Berkunjung ke Bumi Kenyalang

Taking advantage of the long holiday (25-29 December 2008), we decided to take a vacation to Kuching, together with my parents, sister (Kak Liana), brother-in-law (Man) & nephew (Eirfan).

Since Wahida & my parents (who took a late flight from K.Terengganu and arrived at LCCT only around midnight) was not keen of taking the 45-minutes drive back to Bandar Sri Damansara, we spent the night at the KLIA Concorde Inn (which is 15 minutes away from LCCT). And seeing as the flight to Kuching was at 9.45 a.m., it was actually a good idea - we only had to leave for the airport at 8.15 a.m. and we were fortunate that the flight was not delayed or anything.

As Eirfan was the only one who ‘purchased’ the Xpress boarding, someone had to ‘accompany’ him to board the plane. Seeing as the one who has to accompany Eirfan also has the duty to reserve seats for the rest of the group, Man 'volunteered' Kak Liana and I to board first (because he feels that the act of booking seats on a flight are ‘frowned upon’.. hahaha!)

We landed at the Kuching International Airport about 11.30 a.m. and waited for my uncle (PakLong) and aunty (Auntie Ros) to pick us up. [PakLong is a lecturer in UNIMAS and has made Kuching his home for the past few years and Auntie Ros, who is lecturer in UiTM Shah Alam, was there on a visit]. Since there were 6½ of us (the ½ being Eirfan) and PakLong drives a Proton Wira, we had to get another car – so enter Zul, who just started his judicial duties in Sarawak.

My parents decided to to stay at PakLong's apartment at the Riverbanks Suite and the rest of us checked into the Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites (were booked in advance through the GoHoliday package). Since we booked two rooms, the hotel offered to upgrade the rooms to a 2-rooms suite. After much deliberation (took us almost an hour to come to a decision), we decided to take it. Alas, by the time we got back to the receptionist with our decision, the suite was already reserved by someone else (damn…!). By the by, the rooms we got were also ok, with the exception of the view - which was facing the hotel's parking lot (double damn…!).

Anyway, that night, PakLong treated us to dinner at this interesting eatery called the “Top Spot Seafood Centre”, which is also known as “the Carpark” simply because the place is at the rooftop of a car-park building. A bit noisy but the food was nice.

On the next day, we chartered a van, which came together with a driver, Hj. Razak (013-8957760). And thanks to KakLiana, the whole-day rent for the van was only RM150 – quite reasonable compared to the other rates we came across.

The first destination that day was the Kampung Budaya / Cultural Village, which was a 35-minutes journey from the Kuching town centre. The Cultural Village showcases seven authentic traditional houses (Bidayuh, Iban, Penan, Ulu, Melanau, Cina & Melayu) and occupied by members of Sarawak’s ethnic groups, going about everyday activities.

The Village also includes a multi-ethnic cultural performance in the Village’s air-conditioned mini-theater. And we were fortunate to have witnessed a rare dance performed by Eipan of the “Fun-Fun” tribe.


Next stop was the Muzium Kucing / Cat Museum, which is the world’s first museum for cats and devoted to everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, related to feline – even things which has the term “cat”, such as “catwalks” and “cat burglars”, are exhibited there.


For dinner that night, Pak Long brought us to D’Airiz Café, a Thai-based restaurant, near Satok, for dinner.

The third day was reserved especially for Wahida’s favourite pastimes i.e. shopping. In the morning, we decided to walk and do our shopping at the shops along the Kuching Waterfront (a riverside walk stretching approximately 1km long along the Kuching river, linking various hotels, shops and shopping complexes with downtown Kuching).

Finished with the ‘first round’ of shopping, we met up with Mama and Auntie Ros at the Crown Plaza Riverside. While waiting, we had a snack at the famous ‘Sugar Bun’ (a local fast-food franchise, which originated from Kuching and is very popular among the people of Sarawak, Sabah & Brunei).


For lunch, too lazy and tired to walk to anywhere, we went to the Khatulistiwa Café, a Bidayuh style architecture, which was just next to Pak Long’s apartment building.


The ‘second round’ of shopping was then done at the Pasar Minggu Satok, a weekly, weekend-only market, which offers everything from T-shirts and souvenirs to udang kering and kek lapis Sarawak. According to Hj. Razak, the Pasar opens 24-hours, starting from Saturday afternoon till Sunday evening.

On our final night in Kuching, Pak Long planned a dinner at the Holiday Plaza but wanting to lepak with Zul, Wahida and I decided to visit the well-known “Raja Ayam Penyet”, which is actually a small warong but was packed with people. The ‘King’ specializes in the Ayam Penyet (a simple meal that comprises of roasted chicken, white rice, ulam and a very hot sambal belacan) but also offers a variety of other food as well.

After dinner, we went for an evening walk along the Kuching Waterfront while enjoying ice-cream for dessert. We also ran into Nadzri (my former Perindu hostelmate in UiTM) and his new wife, who was on a work-trip.

As our flight back to LCCT was at 9.05 p.m., we spent our morning shopping at the shops along the Kuching Waterfront (again!). We then checked out from the hotel at about 1 p.m. and spent the rest of the day at Pak Long’s apartment.

Just after Maghrib, we left for the Kuching International Airport (Thanks again, Zul, for the ride). Since there was also no delay for our flight to KL, we arrived at LCCT at about 11 p.m., as estimated.


We chartered a van back to Bandar Sri Damansara and finally reached home at midnight – thus ending our trip to the wonderful City of Cats.

The Day I Found Love

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• Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia tiap-tiap hari sms/call saya tepat jam 9.30 remind-kan untuk saya makan vitamin.

• Sweet tak Husband saya bila saya dapat e-mail dari Maybank2u 3rd Party Fund Transfer dengan message, “Untuk belanja/shopping di Sarawak.” Saya senyum sorang2 depan computer pagi tadi! Heh.

• Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia bagi saya supplementary Maybankard Visa Gold untuk saya guna sebagai hadiah. (and please be informed that I have never used it until now sebab saya bukan ambil kesempatan dari setiap pemberian Suami, nantilah bila ada keperluan dan kecemasan, saya guna k, Dearie?)

• Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia tolong packing baju-baju saya di rumah KL untuk ke Kuching sebab malam saya tiba di KL, saya tidak akan pulang ke rumah sebaliknya terus berehat di hotel sebelum kami berlepas ke Kuching esoknya.

• Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia tolong tukar dan basuh cadar di rumah KL (untuk kesemua bilik, mind you!) untuk menyambut ketibaan saya nanti. (Sebenarnya saya tak sabar nk tengok hasilnya, cadar mana yang dia pilih untuk setiap bilik itu?) Ngee.

• Sweet tak Husband saya bila setiap kali lepas saya masak dan kami makan, dia tolong basuh pinggan. Kami selalu fighting over untuk membasuh pinggan, tapi katanya, saya dh masak, jadi biar dia basuh pulak. Ngee.

• Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia tak dapat balik berjumpa saya pada hujung minggu lalu, dia mengirim sebakul bunga hidup ke pejabat saya dengan message di atas kad : “Yang, sorry tak dapat balik! Miss you very much!” (di mana staf-staf saya tersenyum-senyum bila Cik Penghantar Bunga itu datang membawa bunga hidup ke dalam bilik pejabat saya).

• Sweet tak Husband saya bila dia beli tiket wayang, dia beli yang couple seat itu untuk kami menonton dengan selesa dan seat besar. ;)

• Sweet tak Husband saya bila cakap "Sayang (*saya) sangat-sangat!" tiap-tiap hari since kami couple. (Err, that would be everyday for 5 years time dah!)
  

I still think that marriage is the best thing that ever happened in my life. Thank you Husband Dearie, for making my life this complete and for loving me this much! 1.6.3.!

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Hati Batu?

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Saya terpanggil untuk membaca buku Tenggelamnya Kapal Van Der Wijck tulisan Hamka itu setelah ramai yang memberikan respon positif dan ramai juga yang menangis dek jalan cerita dan bahasanya yang disusun indah. Mengulas buku bukanlah bidang saya. What am I trying to share here is that apa yang saya rasa.

Sebelum saya mengetahui tentang kewujudan buku tersebut, telah banyak kali saya mendengar tentangnya. Lebih-lebih lagi ianya hasil tulisan seorang yang mashyur dalam bidang penulisan. Jadi semasa MPH Sale, saya telah mencari buku itu tapi tidak jadi membelinya kerana Abah maklumkan buku tersebut sudah ada di rumah saya! Abah, menurutnya sewaktu muda dahulu juga digenangi air mata membaca buku tersebut. Saya jadi kaget untuk membaca buku tersebut, lebih-lebih lagi dalam keadaan saya sekarang, risau sungguh beremosi lebih lantas tempiasnya akan mengenai keturunan kami nanti.

Baru 2 hari lepas saya selesai membaca buku yang disebut-sebut itu. Kesannya? Saya langsung tidak menangis, tiada perasaan hiba, tiada kesedihan dalam hati malah air mata saya agak mahal untuk itu. Tapi itulah saya. Saya agak sukar menangis pabila membaca sesuatu bahan bacaan atau menonton cerita-cerita sedih. Saya pernah ketawa di dalam panggung sewaktu menonton X-Men, walhal itu adalah part sedih dalam cerita itu. Saiko. Ngee.

Realitinya tanyalah pada orang-orang yang rapat dengan saya. Saya bukan keras hati, saya cepat juga bergenang air mata dan menangis. Saya akui itu. Cuma bab-bab membaca dan menonton sahaja yang kurang memberi kesan pada saya.

Sempena MPH Sale [and contribution from the beloved Husband for another 20% discount, thank you], I bought 3 books for only RM10 each (after discount ya). I could not stop from reading Muslee Awang Murshid's collection, I just bought that Hijab Sang Pencinta. Buku Usikan Rindu itu tersenarai sebagai tempat Pertama di MPH, keluaran Alaf 21. Owh, buku Ayat-Ayat Cinta itu, sudah lama diperam untuk dihabiskan. Heh.

*On the other note, si kecil ini went for an outdoor shooting yesterday. Comel, kan?

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The Boy & The Apple Tree

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow. He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by, the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day.

One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad.
"Come and play with me", the tree asked the boy.
"I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more" the boy replied.
"I want toys. I need money to buy them."
"Sorry, I do not have money, but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money."
The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.

One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and the tree was excited.
"Come and play with me" the tree said.
"I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?"
"Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house". So the man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the man never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted.
"Come and play with me!" the tree said.
"I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?" said the man.
"Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy."
So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.

Finally, the man returned after many years. "Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you", the tree said.
"No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite" the man replied.
"No more trunk for you to climb on".
"I am too old for that now" the man said.
"I really cannot give you anything, the only thing left is my dying roots," the tree said with tears.
"I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years," the man replied.
"Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, come sit down with me and rest."

The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears.

Morale of the story: The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with our parents. When we grow up, we leave them and only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. But no matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could just to make you happy. You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how most of us treat our parents. We take them for granted; we don't appreciate all they do for us, until it's too late.

"Dan Tuhanmu telah memerintahkan supaya kamu jangan menyembah selain Dia dan hendaklah kamu berbuat baik pada ibubapamu dengan sebaik-baiknya. Jika salah seorang di antara keduanya atau kedua-duanya sampai berumur lanjut dalam pemeliharaanmu, maka sekali-kali janganlah kamu mengatakan kepada keduanya perkataan "ah" dan janganlah kamu membentak mereka dan ucapkanlah kepada mereka perkataan yang mulia. Dan rendahkanlah dirimu terhadap mereka berdua dengan penuh kesayangan dan ucapkanlah: "Wahai Tuhanku, kasihilah mereka keduanya, sebagaimana mereka berdua telah mendidik aku waktu kecil."

(Al-Israa' : 23 - 24)

"Seorang berbangsa Arab datang kepada Nabi Shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam lalu berkata: " Wahai Rasulullah apakah dia dosa besar?" Nabi Shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam menjawab: "Mensyirikkan Allah." Dia (orang Arab itu) berkata lagi: "Kemudian apa?", Baginda Shallallahu 'alaihi wasallam menjawab: "Kemudian menderhaka kedua ibu bapa ..."

(Hadits riwayat Al-Bukhari)

My Little Niece

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Presenting my Little Niece. 4 1/2 months.

*Comel sungguh! Muahs! Love, Mak Ngah.

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My England is not very well...

I recently received an email [entitled “Read the English and weep (literally)”] containing a link to the official website of the Malaysian National Registration Department (Jabatan Pendafataran Negara).

The said link (http://www.jpn.gov.my/BI/3_3_1_pengenalan.php) opened a page which displays the information relating to MYKID (the children’s version of the National Registration Identification Card) and as I was reading the said info, it was shocking to discover the level of English competency in the official website of our very own governmental body.

I do admit that my English is also ‘broken’ and I am far from being qualified to criticize other people’s English but when I read the “MYKID Information”, it did made me want to weep. Being a Malaysian, it was rather embarrassing, considering that the said information would be viewed by a lot people, both local and foreign (when I logged into the website, I was visitor number 97,529).

Perhaps the government should focus less on the issue of English language being used in Science & Maths and concentrate more on the usage of English within its own institutions.

The page

(Click to enlarge)

The brave types betul la Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara ni…

~ SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILADHA ~
Maaf Zahir & Batin

The Great Escape!

I didn't think he had it in him to do it...
All these years, he has been talking about it
but never have I expected him to really do it...
Well, he finally did it... He escaped...

Makan-makan Time!

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For the first time ever I gave myself a try for the famous cooked of variety foods at Kelana Jaya or known as "William" (sempena nama Owner dia). Just tell them what do you prefer and/or want to eat, they will cook for you. The foods that they would cook for you are based on rice, noodles or pastas. Sila, sila inform mereka jika anda ada mengidam, atau lama tidak makan, atau tidak pernah merasa, atau ingin merasa makanan-makanan yang anda mahukan. Owh, please be informed that the portion is not as what you think, portion mereka boleh menyebabkan anda kenyang [giler, ok] semalaman. Heh.

Saya mencuba dan ingin makan Beef Lasagna pada malam itu. Dengan hidangan bersama Meatballs di dalam menu pilihan saya itu, dan sos lasagna-nya yang sedikit masam, saya tidak mampu untuk menghabiskannya (tapi, sahabat saya, ZuluS berjaya habiskan, ok? Dan Husband saya juga habiskan Spaghetti-nya).

Saya suka gambar ini. Kami kekenyangan dan meredah hujan renyai untuk pulang. Heh.

On Saturday, we went to Ani Sup Utara and guess what?

Ada promosi RM1! Haha.

Saya memang terasa ingin makan bihun sup tapi memandangkan it was during lunch hour, I decided to order Chicken Rice. But then, kerana saya mahukan Bihun Sup juga (dan ada promosi RM1 tu, kan? Ngee) saya order juga Bihun Sup. Hasilnya, saya amat kenyang tengah hari itu dan Bihun Sup RM1 itu tidak menghampakan. Alhamdulillah!

*Dan sekarang, saya masih lagi terasa kesedapan Bihun Sup tersebut. Saiko. Hehe.

Did you ever stop and wonder......

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• Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up every two hours?
• If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
• Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?
• Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient funds' when they know there is not enough?
• Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
• Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?
• Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
• Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?
• Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
• Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?
• What is the speed of darkness?
• Are there specially reserved parking spaces for 'normal' people at the Special Olympics?
• If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?
• If it's true that we are here to help others, what are the others doing here?
• Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?
• Do you cry under water?
• How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
• Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
• Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll squeeze these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?'
• Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there... I'm going to eat the next thing that comes out of its bum.'
• Why do toasters always have a setting so high that could burn the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
• Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?
• Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their bum when they ask where the bathroom is?
• Why does your Obstetrician, Gynecologist leave the room when you get undressed if they are going to look up there anyway?
• Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!
• If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?
• If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?
• If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
• Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
• Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?
• Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
• Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?

$hining Day

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Like what I have already highlighted in my FacebooK status just now, yes Thank God for all these :-

• I received a big amount of claim$ this month! Alhamdulillah. Saya tidak putus2 bersyukur pada-Nya atas rezeki ini and have already performed my solat syukur last night. Saya terasa ingin mengambil cuti panjang and pegi travel dengan yang tersayang. Oh alangkah, bahagianya! Tapi Tuhan bagi sebanyak itu untuk kita terus gigih berusaha kan? And as far as I am concerned, 'rezeki datang bergolek itu datangnya hanya kepada orang-orang yang berusaha'.
  

• No. (1) hereinabove came with double joy, double bonus as it is the end of the month, so gaji pun sudah masuk. Alhamdulillah! As a result, both of my parents received a big 'angpow' from me this morning, not to discriminate, the Lil Bro has also received his share!

• On my table right now, I am busy to complete my well-assigned cases which comprised big amount of loans and that would definitely contribute to my claim soon. See, I told you, kena lebih berusaha lagi dan lagi sebab tiada apa yg percuma di dunia ini. Saya percaya, rezeki yang halal itu lebih bermakna jika disusuli dengan usaha yang gigih. Heh.

• Owh, today is my Matrix's 1st 'birthday'. Happy Birthday to my dear car, Hyundai Matrix! It's 'birthday' has contributed RM625/= ca$h to the owner for the renewal of road tax & insurance last week. Thanks to the Government for the claimable rebate! Heh.
  

• I am going to meet the Dearie Husband tonight, accompanied by my Lil Bro. Will be having fun there as we had planned many activities until Sunday (Boss has approved my leave on Sunday, Yeay!). And yes, having plan to meet my besties and 'crazy' friends on Friday, makes it more excited!

• And finally, having 'that' good news now is the most happiest moment for us. 'Ya, Tuhan kami, kami bersyukur atas rezeki-Mu ini.' Alhamdulillah. Until I am ready to announce 'that' good news, please do pray for us, ya! [but of course, some of you might have already known, kannn?]
  
  

*See, happy faces with happy buddies! Sila ambil perhatian bahawa ular tersebut adalah ular hidup. Sila tengok ZuluS tak pegang ular dan Linda yang kunun-kunun berani nk pegang side kepala ular. Hahah! This pix was taken by Liza, during our trip to Melaka for our best friend's wedding, Zmah & Bon, October last year.

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Teluk Ketapang

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Have I ever told you that good food will always make my day! Ngee. Together with my Dearest Hubby and my Lil Bro, we went to this famous seafood stall at Teluk Ketapang in order to satisfy my cravings on Ikan Pari Celup Tepung. Yummies! Thank God, it wasnt raining on that day and having heard the ombak mengaum, bayu beralun lembut, pohon nyiur melambai-lambai dan laut yang bergelora from the stall have made it a perfect day for us (of course)!

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And I realised that ever since right after our "celebration of lives" [*Note : our engagement day (Sorry, no photo is available as it is in my laptop) and the picture below was taken during the evening of our Aqad Nikah ceremony - thanks to Am for the pix] we will definitely went to this place! Its just like this place is the chosen place where we celebrate the day itself and makan sampai kenyang, ok? Hahah.

Forgive the small stall here, the wooden-made stall which is covered by atap nipah or atap zink here and the wooden tables here cos they would not distract you while satisfying your cravings and having your fresh ikan pari, ikan kembung, sotong, ketam, udang, keropok lekor (to name a few) all in celup tepung-based and other traditional food. I just loovee the ikan pari celup tepung here! Nice!
[pardon me for being over excited over the menu(s)! Heh!]

*Owh, Hubby Dearie, shall we go there again? Hiks! (>_<) *Hungry mood!

Part and Parcel of Life

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Dulu saya lakukan perkara-perkara berikut tapi sekarang ianya seperti kenangan sahaja pada saya:-


1.Naik motorsikal

More on bawak motor. Saya pernah belajar/bawak (bukan secara berlesen) motor dahulu. Belajar dari Abang dan Abah saya. Memang jauh jugak lah saya bawak keliling kawasan perumahan saya dan siap ada pembonceng lagi. Berani sungguh. Tapi selepas terlibat dalam satu kemalangan kecil dengan Abang saya, di mana motor tersebut telah menghempap kaki Abang saya, saya terus fobia untuk bawak motor lagi. Kesian Abang saya. Sorry! Sekarang, naik pun kadang2 sahaja.


2. Pandu kereta manual

Saya pandu kereta manual dahulu. Selepas habis belajar memandu dan mendapat lesen, saya banyak bawa kereta Honda auto Abah. Jadi kereta Kancil manual itu saya tak hiraukan langsung. Masuk semester kedua di UiTM, saya perlukan kereta sebab menyewa di Seksyen 9 untuk memudahkan saya ke kampus. Saya bawak kereta Kancil manual itu lah dan menjerit2 bila part naik bukit Menara sebab baru belajar. Belajar dengan Liza sahaja ketika itu. Pandai-pandailah sendiri. Lama-lama saya arif bawak kereta manual. Tapi sekarang sejak beli kereta Matrix auto itu, saya tak lagi pandu kereta manual. Tapi saya rasa bab overtake kereta di jalanraya, kereta manual lagi best!


3. Talian pre paid

Masa pertama kali guna hp, saya pakai talian pascabayar Digi. Saya ingat lagi no. 016 214 8000. Then saya bertukar ke talian pre paid Maxis dan kemudian Celcom, juga pre paid. Masa tu masih mahal dan tade X-pax ke, active8 ke etc. Saya sempat juga aplikasikan X-pax itu masa menggunakan Celcom pre paid. Memang murahlah. Bergayut sakan pun masih banyak baki kredit. Dulu selalu miss called Abah suruh telefon balik bila tak punyai kredit yang banyak. Hehe. Lepas kawin, saya tetap kekalkan nombor Celcom saya tapi menggunakan pascabayar pula. Saya guna plan 1+3 tu. MMS, SMS, voicecall, videocall sume FOC. Lagi2 Husband jauh. Berbaloi lah. Dan lagi2 Husband tolong bayarkan bil. Hihi. Tq Dearie! *tapi betul, bil saya tak penah mencecah RM60.00 sebulan!


4. Travel dengan Bas

Saya memang tak suka naik bas. Dulu masa sekolah STF naik bas time cuti sekolah sebab sekolah catar satu bas untuk student dari Terengganu. So rasa selamat lah. Lagi pun dengan kawan-kawan, jadi seronok lah. Saya akan pening kalau naik bas dan tak tido. Kadang2 terpaksa telan ubat kalo naik bas untuk tido bagi mengelakkan pening dan sakit kepala. Sekarang hampir setiap minggu ke KL jumpa Husband naik flight. Airasia, MAS & Firefly patut berterima kasih pada saya dan Husband kerana menyumbang duit tiket kepada mereka setiap minggu tanpa gagal. Hahah! Dan baru saya perasan, saya dah lama tak naik bas. Ngee.


5. Pakai Jam Tangan Kiri

Sewaktu saya kecil, saya pakai jam tangan di tangan kiri saya. Masa saya umur 10 tahun, Abah belikan saya jam yang ada Gold plated. Saya risau nk pakai di tangan kiri sebab tangan kanan lagi kuat dan takot tak sedar jatuh nanti sb jam mahal. Hahah. Then sampai sekarang, saya pakai jam di tangan kanan dan saya tahu, tak ramai yang pakai jam di tangan kanan. Look around, please?


6. Bersukan

Masa saya sekolah rendah dan di STF dulu, saya adalah Kapten Olahraga, terlibat dalam basketball. Handball dan netball secara tidak langsung sahaja. Tapi kira basketball adalah sukan saya selain larian 400M, 4x400M, 800M dan 1500M. Memang aktif. Banyak medal2 dan piala2 saya terima sepanjang itu walau tak pernah jadi olahragawati. Tapi sekarang, satu sukan pun saya tak buat. Saya rindulah main basketball. Rindu sgt! isk!


7. Buat message

Dulu kat STF selalu buat message. Penuh dengan kreativiti lah. Srikandi sure faham. Masuk UiTM, bila saya start couple, saya suka tulis message jugak! Siap housemate boyfriend (kini Husband) juga tolong pass kan. masa tu, Zulus, boyfriend kawan baik saya, Linda, (kini Husband Linda) juga suka lukis2 kartun dan buat message untuk Linda. Saya terharu bila tahu boyfriend/Husband saya simpan messages yang saya buat dalam file. Sekarang, bila teringat, saya bukak file and boleh tengok balik messages saya tuh. Hihi. Suka lah. Tapi dah lama saya tak buat. Huhu. Rasa rindu nak buat.


*Sebenarnya, banyak lagi tapi ini je yang saya sempat fikirkan hari ini. Hehe. Owh, jom tengok gambar resepsi Huzaimi, last Sunday at Blue Wave Hotel, Shah Alam. Enjoice!

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Preventive Detention Laws: A Personal Observation

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The other day, I was reading an interesting entry by Thariq in his blog (http://keethariq.wordpress.com) regarding preventive detention laws and it made me want to contribute my two-cents worth regarding the post.

Salam everyone,
I’m sure you all know by now that Obama is the new President of the US of A. Congratulations to the Democrats and to those who support him. But this isn’t a post about him or the US election, just an obiter dicta.

The thing is, I’ve been thinking lately on our country’s preventive detention laws. In my previous post, Rights of Habeas Corpus I’ve touched on the laws that give the GOM the power to put someone in jail without having to charge that person in court.

The GOM justifies preventive detention as a need to protect the public from persons they deem a menace. Most detention orders will state that the GOM believes the person is involved in criminal activities either drug-dealing or other violent crimes. The thing is, why don’t they just charge the person in court? Could it mean that the police do not have concrete evidence to charge them? If so how can you detain someone on mere suspicions?

If these persons are as dangerous the government deems them to be, why not put them under police supervision and then arrest him in a criminal act red handed. Is it a cost cutting measure or taking the load of the police? What are the police for then? If we had a diligent and well trained police force I’m sure there is no need for preventive detention, as proper investigations can yield the evidence needed to charge a person.

I’m reminded of the novel & movie, Minority Report by Philip K Dick. In that story, the police uses Precogs, three psychics that can predict crimes that are about to happen through the precognitive powers (hence the name Precogs). When they predict a crime, the police come in force and apprehend the soon to be offender even though the crime did not actually happen yet. We can draw a comparison with preventive detention: we suspect someone that may be involved in crime but since we can’t actually prove that it will happen we take the preemptive action by detaining him before it could happen.

In the story, we learn that the Precogs visions are not the complete truth, as they also receive the titular Minority Report which shows an alternate vision of the future. Thus showing a fatal flaw in the Precrime system. The same can be drawn to preventive detention, a person may not necessarily be a threat to society and most importantly one should be proven guilty before depriving him of his liberty.
If you have any comments or opinions please share them here, thanks.

Kee Mohd Thariq
November 6, 2008
http://keethariq.wordpress.com

At first I just wanted to give my comments in the blog itself but as I was typing my comments, it occurred to me that my view may be ‘too long’ for a comment. So here is my personal view on the subject:

I think preventive detention laws like the ISA is actually a necessary evil - true, it does goes against all principles of justice but the fact remains that prevention is better than cure. Criminals nowadays tend to make a mockery of our judiciary and legal system... they hide behind technicalities and procedures... almost everyday, we see criminals set free because of these technicalities and it's getting rather frustrating. A recent example can be seen from the latest Federal Court case of Mohd Abbas Danus Baksan, who was acquitted of murdering 10-year-old Nurul Huda Abdul Ghani. The Federal Court let the accused off the hook for murder merely because “circumstantial evidence adduced by the prosecution does not irresistibly point to the guilt of the appellant (Mohd Abbas)”. Does this sound like justice? - the b***ard raped and sodomised a little girl, the same little girl later died, but he was acquitted for murder because the evidence does not IRRESISTIBLY point to the accused? Perhaps justice will be upheld behind the prison bars…

So coming back, to me, preventive detention laws merely ensure that the above and any similar instances do not constantly occur. I agree that you need to go through trials, processes, procedures, etc. before actually detaining someone but sometimes it is necessary to detain a person before they do anything which we will eventually regret for not preventing, when there was opportunity earlier. I bet the United States is kicking itself for not using any of its preventive detention laws against the 9/11 hijackers – but no worries, the “most democratic” country in the world now has the Patriot Act to detain any Arab who mention the word “BOMB” and strip him of any fundamental liberties he may have (It is interesting to note that the Patriot Act is actually an acronym for the “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001”).

Anyway last month, I attended an ILKAP course regarding the harmonization of civil and Syariah laws and one interesting issue was discussed. The issue was whether preventive detention laws, in particular ISA, are against the precepts of Islam. As expected, most of the participants (including myself) were of the view that ISA is against the teachings of Islam on the simple rationale that ‘how can the Islam allow a law which decides on the fate of a person without due process?’ The speaker (from the Syariah Advisory division of AG’s Chambers) however shared three “kisah” for us to think about before actually answering that particular question.

The first Kisah, as in Surah Al-Khafi, was regarding the ‘journey’ made by Nabi Musa dan Nabi Khaidir. During their journey, Nabi Khaidir came across a child and executed him. Nabi Musa questioned Nabi Khaidir’s act of killing the child without any apparent reason. At the end of their journey, Nabi Khaidir explained to Nabi Musa that the child’s parents ‘adalah dari golongan yang beriman’ and because of the child, the parents will (in the future) be forced to do things which are “zalim dan kufur” (Note: Nabi Khaidir was granted Ilmu Laduni – Ilmu yang datangnya terus dari Allah s.w.t).
For more information on Nabi Khaidir, you may want to visit:
http://ahmadrais.blogspot.com/2008/09/asal-usul-nabi-khaidir.html

The second Kisah was regarding an extremely handsome man from the time of Khalifa Saidina Umar. Well basically, this attractive man (without any fault of his own) was too good looking that it caused a lot of troubles, especially among the ladies (single, married, divorced alike). So, Saidina Umar was consulted to tackle the problem. At first, Saidina Umar shaved the man’s head – but to no avail, the women were still entranced by the man’s good looks. So Saidina Umar decided that considering the interest of the public as a whole, the man had to be banished – even though he was not at fault.

Lastly, the third Kisah, which also occurred during the times of Khalifa Saidina Umar. At the time, the Muslims were engaged in a war and there was suspicion that one particular lady is leaking confidential information to the other side. Due to the state of emergency and the need for urgency, Saidina Umar instructed that the lady be detained and searched without any form trial. True enough, the lady was found to be carrying a scroll of confidential information in her scarf.

Based on all three kisah, there are actually preventive-like approaches applied in Islam. However, the three kisah also implies that these types of approaches have to be applied in a certain manner. For instance, in the first Kisah, Nabi Khaidir had Ilmu Laduni thus had the sufficient necessary information before proceeding to execute the child. He was certain that the child would bring about harm, especially to his own parents.

The second Kisah conveys the message that in applying preventive approaches, there must be deep consideration in weighing and striking a balance between the liberty of an individual against the interest and security of the public. The second Kisah also teaches us that before employing any form of preventive approach, other means must first be fully utilized – it is only when other means fail, prevention is justified.

As for the third Kisah - res ipsa loquitor – at that particular time, it was a state of emergency and urgency is therefore required. And because of the magnitude of the risk, due process had to be dispensed with. Actually, come to think of it, this was the reason why the ISA was formulated in the first place i.e. the state of emergency in Malaysia (which has not been lifted since 1948. See remarks made to Reuters by Thiery Rommel (European Commission’s envoy to Malaysia on 13 November 2007: “Today, this country (Malaysia) still lives under (a state of) emergency.”).

Note to Thariq: is it possible therefore that Philip K. Dick studied the tales of Nabi Khaidir when he wrote “Minority Report”?

So reverting back to the ISA – it is my view that the law is necessary and Malaysia is not the only country which possesses and exercises preventive-detention laws. The reason why Malaysia gets a lot of coverage in the application of the ISA is because of the media – both local and international. The media is sp keen on highlighting that the Malaysian government is politically motivated in employing the ISA that they 'forgot' to report the detention of hardcore criminals, which prevented them from causing any serious trouble. In 2005, the current Prime Minister provided figures in the Parliament relating to ISA detainees - up till 2005;

• 10,662 people have been arrested under the ISA;
• 4139 were issued with formal detention orders;
• 2,066 were served with restriction orders governing their activities and where they live;
• 12 people were executed for offences under the ISA between 1984 and 1993.
  

(Source: AFP news report dated 3 February 2005)

So, based on the above figures, it is inaccurate to only view ISA as a mere tool to suppress political oppositions. Perhaps the allegations in respect of abuses in implementing the ISA are true but the fact remains that ISA had protected the general population on numerous occasions since its enactment in 1960. Hence the point I am trying to make here is that ISA existed for a reason and it is very effective in living up to its purpose - so do we still blame the law? Do we still need to go around and shout “No To ISA! Abolish ISA! The ISA is the work of the Devil” and so on? Or maybe we just need to find ways to improve on its implementation, which often invites abuse?

Note to Thariq: even in Minority Report, the actual flaw lies not in the Precrime system or the Precogs but its implementation and probability of abuse. So why abolish the whole system when it had diminished the crime rate by 90% ?

The above observation may be in contradiction with the views expressed by a majority of legal professionals, who swore to uphold justice and order for all mankind. But if a particular law can guarantee the protection, safety and security of your family & friends against possible acts of violence, terrorism or any form of harm, wouldn’t you want to maintain such a law…?

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With arms wide open...

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The song ‘With Arms Wide Open’ by Creed, which was released as a single back in September of 2000, is suddenly making a comeback for me... odd, isn't it?

Well I just heard the news today
It seems my life is going to change
I closed my eyes, begin to pray
Then tears of joy stream down my face
With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
With arms wide open

Well I don't know if I'm ready
To be the man I have to be
I'll take a breath
I'll take her by my side
We stand in awe
we've created life

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open
Now everything has changed
I'll show you love
I'll show you everything
With arms wide open.. wide open..

If I had just one wish
Only one demand
I hope he's not like me
I hope he understands
That he can take this life
And hold it by the hand
And he can greet the world
With arms wide open...

To download this song, just click: WithArmsWideOpen

Sharing Happiness

Good foods would never fail to cheer me up! Heheh. I made those home-cooked-dinner last Friday, my Dearie Husband's favourite all time. It was too good to welcome your Dearie Husband back from work with those nice-smelly home cooked food from your kitchen, dressing up nicely, kiss his hand and brought his briefcase, blazer and all his stuffs inside the house.

Oh, besides cooking, I will do these on regular basis :-

• After the Dearie Hubby went off to his work (and bought me my favourite nasi lemak), I usually make the laundry, eat my breakfast while watching channel 711 and clean up the kitchen.
• I start to clean both of the toilets right afterwards as well as will make up the 3 rooms with changing the bed sheet, pillows, boalters and will ensure that the air freshener will lit up the rooms.
• Then saya akan menyapu lantai, mengelap habuk dan mengemop lantai. Harum dan segar rasanya!
• Then laundry dah siap and akan jemur baju dan jika ada baju-baju di ampaian, akan angkat baju dan lipat serta gosok.
• Bila semuanya siap, baru saya menonton TV atau DVD dan akan keluarkan bahan-bahan dari peti sejuk untuk persiapan memasak.

My Dearie Hubby will always sms/called me and asking what am I doing at home while he is at work and will ask me to just rest at home. But being me, I will always happy to clean the house, cook good food for him and never fail to wash the toilets. Haha.

But I guess, after this, I have to take extra precautions while doing things and most of all maybe I would never could do all these things (or maybe some of them) ever for few months. Hmm, what to do? isk.

Barack Obama: A Democracy Beckon of Hope?

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Writer’s note: The following is my personal view and I apologise for any offence caused, especially to any of Obama's fans.

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“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

"It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

"It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.”

-Barack Obama’s victory speech-

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First, I would like to congratulate Mr. President-Elect Barack Obama for winning the general election and (to be)appointed as the 44th American President.

Having said that however, I cannot understand why Malaysians and the rest of the world are so 'thrilled' with the appointment of Obama. Sure, he has promised a lot of things, a lot of changes, but don't you all think that we should wait and see if he delivers, before actually celebrating?

It is true that he has been elected to hold the highest post in the American Government but let’s talk logic here… would he actually be able to change the American policies and laws which have been in existence for the past 232 years? (US Independence Day: July 4, 1776). And let’s not forget the US Congress, which consists of 86% white senators… surely they would not be so willingly in supporting policies and laws which interfere with their interest and way of life, regardless of whether they are Democrats or Republican.

One simple example of my observation; despite the never-ending efforts to abolish the country’s second amendment (i.e. “the right to keep and bear arms”), we still see Vice President Candidate holding a rifle proudly and declares that she is “pro-gun”.

So why are we full of praises for the new president – what has he done by far? True, it is a positive start for democracy when an African-American becomes a US president but before we glorify the man, perhaps we should adopt the “wait and see” approach. Let the man prove himself through his actions and not merely words. Nevertheless, I do admit that the appointment of Obama had proven that there is hope for democracy in the United States and the rest of the world.

On a personal note, one of my friend informed me the other day that one lawyer commented in the Bar Council’s website something like “See, America is good, no 'Ketuanan Orang Putih'" – well, to my ‘not so learned’ friend; as you are aware, Malaysia had just turned 51 years old last August, 180 years younger than America. If you have the need to compare the situation here in Malaysia with the current position in America, you have to be fair… you need to compare the state of affairs in America when she was 51 years old i.e. back in the 1820s. Perhaps before making such an ill-informed statement, you would like to refer to a few newspaper cuttings from the United States around that particular time...

The above reports speak for itself, don't you think? If that does not reflect “Ketuanan Orang Putih” in America, then I don’t know what does…

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Budak Kelantan

Writer’s note: the following article is written in bahasa Terengganu and contains spoilers for the movie “Budak Kelantan”.

Sabtu lepas, Wahida ajok aku gi tengok cite “Budak Kelantan” kat GSC, OU. Mula-mula, isteri aku ni excited gile la nok tengok (dari hari Jumaat ajok doh tengok) tapi bile sapai je kat kaunter tiket, dia cakap kat aku “…malu la nak tengok cite Budak Kelantan. Btol ke nak tengok ni?”. Aku memang doh nok tengok cite tu so dakpelah, aku beli tiket. Agoknye Wahida malu kena “cop” sebagai mek klate kot… Hehehe… tapi dok kisoh la, klate ke, ganu ke… aku ada se prinsip bila libat filem-filem Melayu ni – sokonglah dan tolonglah diorang dapat untung… sape lagi nok tolong, btol dok? (Tu yang sapa cite “Kuliah Cinta” & “Hingga Hujung Nyawa” pun tengok kat wayang jugok tu... nok wat guane, wahida hok ajok... hahaha!)

Anyway, masuk-masuk je panggung wayang tu, full house… penuh panggung tu. Hok klakornye, sume cakap klate… tapi memang la dok? Doh crite pun hal budok klatang.

“Budak Kelantan” ni filem diaroh oleh Wan Azli Wan Jusuh dan dibintangi Danny X-Factor, Bienda, Asrulfaizal & Eyzendy… sume orang klatang. Hok laingnye cite ni, seluruh movie nye kecet klate - throughout the movie kecet klate. Tapi since loghat teranu & klatang dok banyok beza, boleh la aku ikot, dokyoh baca subtitle sangat (bagi orang-orang hok dok paham bahasa klatang, cite tu ada subtitle dalam BM & BI).

Cite dia gini, ada duorang saing ni, Buchek (Danny) & Jaha (Asrulfaizal) hok juppe kat KL lepas lama pisoh. Tapi pe’ey diorang bezze la.. sorang graduate UM, sorang lagi gedebe dan graduate Henry Gurney. Bile duorang ni juppe, Jaha introduce Buchek ke dunia lior dia... togok ubat batuk la, makang pil kude la, culik puang cine la – memang perangai cam setang la budok ni.

Pastu skali tu, Jaha juppe kasseh Buchek, Che Nor (Bienda) hok wat dok layan je ke Jaha. Jaha tibe-tibe jatuh cinta dengan Che Nor tapi Che Nor ni takmboh ke dia sebab dia kasseh dengan Buchek doh. Pastu, bile Buchek tau Jaha minat ke Che Nor, dia nok la sacrifice Che Nor ke Jaha dengan harapan Che Nor boleh wat Jaha insaf dan beruboh. Tapi Che Nor dok setuju la sebab dia nok ke Buchek sorang je. Buchek pun bengong gok, sukati dia je nok passing-passing si Che Nor tu. Jaha dang la juppe dengan Che Nor skali tapi Che Nor sound je Jaha.

Jaha pun frust nunggeng – sebab frust sangat dia gi cari pasal dengan mamat saboh dan tikang dia dengan pisa - jadi la kes polis lepah tu. Bile polis juppe rumoh Jaha, Jaha pun lari naik moto... naik-naik moto, depan bangunan Bank Negara, jatuh moto.. mampuh Jaha atah jalan raya... Si Buchek plok bengong, gi salohkan Che Nor sebab dok bagi peluang ke Jaha. Last-last diorang pisoh pastu Buchek kasseh dengan puang cine hok Jaha culik dulu. Habih cite.

Pada pendapat aku, walaupun mungkin di-cop sebagai ‘statist’ tapi cite ni memang baguh so aku rekemen la orang pegi tengok.

Writer’s note: For the benefit of those who did not understand the above, here’s a short synopsis of the movie (in plain English):

Childhood friends, Buchek and Jaha, met again in Kuala Lumpur after being separated for so long. Now young adults – their attitudes and views about the world differ from one another. Buchek witnessed the wild lifestyles of Jaha and felt the need to bring him back into the righteous path and even willing to let go of his girlfriend Che Nor in hopes of Jaha becoming a better person. However, Che Nor could not fulfill Buchek's wishes and when a tragic accident took Jaha's life, he blames Che Nor for it.

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Another Horseman tied down…

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One by one the Horsemen are being tied down… by marriage. I went down first, then it was Daud and now it’s Huzaimi’s turn. Huzaimi got married (akad nikah) last Saturday (1 November 2008) at the Shah Alam State Mosque. It was a very nice ceremony, attended by family members and close friends. Unfortunately by the time we got to the mosque, the akad has already been concluded so we did not get the chance to see our friend sign his freedom away. Anyway, congratulations to Huzaimi & his new wife, Nur’amiyerra... Welcome to the club, mate. Cheers!

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