Australian Open 2008

Assalamualaikum...

Yesterday, Australian Open 2008 closed its stages, with 2 new champion emerges after 2 weeks of excellent games to beat more fancied seeded player to win the much-coveted grand slam title.
As a tennis fan, i watched with fascination how Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova beat one player after another to eventually win the trophy with USD1.2 million paycheck as the grand prize winner!
As you may already know, Australian Open is the first of 4 Grand Slam series for tennis which being held every year since more than 100 years ago (see Wikipedia). In fact, Australian Open which started in 1904 is the youngest Grand Slam series with Wimbledon being the oldest (1877) which also makes it the most prestigious of all Grand Slam.

I'm not going to bore you with all the facts about tennis and its evolution over the years until it became one of the major sports in the world now. You can find it in the Wikipedia, if you want. It is very fascinating, really...!
What i really want to talk here is what happened in these two weeks, within the heat and hype of the Australian Open. One glance, it's nothing actually, but on the second, fourth thought, i just realized how significant it was (or insignificant, depends on how you think about it).
It's about Badminton, or to be more precise, Malaysian Open and Korean Open which being held back to back, ironically, on week 1 and 2 of Australian Open.
The thing is, i just know Malaysian Open was being held at the time when one of my neighbor innocently asked me about it! Although when i think back about it, maybe i really know about Malaysian Open when there was a little coverage in the news about out top pairs crashed out of the tournament on the second round (which is not unusual at all, right?)
Really... Am i that ignorant? Although i loved tennis very much, it's not like i don't love badminton at all. Okay, maybe i'm a bit ignorant. But the real issue here is the lack of grandeur in badminton, the way tennis and other top sports in this world have. So little coverage, publicity and hype surrounding the tournament, which is very important in marketing the sport to reach out to new fan and peers.
And mind you, i still don't mention about the vast difference between the top prize of those two sports. If Novak Djokovic went home with a big fat paycheck of USD 1.2m in his pocket, Lee Chong Wei can only brought home about - please correct me if i'm wrong - USD 16k worth of grand prize winner. What a difference!
Okay, I don't know why i need to write about this. Maybe, just feeling sad about Malaysian sport in general or maybe i just want to show that we Malaysian, are always way behind the other nations in term of everything; sport, economy, oh everything, just name it...!
Or... maybe I guess i just hope we can think and do something about it. Really!!!
Bonne Chance!

AKU dan CIK NAH

By Mulah

Assalamualaikum dan Alhamdulillah, aku dapat menulis dalam tazkirah elektronik ini dan pada Hari Asyura ini, aku dapat berjumpa dengan Cik Nah, adik bongsu Ayahku yang telah lama tidak berjumpa. Cik Nah telah pergi bekerja di Kuwait pada tahun 2006 dan hampir 2 tahun tidak berjumpa dengan Cik Nah. Cik Nah datang ke Subang Jaya dengan Ayah Pa dan Cik Jah dan Alhamdulillah, aku, Kak Lin dan Emak ada di rumah ketika itu.

Yang menariknya adalah apabila Cik Nah bercerita tentang pengalamannya bekerja sebagai pereka fesyen di Kuwait. Cik Nah menceritakan bahawa 300 ‘Kuwait Dollar’atau KD adalah bersamaan dengan RM 1,200 dan itulah duit raya yang diterima oleh anak-anak kawan Cik Nah baru-baru ini. Cik Nah pun sempat melancong ke Bahrain dan Dubai sepanjang tempoh bekerjanya di Kuwait. Ada satu perkara lagi yang menarik iaitu tentang kereta. Kereta di sana rata-ratanya adalah Ferrari dan Cadillac dan Cik Nah baru terserempak dengan kereta Lumbhogerni (maaf kalau ejaan tidak betul).

Hhm.......... tak mainlah kereta Proton Saga, Toyota Camry dan Hyundai kat sana. Hahahahahahahahaha. Tentang minyak pula, Cik Nah mengatakan bahawa orang tempatan di sana mempercayai bahawa minyak akan berterusan sehingga 20,000 tahun lagi. Cik Jah tidak percaya dengan anggapan orang tempatan tersebut dan aku bersikap mendiamkan diri sahaja. Setahu aku, memang ada pendapat yang mengatakan bahawa minyak ini adalah ‘living organism’ dan ada yang berpendapat ia adalah ‘non-renewable resource’. Menurut al-Jazeera, Presiden Sarkozy, iaitu Presiden Perancis sekarang, mengatakan bahawa sumber minyak akan habis dalam jangka masa 20 hingga 40 tahun lagi dan sumber gas asli akan habis dalam jangka masa 100 tahun lagi. Jadi, aku tidak tahu nak pilih pendapat mana yang lebih ‘sahih’ dan terpulang kepada pembaca untuk membuat keputusan.

Malangnya, Cik Nah memberitahu kami yang Kuwait amat bergantung rapat kepada tentera Amerika Syarikat. Kapal-kapal tentera Amerika Syarikat kelihatan teratur di persisiran pantai Kuwait. Dengan kehadiran tentera Amerika Syarikat di sana, segelintir rakyat Kuwait, menurut Cik Nah, bersikap bodoh sombong. Raja Kuwait yang terdahulu mempunyai isteri yang tidak terhingga dan anak yang tidak terhingga ramainya. Rakyat Kuwait berkabung selama 4 hari berikutan kemangkatan Raja Kuwait. Cik Nah ada juga menceritakan tentang kaum lelaki dan perempuan Arab di sana, dan tidak ketinggalan juadah makanan di Kuwait. Itu semua, insyaALLAH, akan aku tulis pada sesi tazkirah akan datang.....Jumpa lagi.........

Joyeux Anniversaire, Mon Frere.

Assalamualaikum.

Today’s posting is specially for my brother; who, besides my family, is one of the most important person in my life. Without doubt! And I for one, can never be grateful enough to Allah for this lifetime gift to me, that more often than not, makes me feel blessed and lucky, all at the same time.

Alhamdulllah…

"A person is only complete when he has a true friend to understand him, to share all his passions and sorrows with, and to stand by his throughout his life."

The word of wisdom above is what echoed through my head right now as I search for exact words to describe my brother in this entry. Of course, if I have my way, I would’ve changed the word friend above to something more significant to me, frere or brother. Hmm, maybe I will next time, but for today, I guess that will do… for I have more important things to say here.

My brother, as far as I can recalled when I first met him back in 1996 is one of the nicest guy in our school, very well-liked and well-respected. Just name it; ‘budak surau’ or ‘budak lagha’ (like me, hehe), we can’t help but nodding our head in agreement to whatever he said. Even sometimes, when we’re in the middle of big laugh and joking around, everything will be quiet when he arrived or just passing by there… and of course, with a guilty smile on our face…!

Such is the effect of my brother to other people. And such is the quality that drawn me towards him, as we grew closer by the end of 1996.

People always asked me, how in heaven’s name we could become best friends when everybody knows that we are world apart in almost every aspect; attitude, way of thinking, personality, interest, background, et cetera… et cetera… et cetera.

But I always said: First, we are not just best friend, we are brothers… the best one. And second, all the differences that being mentioned above? That’s what make us closer and stronger as brothers! As I always said to people around me; imagine a set of puzzles, only different shape of puzzles can fit each other. Two similar shapes? Try it yourself!

Obviously, the situation in present day is way different from 12 years ago. While he is now happily married with a kid – my cute nephew, Hasif – I’m still single with just a piece of broken heart (sigh). But put it all aside, we are still very much in contact, if not closer. Being Uncle Z to his son, makes me apart of his family and I relish the new position as much as I enjoy it.

As for my brother, he’s still tough and serious as I’m still a happy-go-lucky guy. But deep in my heart, I know we will remain brothers, stronger than ever until death takes us away from this world.

That’s why today, in this column, dated 23rd of January, I would very much like to wish my brother a happy birthday, and to wish him all the happiness in this world with Allah’s blessing in whatever he is doing.

So, to the best brother in this whole wide world, Joyeux Anniversaire, Mon Frere.

BONJOUR!

Assalamualaikum…

Another week passed by, taking us deeper into the new year 2008/1429H. And yet, it was as if yesterday we were breathing a new year’s air, sketching a new year’s resolution, and dreaming of a better future for this new year.

The real question here is how far have we gone to make all the resolutions a reality? Or maybe the more important question is; were the determinations and the spirits to change for the better about 2 weeks ago still ‘on fire’ inside us? Oh believe me, that’s a fair question, je sais…

Well, whatever the answers are, I would leave them to you, wishing they can trigger something or maybe retrigger the not-too-long-ago dreams and hope within us… Bonne Chance!

So, getting back to what I want to say here, firstly I want to say I’m sorry, Je suis désolé, because of all the strange words that are going to come up, here and there, in this writing.

For those who can’t place what in hell are those strange words; well, it’s French… it’s Français…!

Monsieur et mademoiselles,

This weekend marks a first full week I’ve enrolled in languages class at UiTM Shah Alam. English and French. Although it was really tiring, never once regrets crossed my minds. In fact, I’m more convinced than ever about this spontaneous decision I made just a couple weeks ago.

It has been very exciting, this week, when I can learn something totally new, not just about French language but also about the interesting places there, and oh, the cultures too.., at least from the mouth of mademoiselle Lin, my lecturer. Hmm, wait till I experienced all that myself someday! Who in his/her right mind don’t want to go to such places like Galeries Lafayette, Bateau-mouche, Hermés, Tour Eiffel, and Pyramide du Louvre, to say just a few? Me? Bien sûr! Definitely!

On the other hand, it is also great to actually learn English formally, with a lecturer to actually correcting my grammar, writing and speech. Hopefully now I’m a step closer to my goal to be very fluent in this language.

If there is one regret, it is why didn’t I take these classes earlier. Pour quoi?

But, that’s not an important question anymore. Parce que, more importantly, I’ve taken necessary steps toward my goal, and let’s move on from there. Allez!

There’s only one small thing left to say here. Laissez –faire attitude. To be honest, this attitude is also one my biggest problem. Oh, before I forgot, laissez-faire is leave it/don’t care attitude. Or maybe we can simply say it as lazy and ignorance attitude. What can I say? Being lazy is bad enough, but being lazy and ignorance, entirely unforgivable especially if you’re Muslim! Which I think is reason enough, right!!

So, I’m gonna say goodbye here. I hope the next time I write here, I can share so many other things in French with you..

Merci…( Thank You)

Au revoir… A bientôt (Goodbye... See you later)

A la semaine prochaine (See you next week)

Bon week-end (Have a nice weekend)

WHAT IS YOUR ICEBERG?

By Mullah

Assalamualaikum dan Alhamdulillah, penulis dapat menulis dalam artikel ilmiah ini dan dengan bertemakan tajuk di atas, yang di'inspired' daripada buku yang bertajuk ‘Our Iceberg is Melting’. Buku ini telah ditulis oleh John Kotter dan Holger Rathgeber. John Kotter adalah pakar kepimpinan dari Harvard Business School, yang merupakan antara ‘top three’ universiti terbaik di dunia.

Perbincangan di sini adalah pada muka surat 132 dari buku tersebut. Muka surat 132 membincangkan peranan pemikiran (thinking) dan perasaan (feeling) dalam pembentukan tingkah laku (behavior) seseorang individu tersebut. Pemikiran dapat mengubah tingkah laku seseorang dengan :-

1. Mengumpulkan data dan melakukan analisa terhadapnya,
2. Mempersembahkan kajian tersebut dengan bertujuan untuk mengubah pemikiran seseorang individu, dan
3. Apabila pemikiran individu tersebut berubah, maka tingkah laku individu tersebut juga akan berubah.

Sebagai contoh, penulis membawa contoh Al Gore, mantan Naib Presiden Amerika Syarikat yang ke- 45 dan merupakan pemenang bersama Hadiah Nobel bagi Keamanan (Nobel Peace Prize) 2007. Al Gore telah memperjuangkan kesedaran akan alam kepentingan alam sekitar (environmental awareness) sejak tahun 1970-an iaitu dengan mendesak akan pengurangan kadar lepasan gas karbon dioksida ke atmosfera. Kemuncak perjuangan Al Gore adalah dengan mengeluarkan filem dokumentari yang bertajuk ‘An Inconvenient Truth’pada tahun 2006, dan antara isi kandungan filem tersebut adalah untuk menyedarkan massa akan kesan pemanasan global kepada dunia (sila rujuk laman web Wikipedia yang dikemaskinikan pada 27 November 2007).

Berbalik kepada perbincangan kita, penulis berpendapat bahawa Al Gore cuba untuk mengubah tingkah laku kita dengan cuba untuk mengubah akan pemikiran kita. Bayangkan, adakah mesej Al Gore ini akan sampai kepada Orang Asli di Gua Musang akan kepentingan menjaga alam sekitar?? Apakah perasaan Orang Asli tersebut jika Al Gore menyuruh mereka supaya jangan menebang hutan, jangan memburu binatang liar dan mendesak mereka mencari ‘alternative income’selain memburu dan memerangkap binatang liar??

Penulis bukan berniat untuk merendahkan martabat Orang Asli di negara kita, tetapi mempersoalkan cara pemikiran Al Gore yang lebih memihak kepada cara pertama ini iaitu mengubah tingkah laku dengan pemikiran. Cara pertama ini adalah berkesan tetapi kesannya adalah lambat berbanding cara kedua iaitu mengubah tingkah laku dengan perasaan.

John Kotter, dalam muka surat yang sama, iaitu muka surat 132, telah menyebut cara kedua yang lebih berkesan untuk mengubah tingkah laku seseorang individu iaitu melalui PERASAAN (Feeling). John Kotter menulis iaitu dengan :-

1. Melakukan pengalaman (experience) yang mengejutkan (suprising), memujuk (compelling) atau pun pengalaman visual,
2. Pengalaman tersebut akan mengubah perasaan individu terhadap sesuatu perkara, dan
3. Perubahan perasaan individu tersebut akan mengubah tingkah laku individu tersebut secara lebih berkesan dan efektif.

Penulis cuba membawa perjuangan Martin Luther King, tokoh pejuang hak asasi manusia di Amerika Syarikat dan pemenang termuda Hadiah Nobel bagi Keamanan (Nobel Peace Prize) pada tahun 1964. Mendiang Martin Luther King adalah seorang pemidato terkenal Amerika Syarikat yang terkenal dengan pidatonya yang bertajuk ‘I Have a Dream’. Kesan pidatonya yang cukup men’cengkam’ jiwa dan perasaan ini telah mengubah, bukan sahaja tingkah laku dan hala tuju rakyat Amerika Syarikat, akan tetapi hala tuju negara Amerika Syarikat tersebut. Kesan pejuangannya telah berjaya memaksa Kerajaan Amerika Syarikat memasukkan hak asasi kaum kulit hitam dan hak buruh dalam ‘Civil Rights Act of 1964’ dan ‘Voting Rights Act of 1965’. (sila rujuk laman web Wikipedia yang dikemaskinikan pada 10 Disember 2007).

Bayangkan jika Al Gore mempunyai bakat pidato sebegitu rupa dalam membangkitkan kesedaran orang ramai terhadap alam sekitar?? Kita akan dapat melihat kesannya, bukan sahaja kepada orang ramai, akan tetapi kepada Kerajaan terhadap menangani masalah alam sekitar ini. Atau cuba kita bayangkan bagaimana kesannya jika Martin Luther King menggunakan pendekatan pertama iaitu dengan menggunakan PEMIKIRAN sahaja untuk mengubah nasib kaum kulit hitam di Amerika Syarikat?? Kesannya adalah lain dan masa depan bangsa Negro di sana juga akan berbeza daripada sekarang.

Setakat ini sahaja, penulis membincangkan 2 cara untuk mengubah tingkah laku sebagai seorang individu, organisasi atau pun sesebuah negara. InsyaALLAH, penulis akan membaca kembali buku ‘Our Iceberg is Melting’ buat kali kedua dan penulis akan membincangkan tajuk yang seterusnya iaitu ‘What is Your Iceberg?’. Jumpa lagi...............

Eat, Pray and Love?!

By Mullah

Assalamualaikum and Alhamdulillah, I could write in this wonderful tazkirah just after coming back from Subang Parade. I went there to read some books like Dilema Melayu by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, a book written by Datuk Zaid Ibrahim and of course, a wondeful book entitled ‘Eat, Pray and Love’ written by Elizabeth Gilbert. ‘Eat, Pray and Love’ written by Elizabeth Gilbert was discussed on Thursday’s night in Oprah (Malaysian Time).

This book is a self-discovery for the writer and also for me. This wonderful book was on top of the New York Bestsellers’ List for more than 30 weeks and I would share it a bit with you. Mind you that, all these knowledge and experience that I have gathered here are all from my viewing to the show yesterday. Elizabeth Gilbert was a succesful woman. She had a career, a husband a not to forget, a really-really BIG HOUSE. But she did not had ONE IMPORTANT thing in her life. That was SATISFACTION.

In my opinion, she didn’t knew what is her mission in her life. Not all the missions, vision things and etc. But, she didn’t knew what is the purpose of her life on this Earth. She just following the flow and in her own words, she admits that ‘her life is not resemble for what she wants’. So, she cried in her bathroom for more than 10 weeks in the row. She did not want any children and in her bathroom, she found GOD. It is ironically, isn’t it???

Although she was raised in White, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant (WASP) family that adhere to Christian values, she feels empty and still on a soul-searching mode. To make the stroy short, she heeded the voice within her and made a very hard choice. She had a divorce and after that, she went to BALI, to find CONTENTMENT and to seek INNER-PEACE in that area. After BALI, she went to enjoy the life at the fullest, that is by EATING in ITALY, by PRAYING inside ashrams in INDIA and finding LOVE again in BALI.

That is her life, of cource. I keep wondering and feeling grateful to ALLAH through out the Oprah’s show and many valuable things that I learned and willing to share with you in this brief letter. I keep grateful to ALLAH that I know and always know that ALLAH is with me all the time, through out the best years and the turbulence years. In this turbulence time, there is nothing that I could do BUT to MOVE FORWARD in my life. All these tests would shape and crave me to become a BETTER person in the future. All these tests are LITTLE in comparison to what Mrs Gilbert faced in her life. I am enjoying myself writing to you in this manner. I hope that I will continue enjoying writing to you in the future.

Salam............

ARTIKEL II – ANNUS HORRIBILIS 2008 ??

By Mullah

Assalamualaikum dan Alhamdulillah, penulis dapat lagi menulis dalam artikel ilmiah ini. Merujuk kepada tajuk di atas, annus horribilis adalah bermaksud ‘tahun terburuk’ dalam Bahasa Latin. Tajuk di atas adalah dalam bentuk pertanyaan kerana dalam minggu pertama Januari 2008, negara telah digemparkan dengan 3 berita sensasi dan hangat.

Pertama adalah skandal seks Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, selaku Menteri Kesihatan Malaysia, dengan ‘kenalan peribadi’nya (personal friend) dan peletakan jawatannya pada 2 Januari 2008 (NST Online Edition). Beliau telah meletakkan jawatannya sebagai Menteri Kesihatan Malaysia, Naib Presiden MCA, Ahli Parlimen Labis, Ketua Perhubungan MCA Johor dan Ketua Bahagian MCA Batu Pahat. Peristiwa ini yang mungkin menjadi ‘story of the year’ hanya berlaku pada minggu lepas.

Kedua adalah kes penculikan adik Sharlinie Nashar yang berusia 5 tahun pada hari Rabu 09012008 di Taman Medan, Petaling Jaya. Peristiwa ini berlaku hanya beberapa kilometer dari tempat mayat Nurin Jazimin dijumpai (rujuk blog Lim Kit Siang yang bertarikh 11 Januari 2008). Kes ini berlaku sewaktu berlakunya peningkatan sebanyak 13.4% dalam kes jenayah di Malaysia, yang mencatatkan 224,298 kes jenayah pada tahun 2007.

Di samping kes penculikan tersebut, negara sekali lagi digemparkan dengan kes pembunuhan kejam Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Tenggaroh, Dato’ S. Krishnasamy, selaku Timbalan Pengerusi MIC Johor. YB Dato’ S Krishnasamy telah ditembak pada jarak dekat di dalam lif bangunan MIC Johor di Johor Baharu pada petang Jumaat 11012008 (rujuk laman web Harakahdaily)

Apa sudah jadi, Pak Lah??? Dalam masa 2 minggu sahaja, terdapat 3 kes jenayah sensasi. Walau pun dalam kes Datuk Seri Chua dikelaskan sebagai kes politik, penulis berpendapat kes ini adalah kes jenayah dan polis wajar memanggil Datuk Seri Chua dan ‘kenalan rapat’nya untuk membantu siasatan polis. Bayangkan dalam tahun ini sahaja ada 52 minggu dan adakah kita, selaku rakyat Malaysia, terpaksa di’gempar’kan dengan 52 kes jenayah??? Tidak cukupkah dengan 3 kes ini untuk membuka mata Kerajaan untuk menubuhkan IPCMC (Independent Police Complaints dan Misconduct Commission)??? Atau Kerajaan hendak menunggu ketika negara digawatkan dengan 52 kes jenayah, baharulah Kerajaan sedar akan kepentingan pasukan polis yang betul-betul ‘Mesra, Cekap dan Betul’??? Fikir-fikirkanlah.......

Happy New Year 1429 H

Assalamualaikum...

Today is a new year of Islamic Calendar,1429H.

With all my heart, i want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year, along with hope and pray for all of us to be a better Muslim and better servant of Allah.
New Year, new attitude, new set of mind and new determination in life. Let's together make this new year the best year in our life, knowing very well that the best is yet to come in the future...

So once again, Happy New Year to all.
May Allah the Almighty bless us always...

Transformers the movie...

Assalamualaikum...

Today, after work, i spent my time with my good friend Mullah -who also happened to be co-writer in this blog. As usual, we had a very long and serious discussion about many things, and today was no exception. From ex-minister Chua Soi Lek's disgusting antic to what happened recently among us and our friends, from our hope and dream of this new 2008 to the philosophy of life itself, we talked freely and without reserve to each other.

And that is when a quote from my favorite movie of 2007, Transformers; came out and for a few seconds halt the flow of our conversation.

'There is more to human then meets the eye'

I remember feeling very good about it when i repeated the words in my mind. The quote above was being said by Optimus Prime (leader of the autobots) in a monologue at the end of the movie. The full quote is like this:

"For now, the Decepticon legions are vanguished. And fate has yielded its reward- A new world to call home. We live amongst its people now, hiding in plain site...But watching over them in secret. Waiting. Protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage. And though we are worlds apart, like us, there is more to them then meets the eye. I am Optimus Prime. And I send this message to any Autobots seeking refuge amongst the stars. You are not alone. We are here. We are waiting."

Okay now, since we are not discussing about the movie (oh, i would love to... someday), i want to shift your focus back the single quote in bold above. I remember saying this quote to emphasize something about our self confidence. And then when i see it from another angle, i also can relate it to other important element, respect...

My fellow friend, what i'm trying to say here is: we have to believe there are more inside us than what people can see us from the outside. Put in your mind that whatever the perception, and whatever it is that you think people see about you, they only see a tip of an iceberg, which is just a scratch of what's really hidden. Which is thousand times bigger and greater than maybe even you can't imagine. All you have to do is go find your strength and potential! Unleash it...!! And you will find a new and improved you, full of self-confidence the next time you look in the mirror!

On the other hand, from a totally opposite of view, we must never forget this one thing.. Respect people of whoever they really are! Oh, i can't even stress how important respect is to other people around us... and to ourselves..! First, we can only gain respect by respecting others first, and second, which is the focus tonight, we are actually helping others by giving them 'respect'! Because it's like giving them signal to explore themselves and well... unleash their hidden potential!

Just remember;

'There is more to a person then meets the eye'

Fench Language class... behind the scene...!

Assalamualaikum...

Yesterday (friday), could be one of the most significant day of my life (paused)... or maybe not?!

Hmm, while i wasn't always being known as an analyst that going through every single detail before making decision about almost everything; i also could say that i am no rushing-and-without-thinking kind of person when it comes to make one.

Well; it began yesterday morning, while i sat down -as usual, in front of my laptop- thinking about my english classes, which will be held every tuesday and thursday starting next week. At the time i was thinking about the other two night i was still free, monday and wednesday, when suddenly the old urge and thought of wanting to learn French language crossed my mind... again, for the umpteenth time, i cannot recall.

What happened next was a blur to me. Cause the next thing i know, i was picking up my phone and dialed the office of Akademi Pengajian Bahasa UiTM Shah Alam and asked the operator there whether i can still register for the French class or not. To my delight, the answer was yes, although it came along with a warning that yesterday was the last day to register. After all they already postponed the dateline for one week, the female clerk warned me before i hung up the phone.

To make the long story short, i did get to register for the french class -the last person to do that- just in the nick of time, 15 minutes before the office closed; feeling overwhelmingly proud of myself and full of anticipation on what this new and foreign language will do me in my life..

So, what's exactly the story i'm telling here...? What did i mean when i said yesterday could be the most significant day of my life?... or not?

To answer that question, i would like to quote my boss' word to me not so long ago. He said, 'what happen to you today is the result of what you are doing yesterday, or last week or even up to 20 years ago'.

Well, i don't know about you, but i cannot agree more on that. If you ask me, i can relate most of the thing that had happened or is happening in my life, to something i did or said or thought in the past. Because the truth is, everything we do in our daily life is significant to our future. Maybe our simple and seemingly unimportant decision today, will have greater impact to our future than what we have been so carefully planned and nurtured in our mind now!

Take me for example. Maybe by suddenly deciding to join and learn French class yesterday will lead me to a whole new world or prospect in the future that i can't even imagined today! Or maybe not! We can never know that, nor have we any mean to do so. This is Allah's work, and only He, with His Love and Mercy on us will determine any of this. We can plan and we certainly can pray, but we all know that He is and will always be the best Planner and the greatest Force to decide what is exactly the better outcome for us...

I would really like to finish this posting here, rather than continuing it; because i can sense the issue i was just talking here is only the tip of an iceberg of the bigger issue ahead. Even now, i'm asking myself: is it better to be spontaneous and make our life more interesting, or to be well-planned and cautious while leading a very predictable life?!

Those who know me, knew it very well that i like the former -being spontaneous and see how it goes- although i think i will have to reserve it for another posting, hopefully in the near future...

The humble servant to Allah the Almighty

Lose Weight the Healthy, Lasting Way

Assalamualaikum...

(Below is a very interesting article i found in Yahoo! Health column. It was written by a prominent dietitian from Johns Hopkins University, USA. Enjoy...)

The New Year can always be marked by the huge spike in gym memberships and diet programs after the holidays.

For many people, this time of year is a time for change, and often people want to change how they look and feel by losing weight. If this sounds like you, then now's the time to get clear on exactly how a person goes about losing weight so you don't find yourself making the same resolution year after year.

While there are many aspects of diet that you can focus on when trying to lose weight - you can keep track of fat, fiber, protein, or carbohydrates, for example - the key is always about whether you're eating and drinking fewer calories than you are burning.

To lose about one pound per week, you'll need to eat about 500 fewer calories per day from your current daily intake. Weight loss of one to two pounds each week is considered healthy weight loss, meaning that you are losing more fat than muscle.

Start by looking at how many calories you are presently consuming. Use the food labels on products to give you an idea, not forgetting to first read the serving size at the top of the food label. (Many times, we eat what is in the entire package and that may actually be eating three servings, and thus tripling the total calories.) When you grocery shop, compare the labels on similar products and choose the one with the fewest calories.

Become a food label reader and start your weight-loss campaign by reducing the calories you consume. If you are cooking at home, many recipes now have the nutrition facts included. The key is still the serving size.


Even though calories are still calories, a healthy diet needs to come first. Don't plan to cut calories from fruits, vegetables and whole grains, try cutting calories from snack foods, sweets, fast foods, condiments, or drinks.

Of course, I've said nothing about the importance of exercise in losing and keeping off the weight. That deserves its own entry.

ARTIKEL 1 TAMAN TUN - POLEMIK

Assalamualaikum dan Alhamdulillah, aku dapat menulis artikel ilmiah di rumah kawan-kawanku di Taman Tun pada Selasa 01012008. Pada edisi kali ini, aku akan menulis tentang polemik penggunaan kalimah ALLAH di Malaysia. Ini adalah berikutan tindakan Kementerian Keselamatan Dalam Negeri mengarahkan ‘The Herald’ menghentikan pengeluaran risalahnya dalam Bahasa Malaysia dalam suratnya yang bertarikh 10 Disember 2007. Akibat daripada tindakan Kerajaan ini, penerbit ‘The Herald’ iaitu ‘Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur’ telah menfailkan kes di mahkamah terhadap Kerajaan berikutan dengan tindakan Kerajaan menghalang penggunaan kalimah ALLAH dalam penerbitannya.

Selain itu, Sidang Injil Borneo juga mengenakan tindakan yang serupa iaitu dengan menfailkan kes yang sebegitu rupa kepada Kerajaan. Sidang Injil Borneo meminta keputusan Mahkamah supaya menghalang Kerajaan Malaysia daripada menghentikan pengimportan buku-buku Kristian yang mengandungi perkataan ALLAH. Kesemua fakta bagi polemik ini dapat dirujuk pada laporan The Sun Malaysia edisi Online dan dikemaskinikan pada 31 Disember 2007, Pengarah Penyelidikan Kristian (Kairos), Dr Ng Kam Weng mengatakan bahawa penghalangan penggunaan kalimah ALLAH ini akan menyalahi catatan sejarah di Malaysia. Kalimah ALLAH telah digunakan dalam buku ‘Gospel of Matthew’ edisi Bahasa Melayu pada tahun 1629 dan juga dalam ‘Malay Bible’ (1731-1733).

Pada pandanganku, soal penggunaan kalimah ALLAH tidaklah terhad kepada fakta sejarah semata-mata. Buku ‘Gospel of Matthew’ diterbitkan pada zaman pemerintahan Portugis di Tanah Melayu ketika itu dan pengeluaran buku ‘Malay Bible’ adalah pada zaman pemerintahan Belanda. Akan tetapi, soal di sini adalah soal latar belakang budaya di Malaysia. Aku bersetuju dengan pandangan Dr Feham Mohd Ghalib, iaitu Ketua Bahagian Bahasa al-Quran, UIAM, yang mengatakan bahawa, penggunaan kalimah ALLAH di dalam Islam adalah berbeza dengan penggunaannya dalam agama-agama lain. Lagipun, terjemahan kalimah GOD dalam Bahasa Malaysia adalah TUHAN dan bukannya ALLAH. Tambahan pula, merujuk kepada surat pembaca kepada laman web Malaysiakini yang dikemaskini pada 31 Disember 2007, Paul Warren mengatakan bahawa dalam ‘Bible’, TUHAN telah memberikan namanya sendiri iaitu YAHWEH. Jadi, siapa yang betul dalam kes ini???? Adakah pihak ‘The Herald’ ataupun ‘Bible’???? Sesungguhnya, penerbitan risalah Kristian dalam Bahasa Malaysia hendaklah diberi perhatian sepenuhnya oleh Kerajaan. Pengeluaran buku-buku Kristian ini adalah bertujuan untuk menambahkan lagi masalah umat Melayu-Islam di negara kita yang sudah dibelenggu dengan masalah-masalah penyalahgunaan dadah, masalah sosial iaitu Mat Rempit dan Bohsia, AIDS dan tidak lupa, masalah kepimpinan. Kepimpinan Pak Lah, yang merupakan graduan Universiti Malaya dalam jurusan Pengajian Islam dan daripada keturunan Ulamak iaitu Sheikh Abdullah Fahim, telah tercabar dan dicabar dengan masalah-masalah sebegini rupa yang jarang didengar dan diperkatakan semasa zaman pemerintahan Tun Dr Mahathir ketika dahulu.

Mudahan-mudahan artikel yang ringkas ini membuka mata, fikiran dan hati kita terhadap isu-isu yang melanda umat Melayu-Islam baru-baru ini... Jumpa lagi.....

Mullah TTDI..