Kehilangan yang menghiriskan: Prof Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim

 https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BG3shnyec/

Dari Jambu Rias ke Conakry reviews

1. I enjoyed reading the stories. The trip to the island in Senegal will always be with me. Terrible place. 

Malay stories rarely are contexted in Africa. Always in US, Europe, Japan , Korea or Mekkah. So your book is exceptional.

2.Dari penulis budayawan:    Cerita yang ditulis adalah mutiara kehidupan yang tidak pura-pura, ikhlas dan benar. Ceritanya menyentuh setiap detik hidup sang pengkelana, mendendang lagu kehidupan, yang runtun, yang rawan, yang indah, yang kesima.Kata penulis, kalau ke Jambu Rias, ingatlah Manaf, kalau ke Konya, ghazal Rumi, intailah gunung nan gah di Oman, bangun dan lantunkanlah puisi kulit hitam Leopold Senghor, raikan puisi  Marabi dalam sastera Gambianya, dan ingat pesan ini: mabuk puisilah semua dengan mabuk Omar Khayyam.

Prof. Emeritus Dr. Che Husna Azhari

Penulis dan Budayawan, Bangi

3. Rangsang sari Dr. Azhar Ibrahim dari National Universiti Singapore:     Kumpulan cerpen ini adalah sebuah ilham pena yang menggabung unsur realisme dan imaginasi. Narasinya disusun jelas, sebagaimana penegasan ini: “Di sini kami menjumpai kewanitaan kami” yang tercoret dalam salah satu cerpen.  Begitulah sebagai seorang ilmuan dan penulis kreatif, NF Abdul Manaf menulis dengan nada kesadaran dan paparan sejarah, terkukuh dengan pendirian sebagai wanita Muslim yang tahu akan hak dan peranannya. Cerpen-cerpennya terhembus angin segar, dengan penceritaan yang mengalir, dibubuh sikap empatis, terhidang sekelumit pengalaman, dibaluti sebingkis pengajaran dan dikibar seluas pandangan. Kesaksian sebegini wajar kita sama renungi.

Dr. Azhar Ibrahim

Jabatan Pengajian Melayu

Universiti Nasional Singapura

4.Dari Dato Seri Prof Salleh Yaapar: Sudah tiba koleksi cerpen yang istimewa -- Dari Jambu Rias ke Conakry! Koleksi ini bukan sekadar membawa pembaca melancong dari negara ke negara, dan kota ke kota. Lebih dari itu, ia mengundang pembaca mengenali tokoh-tokoh sejarah dan merenung beberapa karya pengarang agung. Melalui penceritaan menarik beberapa orang wanita, koleksi ini juga membangkitkan isu-isu politik, pendidikan, pembangunan bandar, dan pencemaran alam.

Sesungguhnya, ia tepat mencerminkan pengarangnya sebagai seorang tokoh akademik yang peka terhadap isu kesejahteraan manusia.

Prof. Emeritus Dato’ Seri Dr. Salleh Yaapar

Universiti Sains Malaysia, Pulau Pinang

5.Dari Prof Datin Dr Ruzy Suliza Hashim: Dari Jambu Rias ke Conakry menawarkan perjalanan pelbagai watak dengan konflik masing-masing. Setiap tempat mempunyai pengaruh psikologi, umpamanya Makkah dan Madinah membangkitkan pembinaan kehidupan baru selepas perceraian. Istanbul, Konya, dan Cappadocia menjelmakan ketegangan antara kemodenan dan kerohanian. Di Dubai dan Oman, persoalan nilai kekayaan duniawi diketengahkan. Di Senegal dan Gambia, protagonis menyerlahkan landskap trauma sejarah dan identiti pasca kolonial. Conakry, tempat terakhir koleksi cerpen menjadi metafora untuk konfrontasi peribadi dengan ketidakstabilan dan perubahan. Dalam istilah psikogeografi, tempat-tempat ini bukan sahaja persekitaran fizikal tetapi agen aktif dalam membentuk kehidupan dalaman watak, mencerminkan idea bahawa ruang dan tempat secara intrinsik terikat dengan psikologi dan identiti manusia. Sesungguhnya, NF Abdul Manaf mengolah dengan begitu baik sepuluh cerpen dengan lakaran setiap keunikan persekitaran untuk menunjukkan bagaimana manusia sentiasa bergelut dengan persoalan identiti, kepunyaan, kepercayaan dan tujuan kehidupan.

Dr. Datin Ruzy Suliza Hashim

University of Economics and Human Sciences

Warsaw, Poland.

Madras:The missing entry

Dr Amani and I went to Madras/Chennai in Feb 2019 (she said frm Feb 15-19). I'm surprised that the writeups and photos I thought I did were never published here.

We had a great time inspiring young South Indian Muslim girls as we made our rounds as keynote speakers. I was the Humanities lady. Amani the NASA scientist. Luckily Amani still keeps the photos. 

Indeed 2019 was my busy year. I was travelling overseas non stop. Then I got sick. Then covid. Wow. 

My fb entry 30/8/24

The year was 2019. The month was Feb. I had more photos but they were not documented in my blogspot entries as always. I hv to thank Dr Amani for these photos. We were invited as keynote speakers in a place not far from Madras. We met young Muslims at uni and school level.Amani took care of those in Stem, me in Humanities. Mcm celebrities bersalam dgn begitu ramai young fans. Haha. The men treated us with much respect.. Took us to their leather stores.. Pilih apa kita nak, kata owner tu. Kasut? Handbag? How many can we wear.. Amani and I bkn suka melaram mcm tu but we took wht we liked. Rezeki jgn ditolak, babe.

But what I enjoyed most was the trip to the orphanage. Prince Charles and Prime Minister Najib had visited this plc too. So kemas so clean so organised. We spoke thr too. Storage brg2 bdk2 dia mcm IKEA. Tht is how organised they are.

Our Indian friends dropped us at this sari shop. Punya byk we bought for friends and families that the owner kasi Amani and I bags free. . Sari murah banget tapi cantik ok?

+2

All reactions:

3Muhammad Adli Musa, Ezza Farah and 1 other

June Place girls' reunion

 We were neighbours at June Place in Hamilton, New Zealand - Anidah, Zurina, Kamsuri and me. Saniah was at another apartment not too far from us.

They had planned to visit me because I had been so unwell the last 7 months but could only make it after my surgery in June so August 25 it was. Anidah said we (she and Tall) would cook Maqlubah and a mutton dish. I prepared the dessert the night before. Had to do 2 takes. Custardnya berketul-ketul. Trifle akhirnya success, alhamdulillah.

Only Yon could not make it. Yogi is in town but in Penang. We gave gifts to each other, Anne gave us handmade purse (tempah from her other friend's daughter), I gave them batik coaster, Suri bawak sebakul durian from her orchard, Saniah bawak rempah O from Kedah. Ziad's samosas arrived late cos' he informed the sisters lewat. Tak sesedap biasa and masin but Zu loved them.

We celebrated an early merdeka day. It was fun, fun, fun. Saniah was the last to leave so was watching Netflix with her. The ending The Gentlemen is so, so disappointing

My return to creative writing

 It has been a while since Wanita Rawa Terakhir. Or writing short stories in Malay.

This is my latest https://www.utusan.com.my/gaya/sastera/2024/04/ria-raya/

It is about our lack of preparation in addressing an aged population. Old people live alone, die alone. Don't leave it to NGOs to clean up the dirt. The government should be championing the cause, have clear policies, great infrastructure, go high tech in old age security - both financially, physically, medically.

I wrote another one here on maids and maid agents

https://www.bharian.com.my/rencana/sastera/2024/06/1254691/cerpen-bh-ahad-ejen-dagang

On my road to recovery

 It has been over 4 months saya diuji dgn masalah kesihatan. Berkat doa everyone, the progress is good. I started going out again whn Z and R came to visit last Dec and left soon after my birthday. From thereon, I would make it a point to keluar at least once a week.

Yesterday it was with my NZ alums. Only 9 turned up becos the rest were either overseas, gone on umrah or too far to come. Zac said dia jaga mak dia. 

Met Salome in years. She pun struggling to get a good maid. Haha. All the best. Menteri Wanita sepatutnya proaktif dalam menangani keperluaan homecare ni. Not only for working women but also for an aging population. We do not want a tired, stressed out, angry nation because thr isnt enough support for work-life balance. 

Post retirement trip to The Netherlands

 Nik wanted me to join the trip. Tak seronok jalan sorang, he said. So we agreed to visit Z and R for 2 weeks July 16.

First week Josine and Jan took us to a seafood lunch in Rotterdam. Very nice catching up with our besan. Then we dropped by Faya's home. Leroy pandai pulak menghidang air and macaroons and cakes. Faya takut tengok kita dtg ramai sgt.

Selang beberapa hari Bertjan and Arlineke pulak took us to Amsterdam visit family museum mrk. Jan Six Museum. We enjoyed this. Rasa personalised sgt. We met Jan Six yg ke 10. Had coffee with him, saw his 17th century garden. Then we had a huge Indonesian lunch not far from the museum. 

Alhamdulillah then we took short trips to Lille in north France (slept 2 nights) then stopped by Ghent in Belgium. Cuaca dah mula sejuk. Patut summer. Rhodes was burning.

Another day another trip to an island north of The Netherlands called Texel. We loved this island. Had we knwn earlier how beautiful it was, we would hv put up a night. Go fishing, go boating, cycling, etc. 

Then we saw Barbie, heret reluctant Nik and Robert. Nik snored 3x.haha.Film mrk tak naik at tht cinema. Too bad la kan. 

Then we invited Uncle Joe, Mail and Nani pi Minang lunch downtown Den Haag. Pedas sgt for me.

We had a busy schedule daily tht by the time we boarded our flight home, I rasa lunyai. 

Still recovering now, 4 days later. But syukur everything went well and we enjoyed spending time with our family members. 

So I'm retired

This is rather belated but I retired from IIUM on Jan 11, 2023. The first week felt like liberation. Total freedom. Masuk Week 2, I started feeling lost. Rang up a few friends,  long time retirees. Is this normal? Im feeling down. Lost. They said it was normal. Just get into a routine and I will be ok.

So I found my routine. I still give talks, write papers. Then makan tidur makan tidur. I picked up pilates but now tht it is Ramadan, I stop dulu. Pilates is good. I hv a good personal coach.

Wht I love about being retired is tht I hv more time for friends and families. Priceless!

And I shld go bck to writing fiction. And painting. Sibuk juga persaraan ni sebenarnya.

Alhamdulillah masih bernyawa to do good things. 

Bicara buku UKM

 Terima kasih Prof. Madya Dr. Mawar Safei dan pelajar-pelajarnya kerana appreciate novella ini. Hanya Allah membalas kebaikan anda semua. 

Post ZafgotRob wedding receptions

 Some of you were there on Aug 6 and 7, 2022. Alhamdullilah diizinkan Allah we held both receptions dgn selamat. About 700 guests (500 +200) were hosted.

Im happy tht some of my friends from USA, Vietnam, Qatar flew in to share our joy. Friends from my uni days, IIUM also came. It was as I had dreamt it to be. I loved the band which I had carefully identified 2 years ago. It lived to my expectation. Our guests enjoyed it too. 

Post all these, Im slowly recovering. The empty nest syndrome is definitely here. Z and R pulak semakin busy in their career. Sorang di Barat, sorang di Timur. R is in NY for 3-4 months. Z continues to travel on work. I feel so static. But alhamdullilah jobs keep coming sampai I rasa sesak nafas with deadlines. Makin nak pencen, makin byk itu ini. 

Art exhibition and book launch

Done on May 25, 2022 at Dar al Hikmah Library, officiated by Tan Sri Rector.

We had fun because it was also a raya gathering with friends and colleagues. 

Sent to the publisher

 Alhamdulillah after much consideration, I decided to go with publisher X (you will know once the book is out). I learnt much about the book industry, met more people and I think it will be easier to publish again in the future, inshaAllah.

I'm just relieved it's happening in Ramadan. Semoga mendapat baraqah untuk saham akhirat.

Novella, novelette, novel

 Finally it is done. You may want to see it as a novella. I'm  OK if you want to call it a novel. A short one.

But I hope I captured part of the Rawaness in a certain part of Pahang. I took what was mine.Some what was not mine (I read and used some of the materials I read. Or stories shared with me. Or stories I imagined happen)

10 people are reading it. I'm curious over what they have to say. The work is far from perfect. I went through a lot in the making of the book (since 2016? 2017?). Long delays here and there. I got sick. Loved ones died. Pandemic. Lockdown. Crazy work place which did a non stop micromanagement. I was demoralised. I got lazy. I had lots of excuses not to write. But I picked up the pen. Read. Wrote. Read.Wrote.

It was an amanah. 3 of my close friends died. One of covid. Two others of heart attack.

So when I concluded my work last Friday, I certainly felt relieved. Mahu tidak. This thing has been haunting me day and night. Lots of prayers too.

Soon I will hear from my reviewers and possibly critics (I'm OK).

I do not want to be a novelist ever again. It is hard work.

New Year 2022

 Before you know it, 2022 is pronounced 2020 too  (a joke a friend sent me just before new year). Kinda gloomy when you think about going through the routine of 2020 (and 2021). The covid scare, the test kit, the lockdown.

But others had it worse, yes. Death after death after death. Loss after loss after loss. I went through those too but the floods were worse: death and loss.

A lot to be grateful for no matter what. 

Let us remember that.

Happy Gregory New Year. May we be protected by Allah  all the time.

Alfatihah utk Long

 My eldest sister, Hajjah Rokiah passed away at 4 am at her daughter's home in Putrajaya. Nik and I were at Banyan Tree Hotel. They tried calling me at 4.26 am but i tak dengar.

Woke up to kak ngah's text, long not good. Kebumi di Semantan. I thought she was telling me her wish. Then saw Sal's message. She died at 4 am dgn mudah. We rushed to Putrajaya after a rushed bfast sbb van jenazah wld leave for Raub at 9.45 am. Nik said we wld do a late checkout. Tak sempat to pack.

Jenazah mandi, kapan, disolatkan di surau near ummi's plc. Sempatlah i tolong sikit2 and sempat kissed her and thanked her for her kindness since we were small. As kakak sulong, tjawab dia berat.

Im too sad to write more. Whn Im calmer, i will continue.

Alfatihah, Long. 

Z got Rob

This is a belated entry on Z's nikah to Rob on Sept 22. The date was received a wee bit late. They had to run here and there (6 different places) to get their documents for the nikah. Without complete documentation, no nikah date. Imagine the two flying back to KL not knowing if the nikah would take plc/not cos' no guarantee they would get a nikah date sebab takut penuh. And they only had 3 weeks tolak 2 weeks quarantine. 

Selangor is particularly difficult to marry. Things could have gone digitalised, right? A month after their nikah, sijil nikah belum dapat. Hadoi Selangor! They could have just issued it after the nikah right? Sekarang macam2 jenis gadget ada. 

I'm glad it's all over. The pandemic might be here for a while longer so maybe we did the right thing doing the nikah although many of our family members and friends were not able to share with us the joy.

Takpalah. Asalkan  hubungan mereka sudah halal now.

Gugurnya sebutir mutiara IMAN

 Kak Am passed away yesterday at slightly after 4 pm. I received a poster from Prez Abim of her demise. I thought it was a condolence on the passing of her husband 2 months ago but a small print in the takziah poster said on her return to rahmahtullah. I had to read it many times before I forwarded it to my IMAN network. Semua terkejut sebab we never knew Kak Am sakit.

She died of cancer. Late stage and it had spread to her liver, usus, stomach which she didn't know till a couple of days ago. Betapa mudah and how she didn't have to go through all those painful treatments.  Kak Oni kata itulah God's mercy on her. Dengan tumour yang besar, Kak Am masih kuat ke sana sini working for the ummah. Tanpa dia merasanya.

I wanted to tunggu kat kubur je but masa tu jenazah belum sampai so I bergegas ke masjid Mujahidin in Dsara Utama. Jenazah dah selamat dimandikan dan dikapankan. I just sat at one side sbb dah tak sempat nak ambik wudhu and cari kain telekong. Anggota IMAN lain duduk jauh so could not make it.

Mlmnya we did virtual tahlil. Very emotional mo for all. I'm glad we could verbalise our grief as we spoke of Kak Am's good deeds and how she inspired us in her kerja-kerja amal.

Dato Osman Bakar told Kak Oni: perginya sebutir lagi mutiara bagi kita semua.

Semoga Allah ampunkan Kak Am, menerima semua amal-amal baiknya dan menempatkannya di kalangan para solehah.

Alfatihah for Kak Am dan rakan-rakan IMAN yang telah pergi Saba, Aldila, Che Nor.

ASA fraternity

 ASA and I went a long way. I think I was its Vice President twice..when Prof. Nuraihan was President and when Prof. Aziz Bari was one..if tak silap. It seems so long time ago. I love its fraternity. We have done much together, the river projects, the pitching projects with Dr Amani and gang. I have wonderful memories which I must record and capture here as I get more and more forgetful with time.You need to probok-probok me to get my stories out.If not tenggelam macam tu je.

Yesterday was funny. Dr Addy macam biasa, probok2 saying now that Menteri MOHE dah letak jawatan, he nominates me as Senator to replace her. Haha. Lepas tu sorang demi sorang joined in the jest and supported the motion. Lawak but I played along and gave my strategic planning not only for the country but more for IIUM. Kata orang, sayang anak, sindir menantu? Gitew. Haha.

Addy tanya, banyak ke duit nak buat macam2 ni? I said duit monopoli parti I kan banyak? Haha. Nice to be silly sometimes.

The talk we did on Sharif 's prog katanya triggered similar discussions in the US panels. Bagus le if Kirp, Dr Fachrudin and Jeff and I managed to do that.  We had fun doing it anyway - talking about entanglement of religion with technology and how that affects our economy and overall social wellness. Tajuk tu I yang bagi. Something I feel strongly about.

Alfatihah Dr. Khamsiah Ismail

Dr Khamsiah Ismail passed away today hari Ahad malam Isnin at 8.35 pm. Text anak dia I dapat sejam lewat because I was busy marking fyp dissertations.

Macam biasa it took me a while to process the news.Mula-mula tak tau nak rasa apa, cakap apa. Then macam biasa I frantically looked for those who knew her to cry together. I have lost all who would pick the phone at a ring.Kawan2 lain pun habis tak sihat and biasa tidur awal.By then I was sobbing. Akhirnya Prof Noraini picked the phone and empangan terus pecah. Dia pun belum dengar cerita sedih ni. Pastinya dia tak tau head or tail.I kept hearing her saying what? apa? I had to say the news twice.

Then she sensibly said we would all go too, sabar dan pray that she will be placed in jannah.

IMAN, WPRU, PERAK groups semua kenal dia. Semua sedih.

It will take me a while to get over this. Please sedekah alfatihah for Dr Khamsiah Ismail,a good academic, researcher, counselor, a good friend, a good human being.

Dari Allah kita datang, kepadaNya kita kembali.

Loved ones fall sick

 Covid cases hit almost 10k now. We are doing wrong things. If we were doing the right thing, the number would hv gone down.

My niece was down and we thought we would lose her but alhamdullilah, she pulled through berkat rahmah Allah. And now, one of my good friends, Dr. Khamsiah is battling with covid. We all pray tht she will come out of it. 

I suddenly feel very sad. Sadness is an understatement. When leaders are stupid, this is where we are. We die, one by one. Greed does not kill. Stupidity does.