Kalau Merenung Bintang di Langit

Prologue

Air ditempayan dicurah jangan...

Eh, hmm, sounds a bit odd isn't it? Oh oh, salah peribahasa lah...hehehe, sorilah bro. Dah lama dah sejak amik BM masa SPM.

Sorry, sorry, go on, go on....continue please..

I am not sure who the author is. I got this from primary schoolmates yahoo group. Thank you my dear primary-school best-friend Lokman. If you are the author, I must say it is a most wonderful piece and a timely reminder. If you are not the author, it is still a most wonderful piece. I take it that his request that it be distributed as a blanket permission for me to post it here!

This is reverse psychology - as opposed to the previous article. Sila hayati hingga mata berkaca.

Here is the article proper.

"JANGAN TERLALU MEMANDANG BINTANG DI LANGIT HINGGA KITA TERLUPA RUMPUT DI BUMI"

Orang kata aku lahir dari perut mak..

Bila dahaga, yang susukan aku.....mak

Bila lapar, yang suapkan aku....mak

Bila keseorangan, yang sentiasa di sampingku.. ...mak

Kata mak, perkataan pertama yang aku sebut....Mak

Bila bangun tidur, aku cari....mak

Bila nangis, orang pertama yang datang ....mak

Bila nak bermanja, aku dekati....mak

Bila nak bergesel, aku duduk sebelah....mak

Bila sedih, yang boleh memujukku hanya....mak

Bila nakal, yang memarahi aku....mak

Bila merajuk, yang memujukku cuma....mak

Bila melakukan kesalahan, yang paling cepat marah....mak

Bila takut, yang tenangkan aku.....mak

Bila nak peluk, yang aku suka peluk....mak

Aku selalu teringatkan ....mak

Bila sedih, aku mesti talipon....mak

Bila seronok, orang pertama aku nak beritahu.... .mak

Bila bengang.. aku suka luah pada..mak

Bila takut, aku selalu panggil... "mmaaakkkk! "

Bila sakit, orang paling risau adalah....mak

Bila nak exam, orang paling sibuk juga.....mak

Bila buat hal, yang marah aku dulu....mak

Bila ada masalah, yang paling risau.... mak

Yang masih peluk dan cium aku sampai hari ni.. mak

Yang selalu masak makanan kegemaranku. ...mak

kalau balik ke kampung, yang selalu bekalkan ulam & lauk pauk.....mak

Yang selalu simpan dan kemaskan barang-barang aku....mak

Yang selalu berleter kat aku...mak

Yang selalu puji aku....mak Yang selalu nasihat aku....mak

Bila nak kahwin..Orang pertama aku tunjuk dan rujuk.....mak

Aku ada pasangan hidup sendiri....

Bila seronok, aku cari.......pasangan ku

Bila sedih, aku cari......mak

Bila berjaya, aku ceritakan pada....pasanganku

Bila gagal, aku ceritakan pada....mak

Bila bahagia, aku peluk erat....pasanganku

Bila berduka, aku peluk erat....emakku

Bila nak bercuti, aku bawa....pasanganku

Bila sibuk, aku hantar anak ke rumah.....mak

Selalu.. aku ingat pasanganku

Selalu.. mak ingat kat aku

Bila-bila... aku akan talipon pasanganku

Entah bila... aku nak talipon mak

Selalu....aku belikan hadiah untuk pasanganku

Entah bila... aku nak belikan hadiah untuk emak

Renungkan: "Kalau kau sudah habis belajar dan berkerja... bolehkah kau kirim wang untuk mak? mak bukan nak banyak... lima puluh ringgit sebulan pun cukuplah"...

Berderai air mata jika kita mendengarnya. ....... 

Tapi kalau mak sudah tiada....... .... MAKKKKK...RINDU MAK..... RINDU SANGAT....

Berapa ramai yang sanggup menyuapkan ibunya....

berapa ramai yang sanggup mencuci muntah ibunya.....

berapa ramai yang sanggup mengantikan lampin ibunya......

berapa ramai yang sanggup membersihkan najis ibunya...... .

berapa ramai yang sanggup membuang ulat dan membersihkan luka kudis ibunya....

berapa ramai yang sanggup berhenti kerja untuk menjaga ibunya.....

dan akhir sekali berapa ramai yangsembahyang JENAZAH ibunya......

Seorang anak mendapatkan ibunya yang sedang sibuk menyediakan makan malam di dapur lalu menghulurkan sekeping kertas yang bertulis sesuatu. Si ibu segera mengesatkan tangan di apron menyambut kertas yang dihulurkan oleh si anak lalu membacanya.Kos upah membantu ibu:

1) Tolong pergi kedai : RM4.00

2) Tolong jaga adik : RM4..00

3) Tolong buang sampah : RM1.00

4) Tolong kemas bilik : RM2.00

5) Tolong siram bunga : RM3.00

6) Tolong sapu sampah : RM3.00

Jumlah : RM17.00

Selesai membaca, si ibu tersenyum memandang si anak sambil sesuatu berlegar-legar si mindanya. Si ibu mencapai sebatang pen dan menulis sesuatu di belakang kertas yang sama..

1) Kos mengandungkanmu selama 9 bulan - PERCUMA

2) Kos berjaga malam kerana menjagamu - PERCUMA

3) Kos air mata yang menitis keranamu - PERCUMA

4) Kos kerunsingan kerana bimbangkanmu - PERCUMA

5) Kos menyediakan makan minum, pakaian, dan keperluanmu -PERCUMA

Jumlah Keseluruhan Nilai Kasihku - PERCUMA

Air mata si anak berlinang setelah membaca apa yang dituliskan oleh siibu. Si anak menatap wajah ibu,memeluknya dan berkata,"Saya Sayangkan Ibu".Kemudian si anak mengambil pen dan menulis "Telah Dibayar" pada mukasurat yang sama ditulisnya.

Anak Derhaka

I have been wanting to write a similar article, but it requires extensive research on my part, and it is not something I could write from my memory alone.

So I found what I wanted to say from Mahaguru58. YOu can visit his blog here.

It is reprinted here with his permission, with lots of thanks from this blogger. It is a great reminder for myself, and I don't like to preach and would not like others to preach to me.

Beyond all the nas, I would like to highlight his statements:

Quote

Dewasa ini sudah ramai dikalangan anak anak zaman ini yang sudah berani berlaku derhaka terhadap ayah dan ibu mereka.

Mereka menganggap diri mereka lebih hebat dan terpelajar dari ibu dan bapa mereka dan sering berlaku biadap serta kurang ajar terhadap ayah bonda mereka.

Jangan main main dengan orangtua.

Tidak ada hijab diantara ibubapa dengan Tuhan Rabbul Alamin.

Do'a mereka pasti dimakbulkan Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala!

Unquote

Honestly, tak kemana pun pandai kita or kaya kita. Sapalah kita tanpa ibubapa. Setitik airmata mereka yang mengalir kerana kita.....Minta ampun banyak kali pun adalah gunanya. Airmata yang sudah mengalir takkan dapat kembali ke asalnya.

Take it on Mahaguru.

Durhaka terhadap orang tua adalah diantara dosa dosa besar!

Kewajiban anak terhadap orang -tua, yaitu berbuat baik, taat dan menghormat. Ini sesuai dengan panggilan fitrah yang harus dipenuhi dengan sebaik-baiknya.

Dan yang lebih hebat lagi ialah hak ibu, sebab dialah yang paling berat menanggung penderitaan waktu mengandung, melahirkan, menyusui, dan mengasuh.

Firman Allah Ta'ala:
"Dan kami perintahkan kepada manusia supaya berbuat baik kepada ibu-bapanya, ibunya telah mengandung dia dengan susah-payah dan melahirkannya dengan susah-payah pula; mengandung dan menyusuinya selama 30 bulan." (al-Ahqaf: 16)

Diriwayatkan:
"Ada seorang laki-laki datang kepada Nabi dan bertanya: Siapakah manusia yang lebih berhak saya kawani dengan baik?

Ia menjawab: Ibumu!

Dia bertanya lagi: Kemudian siapa?

Ia menjawab: Ibumu!

Dia bertanya lagi: Kemudian siapa lagi?

Ia menjawab: Ibumu!

Dia bertanya lagi: Kemudian siapa lagi?

Ia menjawab: Ayahmu!" (Riwayat Bukhari dan Muslim)

Nabi anggap durhaka kepada dua orang tua itu sebagai dosa besar, sesudah syirik.

Begitulah sebagaimana ungkapan al-Quran.

Oleh karena itu dalam hadisnya, Nabi Muhammad s.a.w. bersabda:

"Maukah kamu saya terangkan sebesar-besar dosa besar --tiga kali.

Mereka menjawab: Mau, ya Rasulullah!

Maka bersabdalah Nabi, yaitu:

1. menyekutukan Allah,
   
2. durhaka kepada dua orang tua --waktu itu dia berdiri sambil bersandar, kemudian duduk, dan berkata:
   
3. Ingatlah! Omongan dusta dan saksi dusta." (Riwayat Bukhari dan Muslim)

"Ada tiga orang yang tidak akan masuk sorga:
1) orang yang durhaka kepada dua orang tua;
2) laki-laki yang tidak ada perasaan cemburu terhadap keluarganya;
3) perempuan yang menyerupai laki-laki." (Riwayat Nasa'i, Bazzar dan Hakim)

"Semua dosa akan ditangguhkan Allah sampai nanti hari kiamat apa saja yang Dia kehendaki, kecuali durhaka kepada dua orang tua, maka sesungguhnya Allah akan menyegerakan kepada pelakunya dalam hidupnya (di dunia) sebelum meninggal." (Riwayat Hakim)

Allah memperkuat pesannya untuk berbuat baik kepada dua orang tua ini, ketika kedua orang tua tersebut telah mencapai umur lanjut, kekuatannya sudah mulai menurun, mereka sudah mulai sangat membutuhkan pertolongan dan dijaganya perasaannya yang mudah tersinggung itu.

Dalam hal ini Allah berfirman sebagai berikut:
"Tuhanmu telah memerintahkan hendaklah kamu tidak berbakti kecuali kepadaNya dan berbuat baik kepada dua orang tua, jika salah satu di antara mereka atau keduanya sudah sampai umur tua dan berada dalam pemeliharaanmu, maka janganlah kamu katakan kepada mereka itu kata-kata 'uff' (kalimat yang tidak menyenangkan hati), dan jangan kamu bentak mereka, tetapikatakanlah kepada mereka berdua kata-kata yang mulia.

Dan rendahkanlah terhadap mereka berdua sayap kerendahan karena kasih, dan doakanlah kepada Tuhanmu: Ya Tuhanku! Berilah rahmat mereka itu, sebagaimana mereka telah memeliharaku di waktu aku masih kecil." (al-Isra': 23-24)

Beberapa atsar (omongan para sahabat) menyebutkan dalam mengiringi ayat-ayat ini dengan mengatakan: andaikata ada kalimat yang oleh Allah dipandang lebih rendah daripada uff, niscaya Ia haramkan juga.

Membuat Gara-Gara yang Menyebabkan Dicacinya Dua Orang Tua, Termasuk Dosa Besar

Lebih dari itu, bahwa Rasululiah s.a.w. tidak menjadikan gara-gara dicacinya dua orang tua hanya sekedar haram, tetapi termasuk dosa besar.

Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda:
"Sesungguhnya di antara sebesar-besar dosa besar, ialah seseorang melaknat orang tuanya sendiri --kemudian para sahabat merasa heran, bagaimana mungkin seorang yang berakal dan beriman akan melaknat orang tuanya, padahal mereka adalah penyebab hidupnya.

Kemudian mereka itu bertanya: bagaimana bisa jadi seseorang akan melaknat dua orang tuanya?

Maka jawab Nabi: yaitu dia mencaci ayah orang lain kemudian orang tersebut mencaci ayahnya, dan ia mencaci ibu orang lain, kemudian orang tersebut mencaci ibunya."
(Riwayat Bukhari dan Muslim)

Kalau ini tidak boleh, apalagi mencaci kedua orang tua di hadapannya sendiri.


Pergi ke Medan Jihad Tanpa Izin Orang Tua, Tidak Boleh

Demi perhatian Islam terhadap kerelaan dua orang tua, maka Islam tidak membenarkan seorang anak pergi ke medan jihad tanpa mendapat izin dua orang tua, padahal fisabilillah mempunyai kedudukan yang sangat tinggi dalam Islam yang tidak dapat dibandingkan dengan sekedar sembahyang malam dan puasa di siang hari.

Abdullah bin 'Amr bin 'Ash meriwayatkan:

"Ada seorang laki-laki datang kepada Nabi minta izin pergi berperang, kemudian Nabi bertanya: Apakah kedua orang tuamu masih hidup?

Ia menjawab: Masih. Maka sabda Nabi: Berjuanglah untuk kedua orang tuamu itu." (Riwayat Bukhari dan Muslim) -

Yakni jadikanlah medan jihadmu itu dengan jalan berbuat baik dan melindungi kedua orang tuamu.

Dalam satu riwayat dikatakan:
"Ada seorang laki-laki datang kepada Nabi s.a.w., kemudian berkata: aku telah berbai'at kepadamu untuk pergi hijrah dan berperang demi mencari pahala dari Allah.

Lantas Nabi bertanya: Apakah salah satu dari kedua orang tuamu itu masih hidup?

Ia menjawab: Betul, bahkan kedua-duanya masih hidup.

Kemudian Nabi bertanya lagi: Apa betul kamu mencari pahala Allah?

Ia menjawab: Betul!

Maka jawab Nabi: Pulanglah, temui kedua orang tuamu itu, kemudian berbuat baiklah dalam bergaul dengan keduanya." (Riwayat Muslim)

Dan diriwayatkan dari Abdullah bin 'Amr bin 'Ash juga, ia berkata:
"Ada seorang laki-laki datang kepada Nabi, kemudian berkata: saya datang berbai'at kepadamu untuk berhijrah, tetapi saya tinggalkan kedua orang tuaku dengan menangis

Maka jawab Nabi: Pulanglah dan perbuatlah kedua orang tuamu itu ketawa, sebagaimana kamu perbuat mereka menangis." (Riwayat Bukhari dan lain-lain)

Abu Said meriwayatkan:
"Ada seorang laki-laki dari Yaman pergi ke tempat Nabi s.a.w.

Lantas Nabi bertanya: Apakah kamu masih mempunyai salah seorang keluarga di Yaman?

Ia menjawab: Ya, dua orang tua saya.

Nabi bertanya lagi: Apakah keduanya itu telah memberi izin kepadamu?

Ia menjawab: Tidak!

Kemudian Nabi bersabda: Pulanglah, dan minta izinlah kepada keduanya, kalau mereka itu memberi izin maka pergilah berperang, dan jika tidak, maka berbuat baiklah kepada keduanya." (Riwayat Abu Daud)



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dewasa ini sudah ramai dikalangan anak anak zaman ini yang sudah berani berlaku derhaka terhadap ayah dan ibu mereka.

Mereka menganggap diri mereka lebih hebat dan terpelajar dari ibu dan bapa mereka dan sering berlaku biadap serta kurang ajar terhadap ayah bonda mereka.

Manusia biadap seperti ini lupa akan perintah Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala dan Rasul Sallalahu Alaihi Wassallam supaya berlaku baik terhadap ibubapa mereka dan jangan sekali kali menyakitkan hati ibu dan bapa mereka yang tanpa salah seorang dari mereka tidak akan terjadinya diri mereka itu dan mustahil mereka akan dapat lahir kemuka bumi ini sebagai seorang manusia!

Selain dari Nabi Adam Alaihis Salam dan isteri baginda Sayyidatina Hawwa Radhiallahu Anha serta Nabi Isa ibni Maryam, sekelian manusia yang lain ada ibu dan ayah masing masing.

Sejarah peradaban manusia membuktikan bahawa sekiranya seseorang itu hendak diterima masyarakat sebagai seorang budiman, maka perilakunya terhadap ibu dan ayah kandung semestinya terbaik laku dan berhemah.

Bila ada anak yang derhaka terhadap ibu dan ayahnya, maka terlaknatlah si anak derhaka itu selagi belum meminta ampun maaf dari kedua atau salah seorang dari mereka yang telah disakitinya samada dengan kata kata, penulisan atau kelakuan.

Ada bukti bukti yang nyata akan nasib anak yang derhaka ini.

Sudah banyak kali peristiwa peristiwa anak anak derhaka terhadap orang tuanya disaksikan secara nyata didalam kehidupan ini.

Jangan main main dengan orangtua.

Tidak ada hijab diantara ibubapa dengan Tuhan Rabbul Alamin.

Do'a mereka pasti dimakbulkan Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala!

Jangan sampai kisah si Tanggang berulang kembali!

Khabar Kematian II - The Ancient Mariner

I have not met him personally, but I must add that I do feel sad with his demise. And shocked too. (He passed away ~5 days after his mother's demise.)

I have frequented his blog  The Ancient Mariner quite a bit the past years. For some reasons, I have not visited his blog  for more than a month recently, but surfing today I found out about his death 2 days late.

I have commented a couple of times in his blog and he had responded to my comments. Nothing much and nothing out of the ordinary, I guess but he was always pleasant. He thought that I was related to another Hariri he knew, but we weren't.

And I must say that that I would seldom comment on someone else's blog. I prefer to lurk and then disappear of course after reading. But his was different.

I have always looked forward to his posting. Light hearted even on the most serious topics but well presented thought I must admit. I admire his sense of idealism especially at this age. He abhors corruptions, something I can relate to myself. A man with great conviction right till the very end.

Well captain, rest in peace. You have done your part for a better Malaysia.

Moga dirahmati Allah.

Are we tempting fate?

Our politicians and newspapers were going gaga of the performance of the Malaysian team during the match against Man United.

I thought it was only a friendly and that it was the results of non-performance of on the MU team, rather than the performance of the Malaysian team. Obviously van der Saar was still napping when Amri lobbed the ball - though it was a wonderful lob in any case. What are we expecting from them since many had just returned from lazing around in the Caribbean? 

They are probably treating the game as a beach soccer anyway.

Are we trying to tempt fate by having the second game?

Hahaha, I think we are. It is no laughing matter though. For some reasons I think we are in for a mauling ala 2001. Yes, wipe out that smile FAM, for this is not even a swallow for us to call it summer.

Oh boy [sigh].

My Name is not Maria Bertha

Prologue

I read in the blogs recently that Natrah aka Maria Bertha Herthog, her maiden name, passed away in the Netherland recently. I think despite the passing of time, she is one name deeeply entrenched in the mind of the Malays in Malaysia for a long time, especially those who live in the 50s. I am sure many youngsters would not have inkling of her, but even for me who is more of a 60s boy, her story has always fascinated me as a child.

That image of her clinging to her (adopted ) mother will forever be etched in my memory.

Here is what I wrote and posted on March 15, 2007 about her. You can find more detail of her in the book Tragedi Nadra (or the english translation The Nadra Tragedy (Hmmm.. pejuang bahasa please take note!) and in this blog cyberpoyo.blogspot.com dated Nov 08, 2009.

Her life is full of tragedy and I really hope she will find peace with God.

Innalillahi wainna ilaihirojiun.

This article was published on the 18th May 1993. While I didn't get paid for it, I was quite happy then to get the letter-of-the-day spot in the NST. During those days, I was competing against myself in trying to get this spot, so I was reasonably prolific then. Quite a few of them were written while I was in Dungun, under the pseudonym Adrah. This pseudonym was conceived when I was in Form 2, which is basically my full name.

In the early 90s, a sister of mine who was working in KL, told me how her friend was puzzled about all those letters being written by this person from Dungun. Her friend thought it was surprising to have someone writing in English from this remote rural town of Dungun! I thought it was funny then, but I am sure people would not be judgmental in 2007.

This is one of the two remaining articles written in the early 90s still remain in my collection. There are articles that I got paid in monetary term, while for others I got paid in hampers. I wasn't looking for the money then as the salary paid by the oil giant was enough, but it was for the fun of it, and to nurture my writing habit.

While the headline and subject on hand were about Raja Bahrin and his two children, the real story that I want to highlight in this blog is the story of this Maria Bertha Hertogh @ Natrah @ Nadra. Her story has been told many times by Mak to us over dinner or while she was preparing the meals when we were kids. It was always fascinating for us then to hear this tragic human story that was Natrah.

The only reason I was following his stories was because I thought I may have seen Raja Bahrin and his then wife Jacqueline in Melbourne. May be. I don't remember exactly.

I thought I should just publish it in this blog for record.

Tags: natrah, nadra, mariahertogh

Thursday March 15, 2007 - 10:34pm (SGT) Permanent Link | 0 Comments

Semalam di Kuala Lumpur

All my childhood memory came back flashing to me last night.

With such a star studded show, it was well worth of the price of the ticket. But it also left me with an exasperation and an incomplete sense of satisfaction - if I can put it that way. How else can one describes it when you have singers of legendary status, who would be able to hold court on stage and and wow audience in a solo concert anywhere in Malaysia or their home country, were only allowed to sing two songs when collectively they may well have over 200 recorded song - at the very least, from the 60s to the 90s!

Anyway, I was not the organizer, so I should not be complaining to much, nonetheless I was thankful to them that I would be able to meet and hear these legends sing right in front of me. I was lucky to be seating in the first row and have an unimpeded view of the stage and hence I was reasonably pleased with the photo I took last night.

All photos were taken by this blogger.

Take for example, the first singer of the night. Ernie Djohan (above). I am reasonably sure I used to listen to her when the next door neighbour would have their radio loud, belting songs like Teluk Bayur and Kau Selalu dihatiku when I was a pre-schooler in the late 60s in this remote town of Lenggong. That house on top of a small hill in front of the JKR would always remind me of Ernie Djohan.

Or when we were staying at a government bungalow at the edge of Lenggong town in the early 70s, Mak would at times played Teti Kadi's (above) Tarikan Nafas Terakhir, a song which would almost always make me longing for those years again, if it didn't bring me tears to my eyes. Of course her other notable song is Siapa Pernah Jatuh Cinta, a very popular song in 1976 at MRSMKB as two of our batch singers chose this song for the school competition back then (I think Zul Golok and Liza did this song that year).

Endang S Taurina has enough (hit) songs under her belt to be able to conduct solo concerts. She is perhaps the most fantastic singer with her quality high pitch voice, and would give any singer during her time and even now, a run for their money. Honestly, we were 'melayang-melayang' when she was singing her song Apa yang ku cari. The audience was practically feeding out of her hands, singing along whole-heartedly.

I do wish though that she would sing that song on stage instead of amongst the audience at the back before she moved to the front. We missed a good part of the songs as we can't see her at the back.

But to many, including this blogger I think, the surprise of the night was Ria Resty Fauzi. During the days before the proliferation of the internet, it would be difficult for us to know the singers beyond what we could hear from the cassette player.

(Not sure what's a cassette player? Please visit your nearest museum!)

Yes, during those years - the early years of my working life in Taiping, she was reasonably popular with Cintaku sampai ke Ethiopia. A lovely love song, if it is a bit cliche (with lyric including Fujiyama, Himalaya, Kemboja, Ethiopia etc. What were the writer thinking when he/she wrote those words?) especially great for the youngsters and the singles of course, which was what yours truly was then.

But she was one of those faceless singer in a far as I was concerned then (except for whatever pic you can see on the cassette cover). No appearance on Malaysian TV or that she was popular enough to be on local telly.

But like the playful comp-ere said, Ria Resty Fauzy (above) is one hot lady. Hehehe, I would think she is one foxy singer onstage last night, and I would say despite the fact that she probably has the least catalogue of songs compared to other singer, the loudest cheers (from the guys I guess) were reserved to her.

How did I not notice her during those days? Her transformation is nothing but amazing to be honest.

Backstage later, I personally told her that I was waiting for the song Ethiopia ("Mbak Ria, saya nunggu Ethiopia! Kenapa tiada Ethiopia?"), and she apologetically told me that she would do that song in her next concert. Oh, and she made me promise her that I would attend her next concert too, and hey, what would a guy said to such a hot lady?

I meekly told her I would definitely come if she would do another.

I now have a soft spot for her for being so friendly to this blogger, and for making me feel so important. But before that gets over my head, she was friendly to everyone else too!

Actually in the beginning I was quite upset with the organizer since at the entrance I saw the notice that says No Camera, while the website only indicated that no video recording was allowed. But with practically everyone taking pic from their cell phone and mini camera, that gave me enough courage to bring my Nikon D-90 with an 105 mm lense, that my next seat neighbour at the concert was asking if I work for a newspaper.

Yeah, the RahmanHariri newspaper, I told him in jest!

In the end, I was glad I brought the Nikon for the occasion even if I had to carry it while taking the monorail to the concert hall.

Halil Chik and Othman Hamzah (above) looked as though they were still living in the 70s with their youthful look. I told Othman Hamzah, my favourite song of his was Rintihan Hati. He laughed noting that that song memang jiwang habih, or something to that effect. Yalah, in the 70s while living in a boarding school, what can you expect, I told him back.

I also asked Halil Chik if his compilation is coming out anytime soon. He said next month. I told him my fav song was Cinta Berakhir, another lovely melancholic song of the 70s. I love the piano intro of this song/

Mak was there during the concert with my sis Aishah, and I guess in many ways were in awe of Endang, and Ernie Djohan and Teti Kadi. You could see her smiling from ear to ear, and I thought it was such a lovely night for her. (All these pics will be uploaded later)

Oh I forgot Tommy J Pisa (below) with the wonderful song Biarkan Aku Menangis, song from 1985. But when I returned home in 1986, my bro was so much into this song, so I chose to ignore it a bit. May be I was not in that phase at that moment, if you know what I mean (I think I was over that phase by then!) But what a song it was back then, and what a song it is even today.

Please check bottom of this blog for more pics.)

EPILOGUE

I am again being petty here. The concert hall - KL Life Hall (Centre) was not up to the mark to hold such concert. Poor sound system mar the concert, and I think it degraded the such prominent singers on stage.

Honestly, I would give the band, even if it included Hamid BDB, a thumb down.

These three items were my sore points to be honest.

As I have said, I value good sophisticated music, and to be honest, even if these were lacking in the 70s, good quality songs and arrangement then made these songs memorable to my ears.

Oh yes, many singers deserve their own solo concert. Ernie, Endang for sure. Others like Othman Hamzah, and Halil Chik can perhaps share the stage for a duet concert.

The only I would leave the concert hall with a smirk on my face. Smirk on being totally satisfied with what was served on stage.

(BTW, I did leave many things on purpose. Otherwise this entry would be a tad too long. A little bit more stuff in the next entry or so)

A step backward

Honestly, I cringe when I saw the headlines yesterday. And today too.

And how glad I am that Akmal would be finishing school by then, for honestly I think it is a step backward for the country.

A real step backward. No, make that a million steps backward.

I am glad that Akmal is the youngest and he would soon be done with school. And no more after him. But I pity their kids, and your kids, for what they would have to endure in the future and for such a big decision to be decided by those so-called nationalists who could only see from a very narrow and myopic point of view.

Just because of seko nyamuk, habis rumah dibakar. Nila setitik, rosak susu sebelanga.

Can we not just persevere with what-ever decision that we make, and not make a political decision?

Would our children and grandchildren and their children and grandchildren be cursing at our graves 50 years from now? Do we start sending our kids to international school, or to overseas? Can I afford it? Most likely not.

But by then, Malay would be an international language and I guess a good part of the world would be speaking Malay. It would have been a great decision then.

Great decision, my foot!

Khabar Kematian

I received news yesterday that Pak Makmun has passed away at his son's house in Langat.

I first met him at our kampung Haraban near Bukit Tinggi. I believe he was the one who took us around the kampung to meet up with our long lost relatives in my nenek Bulan's kampung in 1999.

Since then he has been living with his son in Ulu Langat. I last met him say 3 months ago when Sichan came avisiting from kampung and I went looking for him. Of course when they started talking in Minang, I would be lost. Have no clue what they were conversing about and had to resort to smiling and nodding my head!

Alfatihah. Moga Allah mencucuri rahmat keatasnya. His jenazah will be burried at noon today.

He was 97!

Misc 2007 Part II (from 360.yahoo.com)

Four books and no time

I am exasperated - as always, I think.

We are left with only about 14 more days in 2007 and while I am not a believer in new year's resolution and the likes, I can't help but feel that I am simply running out of time. Two weeks will fly by my very eyes, and by the time I realized it, they are all gone.

I am of course referring to my work load.

Dont get me wrong; I am not complaining that I have too much of them. After all these years of working as an independent consultant, having too much work is a nice problem to have. Anytime.

You see, three month ago I bought a book that caught my interest mainly because of my entry of unsolved equations (So you want to do a PhD?). The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved - How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry, by Mario Livio caught my eyes. I became interested in this hearing the story of two prodigies who work independently on ultimately proving that quintic equation (to the 5th power) cannot be solved by simple formula.

However, both died tragically young. One of them, a romantic Frenchman named Evariste Galois (1811-1832) was known to have written his treatise the night before a duel where he was destined to be killed - he was provoked to the duel (for wanting to help out a woman). In one version, it was reported that Galois had even written the circumstance surrounding him while writing his thesis. "I can see the sun breaking through; I know I only have a couple more hours to finish of this paper."

He had been writing his thesis all night, the night before his deadly duel!

Sad and tragic story. But I have not completed the book. The version above is the one I got from my partner Peter. I need complete break from everything to complete the book.

Then a former English teacher of this writer, knowing this former student of hers likes to write, send him a book entitled "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" by Lynne Truss. This is a book on punctuation, lamenting how the punctuation is now a lost art. Unlike the previous book, this is written light-heartedly and with humour. The title of the book was taken from a joke on a bad punctuation.

A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and proceeds to fire it at the other patrons.

“Why?” asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder. 

“Well, I’m a panda,” he says at the door. “Look it up.” 

The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation. “Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

I quickly sms-ed this former English teacher of mine. "Cikgu Nik, I hope your gift is not a reflection of my writing." It was more in hope than anything else. I know I am guilty as charged. She must have dreaded about my punctuation and my grammar whenever she reads my blog - if she ever did.

Of course she would not say so, being the nice Form 1 teacher that she was in 1976. "No, I know you love writing. I thought you would like it," she insisted. The book was a best seller in the US in 2004.

Again, I am guilty. I have not completed the book. I need to. I would like to call myself a writer and I owe it to myself to be reading it.

But I need spare time and I simply do not have it. I need 40 hours in a day and 400 days in a year. Is there anyone doing research on this thing who can make this dream comes true? Help!

My predicament grew when Dr Satyro, our thermo guru, asked me to bring him to Kinokuniya. He recommended a book I had thought of buying many moons ago, but didn't get around to buying it. So I bought it upon his recommendation.

Since then, I have gotten around reading the story on chemistry. Enlightening to say the least. Whether I would get around to finishing it is another matter. Arif is also reading it and he loves it.

To make things worse, prior to leaving Kino, Dr Satyro handed me a book by Stephen King. No, not all those horor novel so typical of Stephen King, but one is more of his thought on writing. Apparently Dr Satyro loves to write fiction and the book on writing by Stephen King comes highly recommended. A must read for any budding writer. I am not much into fiction; I know my limit. But in the future, who knows.

There you go. The four books I need to complete when I have the time. Don't get me wrong; there is no way I would complete all four of them within the next 12 days. These four books come highly recommended and I thought I would like to share the pleasure and burden of reading them.

Looking at my schedule, I have no doubt you would complete them all before I do.

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Monday December 17, 2007 - 09:36pm (SGT) Edit | Delete | Permanent Link | 0 Comments

Let's have a Mecca Mean Time

 

Things have been getting a bit hectic here in remote Toronto.

Toronto - the KL slang for Tronoh - is located in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in the middle of Perak. For some reasons, someone decided to locate a branch campus of Universiti Sains Malaysia here in the early 90s, and later on Petronas took over this campus and made it their own. I have been stuck here getting my daily doses of the modern rendition of the Van der Waals equation of state.

Never mind; it is not my intention to be talking about classical thermodynamics. It is enough that I have to work with it; I don't want to be writing about it.

While waiting to drive to Tronoh yesterday, someone told us that the Eid-ul Adha had been changed to the 19th. I thought the Royal Keeper of the Seal had announced that the Eid will be held on the 20th; so I was a bit surprised and confused. Apparently the confusion arises due to the fact that the Saudis announced later that the Haj will be celebrated on the 19th in Mecca.

Can we not as a community decide properly a universal date for our religious festivals and activities?

Of course with Malaysia sitting on 101 East (+8 GMT) and Mecca in the +3 GMT means that Malaysia is 5 hours ahead of the holy city of the Moslem world. In other words, Malaysia would see the new day five hours ahead and based on this should be celebrating the Haj earlier than our moslem brethren in Mecca.

However this is not the case and it looks a bit odd that a country further east which should be seeing the dalylight earlier would be celebrating a new holy day a day later.

This is one of the many occasions we moslems had to endure oddity in our religious lives and we have no one to blame but ourselves. As the United Kingdom grew into an advanced maritime nation, British mariners kept at least one timepiece on GMT in order to calculate their longitude from the Greenwich meridian, which was by convention considered to have longitude zero degrees [Wikipedia]. The centre of the universe is now in London. If we moslems had the foresight to have MMT (Mecca Mean Time) instead, then Mecca would have become the centre of the universe and that all of our religious activities throughout the world would be dictated towards Mecca.

In this case, I am advocating that the MMT be the 180 degree longitude (unlike the GMT), and as far as the moslem world is concerned, Mecca would see the first dawn of daylight daily, all year round.

There would be no way that any other location would be celebrating the Eid earlier than the two holy cities of the moslem world. We would not be celebrating Eid on two different days in any part of the world; and would stop us from becoming the laughing stock of the world. As if we could not figure out how to determine the date of the holy days.

Eventhough the world revolves around GMT/UTC, I don't think there is anything wrong for us Moslems to have our own invinsible time convention of MMT. By moving the location of the longitude 180 degree to Mecca (and let's redefine it as the 0 degree longitude), we could revolve our religious activities based on this new time standard.

From what I know, the locations of the international dateline and the so-called GMT are arbitrary. While it has became the norm and accepted as the standard (and should not be changed), I see no reasons for us not to adopt MMT, just like we have a second (lunar) calendar for all our religious holy days. It is just an imaginary line.

In other words, since the time standards are arbitrary at best, we should have no qualm celebrating anything after the dust has settled in the capital of the moslem world, irrespective what international time and date said.

The MMT is to the moslems what GMT is to the universal date and time.

What say you?

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Thursday December 13, 2007 - 10:44pm (SGT) Edit | Delete | Permanent Link | 2 Comments

Airport Polonia - What is a Polish airport doing in the midst of the Malay Archipelago?

 

So Airport Polonia is in the news again!

I have not heard that name for a long, long time. Airport Polonia is a name from 80s made famous - to many of us - by Kumpulan Harmoni. Kumpulan Harmoni, on the other hand, is a group of four, led by Zubir Ali, who made poetic songs as their calling.

Of course I was away at uni in Melbourne, so during the year my diet was more on English pop music; I had no idea that poetic songs were making in big in Malaysia then, with Harmoni pioneering the way, until I returned home during the summer hols.

Then the song "Penantian" was the song of the year that year (sorry, can't recall the exact year). Even though Zubir Ali was no Mawi - he's better actually and he can sing eventhough he's no M.Nasir, but his strength (and hence Harmoni's) was his music with poetic lyrics. (To be honest, anything ballad would make it big then - poetic or thrash lyrics. Not quite, but close to.)

One of the song in the Penantian album, was a poem written by Zubli Zainordin about Airport Polonia. Azie's voice was so soft, so romantic. She sounds great.

I remember the conversation about this song very well at our house in Bukit Kerajaan.

Sister:"So where do you think is Airport Polonia located?"

Me: "This is a Pop Kuiz question. Give me a question with more substance."

Sister: "OK, so where on earth is Airport Polonia?"

Me: "Ah well, there goes my plan to save the world. OK, it has to be in Poland."

Sister: "And you told me you are so good in Geography that your teacher gave you RM1. You are wrong, it is in Medan Indonesia."

So I have always wondered then, how the 'heaven' did they derive the name Polonia for an airport located in the Northern part of Sumatra. It sounds Polish to me, but then again may be not. "Must be some Batak name," I thought. I had passed through this airport many times during my days at Hyprotech, on my way to the gas fields of Aceh, and I had never bat an eyelid about the name while I was there. But while the airport was a bit crowded and perhaps rundown, I never had problem there with the authorities unlike Palembang.

Until the news 2 days ago about the fire at Airport Polonia which destroyed a good part of the Bandara. That basically triggered my interest in that name again after all these years. Searching the web in general, Wikipedia in particular, I found that the name Polonia is indeed Polish. The area where the airport was built was owned by these Polish entrepreneurs who developed the area for tobacco farming.

Don't ask me how these two Polish entrepreneurs got to own a good piece of real estate in the third biggest town in Indonesia.

I thought I should celebrate the beautiful music of Harmoni while I hope that the Indonesian government would repair and upgrade the airport quickly and swiftly. The song Airport Polonia was about a group of Malaysian poets meeting their Indonesian counterparts in Medan, I guess, for a discussion on poems and literature.

Click here to listen

Airport Polonia - Zubli Zainordin

Aku tiba jua oh Polonia

Didakap jambangan senyum

Jari-jari lembut menyambutku

Sebagai pengembara yang rindu

Terasa senang dihati

Rindu terubat sudah

Bila ketemu di Polonia

Penuh memori

Salam puisi aku ucapkan

Pada kalian saudaraku

Ketanah air ku kan kembali

Membawa kenangan abadi

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Tuesday December 4, 2007 - 10:22pm (SGT) Edit | Delete | Permanent Link | 0 Comments

The Hariris - A response to the comments

I could have answered you in the comment sections, but I guess it will all be embedded there without any attention. So I decided to recycle them here.

Blog Entry: Kenang-kenangan Hidup

Yup, first line on friday was his aims. My outing with him always about going to the fresh market - no wonder I have sharp eye for fresh ingredients for my cooking, and nowadays all my kids always love to follow me to the market as well.

Bapak enjoyed shopping for food as much as he enjoyed eating them. I don't recall anymore if he went to the wetmarket on a daily basis or not. It seems like it looking back. And food is not one thing he would scrouge on. No wonder his kids can all play rugby. 

(KK- Bkt Residence) 
Shopping with My Bapak 
Bapak and Mak informing us, that they are going to take all for shopping, visiting a watch shop in lembah sayong. My first watch was QQ brand, cost 30ringgit (I think) that time, my choice was the most expensive among all, and since I really wanted it so much, he bought it anyway (I am quite sure there are some discussion of my "expensive taste" back then). The brand is still around (found out it was a cheaper version of citizen brand), and it always reminds me of him. Thank you bapak.

Hahaha, I bought myself a QQ watch costing me RM45 in 2000, and I still have them today, though Arif is the one using that now. I guess by the time we were in KK, I am practically out of the house, so I don't remember much of your discussion. Of course by then he had given me a Citizen as a present for SRP, and I used them till the late 80s; until I decided to test out the 'water-proof' feature of it and took at dip at Teluk Bidara, near Dungun with the watch on my wrist. Sad to say, that was the end of the watch!

Blog Entry: "How do you want me to answer it in my grave?"

There is another story, in KK - how bapak feel so annoyed after knowing one of his colleague, - going opposite the principle - but then, life not easier anyway for the person despite taken few piece of land for himself. (maybe you could verified with Mak)

Blog Entry: Mother’s Day Special - Have you ever really loved a woman?

on my education journey 
She told me how frustrated she is once she saw my SPM results "lemah lutut mak, bila tengok result rashi" over the phone as I were working in KL then. She put high hopes on me to score, but I guess I was just lazy then, despite quite "intelligent" (obviouslly cannot beat you, abg. man :) By the way, that has touched me so much...I guess, I hope she is happy now on my qualifications.... "just ONE more Mak in 2009, Insya'allah"

Again, all these escape me. Must be while I was away. I think in life one must progressively improve ourselves and that will determine whether we are successful or not. I have seen far often excellent students at school level, but did poorly at uni. Great students at uni, but did poorly in career.

Again, attitude is important. EQ vs IQ is another. In essence, how we carry ourselves is crucial. Good luck with your PhD.

Blog Entry: Mother’s Day Special - Have you ever really loved a woman?

on the difficult times, we used to sell nasi lemak, until she is down with "demam" as additional burden to her just to get additional income. Visiting the "pajak gadai" was a routine then. And some years ago, her economy was improved, most of us are working, she proudly announced that she manage to get all the jewellery back and vowed not visit the "shop" anymore, until now. 
(Most of the time, I knew, I will never be able to compensate her at any amount)Thank you Mak

Yeah, I remember that conversation reasonably well. How bapak and mak wanted to start some food business for that extra income. At one time, mum had cook all those puffy curry puff for sale. It didn't last long. May be they didn't have good business acumen or may be us kids typically would finish off the food before they could be sold!

But I didn't know that she stopped because of her health. In any case, I am glad we had tide over those lean years a long time ago though it was difficult of times then.

As for the pawn shop, those were life in Lenggong and Taiping I guess. It was not easy feeding 13 hungry and growing children. Both of them were prudent with their money, unlike many of us nowadays.

Blog Entry: Kenang-kenangan Hidup

Rashi and Abang Man, 

Talking about pi masjid, do u still remember...we all went to masjid in Kg. Sayong naik bot accross Sg. Perak? One time, Rashi's slipper jatuh dalam air dan terus hanyut kat sungai tu. Haha! :D As we both argue whether we should tell u or not as u were quite far from us kat hujung jeti....(mesti kena marah nyer) haha! :D Anyway, by the time we mentioned to u...the selipar dah berenang jauh dah. And you really shown us a true abang comppasion....u loaned Rashi's...your own selipar and u walked back umah kat bukit kerajaan tu "kaki ayam"! Dari Jeti Kg. Sayong tu...Jeti Kuala...naik bukit..lalu kat girls school's tu...balik umah...Sakit pun...u act macho jer... 
Actually, Arwah Bapak pun selalu pi sana...then I cant really remember why Arwah not with us...mungkin dia kerja kat tempat lain masa tu. Yes...I did ask Arwah Bapak..."Bapak, kenapa bapak suka pi masjid kat sungai ni?" And Bapak said " Tak ramai orang kat mesjid ni". 
To My Little Sister, Arwah was very, very compassionate man when Arwah dengan anak-anak dia. He seldoms laugh but He always smiled when he sees funny in us. Bukit Kerajaan home is really best place to grow masa tu. Kalau dia dokong Zali, he used to sing syair taubat tu...that I am replcate to my owns now. Lagu taubat tu dah jadi nyanyian Raihan dah sekarang. I am sure all of us knew that song by heart dah.... 
Try yourself.

Yes, of course I remember going to the mosque on the other side of Perak River, and yes I remember Rashi losing his slipper, but not how he lost it. It doesn't matter then I guess. I mean I am not going to jump to Sg Perak to retrieve it (i.e. I was not that macho), so I guess the next best thing to do is give him my slipper. The skins of my soles must be thicker than yours by then, so I should be able to withstand the hot tarred road at mid-day. Or at least I pretended that I could withstand it.

I don't remember him there; I remember him mainly at Ubudiah though.

If you are referring to "Illa ilas tulil firdausi ahwa.." nasyid, he learned it from an Indonesian ustaz who came to Lenggong to teach in the early 70s. Him being him; always the compassionate person, even provided shelter for the ustaz at our home at the edge of Lenggong town, next to Jame' Mosque Lenggong. I guess it was the Indonesian ustaz - he was a bit 'tempang', who taught him that 'song'. We all love it then - bapak had a good voice, though our version was much slower than Raihan's and of course more melodious.

But I can't try that myself - Akmal is just way too big now for me to carry him!