Muhibbah

My friend from Talk Only (Cakapaje) blog tagged me to give my views on `muhibbah'. Muhibbah is derived from an Arabic word habibba meaning 'love' In English, it means 'goodwill'. In the Malaysian concept muhibbah means respect and tolerance of each other's customs, tradition, way of life,religion and opinions. Sharing each other's joy and sorrow. Standing by each other during hard times and enjoying the good times together. This is what the new generation are being taught. My generation has been practicing this muhibbah thing long before the government forced it down on you young people. We called it friendship and sincereness. Now its just a government buzz-word, to make Malaysia look good in TV promos and tourism pamphlets. Watch any show on RTM or some other local TV station, there will be a 'token' Chinese or Indian actor or actress to make us believe that muhibbah is being practised. The goodwill of muhibbah is disappearing. Where is the goodwill when you bombard water cannons on innocent people trying to express their dissatisfaction and unhappiness in a peaceful manner. Where is the goodwill when you disrespect other religions. Where is the goodwill when you fail to keep your promises. Yes, go and fool those foreigners that we practice muhibbah in front of their million ringgit mugs, and then go home and curse them, for forcing you to pretend. Its all about being sincere and honest with each other.That's what muhibbah is about.

The world will keep on turning.......

Most of the blogs I have visited in the Malaysian blogosphere , especially the biggies MK & MT, are so very critical about Malaysia's incorrigible politicians and government. But all that bashing and bitching has'nt made any impact or effect on those elephant skinned political and government chaps. I doubt that they ever read any of the SoPo (Social-Political) blogs, maybe they have read some of the super-blogs (e.g MT,MK). (MK is not a blog, its an online alternative news web.) So, since this blog won't be seen by the 'leaders' of Malaysia, I can bitch and rant for all I care, and the world will keep on turning, and Pak Lah will still be sleeping, and Najib and Khairy will still be scheming, and Lim Kit Siang will still be provoking, and Anwar will still be avenging, and Umno will still be upholding 'ketuanan Melayu', and Samy Vellu will be blaming every Malaysian Indian but himself, and VK Lingam and his judge buddies will keep on bluffing, and Mahathir will be laughing and on and on and on ....... (fill in as you please) Then..... one day soon, Pak Lah will wake up and rub his eyes and say, ' I have an inspiration. Lets call for elections.'

Farcical RCI

Only in Malaysia, five 'smart' people had to confirm that a certain video clip of that 'correct, correct' lawyer was the real thing. Wonder why my favorite prof is still hanging around with them. To brush up their history knowledge, I suppose. One prominent historical figure, conveniently forgot his own history. One ex-CJ claims to be the target of a stalking lawyer in Kiwiland. One minister (who was mentioned 11 times in the video clip) denied any connections with that lawyer. Said that guy must be loony or sloshed. This minister just 'cleared' a couple of his ministry's staff , suspected of some hanky-panky in South Korea. The way things are going, the cameraman and his dad, could be charged with something and all the rest of the cast can go home and sleep peacefully. By the way, what was the cameraman's dad doing there in the first place. ?

Chua Soi Lek did right

Dr Chua Soi Lek did right by quitting his ministerial and other party posts. His political 'assassin' succeeded in 'killing' his political future. At least, he had the balls to admit his 'mistake' and apologise to those who matter. I won't judge him for his private intimacies. Only the 'holier than thou' types would do that. Hard luck, he was caught unawares by spy-cams. There goes his dirty little secret. We know that there had been several sex scandals involving the powerful and connected . Those bloody cowards would never dare to admit their deeds and are roaming free like good boys. Some are still in the 'corridors of power.' I hope he will 'disappear' somewhere far away for a long long rest, make peace with his family and deal with his 'demons'. Best of luck to you, Dr Chua.

Hajjah Jamilah is back.

Been too happily occupied this weekend to post my blog. On Friday, the person that we (the family and me) missed so very very much returned from her pilgrimage. Shahman,Lina,Shafiq (my youngest son) were at the Bayan Lepas airport to recieve her. At about 1.00 pm, we saw her pushing her baggage trolly out of the gate. We hugged and kissed each other and shed tears of joy. She was overjoyed that her little boy Shafiq was there to meet her. Shafiq just smiled and smiled and hugged his mum. He just overflowed with his affection, snuggling his head in her body and showing every one that she is his mum. Fahmie and Fadzlil stayed home to wait for their mum. Firdaus,Zu and Hasif would come by later in the evening. My sister in-law and brother in-law (biras) returned together with my wife. Their children came to fetch them. I greeted my biras with a hug and kissed his cheeks, just like brothers. I just gave a respectful salam to my sis in-law. I think she would be shocked, mortified if I hugged and kissed her. You see, my wife's family are the conservative 'kampongist' type. My wife seems to have lost some weight, she looks smaller a bit. And she was coughing a lot. People say that most Malaysians who come back from the pilgrimage usually get colds and coughs. The atmosphere and humidity in the Arab Peninsular is dryer and extremely hot by day and extremely colder by night. From news reports and first hand experience of our new Hajjah Jamilah, shukur alhamdulillah no major catastrophe as happened in previous years happened. The Saudi govt had done a good job with the security arrangements. Since our beloved hajjah is still suffering from 'jet-lag', looks like domestic duties cannot be handed over yet, until further notice. To everyone out there Happy New Year 2008. 2008, I'm ready for you. Bring it on.

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.