas yang orang2 kita tak boleh nak buat kerja.Imagine if I were served by a local, he/she would understand my query and I would not be denied nice Australian steaks (walaupun I tak lapar but had I been hungry, how? Only goats suka sayur!)

At the petrol station pun..kalau nak tanya apa-apa direction ke..punyalah susah (I get lost quite often when travelling by myself).Bayangkan if it's orang local.We save time and being progressive is all about how much time we can save.

Anyway, I had a nice time at Carcosa yah? The local chaps were very nice when we (Noriah and I.Nik had another dinner elsewhere) asked for tempat sembahyang. He found us a room and we got into a Carcosa room and perasan we were Queen of England. :)) One Dato pun berebut2 nak sembahyang (yang lain tu buat blur jelah) and it gave us a feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood dalam kekalutan mengejar masa.

Now the belly dancer...Zul went to see (on Sunday I told him of the do at MPO Hall).He didn't waste time.Semalam pun dia pulun.Maklumlah orang seni.He is also a dancer.Pagi buta dah text-ed.I pun kata pasal pulak we allowed half naked woman macam tu? Kalau locals buat gelek dangdut pun dah bising (memang patut bising.Prof Z says in Indonesia, it's started by the pros).Tiba2 ini kat MPO Hall pulak. Even in Istanbul, belly dancing is done in nite clubs -- private space, you want, you pay. Why are we like this? MPO Hall ni konon a classy and elitist space. Is it a case of if you wanna perform whatever, asal foreigner, tak mengapa?

It's like if you have a Malaysian passport, expect the worst in your own country.
Can we have some respect some where, in our own land?

Interfaith Dialogue

Dr Kamar Oniah delivered a talk on this.Of cos' she is an authority..having been one of the founders of the original Interfaith Dialogue group before it became something else (Oni and Chandra Muzzafar withdrew, along with other people who believed in having dialogues and NOT using the platform to convert/change others)

Oni said one main criterion in initiating interfaith dialogue (or any other dialogues) is sincerity.And sincerity is transparent. If we go into a dialogue trying to change the other for our own agenda...we can..we can blah. :)) We dialogue becos we wanna understand, not to condemn or boast I am better than you, etc.

She said in engaging in a dialogue, the other impt thing to observe is your willingness to listen.Jangan masuk2 dah nak bagi lecture/nak mengajar orang/nak marah orang.People will leave you and will never come back.

She was in Spore recently and entah macamana they arranged for her to have a dialogue with Ambassador of Israel (in Spore). Kak Oni is known for her bluntness. So she and the ambassador
got into a ping pong game.Ha ambik kau sebiji! Heaayah, ini utk kau! Ping! Pong! Ping and de pong!

Orang Israel tu tanya kenapa Malaysia larang rakyat visit Israel? Kami orang baik..tak ajar anak2 kami violence, etc.

Kak Oni: kerajaan kami larang kami ke China/South Africa satu masa dulu tapi bila dasar mereka berubah, kami semua boleh pergi bebas keluar masuk.Kalau Israel nak Msians datang, berubahlah! (ha ha..I thot this so cute)

Kak Oni: Kita bertanggungjawab di atas waktu ini dan masa hadapan bukan sejarah lampau! Israel asyik terkenangkan sejarah silamnya.Yang merebus kamu orang Jerman bukan orang Islam.Kenapa lanyak kami? (why take out on us?)


Kak Oni nasihat budak2 (yang datang dari troubled regions also in Africa/Middle East, etc): when things get worse, look into the eyes of the young ones not your parents cos' the eyes of your parents are filled with hatred,revenge, anger, etc.Lihatlah mata anak2 yang tidak berdosa dan menaruh harapan that the future is waiting for them.

She spoke of many sincere Xtian and Jewish friends who defended Muslims during the Intifada (one Jewish lady mati kena bulldozed when they were doing human shield to protect Palestinian kids who wanted to go to sch but harassed by the Israeli armies).She also spoke of good ties between Xtian,Muslims and Jews but this group is also dying out sebab byk sgt propaganda after Sept 11.

But peace is impt and it is everyone's responsibility to restore/sustain it, regardless of creed/colour/nationality.

Well done IIUM!

I am proud of the two IIUM ICT teams which won first and second prizes at the ACM-ICPC Malaysia al-Khawārizmī National Programming Contest 2008 (al-Khawārizmī-08) beating Monash University and 21 other teams. I was invited to their closing and prize giving ceremony and although I knew next to nothing about programming, the whole contest looked very exciting.I was also told that IIUM got to host the regional contest in Dec (competing against world's best programmers cos' Malaysia is in the same league as those in China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore..kalau kalah pun tak malu) and world event in 2011.Well done IIUM and Malaysia! (it's not easy to bid to host world events and we did it).

If we do well, tak perlu kita advertise for students to study here...people will berebut2 nak masuk!

But I was comparing my arty crafty world with this new world. My world is often noisy and unruly especially in majlis-majlis anugerah like this.Budak-budak ni menang, muka selamba.I asked S..why ah? Aren't they happy they won?

S: "nerdy world"

They didn't look nerdy tapi selamba.I thought of the TV reality show Beauty and the Geek.
Nahhh..our kids look more natural, cuma expression kurang.If you are happy, clap your hands! :)

Whatever it is, I had fun talking with S and other ICT staff at the do.

The good old Tengku who officiated the event didn't age one bit -- in fact he looked younger than when he was CEO of MIMOS. I was wondering apa petua awet muda he amalkan. Maybe a good heart.Literally.

He spoke of how al-Khawārizmī became an inventor...he was trying to calculate the distribution of faraih and had to find a mathematical solution (and became father of algebra etc).Tengku was saying we need to create things to solve problems (instead of becoming lifelong consumers..ini I tambah)

More about him here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_ibn_M%C5%ABs%C4%81_al-Khw%C4%81rizm%C4%AB

Our brother Anwar

A top notch scholar of Southeast Asian Studies at a top notch university in NY is pretty certain that there will not be any assassination of Anwar (except character assassination) because Malaysia has no history of this. I think we do have such a history but politicians gunned down were not key names...we had one in Kelantan in the 1960s and recently, in Segamat (an MIC politician). So, I will not rule out possibilities.We wake up to surprises everyday, since our last General Elections.

Asked if CIA/KGB/Mossad/Singapore intelligence/batman/superman/spiderman/cicakman/kluang man was behind all this chaos, my friend said such a thought would only come from frustrated and worried people.No such thing as conspiracy theory.

Mmmph.

But the crowds at Malawati were huge.
http://anwaribrahimblog.com/

Komunikasi dua hala (untuk Dato Ti Lian Ker)

Bait-bait balas saya warna ungu utk apa yang ditulis oleh Dato' dalam warna biru di bawah ini:

faridah...faridah...faridah???
Faridah mana satu yang sebenar?
rupanya rakan sebangku sekolah!
memori ni masih segar, tak 'senile'..bila di bangku sekolah...
kita telingkah dan bertelagah..mau ubah negara - seolah-olah..
tapi kita tak berani buat fitnah..

kini..aku begini..engkau begitu..
kita sehala..walaupun tak setuju..
nasib ada blog utk kita sambil lalu..
tidak sedarpun Faridah dah ada buku..

mari kita sama-sama cari titik bersetuju.
demi untuk masa depan anak dan cucu..
janganlah mereka itu terus dibelenggu..
dengan jeratan dan perangkap dulu-dulu..
(diambil dari blog http://tilianker.blogspot.com/)

Dato,
yang dulunya Kapten (rumah)
masih bisa berbicara
tentang hal-hal besar
ingin mengubah Malaysia

Faridah masih yang sama
mencari keadilan di mana-mana
tanpa ingin mengubah jati diri
Islam hanya satu
tidak ada had hari

Faridah juga percaya
perkauman adalah 'imagined'
dan sesuatu yang dididik
dari bapa kepada anak
dari sekolah ke universiti
bahawa dunia ini ada boundary

Kita mungkin menuju
destinasi yang sama
jalan yang berbeda
tetapi inilah yang
menjadikan kita Malaysia

Perbedaan pendapat adalah rahmat
bukan bencana

arah ke hadapan ialah
menyambut apa sahaja
dengan fikiran terbuka

Majulah kita untuk negara!


wough...macam iklan TV!

But it was nice talking to you again.Thks for calling. We'll catch up soon. Mahmud is 100 years this year.We should all be back and celebrate and give back what we had taken from it. Ada sapa2 nak anjur? I think the school is but I have not heard anything from them.

Rapatkan saf

FORUM PENCEROBOHAN HAK -HAK MELAYU DAN MUSLIM

Kebelakangan ini telah timbul semula isu-isu yang menggugat kedudukan Islam dan kepentingan umat di negara ini yang memerlukan perhatian dan penglibatan kita sebagai seorang Muslim yang komited kapada agama kita. Di antara isu-isu yang mencabar ialah cabaran-cabaran terhadap status Islam dalam Perlembagaan dan dalam undang-undang negara termasuk kedudukan Mahkamah Syari’ah itu sendiri, kes-kes mahkamah seperti pengunaan kalimat-kalimat suci Islam oleh agama-agama lain, kedudukan tanah wakaf, usaha-usaha pihak–pihak tertentu mendesak, malah ada juga yang mencabar, pihak berwajib supaya melonggarkan status dan menurunkan martabat Islam di negara ini yang disuarakan secara lantang mau pun diusahakan secara halus, usaha-usaha badan-badan agama lain dari luar negera menyebarkan dakyah-dakyah mereka di kalangan umat Islam tempatan serta usaha-usaha mereka memperalatkan individu-individu Islam tertentu untuk kepentingan mereka, berita-berita negatif terhadap Islam dan umat Islam di negara ini yang dipamerkan dalam siaran-siaran TV di luar negera, dan lain-lain.

Menginsafi keadaan ini, maka IMAN (Interactive Muslimah Association) berserta Malaysian Chapter Alumni Universiti Islam Antarabangsa akan mengadakan forum bertajuk “Forum Pencerobohan Hak -Hak Melayu Dan Muslim ” yang akan menampilkan mereka yang terlibat terus dalam isu-isu ini serta mereka yang berpengalaman dalam hal-hal umat Islam di Malaysia. Semuga dengan penjelasan-penjelasan dari para aktivis dan tokoh-tokoh ini, saf-saf umat Islam di negara yang tercinta ini akan lebih kemas dan tersusun.




Tarikh: 12hb Julai 2008, Sabtu
Masa:: 9.30 pagi – 1.00 ptg
Tempat: Main Auditorium, UIA Gombak


Panelis forum:

Dato’ Haji Mohd. Nakhaie Ahmad (Yang Di Pertua YADIM)
En. Zainur Zakaria (peguam, Pengerusi Peguam Pembela Islam)
Haji Yusri Muhammad (Presiden ABIM)
En. Abdul Rahim Sinwan (peguam)
Hj. Muzaffar Dato’ Mohamad (pakar Sejarah Kesultanan Melayu)

Moderator: Puan Kamar Ainiah Kamaruzaman
(Ketua Biro Undang-Undang dan Hak Asasi Manusia IMAN, peguam)

Penganjur Bersama
IMAN (Interactive Muslimah Association)
Alumni Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (Malaysian Chapter)
ASA (Academic Staff Association UIA )

Pihak Penganjur akan mengadakan kutipan derma kilat untuk Tabung Urusan Umat membantu para aktivis bergerak dengan lebih kemas. Sila berikan sumbangan ikhlas saudara.

JEMPUT DATANG BERAMAI-RAMAI

Another promo

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Email your subscription wish at subscription@criteria.com.my


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A busy weekend

The Osmonds going down the memory lane

Donny yang masih nampak muda remaja .Dia ni very tertib and actually, pemalu

Marie yang masih cantik jelita.She's very witty onstage.Anaknya dah 8

the osmond brothers celebrating their 50th year in show biz, on their last world tour

It's spent with a mix of guilt and joy.

Just before the Osmonds' concert which I had looked forward to, I was with some lawyer friends enjoying popia, somewhere in Gombak.

We started discussing the latest in the country:

1.About legal demands made by certain quarters of the society over the use of words like "Allah", "kaabah", "baitullah", "solat" in their holy books which Pak Lah some time ago said OK boleh dicetak dalam bahasa melayu.Mungkin so sure of iman orang melayu di kala ini.

2.I think if the tujuan is to mengelirukan, we have to voice our concerns.Very often my non-Muslim friends argue, apa pasal orang Islam boleh buat dakwah terbuka but they can't? Then they start to quote article 11 perlembagaan without mentioning clause 4 which nyata melarang mengembangkan agama lain selain Islam to Muslims.

Sometimes depa ni nak guna equal rights/human rights arguments but sometimes I suspect it's only a one-sided kinda human rights.Mna blehhhhh!!! Kita di Msia mesti hormat menghormati.Ikut je perlembagaan negara..rule of law..jgn selective memory je why we are all here, accommodating each other, each a bit of earth.

Sultan Johor dah bagi sebijik to that DAP MP yang konon nak tunjuk protest over hegemonisation of all races over pakai songkok yang dia mungkin lihat cuba memelayukan atau mengislamkan dia? Apa punya narrow mind lah.Tak pernah dengar pasal dress code? Setiap tempat/majlis ada dress code.Ikut je le cos' you are part of the game. Life is not an island.You are not answerable to your constituency sahaja.The whole network of society/nation is wider than just a small hamlet in Johor.

If DAP has always fought for equality atas dasar perlu memikirkan budaya dan bangsa lain, apa when it comes to integrating one aspect of budaya Msia, depa nak tunjuk lawak kasar pulak? Kalau bukan atas Pakatan Rakyat, majority takkan pandang this ultra racist party DAP walau dengan sebelah mata daa. Penang, better watch out next election if DAP does not re-invent itself to suit local and contemporary climate/culture (as should BN, PAS dan BA).


Anyway, going to Genting was an escapism from all this.While we work hard for world peace and peaceful co-existence, benda2 macam ni buat I fikiran kaciau.

At Genting Arena of Stars, Donny and Marie Osmond masih mengancam.Mungkin botox and liposuction.I am sure Donny cat/dye rambut dia.Too dark brown.No grey hair at all like his older brothers (ada yang datang bertongkat) but we still had fun, going down memory lane.We were a bunch of screamy 40s and 50s. Semua jerit when Donny sang Puppy Love. :)) Bila Donny kata they were here 28 years ago, orang sebelah I jerit balik, "We came twice for you!" Wah..peminat fanatik. :)

I saw Marie close up at the theme park but tak sempat nak bergambar.Donny came that close to where we were sitting (he went to meet the crowds while singing, jumping from one seat to another; Marie pulak panggil one male audience to sing with her and allowed him to hug her while she sang.Lucky animal!)


Some pics. and Donny on YouTube

1. http://www.last.fm/music/Donny+Osmond/+videos/+1-ikk1wKmVtFY

2. http://www.last.fm/music/Donny+Osmond/+videos/+1-rP8YmNeulvs

His story: http://www.donny.com/announcements.pl?cmd=view&aid=111

Promo

Had promised Zul that I'd help promote his event.Good luck, bro!

http://www.klfringefestival.blogspot.com/

When you geram

For my international readers, 'geram' is a Malay word we use when we are annoyed or pissed off.

What do you do when you 'geram'?

I got geram yesterday. I went to a car workshop to fix a new car lamp.The car guy asked if I wanted an imitation one or an original one.I asked for price difference.He said one was RM30, the other RM80.Okaaayyy..gimme the expensive one.

It was a 15 mins wait.I went to have my rojak mee just around the corner and ordered some mee mamak for my mom in law who was not feeling well (I was supposed to visit her on my way back).

Lama juga I kat mamak stall tu.

When I returned to the car workshop, my man said it's all done.But picking the habit of my husband (who's in Kuching till Friday), I checked and found out it's not Borsch as printed on my bill. *&^%$#!! but I was so cool and calm. I panggil balik Cina tu and tanya apa hat? Ini lampu bukan Borsch.Saya bayar Borsch price.He said sama saja..ini original, label lain.I must have looked stupid or what?

I said nyet, change it to Borsch.Saya nak Borsch! Saya nak Borsch! (but still cool and calm and collected here.Maybe masih ada senyum)

So I waited while the other guy get my Borsch from the Mines (jauhnya! I live in PJ).I was lucky I was reading an interesting book.Tak sangka sampai waktu Maghrib.Close to one hour, waiting!

The demon had to come out!
Business was as usual for my Chinese guy.There was not even a look of remorse or guilt on his face for his attempted fraud/cheating act on me.

The demon REALLY came out.

I made a scene. I demanded my money back.Dia pled for another 10 mins. Like I believe him? Mines tu jauh! I had wasted enough time.I said nyet.My money back, and my old lamp. Masa I tengah berleter2 tengah public tu (there were people.There were clients and I hope they marked every word I said, underline on the word cheat..this shop is no ordinary shop..it has 3 big branches in Lembah Klang), kawan2 dia pasang alat peng-grill kuat2 so my words were lost.No one could hear me...hahaha..I felt funny juga masa tu but sebab geram....

I got my money back and this shop is blacklisted.I will tell my friends and family members.

I drove away to another shop and got my car lamp fixed within minutes at a lesser price.

Tak geram ke? Berniaga kalau tak tipu, tak boleh hidup ke?

Happy Father's Day

To all fathers who have done good to their kids, happy father's day!

I think we'll go somewhere close to celebrate this evening.It is also my 21st wedding anniversary.We thought of giving sadaqah to orphans as a sign of bersyukur that we are still here, in good shape. I think the relationship is good cos' we allow ourselves to scream at each other bila dah naik benggang.Hahaha.But Nik is a good friend and a loving person (a good father).That is his strength (we did a checklist of what I like about you/what I don't pagi ni when we woke up.Morbid people!)

Anyway, we have to be grateful for the jodoh given to us.Allah knows best.Empat perkara we cannot change no matter how much wealth/power we have: time of death, where we die, who we marry and the kind of wealth/rezeki we get.

I think we'll try the Cinnamon at One World Hotel (One Utama) tonight. Tak larat nak pergi jauh-jauh.I have theses to examine and a conference paper to write.One of my friends kerja at One World (my Australian alumna) recommended Cinnamon but I saw the reviews (on the hotel) Sama banyak je yes and no nya.But they have a wonderful write-up on Cinnamon.My fav. spot is One Bangsar (either Thai or Vietnamese dia...very da nice)

Never da mind. We have lotsa choices at One Utama if we don't like Cinnamon.Dulu ada Barn Thai (lantainya tanah, rumah bangsal but good jazz --- live music).I don't know where the new one is (I thot they moved to One Utama..modern setting).

Will recommend Cinnamon kalau bagus.Watch this space.

Family and Friends

Jenny and Swee Mee at lunch

Z with a fellow participant

Z and Sakinah as Malaysian reps

Istanbul from a cable car

Saturday was a busy day for me. Z was scheduled to arrive at 9 am.We took leave on Friday thinking her flight was on Friday (only to be told on Thurs. that it was on Sat!) So we spent some time doing the garden. Then in the afternoon I had to rush back to the uni for Krishna's PhD thesis defense.So takda cuti sangat lah.

Anyway, on Saturday I had also scheduled my Reunion meeting at 11 am.I figured sempat lah balik from the airport but Z took more than an hour to clear her luggage (KLIA's management is so bad..for what is supposed to be a sophisticated airport, the luggage clearance is so lama.I was told once that the workers sabotaged work, for better pay.Wallahualam)

Anyway, I am so bersyukur Z came back safe.She has many stories to tell.Access luggage fee sampai close to RM2K! (bawak barang2 Olympics dia like selimut yang beratnya berkati2.Sigh).

Some pics of her in Turkey (she was in Istanbul, Ankara and Gaziantep, travelling like a superstar, she said.The Turkish Language Olympics is a big thing in Turkey.What I like about it is the business community coming together to help promote Turkish language and culture that they have organised 6 olympics without fail -- sponsoring 550 students from over 100 countries, this year.Airfares, hotels/meals semua paid for for 3 weeks.Anyone keen on registering for next year's event, contact Mr. Turgay at the Turkish International School for further enquiries.Your child must be between 12 and 18 to qualify.They will teach your child, Turkish, for 6 months every weekend, free)

Read the kind of excitement your child may have here http://www.victoriousgal.blogspot.com/

See also http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/15/education/21467438&sec=education

Ahhh...my Reunion meeting lunch.I met Jenny after almost 3 decades.Tak nampak tua langsung dia ni.Then Sivanes mula buka cerita lama2 when we were at school.I tak sangka I was so naughty at school and they suspected it was me (at 15) who threw a note to 'harass' a temporary male teacher (one that said 'you are so handsome, I love you'.Haha).I tak ingat langsung benda ni and it's so uncharacteristic of me to say benda2 pelik macam tu to strangers. But Sivanes said she had evidence I wrote to the Revolvers (in the form of a postcard) cos' I liked Freddie Fernandez (then) and how Freddie wrote back thanking us for writing such an interesting postcard (I wrote it with Sivanes).Entah iya entah tidak Freddie who wrote back.Entah2 his peon. :))


But we laughed so much all afternoon just reminiscing what we had done and NOT done.Jenny just discovered at lunch that her gynae (a very famous one now and who had delivered her two babies) was the temporary teacher she didn't like at school.The gynae did ask her if she were from Raub during her first checkup.She didn't connect at all then. We thought this was so hilarious.How could she not know???


Some pics.

P.Ramlee the Musical, Part 2

Korang baik pi tengok! Memang international standardlah (the setting especially...stage dia better than Broadway's Mamma Mia which we saw in New York City last year.Mamma Mia so cikai.P.Ramlee punya macam Don Quixote's I saw in Madrid..stage-nya bertingkat2 dan babak keretapi tu memang sophisticated habislah.Sapo engineer/architectnya gamaknya? Gua tabik lu!)

Memang sedih juga kisah P.Ramlee ni tapi tak tau betui ke tidak versi depa ni.I hope they did their research well.Theatre kena ada R&D baru boleh percaya.Blue Man group dia pun semua buat research for every show they make.That's why they appeal to so many people esp. orang2 technical minded ni.

Last year, ramai orang marah sebab the play was accused of turning all of Ramlee's women into prostitutes.I guess it's a matter of interpretation-lah.

Costume dia bagus tapi dalam konteks hari ni..tengok wanita Melayu onstage berkemban (lagi! Dulu dalam Puteri Gunung Ledang pun timbul isu berkemban) hodoh juga.At one point, a group of them looked like wanita zaman batu sedang buat tarian zaman batu mereka.Adakah ini disengajakan, wallahualam.

I suka papparazzi tu.Mereka tersangat la cute sebab mereka tersangat lah kelakar.

Sapa Musly Ramlee? Dia betul2 macam aruah P.Ramlee.Gedik dia memang gedik P.Ramlee.

Jawapannya di sini http://star-ecentral.com/services/sprinterfriendly.asp?file=/2008/6/3/soundnstage/21387494&sec=soundnstage

Questions I need you to answer:

1.Mengapa legenda negara selalu die in poverty? : P.Ramlee, Saloma, Sudirman?

2. Sepanjang hayat P.Ramlee, orang selalu exploited him..begitu banyak films and songs he made, sapa yang kaya? Even today I wonder profits made out of his life through this play..adakah dikongsi bersama2 keluarga Allahyarham? (anaknya Nasir dan yang lain2 itu..Dian dan Sazali? Sazali is a rubbish collector I was told)

3.Bagaimanapun I still say syabas to Tiara and co. I think she has done a lot to promote Malay theatre into being accepted by ALL Malaysians (malam tu ramai bangsa bukan Melayu datang).That is why I told her, "Thank you for making us all Malaysians." Kita jangan underestimate Tiara.Dia telah bawak kita jauh and her Malay is so sedap didengar (as is her English).Kita yang kononnya memperjuangan bahasa, budaya ni tau bercakap je.Tiara telah lama tinggalkan kita. My question is: tidakkah kita malu dengan Tiara? (and her co.)

Orang kata ada duit, semua jalan.Not true.Ramai philanthropists kita pun banyak duit but what do they do to menmertabatkan warisan budaya kita?

http://mikeyip.com/tag/istana-budaya/

P.Ramlee the Musical

Mek asked if I wanted to join her watch P.Ramlee the Musical at Istana Budaya. Malas.Sejuk tempat tu (macam winter) but Nik kata tak baik, orang dah ajak.Mek is my elder sister.A bit cracko.

Nasib baik tiket dah habis.

But today she rang again.Tiket ada lagi! I said ok, book it. Dia pi booked tiket mahal! (sebab yang lain dah habis).Haiyooo...

I hope it'll be worth it.The first version (2007) had mixed reviews.Tahun ni katanya terlebih pulak pujinya.We'll see.

I like this advert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwhRJEaZ8hk

The Osmonds

Annabelle has always been a die-hard fan.So when she told me about the Osmonds coming to perform in Genting, I wired the family and we got interested.I hope things will go as planned.Watch this space. :)

Here's his link http://donny.osmond.com/

His YouTubes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2ubbk5C8DU&feature=related (to Christine, Annabelle etc reading this, do you remember the dance at my sister's bday party? ha ha)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96HqPpjI3UY&feature=related (another grin here)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEZJyfPkWCY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyRiNZDb5EY&feature=related (zaman sesat.Haha)

Mr. Gambus

Raja Ahmad and his guest artist, Mustapa Ibrahim

at RA Gallery, KL

Farid Ali (Mr.Gambus) and friends

Nik and I were feeling a bit lost without Z so we started to date one another again cos' staying at home on a Saturday evening seemed too much for us without our child.

First, we went to RA Gallery to give moral support to the opening of a local artist's art exhibition.Mustapa Ibrahim was his name.We met many arty crafty people.I enjoyed the banana leaf motifs Mustapa had.Simple but the paintings brought you back to earth.

Then after Maghrib,we decided to go shopping at KLCC.Isetan was having a sale.Everywhere I turned were young children.Hmm..when Z leaves home after SPM...I cannot imagine how much worse it can get.
Every Arab child I saw looked like Z when she was 2, 3, 4, 5, 6....Gosh..now I know how my Mom felt when I left home and when I got married...

We still didn't want to go home when malls closed at 10.We decided to listen to Mr.Gambus at Bangkok Jazz and have something to eat there.

They didn't start on time (this is something I hate..not starting on time) but when they did, I think it was worth waiting for.I never thought gambus could be so jazzy.Farid Ali (Mr.Gambus) looked like he's a banker.He sang better than he played his gambus. :)) He didn't open his mouth too widely as most singers I had seen but he had nice voice. Very intriguing, that.

Truly nice voice! . We left just before 12 but not without me saying to Mr. Gambus and his saxophone guy, "That was fabulous."

But his gambus can't beat Dennis Lau's electric violin. :))

I have a meeting at 4 pm today.You know it's Sunday here.But a woman has to do what a woman has to do.Work.

footnote: I had re-written this piece and if you notice everything is now in English.I received an email from Charlotta in the US saying her students want to know more about me after reading my book In the art of naming.Ahem. So folks, this blog has to go international now. :))

Party's over

Syukur alhamdullilah, the party's over.

The dinner went well I think.The boys played good music (many approached them to say so).Tapi lagu 'Sway" I depa tak sempat main sebab Sultan balik awal (but Sultan told the boys he liked their music and told Zamil that he had P.Ramlee's voice.Haha) but Dennis' Prelude memang sedap gila.Nanti bila album dia keluar, kita nak suruh dia buat concert free kat alumni. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYWHzj_eTGw

Dan untuk peminat-peminat Dennis yang membaca blog ini, ini blog Dennis http://www.dennislaumusic.blogspot.com/

Tapi tension giler buat kerja ni.

Z is enjoying herself in Turkey.She deserves it.

like a wedding reception

As the day draws closer to IIUM's 25th anniversary, the preparations are like us preparing for a wedding reception esp. the evening event.It's good that every division/unit is involved.The Architecture students are in charge of decorating the hall (and my instruction was "tukar dia jadi ballroom". Ha ha.Saja nak mengusik.They showed us a few pics of past events.They were good at playing with colours and lightings.Kita doakan mereka sukses)

The jazz band boys came.I had to be honest with them tentang pantang larang IIUM.They took it well.Bukan pertama kali mereka main musik depan Sultan-sultan dan pembesar2 negeri lainnya so that is a relief.We decided on a few songs yang akan buat kita "sway-sway" (good for food digestion during dinner). Mufti Perlis will come.Tak tau lah macamana reception beliau nanti.Nampak macam dia hadhari so I hope takda masalah. But I guess mesti ada kritik kutuk ..macam majlis2 perkahwinan yang lain tetapi apalah erti hidup kalau tak berani berfikiran lapang.

If I'm fired, I have my small room to return to. :))
Yang penting, it's a celebration, kan?

And so I was on tv...

It's been a while since I was on tv..so I felt quite nervous about being interviewed live on Good Morning Malaysia (Selamat Pagi Malaysia). Prof Iswawi was with me but he's a pro.

So we spoke about IIUM celebrating our silver jubilee this year.I focused on alumni and participation of the masyarakat in building the nation which would mean participating in uni. development, etc.

Some positive feedbacks from colleagues.. that's REALLY nice to know. :)

My mom yang tengah merajuk pun (she said she could not watch sebab TV dia rosak but I just spoke to her semalam and she told me she was watching her favourite soap opera) said she saw me and said "wah..pandai cakap ya?" I could sense the mother's pride in her voice. Dia merajuk sebab kita dah lama tak balik menjengok dia.I'll pick her up next Saturday, InsyaAllah cos' Z is leaving for Ankara the day after.Dia rindu cucu and daughter but tak mau tinggalkan her kelas mengaji.

Ramai juga callers after the show.I hope more participations by alumni before May 20.

Calling all iium alumni

Hello!

IIUM will celebrate its 25th year on May 20, 2008. We are having a charity dinner in the evening.Seats can be bought at RM100 per head. Please email me for details. Last date to give charitably for this dinner is May 12. This is once every 25 years. :))

Umm..I might be on TV on Monday morning on this. Bukanlah satu perkara yang saya suka nak buat walaupun saya mungkin suka masuk TV.Ha ha.

Tapi setengah orang berperangai pelik...nak tanya dulu ke mana donation tu pergi...sapa audit funding..hello..kita cuma minta RM100 bukan 100 juta ringgit (sekali in 25 years). Lagipun zaman Islam bermula dulu, semua orang jihad bagi harta benda nak bangunkan Islam.Takda pun tanya pasal auditors dan lain2.Semuanya based on trust.Ini, kita telah tiada.TRUST.Walaupun atas emas sekarung.

Oh sad..so sad.

Stopover in Dubai

The pool at Ismail's villa at Palm Island looked like this

This is a belated entry.No time, weh.Too many meetings, social functions to attend. I had only a couple of hours doing poetry with Jacob Sam-la Rose, the East London poet brought to KL by British Council. But managed to see him perform at Zouk's Slam Poetry (phooii.., young people were drinking and smoking like they had never heard of cancer, kidney failure)

My Fulbright certificate giving (and dinner) was just hours before that.What a busy evening but Gayah and I had nice time talking about our teenagers and supporting each other as worn out parents! :)

But yes Dubai.Apa yang seronok sangat Dubai ni beats me. I didn't like the airport.I think it's over-rated (I found a scarf I bought in Muscat, sold 3 times more at the airport).People were rude at the counters. There were no proper and friendly resting lounges for passers by (hotels were always full).My Rawa relative waited but didn't wait any longer (went to sleep sebab besoknya kerja) when my plane was delayed.Bagus punya Rawa! :))

But Nik's Arab friend, Ismail, made a difference to my first impression of Dubai (although I had been passing through the airport on numerous occasions). Ismail is a young millionaire (unattached at 30, religious, smart and kind hearted). Can you imagine him picking us up at the airport at 10 something in the evening and was with us till 4 am? His brand new BMW was impressive.He showed us Dubai..the new and old Dubais. We had dinner at the Global Village which looked and sounded very global.I didn't like it except for the restaurant we were at (good service, good food, good philosophical conversations).

Then Ismail took us to his Palm Island weekend villa (worth millions of dirham) after showing us some of Dubai's 7 star hotels..woohooo..cantik.The Creek pun bagus.People didn't sleep even at 3 am.

But ke manakah Dubai ingin membawa kemajuan yang tiada nokhtah ini? Dan siapa yang untung?

Yang pasti, I am glad to see a glimpse of hope.Ismail masih berjubah walaupun dia seorang jutawan, trained in the West.

More images of Oman

Thank you Oman.God bless.

at the Airport VIP lounge, so impressed by Omani hospitality

we also fed the mountain goat

We ate from the tray

till we found a picnic spot almost at the peak

and more mountains

there was nothing but mountains

so we continued our journey up the mountain

pre-Islamic rock walls

pre-Islamic rock homes

but not before seeing a wadi on the way

convoying up the treacherous Jabal Shams

A guy with a heart of gold

The castle guide and our Omani alumni

watching out for enemies

Jabreen Castle

The Alumni Prez giving a speech

at our IIUM Omani Alumni Chapter Launch (our mc for the day)

building tourism

Omani kids at a fishing village

Dr. Nagat and me at the palace

There are more pics and wonderful memories of Omani people and places but it takes so much time to download.These are just a handful few.Please see the pics from bottom up.

Greetings from Muscat, Oman

Omani hospitality (serving the halwa)

at the harbour

night shopping at the bazaar in Mattrah

night life at mattrah

Muscat is a very accessible, slow paced city.But its nights are alive.

We were in the Jabal Shams area yesterday (up the mountain on four wheels drive). A dangerous journey indeed.It was hot (but I was told it'd get worse in months to come) but the mountains were mysterious and yet, beautiful.I wondered about the Quranic verse in which God had entrusted the Quran to the mountains but they rejected.I could relate to why it was the mountains...they looked real solid and strong.Like they could protect you from just about everything.

We had a picnic up the peak (almost).You'd think it would be so hot up there given the deserty and dry (almost Martian landscape) look but it was very, very pleasant and cool and we shared our foods with the mountain goats.Some pics later.

Then there's the fallaj (something like the zam-zam well in which water does not dry up even in bad summer and this has been since ancient times).

We also went to visit Jabreen Castle.Simply well-built and well-thought (the architecture's simply amazing...Quranic verse and doas were part of the the overall interior so that as the kids/adults climb up the staircases to go to their bedrooms, they'd read the doas).

The Omanis are very friendly people.Most people speak English here.

We also went to Old Muscat (Muscat and Oman were two separate governments till they merged as Oman not too long ago). The Old Muscat has a nice fishing village.I'd put some pics later.

Halwa Maskat is from here.They taste real good here.Prof Ibrahim Zein told us a story about how an Iranian student of his gave him some Iranian halwa.Prof Ibrahim said, "This is from Muscat not Iran". The boy said no, no..it's Iran's.So he asked what Iranians call their halwa.The boy said, "Maskati" (read Muscati). :))

So every time your mom serves you your halwa maskat..please remember its place of origin. Ha ha.

Salam from Jakarta

Me, at the hotel

Habiburrahman El-Shirazy, author of Ayat-ayat Cinta (rep. 31 times, the movie, a blockbuster -- watched by the Prez and paupers alike)

Eka (of Flinders days) and me.Eka's husband will soon be posted to Mexico City

Barbecued gold fish I ate with Yuli at Taman Ismail Marzuki (T.I.M)

-- I hope it was not somebody's pet

I think this is the tugu of liberty (taken from my hotel window)

The biggest mosque in Southeast Asia (6 floors)

With Jas' mom at our hotel

Malaysian delegates (and CEOs of SEA Language Centres) at the Southeast Asian Language and Literature meeting

Salam,

I'm writing from Jakarta.Today is my 3rd day here.Jakarta is not cheap.Or was I brought to expensive places? Even the street bazaars were not cheap (perhaps I was too dressed up like wanita kaya?) No wonder Janet said she was a Carrefour gal whenever in Jakarta.She just could not be bothered to haggle with prices with the retailers.You just can't win with them.Too polished.

This is the hotel I'm at http://www.hotelborobudur.com/default1.asp
The garden is so beautiful (reminds me of Hilton in Istanbul) Even the strict security checks remind me of Hilton in Istanbul (so many Americans here..there's a group of American military men..doing some cooperation with Indonesian militer)

I met the writer of Ayat2 Cinta at breakfast (his book was reprinted 31 times) And I saw his blockbuster movie on day one (didn't waste any time!) Cried throughout the movie.This movie can beat Fitna at any time.The movie is authentically Islamic and well-researched. :)


The seminar I'm at will be attended by 300 Deans from universities all over Indonesia.3 Ministers from Msia, Indonesia and Brunei are also here.I have many butterflies in my tummy now. :)

More later.

Remembering Tam...

She was my 4th (of 8) sister.She had a masculine name but we called her Tam cos' her skin was darker than other siblings in the family. She was always the odd one out. While my other siblings chose to go to English schools, she chose to go to Sekolah Melayu (in those days). Her friends called her Bob cos' she was a bit tom boyish.

When she was 19, my mom wanted her to marry a long lost relative.Like a good daughter she was, she obliged (but not without some initial resistance).But she was pampered so much by her husband and travelled to a couple of countries which included the UK and Egypt.I think she was happily married and so blessed by Allah. She was going in and out the istana and mingled with very important people. She loved beautiful things and like a true Rawa, she loved gold.

Tam was a generous being.She bought me a nice gold necklace and my young infant a gold chain with her name. Zafirah was 9 months when Tam died in a car crash.At the age of 34.I remember the day well.

And today, after almost 16 years, I thought of her on my way to work (I think of her everyday but today the pain was as fresh as the day she died).I thought of her in this painful manner because the radio was playing her favourite song about a boy saying farewell to a dead friend.

Tam has 3 children who looked after themselves after her death.Her husband refused to remarry and is almost blind for all the memory of her and too much crying. Baraqah (who was 2 when the car crashed) has just gotten her SPM results and is looking for a uni. placement.I hope she will find some place somewhere and get to do what she wants to do (Accountancy). Baraqah was the family finance controller and it is no wonder she is so good at Accounting and Mathematics.She had been playing with numbers and balancing sheets since she was in Standard 1.

Her eldest brother missed out on college cos' he was looking after the younger sisters. I hope when the gals have finally settled down, he would have his own space for himself.

I think we have much to share. Whatever wealth, comfort we may have, it is not ours.There are others who need it more than us.

To Tam, al fatihah - in memory. Thank you for preparing my picnic meal when I was 15.Thank you for doing the cukur when Zafirah was a month old (no one dared cos' she was too tiny).Thank you for telling me I was actually going through labour pain and advising me to go to the hospital the night I cringed with 'stomach ache' (9 months pregnant). Thank you for the last buffet you got the family together just hours before you died. I still remember you waving goodbye with a happy smile on your face because everyone was home for the buffet you prepared. It was your way of saying goodbye to us.As though you knew.Hours later, I received a phone call from Daud saying that you were involved in a car crash.I was hopeful you would survive but seconds later, another call saying you had left us.

Thank you for being such a loving and supportive sister, daughter, aunty to so many who still think of and love you.Even in your absence.

Linguistic human rights

all stressed up on this Jakarta-bound paper but I may have found something to fight for in the next few months to come. Will brief once the paper's done and presented but Malaysian government may have violated international law on some of the stuffs it has in its language policy esp. in imposing the use of English in Science and Mathematics.Watch this space.

After the dust has settled...

...well, not quite, actually.I'm talking about Msian local politics and my new job at ACSD.If comparisons were to be made, I think we are both trying hard to adjust.It's not easy but our ying and yang have been altered so there would be so many positionings and re-positionings to be made.Some you do willingly..others you do reluctantly but adjust you must.

Given the choice, I'd want my old life back but since this is just temporary..I have to persevere and learn to accept my own shortcomings and limitations.As well as of others who I have come in contact with.At the end of the day, I am certain I would have learnt much and become a stronger person.

Rasa nak muntah lagi.Gosh.

Happy Voting

It does not matter if the candidate you want to represent you loses out to the one you do not want to rep. you.What is more important is we exercise our right to vote.Not going out to vote is similar to allowing yourself to lose the battle before you even begin. :))

Keep cool and happy voting! (I like the togetherness that I feel as a fellow Malaysian.It's like everyone is united for a common goal and that is to create a STRONG OPPOSITION so that Malaysia will grow better and in style).

But after tomorrow, we should continue to work harder for this country we so love..in good or bad times.We are the ones who choose to stay when there are choices to leave.

We need to take care of our love.Parties come and go.This country stays.

Guess who came to dinner?

Luis, Ana with Nik and Z

Luis and Ana!(Costa Ricans) They have just moved to China from Thailand.Luis stopped over in KL cos' he wanted to show Ana KL which he loves so much after his encounter with it during our Asia-Pac Indigenous Plays Festival at IIUM many years ago (4? 5?)

We took them out to dinner at Seri Melayu (which had lost its seri I thought).But we still enjoyed talking to one another.

First day at work yesterday as the new Director of ACSD.I muntah in the car on my way home.Freudian slip or what? But the staff at ACSD seemed OK and hard working lot.My brain is busy thinking how to make money.Tough job but if it's just for the year, I guess I will survive.