Barcelona..not a Messi(y) city indeed

Like Manchester, one always equate Barcelona to be a footballing city . partly indeed it seems to be the case as one always observe an endless array of Barcelona FC jerseys and other memorabilia being sold at every single souvenir shop.

However as one "unravels" the wonder of this city it is obviously not a Messi(y) city (pardon the pun) but it is a city built on the architectural brilliance of Antonio Gaudi.

His ultimate masterpiece was indisputably the Sagrada Familia .Awesome is the only word to describe this Gaudi's masterpiece of an Architectural marvel.

Barcelona is a real modern city and i read somewhere it's the best city to live in after Chicago.

Am not surprised easily, one can walk and enjoys what the city offers on its famous La Ramblas street.

The metro system is modern and connects the city well, its park up the hill at the monjuic is beautiful.Things area bit expensive though as one can expect from a city that can offer many tourist attractions.

What did i buy in Barcelona?

Ha..not a Barcelona FC shirt and not a Gaudi's trinket but an original Espanyol FC jersey with its nice blue stripes !!!

Ya it's indeed a Gaudi and to an extent a Picasso's city but in contemporary times Lionel Messi reigns supreme especially after his winning goal in the world club championship as fans celebrated wildly at the La Ramblas chanting his name..A Messi(y) city indeed that day!

Looking for Eric...Cantona

Had the pleasure of watching the much awaited movie(for me,anyway) "Looking for Eric" on my DVD at home last weekend.

Am i disappointed with the movie? Not a bit really, enjoyed to a hilt because it was indeed a story of an ordinary person, a Manchunian postman whose life has taken a real dip to its lowest ebb and looking out to his hero,Eric Cantona in some form of imaginary conversation to seek out his own happiness and meaning to his seemingly mundane life.

Cantona(the man..) as usual oozes an aura that can only come from such a person of supreme confidence but even then he also relates his own frailties which makes Eric the postman realised that every man has his issues and problems and only by taking life by the scruff of its neck and caring honestly for the people that matters in your life (your family,close friends..) will enable one to endure all the challenges one would endure.

The movie has its magic moments..as Cantona famously quipped.."I am not a man", and Eric the postman asked, "What are you then?"... The reply? "I am Cantona"!! Great great man.

As a self confessed Manchester United fan who had suffered enough in the 70s and 80s , the coming of Cantona and the successes that he brought to the club was akin to the coming of the Messiah to Salford(of all places you may wonder).

Cantona is king, period for "old" fans like me, not Ronaldo, Rooney or Ferdinand(ugh).

Long live the King ..love your acting ,such presence as you also showed in your messianic duties on the pitch at old trafford.

GBAT family day

We had our annual GBAT family day at Damai beach resort during the weekend which also to coincide with a farewell dinner for Tuan hj Halidi, the assistant consulate general who will be transferred back to Brunei after a 3 years great(in his own words..) stint in Kuching.

Actually GBAT stands for ..Geng badminton", ha that's how this group of friends started off, playing badminton together at the KGS badminton courts, a routine that has been going on for at least now 6 years. Admittedly i had not been such a regular player in recent years but still kept company with this group of friends.

The weekend besides the dinners for the two nights , also had beach games during the day.

The night shows were certainly eclipsed by the impromptu performances by the kids who showed no public shyness as they belted out song after song and even a shuffle show as well by the incomparable Haziq! That's what being in the GBAT means..friendship based on mutual respect and having happy times together irrespective of your standings in the society. The kids have shown and continued this trait by their uncaring ways performing in the public with no qualms whether they made fools of themselves.

My twins ,Faizul and Sabrina sang a Widuri song! Amirul the youngest joined his friends in belting out a Michael Jackson's song(i think from all the din!!).

I wished again to all my Gbat friends good blessings in health and may we all continued this great friendship till our grandchildren, InsyaAllah.

Friendship..warts and all

One of the most enduring theme of one's life as we charted our course in this wonderful universe is the experience of the joys and pains of having friends.

An undeniable fact of a person's existence from the day he or she entered this world is an "addicted" need to have friends besides own family members.

You first experienced this wonderful bonding with other human beings besides the safe haven of your own cocoon at home when you entered primary school.

Even now i still can recalled my childhood friends at primary school and at the confinements of your own kampong....at school i remembered we called ourselves the "secret seven" ha taking up that Enid Blyton's fictions group of young sleuths trying to solve endless mysteries and "whodunnit" ventures, such imagination by us all and we even took a task ourselves trying to solve a case of stolen pencil or eraser!!!

Move on..at secondary school somehow you would end up with different set of friends not that you had totally abandoned your earlier friends!! I have learnt the joy of having real and close friends of people of other races!! Who bother if he or she eats pork while you didn't as long as we can fro lick around at waterfalls, seasides during school picnics! those close friends i picked up when i was very much involved in the Red Crescent activities.

We even went on a historic trip representing Sarawak to signify the event when the Red Cross is changed to Red Crescent...Hari Raya, Chinese New Year,Gawai were times for us to visit each other and a close chinese friend of mine even slept and spent Raya with my family.

Also besides school friends i was also part of few of us Malay boys calling ourselves the "Keehak boys" immersed in the joy of those 70s music(Blak dog bone, carefree...) and when i met again my 'Keehak buddies" we reminiscent of those great days as teenagers

In the UK doing my A levels,i made great friends besides with some locals but also with my West Malaysian brothers . I played badminton for my college and we had great times competing in the local Halifax league and i still kept contact with my chemistry tutor and on a recent trip to Manchester , i drop by at Halifax and met with her, besides her white hair nothing has changed as we talked about those days!!

I also learnt more of my identity and the struggles that we must cherish and as my Trengganu flatmate always reminded me, "dah sembahyang?"

At university while keeping friends with my own Sarawakian and Malaysian friends i did keep tab with some Brits and one particular guy i remembered i am always his minder on football trips to Wembley. He Will ended up stone drunk ..wonder indeed he watched the football game for without fail i had to carry him back (being me the only sober person !!!) as we trudged back to the university bus back to Birmingham.

Why did i write this article on friendship? Reason being the exhilaration's and joys of having great friends did not end once you got married, had a decent job and raised 5 kids....now i am part of a group of friends which we called ourselves the GBAT gang..the group started as a socialising activity playing badminton once or twice a week. It had blossomed into a real close unit of friends that included the wives! This weekend we would be celebrating our GBAT family day...

Friendship i believed endures because we do not make too much judgements of each other and also ever willing to give n take as necessary without a sense of selfishness and material rewards.

Throughout my life i was really blessed knowing good and great people who i can call my friends, it is not the position , wealth or societal status that matters with real friends. What matters is that you have the time for them, you have the time when they are celebrating something joyous eg their son's birthday, you have the time when they experienced something tragic or sad eg the passing of one of their loved ones .

To all my friends , thank you for giving me your time and to GBAT let us have a wonderful time this weekend!!!

train ride to midvalley

I was in KL over the weekend attending our association OSFAM annual dinner at KL Central Hilton .

Decided to stay at this posh hotel as well for convenience, indeed a 5 star, the services excellent and personalised, the room immaculate and reflect the trappings of a modern luxurious abode.

The one night stay and the function was certainly enjoyable, as you met up with some old friends in the same industry , catch up on the latest business happenings within the sector as well, and as always the dinner would have an invited singer to serenade the crowd. The singer, Noryn Aziz(seriously before this don't know who she is..) also not bad with her powerful voice crooning old Sinatra songs .

Breakfast at the hotel was also enjoyable, the waitresses all with smiling faces making you felt being the most important person in the world.

With time to spare in the morning before catching my flight back to Kuching i decided to go over to the Midvalley Mall not far away from KL Central.

I asked the hotel reception how's the best way to go there,"Sir, take a taxi " However i opted for my own initial judgement of using the KTM train service that plied Rawang -Seremban and with mid valley as one of its stops.

Phew...what a bad decision, the 5 minutes journey became one long wait at the platform station as the train( normal i was later told) delayed for 30 minutes, and as one scrambled onto the overcrowded train, the sign board for the mid valley station was obscure and cant be seen clearly in view of its small signage board!! why cant the most important display on a train platform(as i saw on other platforms in other countries) be the biggest sign on that platform? beat me the logic of it.

Rushing around mid valley , the expected routine took place again on the train ride back to KL central, 40 minutes delay .

Will i use that service again? surely i will because am proud as a Malaysian that we had such wonderful, well maintained public service and the only improvement we need is a "Hilton approach" towards the customer service, can be done only a wee bit of mentality change!!

Ride on KTM

Lynn Truss..eats, shooots and leaves

Perusing through the WH Smith store at Euston station London on my recent trip, i noticed a new book by Lynn Truss, "Get her off the pitch".

I bought it without any hesitation for am an ardent fan of her style of writing and wit as greatly expounded in her best seller book, "Eat,shoots and leave" . Imagine a person can write a whole book about commas, punctuations and a proper use of them and the book becoming a run away best seller.

Back to her recent book,"Get her off the pitch"...basically it chronicled her times as a sports writer for the National daily, The Times.

A literary and art critic being asked to do sports journalism? That's what make the book an interesting read, her conversion from someone who doesn't even knew a wee bit about football to an obsessed nut who cried when England lost to Germany in a Euro qualifier... i just cant put the book down, who said that football nuts are not intellectually endowed and has a taste for the Arts and Culture besides their continuous childlike ranting about their team( incl Man U!!).

Just to relate a piece of this masterpiece of a book at the end chapter when she finally ended her sojourn as a sports writer and back to attending theatres and writing arts critic..

"..i can be quite sharp with anyone who is snobby about sports...i suspect intellectual insecurity lies behind this narrow mindedness.."

Ha one can still practice the habit of reading the newspapers from the back..hmmm more interested to know what has Fergie to say for the reduced stoppage time and thus preventing his team to score again a spectacular winner against Sunderland than the news on the front page of possibly again another by election is coming forth..ya one can still be a CEO of a successful multi million dollar revenue engineering based company , navigating gamely(ha ..) the intricacies of the business that range from understanding the limits of empiricism in the decision making framework to the challenges of balancing the demands of the business complex environment, ya nothwistanding can still be very childlike when Rooney scored and hated with no unfounded parallel that team down the Lancashire Road.

Yes,Lynn i can be emphatic with you, no wonder your book is such a delightful read!!!

Hyde park-a corner of free speech

When i was in London a while back, had the opportunity of "loitering" around the Hyde Park free speech corner on a Sunday.
As usual the banters i encountered were some amusing to the point of hilarity but some did have interesting serious debates and dialectal discussions.
30 years ago when as a young student the main theme of all the discussions had been capitalism against socialism/communism.
Now that particular argument has been to bed with the fall of the Berlin wall, the flavour theses days as i noticed that Sunday was on religions. I can see few Islamists debating with fervour against some mainly Christian activists....hmm how times have changed or is it a circle being witnessed again?
In all great respect i cant also help observing that the once much revered Hyde Park place of free speech has become just a playground for some "regulars" on a Sunday to poke fun at some of the speakers, a bit sad .
I remembered 30 years ago when i was at the Hyde Park and there was an interesting argument between a British speaker and some German tourists on who were more superior. In exasperation when the British speaker lost his plot ,he asked this group of German tourists what was the exchange rate of the Pound to the German Marks? "Four German marks to the Pound" was the reply and this witty Brit then pounced and sealed the whole debate," ha you see ,it takes 4 Germans to beat 1 Brit!!!"

Well, while all the debates and arguments i had observed on that Sunday a while back at Hyde Park had not increased my intellectual awareness dramatically , i can still admire the fact that people can still argue on all range of subjects without a recourse to violence and even killing each other. Ya Hyde Park is an institution renown throughout the world...

a great day at old trafford

Sunday 20.9 will remain forever etch in my memories, not because it was the first day of Raya but the day i had the opportunity to watch the football game at Old Trafford, Manchester. The game was a local derby that was much awaited by all Mancunians.

Manchester City is on the ascendancy ,bankrolled by an Arab Skeikh petro dollars while my beloved United has not spent big this season.

As myself and Diyana trudged along among the crowd wearing almost all in red colour shirts and jerseys, i can feel the excitement mounting.

Despite the 76,000 crowd, the whole process so well organised ,possibly a routine that has been perfected after many experiences of many such big matches.

The game itself was exhilarating, to see the red devils stars in flesh really gave Diyana's goose pimples , and the whole stadium erupted within 2 minutes when Rooney scored .

United's defence especially Ferdinand's display was not comforting and Foster seemed to recoil back to his less assuring self after such fine displays in his last 2 matches.

The Manchester city player that impressed me(has always been an admirer of his speedy game) was Craig Bellamy, he outpaced Ferdinand right in front of my eyes!

Well what can you say the delirium that we all experienced when Owen scored!! the irony was i bought an Owen jersey before the game over other star selections on offer(Berbatov, Rooney, Giggs..) maybe just for me to spite on my Liverpool supporter friends.

The whole stadium practically exploded, we were all jumping for joy in unison with other supporters.

All in all it was a great experience that i will savour for the rest of my life and as Fergie said< "sometimes you need to ignore and silence your noisy neighbours" and i claim to fame that i was there during best derby game ever played !!!!

Raya in Manchester

have not posted anything on the blog primarily have been away for almost 10 days away to Uk to send my daughter Diyana to further her studies at Manchester University.

First day of Raya was initially spent attending the prayers at a local mosque,quite an experience as you saw among you people of various creed and race all within the Muslim brotherhood of celebrating the Eid occasion as the Ramadan month ends.

Quite like the sermon given by the imam ,very much in a Manchester accent.

After the prayers with no where to go , stop by at a Costa cafe to have my croissant and a cup of coffee along with Diyana. In fact you don't feel much of missing anything because at least you have your daughter with you, a great reminder that in any occasions ,as long as member(s) of the family is around, you will never feel the pain of being away from home.

Initially i have trepidations of whether i did the right thing of being away during Raya but seeing and helping your daughter to settle down in a foreign land which she will call home for the next 3 years is worth that sacrifice.

To all Muslims i wish all a happy hari raya and maaf zahir dan batin.

44 days of "damn-united"

The other night had the pleasure of watching the movie "Damn-United", a story that centred on Brian Clough's ill fated short stint as a manager of Leeds United, 44 days on the job to be exact. It also "dramatize" his personal feud with Don Revie the Leeds legend.

Yes i remembered that era...an era of Leeds and Liverpool's dominance in English football.Leeds indeed has a notorious reputation of playing "hard" and physical football.

Back to Brian Clough, what a man and egoistic to boot but one cant fault his honesty and frankness in dealing with his players and peers, and of course his quotes..

If God had wanted us to play football in the clouds, he'd have put grass up there." On the importance of passing to feet.

"I wouldn't say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one." Looking back at his success.

"Manchester United in Brazil? I hope they all get bloody diarrhea." On Man Utd opting-out of the FA Cup to play in the World Club Championship.

"I can't even spell spaghetti never mind talk Italian. How could I tell an Italian to get the ball - he might grab mine." On the influx of foreign players.

"I bet their dressing room will smell of garlic rather than liniment over the next few months." On the number of French players at Arsenal.

"Who the hell wants fourteen pairs of shoes when you go on holiday? I haven't had fourteen pairs in my life." On the contents of Posh Spice's missing luggage.

"Rome wasn't built in a day. But I wasn't on that particular job." On getting things done.

"On occasions I have been big headed. I think most people are when they get in the limelight. I call myself Big Head just to remind myself not to be." Old Big 'Ead explains his nickname.

"At last England have appointed a manager who speaks English better than the players." On the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson as England manager.

"If he'd been English or Swedish, he'd have walked the England job." On Martin O'Neill.

"Anybody who can do anything in Leicester but make a jumper has got to be a genius." A tribute to Martin O'Neill.

"The ugliest player I ever signed was Kenny Burns." A Clough complement for a talented player.

"Stand up straight" get your shoulders back and get your hair cut." Advice for John McGovern at Hartlepool.

Clough ironically started his managerial career at Hartlepool, the club incidentally that i still keep contact with!!!Ya the club that was in the "twinning" programme with Sarawak football team during the times when i was in charge of Sarawak football,,,Russ Green the Hartlepool CEO and myself had some great ideas together how to revolutionise Sarawak football .Wonder how Clough would have reacted seeing the manner we run our football , but then that man is unique and he's been called "big head"for nothing!

Yes Brian Clough the greatest football manager that never manage the England Team!!!

Fasting month, and a "tapai" to savour

Fasting month for us Muslims evoke a sense of a timely reminder of need to experience sacrifices and self discipline. From an early age we are taught on the various religious rituals that one must endure during the Ramadhan month.

When it comes to food to break fast, restraints somehow has gone amissing . Somehow without fail every fasting month my daily starter is always a tapai (fermented rice..) .I just cant explain this peculiar obsession of mine with the tapai because other days i did not touch a bit of the tapai.

The tapai is prepared by mixing rice with some form of yeast,i remembered my late grandmother when she declared that she was to prepare and make the tapai it always brought unbridled excitement to us all.

While she prepared this dish , nobody was allowed to chatter for fear that the tapai will turn into a sour taste rather than the much desired sweetened taste. My only explanation now is that to avoid the saliva from spoiling the fermentation process!!!

My confession as well now that i am not always keen to have my breaking of fast at some of these posh hotels that charged you a fortune purely because they do not serve my "compulsory" starter dish, the TAPAI!!!

So without fail everyday back from work ,a consistent chore will be to drop by at the Ramadan bazaar near my house and buy nasi ayam for Faizul, Mee jawa for Sabrina and without fail a ringgit's worth of tapai!!!

A greatr Merdeka day

On 31.8 morning i dragged myself out of a deep slumber to attend the Merdeka celebration event at the indoor stadium.

While the event is celebrated in a low key manner i felt it was one of the best for the key message on the meaning of Merdeka was well portrayed during the event.

There was the usual guard of honour, the raising of the flag, the pledge and a showcase of our multitude of cultures and notwithstanding a visionary speech by our Chief Minister.

The theme of the celebration was also precise and to me relevant..People first, performance now

Happy Merdeka day again to all Malaysians

Merdeka

Happy 52ND independence day Malaysia...you have reached an age normally associated with maturity, wisdom and progress.

May you live up to that expectations .

A country that is blessed with endowing natural resources and a high literate population cannot afford to screw up the future , a future that is more intertwined with the global happenings , a future that is definitely being determined how capable we are as a nation to be relevant in all fields within the world arena.

Malaysia's strength came from its diversity and this should not be viewed as a weakness.

Malaysia's strength came from its stable institutions of governance and this must not be taken for granted.

Malaysia's strength came from from its burgeoning young population and their voices and views must not be ignored.

Malaysia's strength is inspired by its moderate approach in its political and religious views and this must not be hijacked by any form of extremism.

The formation of Malaysia came from a desire of far sighted leaders then to have a federation of then British Colonies to seek unity and strength within a collective nation while still maintaining a specific measure of independence of each federated state to chart its local aspirations and destinies.

This underlying principle of Malaysia's formation must be well and clearly understood by present leaders and generations as the pace of globalisation hastens a need for us build up our present competencies and strengths and not be haggled by petty misunderstandings due to our own lack of knowledge of the basis of "lahirnya Malaysia".

PROUD TO BE MALAYSIANS...merdeka, merdeka

Breaking of fast or feast..

Today my mum invited all her children and families for a breaking of fast with her at her place ....the dishes being offered did not disappoint any of us, all ravishing and as we savoured the food being placed on the table, one cant wait for the nearby surau's "bedok" to sound the breaking of fast.

Somehow it has become a routine feast for most Malaysian and Muslims during Ramadan. I knew for a fact that this was not meant to be for during the fasting of Ramadan all Muslims are suppose to abstain from all pleasures of life ,food notwithstanding.

This is an opportune time for us to cleanse our body and soul with moderation of food intake and performing the tarawikh prayers for a spiritual enrichment.

However i and maybe most others cant just help with all the food and delicacies on offer during during Ramadhan. There were the usual grilled fish, barbecued chicken, all manners of curry dishes and cakes wow yes cakes of all sorts...how can one abstain?

I confessed to eat just cereal oats during Ramadhan and bought some packets of these health enrichment food but the usual happens, it still remains unopened as each day so far of Ramadan i fell to the temptations of eating the food and delicacies that i routinely bought at the Ramadan bazaar near my house.

As the "bedok" sounded to mark the breaking of fast at my mum's place , the rich variety of food on the table were ravished with no mercy by us all and we thanked Allah SWT for the good blessings that was given and we prayed for the continuing good health of our beloved Mother as we departed from the house, i cant help giving her an Oliver's quip, " Mum, can we have some more of these ?"

Arsenal,Manchester City ..give me a smirk

Football has always been a passion in my family as we grew up in the kampong within Kuching City vicinity. Being the eldest i always try to "dominate" proceedings and i never hide the fact in those early days,more than 40 years ago how crazy i was and still am on Manchester United. The Shoot magazine and the BBC radio world service every Saturday nights were our source of information on all the football proceedings.

Always scrounged whatever pocket money i had to buy the Shoot Magazine at KK Abdul Majeed in India Street.

My brother Zul supports Manchester City(hmm wonder why?) and it must have been perennial pain for him to witness City season in season out always being overshadowed by the other Manchester club. Well somehow this season i noticed a smirk on his face , ha City just spent more than 100 Million pounds on new players that include Tevez but i still doubted they will finish in the top 4.

My other brother, Shahbuddin (or Wen..) supports Arsenal, hmm a team whose favourite player of mine is Frank Stapleton. You can guess why.

The 1998/99 FA cup semi final was a great reminder of how great matches between United and Arsenal can be ..

Well it seems Arsenal is having a great start to the season and again i notice a big smirk on my brother's face ...but honestly i believe this is going to be Chelsea's year if it is not United.

The sacred cow..a need for religious tolerance

In a few days , Malaysia will be celebrating its independence day. However recent events make most of us nervous on which road this glorious and blessed country will lead to in the years to come.

There is no doubt to the world that Malaysia is a success country, we may have our flaws but overall we have shown the world that a Muslim moderate majority country can progress and prosper based on the fundamental principle of a paramount respect for each other and among others a practice of religious tolerance.

Of late though one cant help noticing that the racial tensions is not between the majority Muslim Malays and the economic prosperous Chinese but between the Malays and the Indians.

While thinking that the worse has pass us by with the Hindraff incident , suddenly today a more grave and potential racial time bomb happened...

Dozens of Malaysian Muslims paraded Friday with the head of a cow, a sacred animal in Hinduism, in a dramatic protest against the proposed construction of a Hindu temple in their neighborhood.

The unusual protest by some 50 people in Shah Alam, the capital of Selangor state, raises new fears of racial tensions in this multiethnic Muslim-majority country where Hindus comprise about 7 percent of the 27 million population.

The demonstrators who marched from a nearby mosque after Friday prayers dumped the cow head outside the gates of the state government headquarters. Selangor adjoins Kuala Lumpur.

Protesters stomped on the head and spat on it before leaving the site, Xavier Jeyakumar, a state government official in charge of non-Muslim affairs, told The Associated Press.

"This is a sign of disrespect, insensitivity and a huge insult to the Indian community," he said.

Such an overt display of religious discord is almost unheard of in Malaysia, which has carefully nurtured racial harmony among its three main ethnic groups, Malay Muslims, Chinese and Indians, since 1969 when the country suffered its worst racial riots.

We sometimes forget that Malaysia is forged by our forefathers through a concept of tolerance and respect for each other. The prosperity of the country was not achieved only by a single community but through a unique Malaysian capacity of working together despite our religious and racial differences.

We hope that the authorities as our Prime Minister said will tackle this issue and "nip it at its bud".

We also prayed that the maturity and superior leadership qualities of our leaders will succeed in avoiding a potential racial bloodshed because i dread to think of how it will end up if this is to happen.

Malaysia belong to all of us irrespective of race, religion or position in society.

LONG LIVE MALAYSIA

A potpourri of culture..sometimes misunderstood

I was told by a friend of some Indonesians consternation that in a Tv advert about Malaysia , a Bali dance was portrayed as a Malaysian heritage.... while being amused by such triviality i checked out in more details on the controversy:

THE so-called Tourism Malaysia advertisement that ruffled the feathers of Indonesians over depiction of its Balinese pendet dancers was not even a Tourism Malaysia advertisement after all.

The controversial commercial in question was actually a promotional clip put together by Discovery Channel to highlight a series of documentaries, produced by KRU Studios, calledEnigmatic Malaysia aimed at highlighting Malaysia’s rich cultural heritage.

In a statement sent to Malay Mail, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific stated the image of Balinese dancers were used in a clip, aired on Discovery Channel, to promote the documentary series Enigmatic Malaysia and the image of the dancers, performing the pendet, were sourced from an independent third party.

It added, “Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific regrets that the image of a Balinese dancer, sourced from an independent third party, was used in the promotion of the series Enigmatic Malaysia

Phew..just don't understand the controversy , maybe there was indeed an error of judgement but cant we all realise that we are from the same potpourri of cultures, enriched by a common heritage that was initially spawned by the Majapahit and Sri Vijaya empires.

Now we may be distinguished ourselves as Indonesians or Malaysians but it was not such a long time ago that when the borders were not there free movement of people of these two great nations visited each other in a spirit of "serumpun' and commonality not only in religion but culture.

I remembered in my young days in the 60s relatives from the "Pulau"(Riau islands..) came by boat and visit us in Kuching.

We Malaysians must also rid ourselves of any prejudicial feeling towards our neighbours just because we have better highways, one tend to forget that once and hopefully even now we look up to our Brethren in Indonesia for their deep philosophical views(Hamka for one..) and of course the great movies of Ratno Timoer, Rano Karno and Sophan Sophian.

The multiracial and potpourri of cultures that has enriched the Malay archipelago and the "nusantara" indeed is not just an identity of Malaysia but also for Brunei, Singapore and most important of all our big brother Indonesia.

i fervently still believed in the fact that Indonesia will come out of its present lethargy and be our role model not only in terms of economic power but a shining example of a democratic nation that has its bedrock a clear understanding that it is in the differences and potpourri of cultures that all our Nations derive their strength and fortitude.

I still though cant see any great difference in a Bali dance and a Kelantanese wayang kulit though

In search of the "bedok"

Ramadan is now here with us. My friends who have never experience the splendours of Ramadan can never fathom the fact that we Muslims will wake up at around 4 am in the wee hours of the morning , have a splendid supper and then go back to bed .....beat that for a unique unforgettable experience!!

Fortnight ago i had a chance of bringing out some of the pensioners from my kampong for a seafood lunch...honestly i enjoyed the banters being exchanged over lunch, as an uncle teased another of his pensioner friends over trivial things but wow they do lead a great life. They even told me that sometimes on Fridays they would go on long journeys to have their Friday prayers. They relate some of their interesting journeys like one to Sebuyau(possibly around 4 hours drive from Kuching), bringing along their packed lunch and the highlight of the day being joining the Friday prayers congregation in Sebuyau itself.

However another story that really fascinated me was their "project' of acquiring a "bedok" for our Kampong's surau(..mosque). Awesome man how these motley crew of old pensioners with time on their hands going afar as Sibu to look for the right 'wood" material for their bedok.

A "bedok" is actually a some sort of drum that during the old days that every surau or mosque must have. The beating of the Bedok(or gong or drum) would normally be done prior to any start of prayers.

I remembered vividly my childhood when we as young boys though would scramble to be the young boy to beat that bedok to signify the break of fast during every Ramadan month. After hitting the Bedok to inform all the neighbours on the breaking of fast, i would scramble back Ala a Usain Bolt dash to the house to "lavish' on my ais kacang!!!

As we savoured the fish over that lunch and the pensioners chattering away , i cant help remembering that Bedok at my Surau kampong where i had great pleasure in sounding it during the Ramadan month.

how simple endeavours as beating a Bedok can bring joy to a young boy in an age where the simplicity and decency of a Kampong life is enacted in a ritual of just hitting a bedok!

Magic 50

At 49 you cant help thinking about that magic figure of 50 ....,wrote this short poem on my blackberry a while back so here goes.....

Soon my life will hit a figure of fifty
But then can i say i lead a life aplenty
Soon my life will hit a figure of fifty
But then i know life has no guarantee

I know i have my measure of imperfections
But i will not lead a life of limitations
For i want to lead a life full of actions

Life is a narration of stories and memories
But i do know my life is not all about glories
Soon I will reach a figure of fifty
But i will try to be always remain as witty
Thank you for a life that has a nice rhapsody
But i will not swap with any form of booty

Soon my life will reach a figure of fifty
And i hope i can look back at my life with dignity
My life has been eventful and am thankful
But then how can a man measure a life that is hopefully full.
Soon my life will reach a figure of fifty.

ha..i just 'recyle' the above poem which i penned a year ago, Wish to thank Allah SWT the Almighty to continue blessing me and the family with good health ..the sanctity of a family and the blessings from your loved ones will always be the foundation and aspirations of all your endeavours.

We all make mistakes and failures but we must not confuse failures and dissapointmments...Dissapointments are always there littering your trail of life . I was also blessed with great people working with me at my office , their dedications and sincerity of trying to work and collaborate for the greater being of the corporation knows no bounds .

My mother and siblings non assuming nature and not posing much demands and expectaions from me being the eldest makes also my life easier to negotiate, and a Mother's unconditional love is always the most underrated virtue because it is free and demands no conditions, and like any human being we sometimes fail to notice its unbounded value to the stability and happiness in your life.

The wife as always has to endure with your idiosyncrocies that you sometimes exhibit..but then after 22 years of marriage she learns to accept you warts and all.

Life is meaningless if if you cant feel the joy , pain, sorrow, dissapoinments and exhilarations of your children.

you always worry that you may spoilt them and thus making them unprepared for the real world, a world sometimes fractured with dishonesty, jealousy and vengeance ...but so far while not being seen as too complacent, both me and the wife believe we have done a decent job.

Happy Birthday Indonesia

Tomorrow, the 17 Th August is Indonesia's National or Independence Day. A country blessed with diversity of culture and the diligence of its workforce especially its youth, Indonesia to me is still an enigma.

As stated in the wikepidia......

The Republic of Indonesia (pronounced /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ or /ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/) (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia), is a country in Southeast Asiaand Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands, and with an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourthmost populous country, and has the largest Muslim population in the world.

Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The transcontinental country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the seventh century, when the Srivijaya Kingdom traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually adopted Indian cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu andBuddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.

Across its many islands, Indonesia consists of distinct ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups. The Javanese are the largest and most politically dominant ethnic group. Indonesia has developed a shared identity defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a majority Muslim population, and a history of colonialism and rebellion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. However, sectarian tensions and separatism have led to violent confrontations that have undermined political and economic stability. Despite its large population and densely populated regions, Indonesia has vast areas of wilderness that support the world's second highest level of biodiversity. The country is richly endowed with natural resources, yet poverty is a defining feature of contemporary Indonesia.

Indeed Indonesia is a fascinating country not the least the fact that it shares the same root of history as Malaysia and both Nations has many similarities.

I for one has visited the country numerous times and besides the usual haunts of Jakarta,Bali, bandung; the hub of the country is more evident in Jogjakarta and Solo. When frequenting this places , you can still sense the deep rooted Javanese culture and the Monument Borobudur is indeed apt to be called a world heritage.

Indonesia in my view still have a significant role to play on the world stage, as a moderate Muslim nation and also a nation that has a significant workforce that has the intellect and diligence to be a economic powerhouse. We sometimes read or hear some negative connotations of Indonesia but i can confidently say that you need to be there in the midst of its populace to appreciate the energy of the country and its desire to transform itself into an authentic democratic nation.

Happy Birthday Indonesia and may peace and prosperity reign this blessed country for the region needs you as our leader in all fields and endeavours.