Asshole, Australian Open, and President Obama

Assalamualaikum...

First of all, pardon me for 'the bizarrest' title for an entry so far yet for this blog. As you can probably see, all three are actually not related and i just want to touch every subject as briefly as i can...
I've to admit, after a very exhaustive 2-3 weeks of watching - and writing - about the bad news of Israel-Palestine issue lately, i feel kinda relieved to write about something else in this blog. Not that the Middle-east issues are far gone by now - because they never will - it just feels so good to write about normal stuff again.

Ok, first, the asshole thing...

Last night, i got an SMS from my good friend, Din a.k.a iceman telling me, "You better pick up or call back... or this is the last time you hear from me again!". And when i looked up, i realized i have about 3 missed calls from him...

So i called him back straight away, and after the normal greetings were over, one of the earliest word i heard from him was "Asshole!". Whoa! Never in my life had anybody called me that, and of course naturally it made me mad!
But about 15 seconds after that, i realized... ouch, maybe i deserved that! Turned out, Din just read this blog and he found out that i was getting engaged almost three weeks ago and it really hurt him that i didn't tell him about it.

I tried to downplay the issue, telling him i actually didn't tell anybody about it, except my bro, Aizzuddin and my housemates. It's no big deal, i said. But he countered back, saying he's not anybody! He's one of my oldest and my best friend! We've known each other for 9 years, for God sake!

And at that, my friends, i felt silent and i completely lost any argument left in me. I realized my mistake and for about 10 minutes after that, i can only listened to him berrating about how unfair and 'cruel' i was. I know he wanted me to feel guilty and i tell you, he's very good at it...!

So, last night i apologized to him couple of times through the phone. But somehow i knew it's not enough. So here, once again, to Din, I am really.. really sorry for being an 'asshole'! You're right. As a friend, i should do better than that. And as a friend, you deserved better than that...

On the bright side, i'm actually lucky he didnt call me 'asshole' in Malay! That will be nightmare, don't you think?

Now on Australian Open...

It has been so long since i last mention about my favourite sport in the whole wide world here, and it's the high time i started mention about it again...
As you may already know, the first Grand Slam in Tennis calendar this year begins with Australian Open which is already under play from yesterday, 19th January until 1st February, next Sunday.

As usual my favourite player is Nadal and as the World No 1 player, the pressure is on him to lift his first Australian Open. The challenge will come from the likes of Federer, Djokovic and Murray and it will be an interesting two weeks to see 'The Big Four' of tennis compete with each other to take the honour of winning the first Grand Slam of 2009.

Lastly on President Obama...

Today is the D-Day for United States of America and may i suggest here, for the world in general...!
Because, this is the day that the President-elect Obama will become President Obama, the 44th US President, replacing the disgraceful and - pardon me for my word here - the shitty, war-lover George H.W. Bush.

While i acknowledge that USA is not in the high list of our favourite country in the world, mostly due to their unexplainable support towards - again, pardon my word here - the shittest country of all, the Israel; we have to admit, what goes on in the US is very vital to the world.

As the most powerful nation in the world - so they called themselves - the president of USA is unarguably the most powerful man in the world. And this man, Barack Hussein Obama is about to become one today...!

I've followed almost every step of this man, rising towards the position he is now, and i can tell you - at least up until now - if there's even a glimmer of hope to see some improvement to Middle East issues, this man may be able to do it. He's fresh, honest, and so far still rational with his policy on America's foreign affairs, which is very important to the rest of the world...

Well, i know, it's too early to tell whether this man is really the Agent of Change and Hope he promised to be. So, together with the rest of the world, i'll wait rather hopefully for this man to make history and to do some good for the rest of the world. I tell you, even if he's only half as good as what he promised to be, we will witness some good changes on the way USA handled the Middle East crisis...




Type rest of the post here

Parroting...

Assalamualaikum...

Ok, it's officially has been sooo long since i last write in here.
Since Obama's win... i just realized now.

The last couple of weeks has been quite eventful and hectic for me, although i do not blame that as the reason i can't write anything in here. Not in the slightest.
For me if you want to write, you can absolutely write. It's that simple.
Either you do... or you don't.

So, since i just un-block my 'no-writing' mode - at least for today - i want to share about something very light here with you.

I got this yesterday, during a writing workshop near Wangsa Maju. Just so you know, it's not the main lesson. This thing i wanna share is actually from an article that we have to read and then were asked to do it all over again in our own word.

The title of the article: How To Never Need To Wonder, "What Do I Say Next?"

Nice title, isn't it?

In summary, The article discussed about what to do when you're at lost of anything to say in the middle of conversation. Especially, when the person is someone you just met, or a long-lost friend that you still need time to get familiar again. Hmm, on the other hand, maybe you can include anybody that you distaste or even despise, but you know you need to make good impressions on him/her! (Hmm, your boss, maybe? hehe)

So, the author introduced a rather nice word - PARROTING - inspired by parrots that will repeat other people's word.

In the article, he gave a quite hillarious example of him using the paroting tecnique to coverse with his friend. But i'm not gonna copy that down here.
Instead, i realized i also happened to be in the same position this morning with my housemate, in which i used the technique without i realized it.

One advice beforehand, especially if you're known as a 'good listener' among your friends and peers, this technique will help you greatly.

So this morning, as usual, i was sitting in front of my laptop in the living room, and tried very hard to do my writings.
And then one of my housemate came and sat beside me. For the sake of this entry, i will call him B and just so you know, lately he just developed an interest in Music and has actually been searching for Piano class...

The conversation was something like this:

B: Abg Zahar, yesterday i went to One Utama and there are two Music Shops there, selling musical instrumens.
Me: Music Shops?
B: Yup. But i only went to one of the shop because the salesgirl is really cute.
Me: Huh? Cute salesgirl? Hehe.
B: Yes, really! Anyway i asked if there's piano lesson offered there.
Me: Piano lesson... there, in the shop?
B: Aah. She said yes. And she told me the fee is blah...blah...blah... Really expensive.
Me: Expensive? (Then somehow i remembered about his other survey)
Me: Compared to before?
B: Expensive. (He confirmed)

Then things got quite for several seconds. In case you're wondering, i still struggle with my writings at the time, which made me quite annoyed when he continued talking.

B: But if i take the piano lesson, i need to buy a piano, maybe a classic piano. To practice...
Me: Classic piano?
B: Yeah, classic piano. It differed from 'Keyboard' and 'Organ'
Me: Keyboard? Organ?
(Patiently, he explained to me the difference between those three. I've to admit i can't remember a thing of what he told me. In fact, what i remember was me and my friend, Amir, made a joke out of it until my stomach hurt) Then,
Me: Go buylah. (I suggest, rather uninterestedly)
B: Expensive!

(And at that time, somehow the topic shifted away and although i was still required to be in the conversation, i can't recall any of it.)

Later, i was thinking about something, when suddenly i remember about the 'Parroting' technique i read yesterday and the conversation i had this morning.

At the time, i realized... Wow! I've been using this technique for so long without i realized it. I've survived long and boring conversations with this technique, and i am known as 'the best listener' among the lot!!

Hu, then everybody can be a good listener, right?
Just repeat what your friend is saying, stress the last word to indicate that you want explanation or you're asking question, and believe me he/she will gladly comply and do all the talking.

And while you 'listen', you can do other things also, such as, thinking about what you want to eat after that, perhaps?

(Hehe, But please, never, never do this technique to play-play with people's heart ok...!)

TQ


Type rest of the post here

Barack Obama - The 44th President of USA

Assalamualaikum...

It's confirm now!

Barack Obama, 47 is the new President of United States of America!

A son of a black man from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, Obama is the first black president in the US history.
As now (1345) , he leads John McCain, 72 of Republican with insurmountable lead of 338 Electoral Collage compared to McCain's 141, far surpassed the 270 needed to be the president.
Other than traditional Democrat-leaning State such as California (55 AP), New York (31 AP), Obama managed to snatch almost all the swing states that are tightly contested between the two candidate.
Ohio (20), Pennsylvania(21), Virginia(13), Florida(27) and Colorado(9), all tilted towards the Democrat, giving him the decisive victory over McCain.
The landslide victory is as predicted as the Americans facing their worst economy crisis since 1980, which many pundits put the blame on the failed policies - foreign and domestic - of President Bush's government.

The peril journey of this remarkable man from Chicago is nearing it's end as the next challenge as the president of the most powerful nation in the world, looming ahead of him.

Said Obama, "Yes, We Can!"



Type rest of the post here

US Presidential Election 2008

Assalamualaikum...

The US presidential election is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, once in every 4 years, .

Which means, this Tuesday, on 4th of November. And no matter what the outcome this Tuesday, it will create history of either the first black man ever to hold the presidency in the form of Barack Obama, 47, or the oldest US President ever in the form of John McCain, 72.

I've followed this election since February this year, when Obama first made a huge surprise by upsetting the clear favorite at the time, Hillary Clinton, 60, in the first presidential primary in Iowa - to determine who's going to be the candidate for their party.
Then, in early August, i cheered heartily when Obama finally clinched the nomination for Democrat Party to face McCain of Republican, in November election.

Many pundits say, this election is for Obama to lose, meaning he's supposed to win -and with a big margin at that. Why? It's simply because the Americans are sick of George Bush, the Republican who has steered US into almost-complete chaos, mainly because of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and also because of the Economic recession.

Some even said, IF - and it really is a big if - Obama lose, there will be blood in the cities. America will be divided, Democrat and Republican will clash as never seen before, and worst of all, racial crisis will once again arised.

Foreign Polls conducted by International newspaper all around the world showed overwhelming support for Obama. They said Bush presidency has managed to alienate the world with wars and harsh foreign affairs, especially in the middle east. Obama, they said will exercise more diplomatic foreign affairs, which is what the world needs. More than ever now.

Personally, i believe- i hope, Obama will win. He is the epitome of younger generation, educated, and most importantly, fresh from the old politics of Washington that has been there for so long now. His motto of 'Change' echoed across the America. He managed to rally 100,000, 75,000 people wherever he goes to campaign. He amass hundreds of millon dollars from his supporters and run the most expensive election campaign the world ever see.

And with just i day to go, the world is holding it's breath to see if the young, black, first term Senator from Illinois, who came from nowhere suddenly on the verge of becoming the most powerful man in the world.




Type rest of the post here

Hamba Ramadhan @ Hamba Allah?

Assalamualaikum...

This is the first post-Ramadhan, post-Aidilfitri entry i write in here. For most part, life has gone back to normal, yet i still cannot make myself to write anything in here. In fact, everytime i opened the 'create post' page for this blog, i can only stare blankly at the screen while frowning deeply, until i closed the page and went to do something else.

But tonight, i vowed that i will write something. Anything. Just to get back 'the mood', i told myself. And so i choose to write about something i read in the newspaper recently. Perhaps because it struck me squarely on the face. Perhaps because i hope it will serve as a reminder to us, myself especially, for this post-Ramadhan period.

The topic is, are we the servant of Allah or the servant of Ramadhan? Sounds controversial. But, that's the fact most of us didn't realize.

The issue is, why during Ramadhan, we can do all sorts of ibadah, such as reading Al-Quran, Sedekah, Solat sunat, Control our nafsu and anger, and so many things? Then, once Ramadhan's over, all that seem like a distant memory, if not history?! It was as if, we're two different people; strong and obedient Muslim during Ramadhan, while weak and 'culas' during post-Ramadhan period?

I must admit, i happened to be one with the 'split-personality' as well. Like i said, that revelation struck me squarely on my face. Without realizing, I have been the servant of Ramadhan, while not really served Allah, the Only, and Truly God of mine! Somehow, I'd forgot that Ramadhan is only the medium for me to get closer to Allah, not the end target of my ibadah!

God, it was hard. To maintain the level of Ramadhan for the next 11 months, huh, it was like.. impossible. Just look at 'Puasa Enam'! I don't know about you, but it sure was impossibly hard for me! (and i still didn't finish it yet!)

So, what are we waiting for? Let's check whether we're truly the servant of Allah... or not?!

May Allah bless us...




Type rest of the post here

An Eventful Day.

Assalamualaikum...

Have you ever had a day, you really want to rip your own hand off of you, being chased by a police patrol car, and being told 'Sir, it's time to break fast' by a Chinese guy?
Well, i had all that yesterday.

In what could arguably be one of the most eventful day for me in this Ramadhan, i experienced all the above situation with lots.. lots of emotions - from anger, frustration, horror, shock, regret to awe, humbleness and grateful.

Let's go to 'bad' emotions first.

1) I twisted my right wrist - the starting of everything!
I would say, this was the worst thing that happened to me yesterday. My tennis hand was twisted! What could be worse? That was the first thing that flashed through my mind - and with horror too - as i suddenly felt the sharp pain when i lifted my rather heavy bag yesterday.

Despite my vow to not get angry in this fasting month, i felt very very angry with myself! Why did i always have to rush to do things - in this case, lifting my bag. If only i was a little bit more careful, and patient, it won't happen, I chastised myself.

And as the anger - and panic - enveloped me, i made things even worse by twisting my wrist really hard in every direction possible, hoping the pain will subside, but to no avail. And as i learned soon after that, that reckless action of mine just made my wrist hurt even more by the hour!

2) Soon after that, i was in my car, in a hurry to go to One Utama. I was asked to book a table at Shogun, a Japanese Buffet Restaurant, where i planned to break fast with my friends, Aiman and Amir.

No need to say, i still didn't do the booking. While i could't find where i put the phone number of the restaurant, and my watch showed it was already near 6 o'clock, i sped my car heading toward OU.

Come this one intersection at Damansara Perdana, i made an illegal U-Turn, only to see there was a police car there. I felt a bit panic then, but i said, what the heck, almost everyone did that!

I realized the patrol car was following behind, and i saw the light started to flash together with the siren sound. But still, i didn't slow down. I still think that patrol car was after someone else!

At last, when i realized the police started to edge my car to the side of the road, only then i knew, it was me who they were after!

No wonder the policeman was really angry after that! With a glare and a really harsh tone, he asked for my I.C and license and went away for almost 30 minutes! He didn't even tell me what was my mistake and why he needed to give me tickets!

The 30 minutes was supposed to be the time where i felt humiliated - all the other cars were slowing down to see who was the bad guy! - and upset, and frustrated. But I didn't!

As i sat silently in my car, waiting for the ticket, i felt oddly in peace with myself. I stared at my painfully-throbbing hand, as my mind adjusted to what had just happened to me.

Hmm, i said, these - my twisted wrist and the police incident - are obviously a test for me! A Ramadhan tests! To see how i would react and cope with it. I would say i failed for the first one, but i learned to get over it for the second one.

When the policemen came back to me, he almost threw the ticket together with my IC and driving license, but i offered him a smile and a thanks. He didn't return any of them, but it was understandable. I made the mistake, i paid the price.

3) Lucky, during my brief 'arrest', Aiman arrived at OU, and i asked him to do the booking instead. He came from Shah Alam but he was earlier than me, the 'local guy'! hehe. If Amir also managed to be earlier than me, i was dead. He's from Perak!

It was the first time i've been to Shogun and the food; wow! I glanced around and i can see we were not the only Malay there. Quite many, actually.

As we settled down with food almost covered the table, Aiman and I talked. (Amir didn't arrive yet) We talked about old friends, and many others. Then, suddenly one Chinese waiter came to our table and said something like, "Sir, it's already time to break fast!"

Instinctively i looked at my watch. "Haah lah! It's time!". Then Aiman and I laughed! It was so bizarre! And as Aiman said, "It wasn't everyday a Chinese guy come and tell you to break fast! You should write this in your blog."

Later, Amir arrived and we shared the story with him. Oh, and along with so many other stories. As a result, we were among the last group to leave the restaurant.

Although I felt a twinge of guilt for the missing tarawih in the mosque, i was lying if i said i didn't enjoy myself. I'll make it up later, i said, to my conscience.

As for my day, I would say, "All's well when end's well"
I certainly learned my lesson.
and
I certainly need to find a good masseur to do something about my wrist before the holiday finished! Or i have to tell my tennis-buddy Sham, about the 'grieving' news.

Pray for me, will ya? (desperate...)

P/S: My friend told me i need to buy a camera so that i can put pictures in here. A picture worth a thousand words. He's right. But until then, please bear just with my messy writings, ok?




Type rest of the post here

Krisis Kewangan??

By Mullah

Assalamualaikum dan Alhamdulillah, penulis dapat menulis lagi dalam blog ini setelah sekian

lama menyepi dan memencilkan diri daripada dunia penulisan. Alhamdulillah jua kerana penulis

dapat menulis tentang krisis kewangan yang melanda ketika ini

Menurut laporan akhbar, 10 bank di Amerika Syarikat telah 'gulung tikar' kerana krisis sub -

prima sektor perumahan dan baru-baru ini, AIG (American International Group) telah kerugian

USD 18.5 billion (RM 68 billion) dan mungkin akan diselamatkan oleh Federal Reserve. Hhmmm

Di Malaysia, saham kita telah mengalamai kejatuhan yang teruk sejak 2 tahun lepas dan

menurut laman web The Star, saham kita telah melonjak naik ke paras 1025.7 apabila ditutup

pada 19 September 2008 yang lepas. Jadi, apakah penyelesaiannya???

Di sini, penulis ingin berkongsi ilmu daripada sebuah buku yang sedang dibaca oleh penulis iaitu

'Make Money, Not Excuses' yang dikarang oleh Jean Chatzky, seorang penasihat kewangan

terkenal Amerika Syarikat dan pernah muncul dalam rancangan Oprah. Pesanannya ialah :-

1. Maksimakan Pendapatan kita

2. Minimumkan lagi Perbelanjaan

3. Laburkan Simpanan kita (minimum 10% setiap bulan) dan

4. Lindungi Simpanan kita

Okaylah, sampai di sini sahaja penulis berkongsi idea dan ilmu. Jumpa lagi

Or... Maybe...

Assalamualaikum...

Bon week-end.
Right now (as in my right now), i'm sitting in front of my laptop, staring blankly to the screen, thinking hard of what i want to write in this entry.
I just finished playing tennis with my pal, Syam, and as i nursing my ached body, the bruise on my palm and on the sole of my feet (I need to buy a new shoes), i still didn't know what to say here.

Well, to tell you the truth, it's not like i don't have anything to share here. I just finished reading this one excellent book i borrowed from my good friend, Mullah.... two books actually, and i can do reviews for the books. Yeah, one of my friend keep telling me to write book reviews in here, so, maybe i will.

Or maybe, in the spirit of the upcoming Ramadhan, i can share about this one kuliah i heard this morning about 'Doa'. Just to reflect back our 'manner' when we asked something from Allah the Almighty, while hopefully can help preparing ourselves for the fasting month... Yeah, maybe i should do that.

Or maybe i can share about one bizarre and torturous conversation i had a couple of weeks ago with two siblings about: Allah (why can't we see Him?); Nabi Muhammad SAW (this guy was dead long time ago..!); and Al-Quran (do you actually believe everything written in there?)..!
Oh, and just so you know, the siblings are Form 1 and Standard 5 kids, and both are Muslims!
That explained why I almost choked when i heard most of the things that came out of their mouth...!

Or, maybe i can just continue about my HK experience. One of my friend ask me why i didn't continue about my HK stories. Especially, about the dolphins and pandas as he also some kind of animal lover like me. He said he didn't care about the Disneyland, but he especially wanted to know about the culture and the people there. That's kinda heavy, don't you think? But still, maybe i can try to do that... After all, this is my experience i'm talking about, right?

Or, maybe i don't have to write anything! Yeah, there's always this choice, no matter what we do in this life; to not do it!

Hmm, I'll think of something later. The least i can do is to continue my story from the previous Best Friend (1) & (2). I got the idea from this proverb i read not long ago, and i tried to write a story around it.

Well, now i just realized something! Who said there isn't anything to write or share. The only issue is whether you want to do it or not! And i also realized there are too many or and maybe in my dictionary.
Hmm, maybe (not again!) i should just ignore all the or's and maybe's there. Just do it! Like Nike said. After all, too much analysis can lead to paralysis, right?




Type rest of the post here

What is our legacy?

Assalamualaikum...

What is our legacy?

The above question came to me more than a month ago.
At the time, i was in Borders Bookstore, The Curve, immersing myself in a couple of new-released books, fully enjoyed my quality time alone there...
I have this habit of taking 2-3 books at once and bring them with me to the sofa, even though i'm pretty sure i will read only one.
So, at the time i happened to take this one book titled "Three Cups of Tea" with me. What makes me took the book at the first place is because of its striking cover: Three young girls at the age of about 9 years old, sit together while each reading a book. All three girls are wearing tudung, and they have the air of innocence on them that makes us wanting to hug and protect them at the same time.

The writer of this book is the one who i want to talk about; Greg Mortenson.

In 1993 Mortenson was descending from his failed attempt to reach the peak of K2. Exhausted and disoriented, he wandered away from his group into the most desolate reaches of northern Pakistan. Alone, without food, water, or shelter he eventually stumbled into an impoverished Muslims Pakistani village where he was nursed back to health.

While recovering he observed the village’s 84 children sitting outdoors, scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks. The village was so poor that it could not afford the $1-a-day salary to hire a teacher. When he left the village, he promised that he would return to build them a school.

And return there, he did!

Fast-forwarded years later, and after several life threatening events such as threats from fellow Americans for helping Muslim children, a fatwa from an angry Islamic cleric for educating girls, and 2003 Afghan firefight between opium warlords, he succeeded in his mission - to build the Muslim children a school!

And he didn't stop there. Today, Mortenson had set up over 60 schools and as a result over 25000 children had been educated.

And once again i want to emphasize here that those children are Muslim, and that Mortenson guy is not!

I don't have to ask this, but still i couldn't help myself not to: How in earth this one non-Muslim guy, can sacrificed everything in his life and endangered himself, just to help those Muslim kids? Where are we? Where are the other Muslim?!

This Mortenson guy leave a strong legacy behind him. A legacy i doubt i can top in this life, but nonetheless give me a challenge and inspiration to do something good and worthy for the world.

Let's together make our presence felt, even in the smallest sense. Don't be like what 'pepatah melayu' said, "Datang tak menambah, pergi tak mengurang"

Allah creates each one of us unique in our own way. Let's explore it and use it to do some good in this world! Let's face Allah in the Judgement Day knowing we had use our ability and gift to help others and help the world to be a better place...!

Type rest of the post here

Change your lifestyle...?

Assalamualaikum...

Recently there are news all around that says demands for motorcycles and small cars are increasing big time...
While at the same time, the price for 'big' cars were declining...

Also recent article by a local newspaper reported that the roads and highways are almost empty compared to the same time last year...

And another report that sales by big hypermarkets and even small groceries shops are also in declines...

Well, everything just goes back to the oil price, and just to quote our 'beloved' PM; maybe this is the time to change our lifestyle...
I talked to my friend, R, once that "you smokers are the luckiest one!"
Why? Because just imagine, once they quit their smoking habit, they are actually saving like... RM100 to RM 200 per month! (hehe, you might as well become a fitness first member by that amount! Right 'R'!). Non-smokers like me didn't have that privilege...

Hmm, but talking about changing, i also already did one important change. i just took my motorcycle back! After two years, the riding was a bit shaky, but at least, it didn't empty my pocket! As for my car, either it's raining or traveling back to my hometown, it will sit in the parking quietly and comfortably...

Hey, nobody said changing was easy...!!!

Okay, until next time...!

My cute little nephew...

Assalamualaikum...

Last Tuesday, i went to Klang, to my brother's house. Much to my dismay, my English class was canceled that night... again. But Alhamdulillah, i quickly found solace in the form of one little fella, my beloved nephew, Hasif. Now 10 months old, he's really active with a lot lot of energy. And the best part is, he's a looker too. So cute, especially when he's smiling... showing his baby tooth...

And from the way it turns out for me that night, i would say, the innocence child is therapeutics too.

Here i share with you the latest picture of my nephew. Hopefully it can makes you smile as i always do every time i looked at it...

Uncle Z

Unexpected.. yet effective lesson

Assalamualaikum...

It has been a while since i really write something here. It's not because I don't have time or idea to write. It was simply because recently, Allah The Merciful tested me with a major setback in some important aspect in my life. As a human and a weak servant of Allah, there are times when I crumbled with the weight in my gut. And more than often, I even lost in the stormy and unsettled feeling that churning inside my heart.

To my brother, i told him a little bit of it. But to others, i was as happy-go-lucky as the usual me in their eyes. Ah, it's okay. For me, i want to take care of my own problem without affecting other people with it.

At least that's what i thought. Until this very morning...

My boss and I, we were having breakfast in one hypermarket in Puchong when i asked him about my problem. After all, my problem has also greatly affected my work for him. So, he might as well know about it.

And no sooner than 2 seconds afterwards, i know that i've made a very good decision in telling him all about it.

Because, the first thing he did after that is slapping my shoulder once and said, "Be cool, Zahar. Relax. It's okay. In fact, it's normal to have problem like yours. You're still young (I actually flinched a little bit when he said that), and it's better you faced this kind of problem now rather than later." And that's only the beginning... And that, as i found out about an hour later, was what i really need, to ease if not overcome my problem.

My ever-positive boss, as i already know and respect him for, didn't waste time at all in telling me that the first thing i need to do is to find the bright side of my problem! "What if everything going on smoothly for you and you move 5 steps ahead only to fall 10 steps after that, because you never faced these problems before. The hikmah is, maybe Allah wants you to move slowly and learn at this stage before you can move 10 steps straight in the future!" He said.

Later he told me, "You have to remember Zahar, in everything you do in this life you have to balance between the expectations you put on yourself and your capability in achieving it. There's no question that you have to do your best in everything you do, but mind you, everyone has their own limit and it is normal to admit that maybe you have to try another way or start all over again in order to achieve what you want."

After that, he shared something really interesting according to his own observation about life. I would call that as 'driving lesson' as he used the moment you drive your car as the metaphor. But i will share about this later.

As our conversation came to an end, i still remember his last advice to me. "Don't you ever forget Zahar, whatever problems come across you, think of that as a test of Allah. There's no reason to worry if you know that we actually are nothing in this world without Him. What we have and what was taken from us, everything is Allah's doing. He knows what's best for us and we have to be 'redha' with it. Only then, you will appreciate this life as a gift and be really grateful to our Creator!"

At this word, i was subdued for a long time. Am i unconsciously has become a demanding and ungrateful servant to Allah?!
In my heart i silently asked for forgiveness and guidance from Allah. May Allah, with His vast and unlimited Rahmat and Mercy, would forgive and guide me to become His worthy and grateful servant. Ya Allah, I am weak and unworthy of Your love. Without You i'm nothing. Bless me, Ya Allah and forgive me for all my sins...

As for my boss - may Allah bless him always. I can't help but looking forward for another motivational session with him. As he always remind me, "Keep learning and improving yourself. You will never know when you will have to use your knowledge and experience in this ever-changing and challenging life."

Islam Dicemari...

By Mullah

Assalamualaikum dan Alhamdulillah, aku dapat menulis dalam koleksi artikel ini dan tajuk di atas adalah berkenaan dengan Islam. Kali ini, penulis merujuk kepada makalah terbitan Unit Penerangan Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam Universiti Malaya (PMIUM) pada 1 Februari 2008 dan bersamaan 23 Muharram 1429 H.

Makalah tersebut membicarakan keadaan Surau Kolej Tuanku Bahiyah Universiti Malaya (UM) yang telah diceroboh dan berlakunya jenayah vandalisme pada 25 Januari 2008. Vandalisme yang dilakukan dalam surau ini adalah kitab-kitab al-Quran berserakkan dan kerusi meja diterbalikkan. Perbuatan terkutuk ini tidak berhenti pada 25 Januari 2008, malahan bersambung pula pada 29 Januari 2008, di mana dinding-dinding surau diconteng dengan cat merah dan dikunci daripada menunaikan solat secara berjamaah. Siapakah dalang di sebalik peristiwa terkutuk ini??

Makalah tersebut tidak mengemukakan hipotesis tentang siapakah yang bertanggungjawab terhadap peristiwa ini dan ini telah mengajak penulis dan pembaca sekalian berfikir ‘Siapakah yang bertanggungjawab??’. Adakah pihak pelajar terlibat dalam peristiwa tersebut atau pun pihak luar atau pun kedua-dua pihak, yakni pihak pelajar dan pihak dari luar Universiti Malaya merancang melakukan perbuatan terkutuk tersebut?? Adakah ini dilakukan oleh mereka yang bukan Islam atau pun mereka yang mengaku Islam seperti puak Black Metal, yang mengamalkan amalan yang bercanggah dengan Al-Quran dan as-Sunnah seperti membakar al-Quran?? Persoalan demi persoalan timbul dari peristiwa tragis ini, yang mencuit jiwa dan perasaan mereka yang beragama Islam dan simpati kepada hak kebebasan beragama.

Ini adalah peristiwa pertama yang berlaku dalam Universiti, baik dalam atau pun di luar negara, menurut fikiran penulis. Sebagai contoh, Universiti Harvard dan Universiti Oxford, antara 3 buah universiti terbaik dunia, tidak mempunyai kejadian-kejadian yang menghina kebebasan beragama, walaupun ‘Islamophobia’di sana adalah tinggi. Malahan ‘National University of Singapore (NUS)’ dan ‘Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’ yang merupakan antara 50 buah universiti terbaik dunia, pun tidak melaporkan kejadian sedemikian, walau pun majoriti pelajar dan penduduk Singapura tidak beragama Islam. Akan tetapi, di Malaysia, di mana, penduduk majoritinya adalah Islam dan majoriti pelajar, pensyarah dan pekerja di Universiti Malaya juga adalah Islam, kejadian yang biadap ini dapat dilakukan di depan atau di belakang ‘mata’ pentadbiran Kolej Kediaman Tuanku Bahiyah. Memang pelik tetapi benar.

Penulis berasa bersyukur terhadap tindakan proaktif dan reaktif PMIUM dalam menangani masalah ini bersama-sama dengan pihak pensyarah dan pelajar Universiti Malaya (UM). Akan tetapi, pada masa yang sama, penulis berharap agar kesemua masyarakat pelajar UM bangun mengutuk peristiwa ‘hitam’ ini, yang tidak pernah berlaku sepanjang sejarah Universiti Malaya (UM). Pihak PMIUM dapat mengambil inisiatif untuk menyebarkan lagi dakwah Islam dan menyemarakkan lagi perasaan cinta kepada Islam dalam diri aktivis-aktivis PMIUM, pelajar, pensyarah dan pekerja di Universiti Malaya (UM). Sesungguhnya, peristiwa ini adalah ‘wake-up call’kepada seluruh warga pelajar Islam amnya dan PMIUM khususnya dalam usaha membawa Islam dengan lebih proaktif lagi, pada masa kini dan juga pada masa akan datang.

Kematian

By Mullah

Assalamualaikum dan Alhamdulillah, penulis dapat menulis lagi dalam artikel ini dengan tajuk yang ‘lain’ daripada yang lain iaitu tentang kematian. Penulis akan merujuk kepada kematian yang ‘sensasi’ pada bulan Januari 2008 dan InsyaALLAH, ia akan merangkumi 2 episod sahaja. Pertama sekali adalah kematian pelakon Heath Ledger pada hari Selasa 22012008 di Manhattan, New York. Laman web al-Jazeera yang bertarikh 23 Januari 2008 telah melaporkan bahawa, Heath Ledger ditemui meninggal dunia di atas katilnya dalam keadaan tidak berpakaian. Pelakon yang berusia 28 tahun ini telah berlakon dalam pelbagai filem seperti The Patriot (2000), Casanova (2003) dan filem kontroversi Brokeback Mountain (2005). (sila rujuk Wikipedia yang dikemaskinikan pada 24 Januari 2008). Heath Ledger juga telah berlakon sebagai ‘The Joker’dalam filem terbaru ‘The Dark Knight’ yang akan difilemkan pada tahun ini.

Kematian ‘sensasi’ kedua adalah berlaku di dalam negara kita. Pada hari Khamis 24 Januari 2008 yang lepas, Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub telah meninggal dunia di Pantai Medical Centre ketika berusia 65 tahun. Menurut New Straits Times edisi online yang bertarikh 24 Januari 2008, Allahyarham Tan Sri telah menghidap penyakit kanser prostat, selain penyakit buah pinggang. Allahyarham yang dilahirkan pada 8 Disember 1942 merupakan ‘orang kanan’ Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad dan telah menjadi ‘special assistant’ kepada Tun pada tahun 1975. Beliau pernah menjadi timbalan menteri selama 13 tahun dan sebagai menteri selama 4 tahun. Jawatan terakhir Allahyarham Tan Sri Megat Junid di dalam UMNO adalah sebagai Ketua Penerangan UMNO dari tahun 2000 hingga 2003. Selain daripada kematian Allahyarham Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub, negara kita juga telah kehilangan seorang peguam yang berkaliber iaitu Rizal Chris Fernando. The Star edisi online pada tarikh 20 Januari 2008 melaporkan bahawa Allahyarham telah meninggal dunia di Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) setelah menjalani pembedahan ‘triple by-pass surgery’. Keadaan Allahyarham bertambah teruk selepas pembedahan tersebut. Allahyarham Rizal Chris Fernando, adalah bekas Presiden Mahkamah Sesyen dan namanya melonjak naik selepas isu pemecatan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pada tahun 1998. Kesimpulannya, melalui 3 cerita kematian ini, kita boleh menilai sendiri dan menepuk dada kita ‘Apakah sumbangan kita sepanjang kehidupan kita ini?’. Adakah sumbangan kita sama seperti Heath Ledger dalam bidang perfileman (terbuka kepada pelbagai intrepretasi) atau pun kita telah memberi sumbangan dalam politik tanah air seperti Allahyarham Tan Sri Megat Junid Megat Ayub atau pun Allahyarham Rizal Chris Fernando?? Ataupun kita hanya duduk di rumah, melepaskan penat dan berehat di rumah, setelah bekerja seharian, tanpa memberi apa-apa sumbangan kepada sesiapa pun??? Ini adalah satu persoalan yang menarik dan terpulanglah kepada kita samada hendak memberi sumbangan, baik kepada diri sendiri, keluarga, masyarakat atau pun negara, atau pun hanya memikirkan tentang masa hadapan kita sendiri. Sesungguhnya, kita hendaklah cuba untuk menyumbangkan sesuatu, paling minima kepada orang lain, untuk menjadikan kehidupan kita lebih bermakna. Kesimpulannya, penulis mengajak diri penulis dan pembaca supaya berfikir iaitu ‘How history thought about us when we have already died????’ Jumpa lagi....

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............

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

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..