Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas to all my Christian friends. I don't think its wrong to call God - Allah in Bahasa Malaysia. Arab Christians call God - Allah too. Methinks the deputy minister has been badly advised by his incompletely educated advisers. If that becomes law, I feel sad for this country. Meanwhile, enjoy your selves.

We Survived Aidil Adha

Selamat menyambut Hari Raya Aidil Adha everyone. You know, we survived Aidil Adha, without the presence of our Queen of the house. A few days before Aidil Adha, we (the kids and I) discussed on how we are going to celeberate the Raya. Some decisions were to be made. 1. Wake up early (this task was not accomplished very well by certain members). 2. Spring cleaning. ( Fahmie and Shahman handled this). 3. Ironing our baju Melayu. (Lina's task) 4. Raya cookies. ( No volunteers, so we bought keropok and kacang to serve visitors). 5. Traditional Raya breakfast of nasi himpit and kuah kacang. This is a must have delicacy for any Raya in our family. ( No problem , bought the pre-packed nasi himpit and kuah kacang. But sad to say, the pre-packed peanut sauce is way below the deliciousness of our beloved Milah's cooking.) Yes, two of our neighbors sent us some ketupat and rendang. 6. Lunch. ( We planned to have beef curry, had already bought beef, potatoes, etc. Thanks to the pre-packed food industry, our beef curry turned out okay. Our neighbor sent some chicken masak merah, so we had two dishes for lunch. The curry lasted until dinner. But there was something we couldn't have - tomato rice. Nobody dared to experiment. so we settled for ordinary plain white rice. We didn't go visiting anybody, and nobody came a-visiting. Raya Haji is very laidback in this state. What's important is that we are together and are happy like that. And we miss you Milah lots and lots. Salam Aidil Adha to all my family and friends and blog visitors.

Che' Lah and his Big Ears

Our 'democratic' country has been making news internationally of late (but in a negative way). For the last few weeks or so, Malaysian viewers have seen our heroic boys in blue showing their force and power on those 'stubborn' uncles,aunties,brothers and sisters in yellow and a certain group (disowned by MIC). The government told us that those Malaysians (who were strolling and gathering where they were not allowed to) are dangerous and are 'threats' to national security. Wonder why people would defy the government. Maybe they are not happy with the way things are being handled (like elections, judge's appointment, money wasting) by the BN Govt. And I wonder why the Govt is so afraid to let the rakyat demonstrate their dissatisfaction and worries. Our PM Che'Lah (only nice guys should be called Pak Lah, like a kindly uncle,like me) once said he's got Big Ears, he's listening, but when the rakyat wants to make a point, he orders his boys in blue to water-cannon and lob teargas at them. Che'Lah, somethings aren't right in your administration. Just listen closely to us the rakyat. Don't hear just what you want to hear. Let the rakyat speak.

Single Dad ?

I've been a single parent for two weeks already. My beloved wife Milah and beloved mum to our brood, is in the Holy City of Makkah. She is accompanied by her sister and brother in law. Why am I not with her ? We could not leave our children (especially two of them) on their own. We have six kids. The eldest is Firdaus. He is married, and both he and his wife work and live in Alor Star,Kedah. They have a three year old son (our only grandson). Our second son is Fahmie. He works and lives in Penang island with his work mates. The third son is Fadzlil. Used to be a very energetic and enterprising youth, but now, because of an unfortunate accident, lies paralysed and confined to his couch or wheel chair. Fourth son is Shahman, finishing his final year at a college in KL. Fifth, and only daughter is Lina, she's in Form Four The youngest is Shafiq , born with Downs Syndrome and totally dependent. He goes to a Day Center for Special Children, not far from home. Its not so hard to handle the domestic chores, after all I used to help my wife...sometimes. Shafiq is quite easy to handle, you just have to understand him. Fadzlil is the one that I really need help with. Even though he can't move his arms and legs (he's quadraplegic) his mind is active and he can grumble and complain and talk like you and me. And he has a good appetite, he eats anything that he likes. Even at night, he would ask for a burger, hotdog or char koeytiau. His body is not like those typical paralysed patients, all shrivelled and loose flesh. His is well fed and muscle toned. The cruncher is when you have to lift him from his bed to the wheelchair. From the wheelchair to his couch in front of the tv set. Carry him again at bath time. After changing him, carry him back to his couch until bed time, which is after the last tv show he watches. I could never lift him by myself, Milah would help me. My two eldest sons, aware of this problem, decided to take leave from work, one at a time. Firdaus took two weeks off, Fahmie will take leave after that until Shahman returns home for his break. And my sons, I'm proud to say are capable cooks as well. So, my dear wife should not worry about us, concentrate on her Haj. Thank you Allah for blessing me with such a loving wife and wonderful children.

Hari Raya and Duit Raya.

After a month of fasting during Ramadhan, today on the first day of the month of Shawal, Malaysians celebrate the Eid Mubarak or Hari Raya Aidilfitri, as it is called in this region. I attended the Hari Raya Aidilfitri prayers at our nearest mosque in Tasek Gelugor with my sons. Typically as on every Hari Raya (Aidilfitri, Aidiladha) the congregation was spilling out into the corridors. Mostly because many city folks have returned home (balik kampung) for their family reunions. In a rural town like this, as in the kampungs, its the kids who enjoy the Hari Raya the most. A typical kampung kid's Hari Raya day goes like this. A morning bath, dress up in their newest clothes, baju Melayu or baju kurung, pay their respects to their parents, grandparents and other elders, collect 'duit raya' (raya money) and then join the rest of their gang for their Hari Raya expedition. First stop, the mosque ,for the Hari Raya prayers. After prayers, loiter a bit until one of the pakciks (uncles) tell them to line up for 'duit raya'. Some bolder kids cycle or walk to the 'open house' of local MP Shariff Omar (Deputy Agriculture minister). At least RM 2 'duit raya' is assured there. And lots of good stuff to eat too (especially the fried chicken and satay). And after that they start doing their house to house rounds. They come in groups of at least two. They see your door is opened. They greet you " assalamu 'alaikum". You reply " 'alaikum salam" and invite them in. You ask them if they want to eat or drink. The daring ones will turn down the refreshments offer and tell you that they just want 'duit raya'. Sometimes it melts my heart to see these little kids, some dragging their tiny tot brother or sister tramping from house to house to accumulate their duit raya. Some came from kampungs as far as 2km away. There's only three housing estates in this rural town, ours is the second oldest. These tamans seems to be the main target of those kids. There is this rural mentality that those who live in brick houses are wealthy. I think, the kampung people with acres of land are much more richer than us. To kids everywhere, in the kampung or taman, Hari Raya is only about how much duit raya they can collect. If they come calling on your house, don't turn them away.Give them their duit raya. After all, this is Aidil Fitri , a time for charity, love for fellow mankind. Selamat Hari Raya.

Our Angkasawan

A Malaysian , Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor was launched into space Wednesday evening (9.22pm Malaysian time) from the Baikonor Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Together with NASA's commander Peggy Whitsun and Russian Yuri Malechencko. The spacecraft is due to dock with the International Space Station, somewhere in space, on Friday. Our spaceman will be in the ISS for 8 days. His mission is to conduct studies on space effects on cells, microbes and other germy-wermy stuffs. I suspect,previous space explorers might have already done that. The US astronaut Whitsun and Russian cosmonaut Malechencko will take over duties at the station for six months. The station's current commander Russian Fyodor Yuchikhin and Russian Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov will return to Earth with Dr Muszaphar . Now, many Malaysians question why did WE send our man to space for ? It cost us RM90 billion for the project. And the mission handed to him ... so pathetic. Just like a lab assistant. Actually, our angkasawan was just listed as a flight participant (read passenger). The government insisted that he be reclassified as an astronaut/cosmonaut. The government should have realised earlier that we don't have what it takes to be in the space hero category. Don't you remember what our government chaps were fantasising about what our Malaysian spaceman was going to do in space ? Pulling 'teh tarik', tossing 'roti canai' and spinning 'gasing' in zero gravity. Which space agency is going to take us seriously ? Well our angkasawan Dr Muszaphar is out there in space now. I wish him all the best and selamat berpuasa and Selamat Hari Raya. He will be regaled as a Malaysian, Muslim, Malay hero when he gets home. And that's what its all about, really.

September stories

September, I don't have a post for September. Some notable incidents happened in September. After a frentic -three weeks search for their missing eight year old daughter. The search ended with the discovery of her abused body in a sports bag, dumped outside a shop in Shah Alam. Just like other caring Malaysians, I wept with the parents and was bitterly outraged at the bestial crime. And I was utterly annoyed and disgusted with Shahrizat, IGP Musa and Nazri for suggesting that the parents should be booked for negligence. Haven't they suffered enough ? IGP Musa's men should be more alert and more dedicated in keeping our streets safe from such 'sickoes'. They are more into serving the ruling party bosses, intimidating peaceful gatherings shooting live bullets at unarmed people. That was in Batu Buruk,Terengganu. Towards the end of the month, Anwar Ibrahim released a video-tape, where lawyer Lingam was filmed speaking on the phone to present LCJ in 2002 [at that time he was CJ of Malaya]. The conversation was about how he (Lingam) can help fix up the judicial appointments, because of his (Lingam's) close connections with the then PM (Dr M) and the cabinet and high profiled business persons. He looked so cocky and arrogant. The government quickly assembled an independent panel to investigate the authencity of the video-tape, not about what the hell is going on between this Lingam fellow and the judges. The Bar Council and other parties wanted an independent royal commission to probe this affair. Two members of the panel seemed very biased to the government. In September too, my second son Fahmie turned 26 and my grandson Hasif celebrated his third birthday.

I Love Malaysia

Malaysia is 50 years old today. Celebrations across the nation began late last night. At the stroke of midnight the present PM , emulating the late great first PM Tunku Abdul Rahman, shouted out `Merdeka !' seven times. Pak Lah's 'Merdeka ' sounded a little feeble, when compared with the late Tunku. This ritual was carried out in every state by the state MBs and CMs. This morning, there were the parades of proud Malaysians, putting their best feet forward. And just concluded was the day's finale the Persembahan Raksasa (Mammoth presentation ?) at the historic Stadium Merdeka, showcasing the eras of the past 4 PMs and the present PM, in dances and patriotic songs. All the state rulers and the Agung attended the show. Just for today, everyone felt that they belonged to this country. But, what about tomorrow, when Arrogance, Avarice and Inefficiency creeps up again to our elected officials, civil servants, and political upstarts. Then the victimised would wish they were not Malaysians. I really love my country and its people, but I dislike people who just love to make our lives miserable, I don't like people who don't care about the poor, the weak and the disabled. Go on and create your wealth, but not at the expense of the defenceless. Go after the crooks and don't cover up your crooked pals. This country has potential to be a great country. Lets not lose our respect and credibility in the eyes of the world. You (the people ? the PM ?) hold the cards.Play it right. Happy Birthday Malaysia.