NST Online bsmallMARC LOURDES/small/B BRIf only life in Gaza was a movie

NST Online bsmallMARC LOURDES/small/B BRIf only life in Gaza was a movie

My LIFE @ 50...

I'm 50 today !! Yes i was born today,( 50 years ago)Friday( same day too, today ),25 December 1959-in my I/C its the 27th,this is because when my Dad when to report to the police station,on Monday, they decided to just report the DOB as 27th(which was a Sunday) to avoid hassels of not reporting it earlier !( was born at home in Kpg Datuk Keramat,Kuala Lumpur ( then Selangor ).

Time flies,it seems just yesterday,that I just graduated from ITM,(got married in between),then from universities in the States.

Im happily married, I have 5 wonderful children that God has granted me-each with their own unique character-life has been good to me-Alhamdulillah.I hope and pray,everyday, to Allah swt that they will be successful in this life and in the hereafter,that they will always be guided and protected by the All mighty,Allah swt forever.i wish i could be a better parent,but i think ive done a pretty reasonable job and pray(and hope) that Allah swt will accept what i have done and reward me.

Two of my eldest daughters are married to reasonably nice blokes,whom at least to what i have seen are people who are reasonable,treat my daughters well and more importantly do their solat.i have a wonderfully absolutely cute cucu ( 10 mnts old ) They( my sons in law) are not bad looking either. Their parents ( both) are wonderful people who share similar values on family,life and religion and are basically nice people-Alhamdoolillah.


As for my career,i started as a teacher (@ITM) lecturer ? ( almost 10 years) i like the term teacher better,( left to try the outside world) have work for one of the country's big(gest) conglomerate then,also with one of the worse run ones ! Started as a project manager and(and three companies later) my last position before i resigned and open my own business was a GM ( was a GM in my late 30's ).

Have been completely on my own for the last ten years( wth Allah's help and permission) and i think Ive done reasonably well.I'm not financially independent yet...but i hope to be in the next few years.I have work hard and i hope before i celebrate my 60th birthday,i will be able to spend more time with my children,cucu s-more time to read,write... ( one of my passions ),and more time wth my wife,travelling and just doing things together.


Travelling-i have done my fair share,gone to most major cities of the world,maybe i hope one day to travel to places like Alaska,Sahara,Africa,Amazon,North/South pole .Yes perhaps,perform my Hajj a second time ( first one was in 2005 ).,well these are my initial thoughts this morning as i celebrate my 50th year of existence...

something to ponder...

...last week it was reported in the Star that the police officer that will be charged in the death of Kugan is an Indian officer. What is interesting is that this report was somewhere in the middle pages and in a rather hidden corner. This is where i feel that Newspapers are not playing their role in dismissing stereotyping of race,it was long assume that the police officers involved was Malay and that Malays in Government position was abusive,corrupted etc. Abusive people are found in ALL races.

...today in the Star (F33) Zainah Anwar says that Malaysia is turning into a police state like Iran and Afghanistan under Taliban rule.She has a whole page column to air her views.This is because one lady was found guilty of drinking and has been sentence to be caned( of course she never mentions that the lady herself has repented and wants to be caned). She laments on other cases of VVIP/Males not meted the same punishment etc.(two wrongs does not make a right) of the inefficiency and waste of resources of the Syariah courts...

There seems to be a lot of anger and "hate" in her article...

Why doesnt the Star on the very opposite page allows a differing view ? Is there a hidden agenda ? Can someone enlighten Malaysians, how many cases are there involving drunks,abusive couples,accidents etc that is directly related to "drinking" alcohalic drinks...
The number of divorce cases that is backlog in the civil courts...

People like her are confusing the non Muslims...may Allah swt forgive her and guide her...

A quick thought on our Current woes...

Why we need to find an answer and quickly. Malaysia is at a critical stage in its political development,while we look relatively stable on the surface,there is a strong under current of discontent,the signs are there for all to see.The case of the cows head in the Shah Alam temple's case,the MIC election and its "expected" outcome,the going ons in MCA and PKFZs case.As for UMNO,it has yet to win a by election in the Peninsular !The new Selangor's state government has not been spared either,the issue of selling alcohol in a Muslim neighbourhood,SELCATs methods being question and the apparent spilt in Pakatan and PAS.Oh... ,and the "fall" of the elected Perak state government.All these and more in the last 20 months or so.Race relations are fragile,the non Malays feel that things have not changed much since the last general elections while the Malays believe that their rights are being eroded to accommodate the demands of the non Malays. Of course this is a generalisation of the situation in Malaysia. Many Malaysians on the other hand have managed to look beyond racial sentiments ( the reason for strong showing of Pakatan ) to send a strong message to the ruling coalition that "Malaysians" has had enough of mismanagement,corruption,power abuse etc by some members of the ruling coalition. The new Prime Minister is trying his best to solve this image problem of BN,(and in particular UMNO) some real,some imagined.While some of his efforts can be lauded,the overall impact is still too little. For one,in order for the PM not to lose Malay votes ( ie the ones who are Pas supporters but not hard core members) they must stop being critical of personalities like Nik Aziz and Anwar Ibrahim.Instead they should focus on real issues ( nation building,poverty,corruption,economic prosperity,race relations,religious issues ),they should send the message that they are the best solution to solve the country's problems and woes.For the past 20 months,they have yet to provide concrete plans to solve the problems that has cause their worse election results since Independence. At the time of writing this article,what has happen to the Lingams case ? What will be the outcome of PKFZ ? these issues ( and many others)needs a satisfactory ending or else the outcome of the 14th general elections is a forgone conclusion.Sweeping issues under the carpet(and thinking that it will be forgotten and forgiven is a wrong and suicidal attitude.Malaysia still need a multi racial coalition that ensures the Malays that their rights are protected-not through bias contracts or quotas or patronising policies-but by ensuring that the Malay language and culture and religion will be given its due standing.Not through domination but through policies that ensure its acceptance by all Malaysians.What makes a Malaysian ? Most non Malays have accepted that this country must have one binding language and culture and because historically this is a Malay nation than the language should be Malay and the culture Malay based-they don't have to apologize for this by policies that seems to contradict this fact.This happens in all previous civilization,the minority adapts to the majority and still happens in most countries-Australia,Britain,USA,China. the minority adapts but without losing their culture and identity and in some areas there is a mix of all local cultures,which develops over time.This must be the basis of a truly united Malaysia,but it must exist in an environment of "strong and principled leadership"(SPL) there is no choice,if the current leadership of both BN and Pakatan does not reflect the SPL and accept the fact that this is a Malay majority nation,I'm afraid that we are living in a dangerous "time bomb" (that needs immediate diffusion) that is about to explode...God forbids.

Time-the lack of it...

There is very little time to do things that you really want to do when theres so many things that you" have"to do.How do you manage time ? Things that you have to do ( responsiblities) usually takes most of your time-work,family and social responsiblities and leaves u with very little time for things that you realy want to do-read,exercise,write,travel,play games-soccer,golf etc.

Is it bad time management if you seem to always have no time ? Or is it a result of modern day living-everything is so fast so demanding ? The more efficient you become the more you are required to do. ven after carrying out all your responsiblities and say you want to read a book,theres so many topics and genres that interest me that i dont know where to start ! That i end up not reading and doing something else like - writing well not that its bad,but i feel that so many2 things that i want to do but its not done.

Tommorrow is fully pack with work from morning untill night and the balance of today is so very precious,but ive still got some responsiblities to carry out (visit my Mom in law ). And of couse its Syaaban and therefore i should spend more time at the surau for solat jemaah. Infact because of all these worldly responsibilities and my own lack of will i have not been going tothe Surau for berjemaah regularly.

i see my mom and dad at least once a week-but when im there i feel sad for them because they wish that their children will spend more time with them.but their children have all grown up and have their own family and life and this cycle is happening to me too...

My own children are growing up fast too,i have five and three have started having their own life too-meaning away from home. it seems only yesterday that they were my little babies. i guess my parents feel the same way,although im going to be 50 soon and they are in their eighties.To my parents all their children are still their babies and they expect us to be around as much as possible.

time...theres just not enough

letih ooi...

Its really "sickening" when people,especially when its your so called "friends" make "judgements" about you.And worse still without knowing the whole story,or getting views only from one side and making judgements based on a "perception that is created" by another person.





Perception is precisely that,just a perception. Its not the real thing,its an image that is created to convey a certain message. There are times that the perception is real but more often than not ,its not. I have this problem that in general I'm perceived to be "snobbish/egoistic". Some say its the " face",some say its my ways-but I really dont care. Sometimes i use it to my advantage,anyway ,God willing,most people are quite comfortable with me after knowing me.

Herein lies part of the problem,there are people who "think" they are close to me,who do not like the idea that when I'm perceive to be close to a newer person in the circle. If the other new person is of the opposite sex,the problem is further compounded.





That's OK,but when they start creating all sorts of lies just to make me look bad that is totally unfair and uncalled for,what is worse is people whom i care, tend to believe this lies!! I guess telling bad things about people is more enjoyable than telling about good things,kot ? Im trying my best to ignore this group of people and carry out my task of running my business. Most of the time its manageable but sometimes...geram sangat !!!

REFORMASI 2-BY DS NAJIB TUN RAZAK...

Like most Malaysians, I would like to give Premier Najib Tun Razak a chance with his reform movement. However i have some concerns when i read in the newspapers about the demands of MCA ( we want same number of Ministers,then they demanded a Chinese DPM and Deputy Chairman for BN ) and MIC ( we "might" withdraw from the cabinet because we are not represented ( with a senior minister post )in the Cabinet,despite being the third largest member of the coalition). It seems that despite the message that our PM is trying spread ( 1Malaysia concept ) the main components of the ruling coalition is still very much thick with racial sentiments. Somehow when Malays talk about their rights,ther are labelled racist,but MCA,MIC says a lot of things that are hurtful to the Malays at large. This is of course is followed by an official denial ( as in the case of MIC) and silence on the part of the MCA. This old tactic of "Baling Batu Sorok Tangan " is and old political ploy that has been practised by BN and its partners ( including UMNO ). Old habits are hard to get rid of.
So will the premier's reform programme succeed ? At this rate,unlikely. But its still early days and for the sake of the country I do hope he succeeds. There are issues he needs to tackle immediately if his reform is too succeed.

1.BN must be and must be seen to be truly multi racial and yet with the acceptance that it will be lead by UMNO ( a clean and trustworthy UMNO ).The current political reality and scenario ( 60++% of the county is still Malay/Muslim dominated ) still demands that this country be lead by a Malay and a Malay lead coalition.

2.UMNO must really be reformed-no corruption and the battle cry must be truly..."Demi Bangsa,Ugama and Negara" and not "what is it in for me",as that is the current battle cry and culture of patronage. PAS and DAP have very clear guiding (though sometimes conflicting) principles-but their members joint the party because they strongly feel that their party's solution is the way forward for the society and the Nation as oppose to most who joint UMNO,MCA and .MIC. PAS and DAP leaders are seen to be clean,honest and trustworthy ( Nizar,Lim Guan Eng,Lim Kit Siang)

3.BN/UMNO/PM must take cognizance that Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim is still a factor. For a start, you should know by now that the more you criticise DSAI the more popular he becomes. You have no choice but to engage him. He is and will always be a factor in Malaysian politics. Ignore this fact and i would say your chances for reform and a victory in PRU13 is zero. The country will be more diversified as the coalition that wins PRU13 whether PR or BN will not be strong enough to form a strong and stable government.

4.Please my dear PM, be your own man,do not fall into the trap that has been set by the former PM Tun Mahathir. Although he was and still is a brilliant leader,there are aspects of his leadership that you should nor emulate ( perception of being anti Islam, perception of controlling the courts and not really listening to the grassroots.)

5.You must also accept the fact that the majority of Malays are divided along political belief/lines and this reconciliation is the most single important agenda facing u,unite the Malays and most of the country's problem will be solved. How ? In my next write up insyaAllah...
.

Jr Arsenal Fan

Imraan,will remember this for a long,long time. Remembering the time we jalan2 in London.

being a Grand Dad...

There is an additional reason to look fwd to when i come home...Ayra. I'm a grand dad ! Yep, its truly amazing, feels like a dream within a dream. living multiple phases of my life at one go...WOH,I'm excited yet there is this worry, whether i can live to the expectation. you know the first time you become an uncle,rasa macam ada certain stature and responsibility,then you re a husband,then a father and now a grandad ! I think like grand ma's ,grand dads should retire and not worry about work and business etc. we should just spend more time with the cucu and more time doing what toks and opahs do,which is what huh...?

Well,actually im not 50 yet n i dont really feel 'old n retired', in fact i like to be a cool grandad,I'm still playing futsal ( although every time after that i feel like dying ! ), i still drive 180km/hr ( that's the max of the speedometer) since if i drive any slower i will certaintly die of boredom ! Speeding does not equate recklessness,to those who equate speed to danger.

This part about driving, i will write later,as tips of how to drive safetly ( tapi laju...he2).Anyways...

Well this morning she( ayra) will be leaving for Aunties Azmah's hse as a trial run,see if i was retired then she could stay with me.This is in anticipation that her Mom will be going to work next week...

being a dad...part one...

Salams,its truly incredible and amazing that my children have all grown up,everyday I thank Allah swt for all that He has bestowed upon me. i am truly blessed. It seems only yesterday that they were all babies,fragile and very dependent...how time flies,it just shows that you have to cherish every moment in your life and not be too concerned about the future,live life to the fullest. Yes,sure, you have to make plans for the future,but not to the extent that you are so bogged down with it that you forget the present. sometimes i have been hard on my children,because i worry about their future,sometimes too hard. i hope that one day they will understand that its not easy being a responsible father. I married young,had children early and at the same time i was still doing my own growing up. even now I'm still learning and growing up ( not height wise though...he2 ). I had a difficult time as a teenager,growing up in Kuala Lumpur, yeap i guess i had this complex about not being/belonging to any one group ( the rich kids,the really ganas kids of Keramat or Kampung Baru ) i wasn't a brilliant student ( the only one who did not go to SBP among the siblings ) but somehow i survive, i made do with what i had and learn to adapt. at one stage in my adolescent life-my mom and dad didn't even know i was around ! They had eight kids and while i was growing up the family had its fair share of problems. difficult marriage(s),sick brother,financial problems, I was just number 6-crazy about soccer,did not create problems,just was around. When i went to play soccer in Pahang and did not comeback for a couple of days no one noticed-bcoz when i come back,no one ask where i went !! That's why I'm kind of obsessed to know where my kids are all the time.So there...thats why.
I'm trying to explain/understand some of my own actions as a dad,ok...Yana,Emil and Na...and Iyas and Im if you happen to read this.Anyways reading your blog(s) i realised that you guys are so worried that your writing is not up to the mark,don't worry,just write how you feel and you will improve,let your honesty and creativity flow...insyaAllah it will be ok. But believe me,so far i think you guys are very creative,i love reading your blogs...it helps me feel connected. The modern way of life is so demanding on time that we have to make the extra effort to keep in touch,to tell and remind each other that whatever happens,insyaAllah we have each other and that our little family is very big at heart and that we have each other always.
I have got some work to do so ive got to leave this space,dont know when ill continue to write but i will read your blogs whenever i can...ta...

spaced...

...why is it that i write my tazkirah in emails and not in my blog ?... Dont really have a good reason,never really thought about it. Well what happen the last time was,i was going through my emails and suddenly had this urge...really needed to write to release this pent up feeling that i had. So it was something that was done rather instantenously.

sometimes when we plan to write,having these ideas and thoughts running in your head but then so many other things needs to be taken care of that you end up not writing...

like now so...

Communication Skills,

Problems or issues are seen or understood differently by people. Sometimes when discussing a particular problem/issue participants think they are talking about the same thing,but they are not. That's the reason for definitions i assume. Even when a word or an issue is define it still brings different meaning to different people.



It gets more complicated when we are discussing technical issues. For example, the word design means "to create a new or improve an existing environment" to an Urban Planner/Designer but to an Artist it is to create something completely new( on a canvas,pottery,new song ). A situation created by design-means to scheme or plan a situation. So is designing,scheming ?

So where is this all leading to ? Its just sometimes sooo frustrating ,when you re in a meeting when you feel that you have done your best,then you have people still asking questions which is ( in your opinion ) totally unrelated that you have just said. Could it be done purposely ? or could people be that blurr or have i not transmitted across well enough the point I'm trying to make ?



When we say multi disciplinary-do we mean skills in many areas or do we mean generalist ? Is a specialist better than a generalist ? If its surgery-yes ! If its a date no ! Generalist tend to have a negative connotation in the academia ( general degree ) but is preferred as an administrator. MBAs tend to be multi disciplinary in order for its holder to be accepted into most business organization/situation.

In the Malaysian context,what does "ketuanan Melayu" means ? If it means that Malays are the Masters or Owners of this country or Malays are more superior, Malaysians of other race cannot accept it. Especially so if the concept of Ketuanan Melayu is use as a cover for reasons more for political/financial gains by some politicians.

I have had some discussions with my Chinese and Indian friends and most ( the majority ) of them agree that if Ketuanan Melayu means that it is an acknowledgement that this country had its origin as a Malay homeland,the lingua franca is Bahasa Melayu and that the culture of this land is Malay bias-they have no problem with that. Just like if i was born in the UK or US or China-i would have to accept that England is the homeland of the English,the culture is English and the official language is English. But i cannot the accept the fact or the concept of English Supremacy !

We are living in a very small and fast moving world,if we Malays think that "Ketuanan Melayu" will save the Malays, we are dead wrong.

Busy,busy,busy...

...Its really been v2 bad recently. Whenever i thought the next day or week will be less hectic,something last minute will always come around. For the past 10 days ive been to Penang/Alor Setar three times ( three different trips ) and the last one was nearly trapped in the massive traffic jam due to an overturn crane on the bridge. 2moro morning im leaving for Penang again ! Its like a very tiring routine,wake up at three and drive to penang at 4am to be in time for an 8am meeting !!Work itself is very challenging without having to encounter ridiculous people whose ability to think and make decisions are very limited. Is empowerment not part of the bureaucracy ? It can be very disheartening at times,but thank God there are still many intelligent and hardworking ones around. Issues that can be and should be resolved in a day,takes days,weeks or months !

Im still in the office,preparing for 2moros presentation and meeting,but a quick write up just to release a little pressure and let my daughters ( and sons-who dont read my blog) know that Im ok,and to always know that i do think of them a lot and that i love them very2 much...

A tribute to Achik

Its been a very eventful year so far to say the least. My auntie pass away about two weeks ago,she was suffering from lukemia for the pass two years. The battle against the white blood cells finally took the its toll against her. She was my father's youngest and only sister ( she was adopted as a baby from a chinese family who were running away from the communist 66 years ago) and is very dear to the family. I have always call her Achik ( mak cik kecik-the youngest ) and the younger ones,including my children, call her Opah Cik. She has four daughters and the eldest is also adopted. When i was young,i used to stay with my grandparents in kampong ( Bota Kanan,Perak) and interacted alot with Acik and her husband ( Tok Umar ),although an uncle by rank through the marriage with Acik,had the status of Tok as he is the rank of cousin with my grandad,but not really a cousin ! People of that generation are very close to each other and are somehow related to one another,that is another story,to be told and behold...
What i remember most about my Acik was that she call my Tok Umar-"D",short for darling ! I didnt know then,and wondered why,later when i knew i thot its so sweet. I guess it was scandalous to be calling your husband darling at that time...
They were loving and spend lots of time together for they did not have a child for a long2 time,of course after they adopted one,the next three followed very quickly. I think the reward of adopting a child was rewarded instantly by Allah swt. Since my dad and his eldest brother had already migrated to KL in the early 60's,my Achik had to also take care of my Grandparents. So whenever i balik kampong,she was always around as well. She would always would cook gulai tempoyak for us,(my favourite-with ikan keli) with sambal buah quinin (sp) and of course despite this very kampond dish would make excellent tea and the best kopi o in town...theres more to tell.
Anyway,i miss her and pray that Allah swt will place her among the soilihin.Ameen,

The end is near...

Its truly a sad day for Malaysian Politics,when thru sheer political maneuvering the Pakatan Rakyat Perak Government has been replaced by Barisan Nasional. The reasons given by the four ADUNs leaving the PR/DAP were unbelievably stupid,only morons and idiots would accept it.

Two of these ADUNs have been charged with corruption ( receiving sexual favours ) one just left UMNO two weeks ago and has decided to rejoin,for reasons only known to himself. For the record it was reported in the mainstream newspapers that his wife told the current MB that he was kidnapped for a few hours before the DPM press conference...

The lady from DAP , it was stated was not happy because she did not recvd a Toyata Camry ! My God !!!...and UMNO recvd these people ( whose intelligence and moral values r in question )with open arms just so that they can take over the Perak Goverment.

I dont know where UMNO recvd its intelligence report from,they say the people of Perak support these moves. The feedback that i get is the complete opposite,this has only cemented the fact that UMNO is a corrupted party and waiting for its imminent death. This episode has only help to expedite the process...

My advise to all Muslim Malays, better brace yourself,learn to fend for yourself, for politically we ( thru UMNO ) is self destructing by the day...the day is near when Malays will surely lose their political dominance because we have weak and corrupted leaders...

There is hope...1

Salams,time does move very quickly,January 09 is almost over and before you know it its going to be 2010 ! It was almost a quarter of a century ago that I graduated from the Ohio State University,Columbus with my Masters degree...it feels just like yesterday. I was in the States from 1982 to 1986 and i must say those were very important years of my life and somehow has shaped part of my mental and spiritual make up.
I believe then and i still do that the USA is one of the best country if not the best country to lead the world. Despite the obvious short comings,the American system of governance allows for the participation of all its citizens and all opinions. Yes the Jewish lobby is very powerful and exerts its opinion and views through its lobbyist and powerful business networks,but what do you expect,this is a capitalist system and money talks. Why then have not the rich middle east Arab Sheiks not taken advantage of this system to advance the cause of Islam and especially the Palestinians ? Instead they are more interested to buy British football clubs,the latest being Liverpool which is targeted by a Kuwaiti Billionaire.
If i am not mistaken, Islam is the fastest growing religion in America in recent times. As an undergraduate at Indiana University,Bloomington-we already had a mosque and was able to conduct Friday prayers regularly ( 1982-84) and we had a substantial amount of American Muslims,both Caucasians and Blacks. I remembered taking Islamic classes in which open and heated discussions were held in a very academic environment. It was great ! Of course the word terrorist did not bring the same image that it brings today. That's why I'm a strong supporter that what happened during Sept 11 was planned by the enemies of Islam to discredit one of the fastest growing religion.
While i was there,a great Islamic scholar was murdered in Chicago,Ismail Faruqi. The significance of this is that even then there was a conspiracy against Islam. There was also a large following of other Islamic groups,which is not mainstream Islam but had a large following amongst the blacks. It was easy anyway to find halal food as there was always a Muslim store even in the smallest of American towns. Americans in general are very friendly and open,but there are also very ignorant of other countries in the world,especially small ones like ours. The news papers and the electronic media form a large portion of their perception of the world and this is where the Jewish lobby and businessmen play their role,whether its the print or electronic media,the Muslims are labelled ( and the image is supported by Hollywood ) as backward,violent
ignorant,uneducated and want to take over the world "through the sword",it is sad and can be disheartening as Islam is the complete opposite of these things...