2 months anniversary

Neighbour: I think the water from yr radiator is leaking as well.
Me: I dunno, i dont even know how this thing works. (the radiator) I came from a country that is summer all years
Neighbour: (Surprise face)
and the conversation goes to where I from and how long i have been here.

Then while explaining, it struck my mind that, that today is my 2 months anniversary here!
(thanks to my neighbor downstairs that keeps bugging me since last night because the water leak from my bathroom goes through her ceiling)
Now I cant use my bathroom sink, ha, dont have to shave then

OK. It has been 2 months, i think im doing alright. Thanks to Him.
Succeeded making my sensor works, now it is the painful period of stuck in the lab doin works in a freezin and dark environment.

Anyway, its the christmas season. everyone is in the festive mood. and it is acceptable to be a bit lazy. Cant wait for next week, not the festive, but insyaAllah a trip to the north. this week harus kerja kuat! rabu nak cuti raya, actually the highlighted event adalah makan, sgtla kempunan

Forced to be photographed

Last weekend's trip to Central London was the only time I can possibly remember in my lifetime, letting someone took so many pics of me in a day. That was so not me! Anyway pics had been taken, and where else it should be posted rather than here ;)


kenyang nasi lemak Malaysian Hall


the Big Ben


the House of Parliment


London Eye


British Museum, its huge, will come back again

these are 5pics from the 11 taken
I did enjoy the day, not thinking about work for a day

Can u spot the missing info?

Although im in a far-far-away land, i still folow the current affairs of our bolehland. Spotted an interesting article from the star about a malaysian born new ausie minister; Interestingly the article had i think intentionally deleted somethg about her. Erm, i do understand why. its like we all malaysian can be proud about her being a minister but it wont go well if the deleted info is undeleted. can u spot the missing info?

From The Star

Sabah dad proud of new Aussie minister
By Muguntan Vanar
KOTA KINABALU: Pride and joy was all over the face of the father of Malaysian-born Penny Wong Ying Yen who has been appointed as a cabinet minister in Australia.
“I am very happy. I hope her appointment will be a blessing for Australia,” said Penny’s father Francis Wong Yit Shing, 66, an architect here.
The 39-year-old Penny, who was born in Sabah but grew up in Australia from the age of eight with her mother, was named Climate Change and Water Minister Thursday by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd whose Labour party won the recent elections.
Francis, who described his daughter as a go-getter, said that the portfolio given to his daughter was very “current and important” not only for Australians but for the people around the world who are concerned about global warming and climate change.
“I know she is a very responsible person and she will work hard to achieve her objectives,” said the father, who keeps in touch with his daughter through SMS.
Describing his daughter as a person with strong personality, he said that he never expected Penny to become a politician.
“I wanted her to be a doctor and she enrolled for it but a year later she switched to law after she went on a student exchange programme to Brazil where she saw the need to help people,” said Francis.
On completing her studies, she got involved in unions and industrial court cases in Australia and “I believe that the Labour Party spotted her capability and urged her join them.”
Penny became the first Asian-born woman Senator when she won a seat in South Australia in 2002 and last week’s Australian elections saw her winning a second term with her party toppling John Howard’s government.
Asked if he had ever given his daughter any political advice, Francis said that the politics that he knew about was only that of South East Asia and that “Australian politics (is) totally different.”
“ We mostly talk family matters ... not much on politics though I always follow developments of her career,” he said, adding that Penny is an outdoor person who has among others, scaled Mount Kinabalu several times and dived in Sipadan.
Francis said Penny and her mother left Sabah for Australia in 1977 for Penny’s education while he remained in the state. Over time, he and his wife separated with Penny taking up her mother’s Australian citizenship.
source http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/11/29/nation/20071129153509&sec=nation

From Wikipedia

Penny Wong
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Penelope Ying-yen "Penny" Wong (Chinese; pinyin: Huáng Yīngxián, born November 5, 1968), Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate since 2002, representing South Australia. On 29 November 2007 she was appointed to be the first Australian Minister for Climate Change. She is the first openly gay [1] and the first Asian member of the Australian Cabinet.
PersonalWong was born in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia to a Chinese Malaysian father and an Australian mother.[2][3] She moved to Australia at the age of eight with her mother and brother, after her parents separated. After spending a year on exchange in Brazil, Wong studied Arts/Law at the University of Adelaide. While at university, she worked part time for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.
CareerShe also became involved in political activism at university, winning a position on the National Executive of the National Union of Students. In 1988, Wong joined the Australian Labor Party, winning a position as a delegate to the party's state convention the following year. She has been a delegate each year since, with the exception of 1995.
Wong graduated from university in 1992, and continued on with the CFMEU, working as an industrial officer, gaining admission to the bar in 1993. During 1995 and 1996, she acted as an advisor to the New South Wales state government, specialising in the area of forest policy. On returning to Adelaide, she began practising law, won a position on the ALP's state executive, and also took on work as a legal officer with the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union.
Wong ran for pre-selection for the Senate in 2001, and was selected for the top spot on the party's South Australian ticket, as a result of affirmative action policies and factional changes. Wong is a member of EMILY's List Australia, the support network for Labor women, and currently sits on a number of Senate committees, primarily those related to economics.
She has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister John Howard's ban on same-sex marriages, despite the ban also having the support of her own party.
In June 2005 Wong was appointed Shadow Minister for Employment and Workforce Participation and Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility. Following the reshuffle in December 2006, she became responsible for the portfolios of Public Administration & Accountability, Corporate Governance & Responsibility, and Workforce Participation.
In November 2007, in the wake of the Labor Party victory in the 2007 election, Wong was appointed Minister for Climate Change and Water. Her appointment as the first Australian from an Asian background to hold a cabinet position was quickly greeted by ethnic groups. She will accompany Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to Bali for the international climate change talks.source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Wong

One Month Anniversary

It is exactly one month im here, yesterday. Alhamdulillah. I cant believe I got through it.

Last week I thought I am getting used to the weather, as it doesnt seems that cold for me although it is single digit.
But this morning it was 0 degree centigrade, an d the night before was negative. I was freezing!

And I did went to central London last week ;) Here are some low quality pics from my phone.

Few burgers and a day travel card, ready for some adventure


London Bridge (Correction: its actually the Tower Bridge, thx Becky for correctg)


I forgot what they call this place, the tower somethg i guess


The tower from the side


Natural History Museum if im not mistaken


Inside the very cool Science Museum


As a big fan of this guy, tebalkan muka naik simulator. it was really cool


found this famous place, on my way to London Central Mosque.


then went to Leicester Square, to meet my housmate and return to Sutton. My, that place is so happening.

On the Wednesday Evening I went to this Orchestra thing, well, it sounded absurd, but the event commemorate Malaysia 50th Independence. Actually its not that bad, and I do kind a like this seems to be dorky thing, especially the serenade, quite interesting.


We thought they will play all these traditional instruments, but it turned out to be 100% modern classic , but still sounded Malaysian. Before the event started, everyone in the hall had to stand up for Negaraku. hehe

Well it might sounded like im in some kind of vacation, but its not really the case.
Life at the institute requires really hard work. Only after a month, I finally doesnt sound that stupid in my weekly meeting with my supers. Alhamdulillah. Thanks for the strength.

p.s. dear frens, anyone want a postcard from here, just leave yr address below or mail me, will try to send it :-)

Autumn Sutton

Below are some pics to help you comprehend the awfully described Sutton in the last post



typical english houses




pathway to the institute


my workdesk, before i move to another room


makcik yang hampir diseludup ke ldn melalui hand luggage ;) miss her huhu

going to LDN tomorrow, dah beli pun 1 day travelcard supaya rancangan menjadi

3 weeks in Sutton

Id thought of not posting anymore, but it doesnt feel right, i need to reflect and recap, and writing is a good channel for fragmenting my thoughts and experiences. For my family and friends as well, to inform them that i am still the same hafiz three weeks before ;)

Where to start? Aha the place, Sutton aka London Borough of Sutton, although its in Surrey, it is still considered part of London, its a subUrb of London I guess. In Zone 6, the furthest zone from the central. Its nice here, basically filled with lots of houses, typical English houses, and tress, and wildlife hehe, seriously u can easily spot squirrels, pigeons, other birds that i never saw before, and foxes too! And their size is bigger than their family in Malaysia. The cats too are rather bigger. Probably bcos of the thicker fur. With that in mind, i hope i dont grow too much hair during my stay here hehe. Its cold here, and the weather is unpredictable. but anyway i somehow do like it, bcos its hard to become sweaty here, which is quite a problem for me before.

What else, the ICR. It is a nice place. I got two cards, one to access the hospital (the NHS) and the other for the institute, which is somehow cool! The peoples are nice, and extremely bright! and sometimes i do feel like, am i the only one stupid here? haha. Most of the students in my group have a very strong background in either physics and maths which is seriously intimidating. Thus, I guess i need to work twice as hard.

My supers, they are nice as well, extremely patience with my stupidity hehe. I think they are the most patient academics i ever met. seriously, even after three weeks im performing below par, on the weekly meeting, They are still calm and collected tackling on my weakness, and recommending more reading materials, so that i have a strong related science foundation to pursue on my research.

aha, my housmate, is a very nice guy, hail from switzerland and is very nice (did i repeat? hehe).So nice that, you might think that he is gay if he dont have a gf. He is an atheist, but anyway quite tolerant in dealing with all my 'no'. We do the veges, if we eat together, so there is no problem in the eating department. And his gf is an Indian livin in London, she stop by at our house like every weekend, and she is very nice as well, so i have the chance to feel like 'home', after weekdays spending time with the whites. Bcos of this east and west mix, my house does have curry, rice and not only bread. So its not that bad. Just that Ive to eat sandwiches for lunch at the institute, which left me feeling not so full. Cant imagine how they do that everyday. I bought my own food for lunch, bcos the only sandwich i can eat at the cafes is the cold cheese and tomate sandwich, which taste like yuks.

I havent been to the central London, Id planned to go there today, but I just realised this morning that I havent got my student oyster (a saving transport card for student), so I have to cancel the plan. And went to the town center instead, which have everything u need. Probably next week Ill visit it.

I think thats the major highlight for now. Thanks all for your care and concerns about my life here, Really terharu. And sorry for being idle and my apology for the delay on responding to yr msgs and emails and friendster's comments.

Have a great life everyone!

Finally

Sorry guys for not updating for a while, I just got everything works out at this totally strange land ;-) Anyway I am coping well, dont worry about me. Generally peoples are nice here. Its just the weather is a bit harsh, I almost freezed my brain on my way to the institute this morning Ill update soon. Take care all Cheers

Eid Mubarak

Selamat Hari Raya semua, semoga berbahagia di Aidilfitri ini.
Setahun berlalu begitu pantas, esok bermula musim baru JOLAS, stay tune k ;-P.
Doakan dipermudahkan.

To all my friends in Malaysia, insyaAllah kita jumpa lagi. Salam.

Angkasa1 in less than 1 day

In less than 24 hours, Dr Sheik will be the first Malaysian in space, Congratulation. [more infos and live stream here] Despite the program was turned into a political mockery, I cant help myself feeling proud when I see this pic on the front page of Utusan Malaysia.



hopefully, this program will really be a catalyst for our Science and Technology development, or at least an inspiration to all of us.

Published ISS* Guidelines for Muslim

*ISS = International Space Station

I did posted about this months before, and today I've been alerted by the Star that the guidelines have been published. So straightaway I downloaded it from JAKIM web.
You can download the docs here (Malay) and here (English translation), and also a fancy looking version here.

Although, I applaud such effort, which is able to tell the world that its not a problem for Muslim to be in space, but I couldn't accept the way they put up the guideline.

First of all, it doesnt have the authors' name in it (even the fancy version), I think having a name or two or more does matter, to whom the readers are supposed to refer to in case they need further explanation.

Second, lacking of source. Islam is a religion that uphold its references such as The Quran and the authentic Hadith, thus it is important to elaborate how they had come up with such guide, or the sources of scholars book they refer to.

Third, I dont like the way the write it. It doesn't in line with the standard as the guideline for ISS and doesn't reflect the way Islamic books on ruling supposed to be written.

For examples:

1) Cleaning the no.1 & no.2 section

Istinja’ (washing-up)

Istinja’ means cleaning of the private parts after relieving onself. Istinja’ is by using wipes/tissues which are available at the ISS.

Rules of making istinja’:

1. Using pure, not sacred material
2. Using a solid material
3. Using a dry, non-slippery material
4. Using not less than 3 pieces wipes/tissues
5. Before the najas (filth) dries
6. Before the najas (filth) spreads

I did stumble on this before, its just a normal way of performing istinjak, even on earth we can do the same. Why on earth they have to put such rules, for example rules no1 until 3. Since we all know that they will use the tissue provided in the ISS, why cant we just eliminate these 3 rules, since we all know that the tissue is hygenic, solid and dry?
The way they put it, looks like its just a copy paste work.

2) Eat

4.1 Food

If there is doubt on whether the food served on ISS it is halal or not, it is then permissible to eat the food on the basis of not to starve.

Why the 'if' is still necessary, I think it is possible to check what are the foods that will be prepared for the ISS. And why we still need to put the clause that if it is non halal, it is only permissible to eat to avoid starving. Taking into account how highly scientific ISS station is, I'm sure that they all had calculated the food intake that will provide enough nutrition to each individual on the station. Thus there will be no problem about eating non halal food excessively, the intake is just enough for survival, and isn't that make the non halal now permissible?

3. Pray

3.5 Praying

ii The performance of the physical postures (such as standing, bowing and prostrating) is to suit the conditions in ISS,prioritizing as follows:

1. If upright standing is not possible, then any standing posture,
2. Sitting. Bowing is by bringing down the chin closer to the knee or the prostrating place,
3. Lying down on the right side with body facing the direction of Qibla,
4. Lying flat
5. Using the eye lid as an indicator of the changing of postures in prayer,
6. Imagining the sequence of prayer.

The guideline for Praying, is also a copy paste from the existed rules on how to Pray when the normal ways is not possible. Why on earth, they cant just be exact on how to do it on ISS, taking into account the ISS situation?

I have to admit that my knowledge on Islamic rulings is not in depth, but I can't just zip out my mouth, knowing that such guideline that will be distributed worldwide and carry the Islamic image is not done on par with Islamic analytical sense on rulings. Wallahu'alam.

Morning in HUSM

No, Not at this clinic, the Psychiatry. Went to the Orthopedic, the clinic beside Psych, to remove operation stitches from my previous minor surgery (foreign body removal).


The Orthopedic Clinic. Observe the clinic's front desk differences (with above), looks like this clinic is well funded compared to the Psych.


And the book that accompanied me that morning. Thank God I finally found it at Border's Times Square during my recent trip to KL. Had been looking for it all over Penang, but couldn't find. Highly recommended, even if you are an extrovert.

Introvert and Proud! ;-)

Sami Yusuf on Riz Khan AlJazeera

...you can still be a good Muslim, even if Music is yr thing...

12 hours in KL

Had return in one piece this morning from my trip to KL, Alhamdulillah segala urusan dipermudah.

Sempat juga ke Tasik Titiwangsa naik Eye on Malaysia. Thanks Zakiah (coursemate dulu) for accompanying me around KL that day, walaupun dah naik dan waktu tu mmg langsng tak sesuai, dengan panas terik 2pm.





Gayat! Zakiah rilek je, berdiri dlm coach tu, sambil menerangkan prinsip physics yang berlaku :P

And Thx to Rizuan (schoolmate dulu) sudi berbuka bersama di Times Square walaupun sgt lah sibuk dgn final yr project.

Seronok berjalan, walaupun dlm keadaan berpuasa.

Guys, Will miss u all huhu

p.s. Azim rugi ko tak ikut, best tau naik train hehe

I will never grow up

A Maze of Transportation Methods to KL (my personal journey to collect my visa tomorrow)

Want to go via KTM train (13 hours journey 6pm-7pm, but I think it is worth a try, plus it have berth to sleep on, will be much more convenient than bus, plus my head dept in the UK, is a locomotive collector/fan, will have somethg to talk about with him, i mean out of the academic thgs)
ACCESS DENIED: adviced to take a bus to Shah Alam, go to yr relative house, and ask his help to take you to the Visa Center

Dont like to interrupt others daily life, plus I am not that close to him.
And if I took a bus, I will arrive early morning, since bus trips are usually at night.
Thus, still insist with train
ACCESS GRANTED: not fully heartedly, they bought me a train ticket.

Later told by the granters: You cant bring yr laptop along, also yr atm card. KL is not a safe place. And they brought up the issue of me being robed in KL 4 years ago (I made a mistake, waitin for my fren at a black area in KL, the Central Market). Old memories freshen up again.

Without laptop, the 13 hours journey will become unbearable. And I am now feels insecure about this trip, If others don't believe in me, how can I believe in myself. Dont wanna be blamed later, if somethg happens to me in the trip that is not really agreed by the access granter.

Thus, I had made a decision to sell back the train ticket (will lost 50%) and buy a return (on the same day) flight ticket. Yup that had pissed off the access granters. (I am really sorry, didnt mean to be a disobedient son Huhu)
I think that is the safest. Reduce my time being in KL, and hopefully i am back in one piece.

Pray for my safe journey ya this Monday.

-7.45 am-
After an hour later of rethinking:
I think I shouldn't give up and will go on with the train journey.
I have to believe that I can stand on my own two feet.
I have to grow up!

will be MIA

The Freshers' week
1st Oct: Pub Quiz Night (probably in Cheam)
2nd Oct: No scheduled event
3rd Oct: Ten Pin Bowling @ Bloomsbury bowl, Tavistock Sq, Central
London
4th Oct: Comedy @ Jongleurs, Clapham
5th Oct: Induction day for new students - PhBar + Pizzas + Games +
Band

U know what? I am exempted, hehe, my reason: I want to celebrate Eid with my family here in Msia, and my super said, dont worry, Ull catch up the induction later.
Isnt my super, super nice :)
(jgn jeles kengkawan ku yg slalu kena marah dgn supernya, sabar je la ye hehe)

And yah, a huge sum of money need to be deposited to my housemate account for my house in the UK,
Will money transfer frm Malaysian bank account to Europe's gonna take some time? I know cheque will take at least a month long. For those who are expert in ths, PM me pls Thx

Money2, where are you, I can sense a future of part time Janitor LOL

p.s. my niece is one year old today. Selamat Hari Lahir Amni Nasuha from yr only PakNgah. She is way much brighter now...

I am now have a Power...

...but too bad, couldn't make it this year,
and I dont dare to vote via post from overseas, skeptical of its confidentiality



hopefully, nobody dares to use my ID as a phantom voter. (this answer why I had deliberately erased the details)
Please do check yr status here even if you havent register with SPR
thx En Arip for alerting this

CRAZY WORLD it is

The body found in the bag is in fact the 30 days missing girl, Nurin, DNA test had confirmed. Breaking news from the Star

I AM SICK TO MY STOMACH!

In fact, I just came back from KL for my VISA application, did stayed in Kg Baru for a night, and I found that the bag the CRAZY BEAST stuffed Nurin in was sold at only RM10 in the ramadan market there.

God, give her parents and families, strength to endure this. Amin. My deepest condolences towards them.

It is time to do something. Make it unlawful for parents to live their kids alone/roaming freely.

More sickening news and pics here

30 More Days...

Its official; in 30 Days, I am going to leave my beloved country, my comfort zone, to a foreign land...InsyaAllah

By this time; in 30 Days, I will be 10 Megameters away from home, in the Capital of the United Kingdom, to pursue my next level of education in an institute ranked 4th in its research and listed among the best company in the UK.

It does feel surreal, I always felt that I am just an average Joe (or average Awang in Malay context).

Its been an emotional roller coaster, recently.

Sometimes I am high, happy that the new chapter in my life will soon begin, my baby steps towards my dream realisation.

But sometimes I do feel down, with excessive anxiety. How I am going to cope when I got there? In fact, I never went out of Malaysia! Just once to Singapore, but that happened during my earliest childhood time (in the 80s), where I can barely remember (My mum told me that I was dragging my newly bought bigger-than-me sized stuff bear all over the city, haha)

The fact that Ill be in a place so foreign, plus Ill be the only Malaysian at the institute, does scared the hell out of me.

Ill try hard to always remain positive. I have a friend who had just went to Canada, the only Malaysian at the University, it is hard, yup, but still endurable, and the fact that my friend is a she, makes me feel that I don't deserve to be down, I'm sure its even harder for her.

Thus, Ill try to stay strong.

Are Religions Genetic?

Somebody in a group I subscribed to, started this thread. I think it is worth sharing here.

M wrote:
Are Religions Genetic?

N wrote:
The Nazi's thought so.

M wrote:
you probably didnt understand the question.
or maybe I was not clear in asking
Let me rephrase.
Are you free to change your religion? or is it innate?

A wrote:

Hi M and fellow Mensans,

I think religion is genetic and religions are not genetic.

I said religion is genetic because human believes in God or if not God, other means of Divinity, or supernaturals is intrinsic, it is human nature. Stephen R Covey in his book, entitled The 8th habit from effectiveness to greatness, wrote "spiritual intelligence is the central and most fundamental of all the intelligence, because it becomes the source of guidance of other 3 intelligence" (source: Covey, Stephen R, The 8th Habit from Effectiveness to Greatness. New York: Simon Schuster Inc, 2004). He puts Spiritual Intelligence above IQ and EQ.

Religions are not genetic because a religion is seldom exclusively for certain race or skin color. It looks predetermined by race, only because of the history; its origin and how the religion being spread. (I think it is no longer applicable in this information overload age) Thus, it is possible to change our religion, which is usually determined by our parents, to the one we seems appropriate. The thing that we need to do is to study the religions from its source, the holy book ie the Bible, the Quran, the Torah, The Bhagavad Gita, to name a few, just to be fair. Do you know that; Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all originated with a
divine covenant between the God of the ancient Israelites and Abraham
around 2000 BCE. There are lots of similarity between these three religions, therefore I dont think its hard to study these three for starters, Im sure all of us (the top 2 %) ;), are very capable of.

My 2 cents
arepiece

JOLAS readers 2 cents?

Ihya Ramadan

Ihya Ramadan (Hidupkan Bulan Ramadan)

"manusia dan binatang hidup dengan makanan, kenderaan hidup dengan minyak/bateri, begitu juga dengan Ramadan, perlu juga dihidupkan, iaitu dengan Tilawah AlQuran, Zikir, Solat Terawih, Tadarus, Munajat dan Doa, seperti yang telah Nabi Muhammad SAW lakukan 1400tahun dahulu"
Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Menteri Besar Kelantan, dalam Ucaptama beliau sempena Sambutan Ihya Ramadhan yang sedang berlangsung sekarang.

Saya sentiasa tertunggu-tunggu mutiara kata beliau, analoginya selalunya ringkas dan mudah difahami, tetapi maksudnya mendalam. Alhamdulillah pagi ini, berkesempatan menonton ucapanya, secara langsung melalui Kelantan WebTV walaupun tidak berkesempatan menghadiri majlis tersebut.

Bulan Ramadan, Bulan mulanya Al Quran diturunkan
Bulan Jihad menentang Nafsu
Selamat Menyambut Ramadan Al Mubarak kepada semua Muslimin dan Muslimat

hayatilah lagu bertajuk Welcome o Ramadan oleh Zain Bhikha


dan ya, Ramadan bermula malam ni

just for laugh ;)

p.s. seriously I think, Kelantan is been underrated by the media, Development are everywhere (not just the infrastructure, but also the spiritual developement), Kelantanese have a decent life (you can spot luxurious car everywhere), and interracial relationship is the best in Malaysia (simply because Islam is a colour blind religion), and I think Im blessed been given the opportunity to live in this land.

My patriotism works?

Yesterday, Malaysian Budget for 2008 had announced that there will be an increase in government sponsored students' COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) in the UK, the US and Canada starting this month. The increment will be up to 97%, which is almost double the previous rate, but that doesn't mean a 97% increase, im sure the UK will get a lower increment (thx to the freakin high exchange rate), but still Alhamdulillah at least there will be an increase, insyaAllah gov sponsored student at these countries will no longer live below the poverty line hehe (how many increase did i repeat? haha I am freakin obses with the word now)

While searching for the exact amount of the increment on the net (yea, im a patient guy :P), I stumbled upon few interesting blogs writing about this, most are happy (yea the benefiters i.e. the students), but it can never satisfies all, I also stumbled upon a person who did not agree about the increment (this fella argue that the students are wasting the taxpayers money, touring europe and didnt return) let this fella disagree, he need to be in the students' shoe, then only he is able to understands how hard it is Anyway forget about this, I think the funniest comment about the increment is below (LMAO)

"Rasa macam nak berenti cuci jamban hari ni jugakkk:"
<source>

Among other things in the budget that I really applaud is that it covers the whole spectrum of Malaysians. I think its great, if the budget is really the plan (i mean not just a freakin piece of writing), im sure a lot of peoples will benefit from it.

The couple of patriotism posts recently is worthy I guess

My thanks to all peoples that had worked hard to make this a realisation. Esp the students that never give up writing to the gov, letting them know that they dont hv enough money, apparently it is no longer fell on deaf ears

p.s. Haha Funny when I think how easy I was being bought

Merdeka spirit

Im still in the merdeka spirit, hehe. Funny that I felt like this only at my 23rd encounter with the 31st of August. Probably because it is the 50th anniversary and probably because, ha you all know

Anyway enjoy these TV commercials commemorating 50th Anniversary as an Independent Nation

Media Prima

"...no matter how much Malaysia will change in the future, its a comfort, that something will always remain the same..."

Malaysian Airports

"...tak terfikir langsung nak ke London..."

Perodua

"...tanah air memberi banyak, mesra mendakap kita..."

p.s. I always love Malaysian TV adverts, especially the special ads for religious/cultural/national celebrations, it is rich in esthetical values with deep profound messages. Weird when we cant produced good movies/drama series par with our commercials. If you watch an American channel, ull realize that their adverts are seriously stupid, but somehow they can make great movies/TV series . still cant comprehend yet

Negaraku

Malaysia Tanah Airku
Celebrating 50 years of Nationhood
Keep it up Malaysians!



Weird, I havent step my feet in some of these landmarks, huhu

Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!
Sometimes I wish we can simply value our patriotism by how loud we shout these words or how modern the buildings we build...Anyway, Im still proud to be Malaysian!

When people had freakin lost their hope in health care

This story happens in a village in Indera Kayangan which is not literally floating in the sky but located in the Northern Peninsular of Malaysia. It all begins when an old father to three, grandfather to twelve and great grandfather to two; accidentally felled down from his chair and injured his head. As soon as he fall, he lost his consciousness, but unfortunately he was not brought to the hospital and treated as an emergency case. Instead the people that lived in the same house with the old father thought that he is going to freakin die. Probably after being consulted by the imam next door, they both (the daughter and the imam) had made a freakin decision not to bring him to the hospital, if this occur in the western world, I bet these fella can be brought up to the court and being hold responsible for the death if that’s happen. But, no. He did not die later. The news about the incident was only known by the old father’s son after about an hour later via the phone as he lives hundreds kilometers away. Through the phone the son’s had asked them to send his old father to the hospital immediately, but no, they said they wanna freakin discuss first. What the hell is the discussion for, that guy is freakin need of medical care.

So the far away son, drove the long way to see his dad, with thought that his father is going to freakin die. On the way, he got the news that the old father had regained his consciousness, Alhamdulillah, so he asked them again to bring him to the hospital but now they said that the old father refused to go. They said he hand signaled that he don’t want to go there, when they ask him (since after the incident he cannot walk nor talk). Does in this case, permission is freakin required!?

Now the far away son had arrived, and with the dogma that his dad doesn’t want medical care, he tried his best to find a doc all over the state of Indera Kayangan to diagnose the condition of his dad. Unfortunately it is Sunday and almost all docs are either busy in their clinics or busy with their vacation. But fortunately later at 5.00 pm, a doc comes to the sick old father’s house. As presumed by the writer, the doc can’t do anything as the old father needs to be hospitalized. His head is injured and the mouth region is paralyzed. He barely can swallow, as he breath through his mouth since his nose is probably injured, it is swelling. What he needs is freakin CT Scan and IV (to bring in fluid to the body). No, that’s not the doc’s words, of course the doc will say as plain as he can.

The far away son could not do anything as his dad refused to go to the hospital. Thanks to an 'ustaz', who had suggested that the far way son must follow his dad’s will, Anak Derhaka or disobedient son if he did not. Freakin doesn’t-makes-sense!

He need to be hospitalized that’s it. Im sure the old father did not comprehend what he is going through, probably he is in the state of confusion or disorientation. Suddenly he could not speak, therefore of course he has a very high concern that he will be barbarized in the hospital and die there. Thanks to the memories of his late wife (may Allah bless her soul). But I don’t think this will happen in this case, he just need freakin IV and optionally head CT scan to see where goes wrong and if he permit the necessary surgery. The freakin important thing is IV and his daily pills!

And after three days had passed, he is weakening. Of course he is, he barely can swallow anything, only few drips of water per day. Although the far way son had been persuasive to send his dad to the hospital, but he cant. Especially when other siblings kind a don’t want to send him to the hospital (they just wait for their bro’s decision). If they want too, if course they will send the old dad to the hospital right away after the incident. That is what happening in indera kayangan where many people had lost hope in freakin health care.

One of the son of the far away dad, felt quite annoyed with what is happening. He later tried to persuade his old grandfather to go to the hospital after he failed to persuade his dad. The old grandfather just looks at him without saying anything or signal out anything. Of course he cant, he is just too weak then. Her aunt then respond, “if u want to help, read Yasin near him out loud” Typical! Not that he don’t believe in such thing. The old father need freakin medical care now, asking God’s help without doing anything is not right.

Later this evening, the far away dad, felt that his dad urgently need to be taken to the hospital since he later realized that he need nutrition and the only way to get it is by taking him to the hospital. He tried to persuade the old father again, but no luck, he still refuses. The old father strongly disagrees, by shaking his head. Anyway, he has to follow his dad’s determination although its tough too.

If u can comprehend the author's feelin of helpless right now…

Prayers to the old father:
Semoga Allah mempermudahkan segala keinginannya, meringankan bebannya, dan memberikan ketabahan kepada anak-anaknya dan keluarga terdekat tatkala menghadapi saat sukar ini, Amin.

Anyway the writer doesn’t hold any grunge to the ‘fictional’ characters above. He understands that they all are wise enough to make their decision. He knows that he is just a freakin inmature who needs to let all these go away… Semoga Allah membersihkan hati penulis dari prejudis terhadap saudara pertalian darahnya.

freakin p.s. for those who knows the above characters, please keep this just with you, only for your info not others. It might be factually imperfect here and there, as it is a one sided perspective. Thanks

Malaysian, forget Malaysia truely Asia! are we truely Malaysian?

"Kamu semua tahu tak, Cina tak mandi pagi sebelum pergi sekolah, sebab tu mata dia sepet"
“You all know? Chinese don’t take a morning shower before they go to school, that’s why their eyes like that”

I heard that phrase when I was teaching at a tuition center this evening. It’s not from a student, instead its from a teacher in the next class beside mine, who is easily classified in the male's prime age (supposed to be mature enough). I cant understand why he had to speak like that in front of his all Malay student. Its immature (even though I know his intention is to uplift the spirit of the PMR candidate, to study hard - among other issue that arises). Furthermore it is not appropriate especially in Kelantan context, where it is literally hard to find Chinese around, therefore its harder for these students to mix with others. I don’t want them to get a wrong impression about other Malaysian. And its not fair to the Kelantanese Chinese since they are generally and relatively nicer compared to their kin in other states (blend in well and speak very good Malay).

I bet, that teacher’s political ideology differs than the ruling state’s, based on his ideas of nationalism which I frequently overheard when he teaches next my class. He is supposed to be the role model, not advocating racism. I later shut off the sliding door partitioning the two classes, indicating my objection.

Even though we are proud to say that we are all Malaysian, we live in peace and harmony despite the differences in culture and belief, we branded our nation as the Truly Asia! Yet I found that most of us are hypocrites.

Take a look at the pics below.

What came up on yr mind? Yr feeling?

I knew this from my university’s alumni online group. The pics and some more got into the group from several similar FORWARD post by fellow Malays who got pissed by the way she hold the pig and ‘proudly’ (quote from what they say) take pics with the animal. The group was flooded with similar post, one after another but with different title.

An example:
Anak sapa la ni…kerja ladang babi…
Whose daughter is this? Work in the pigs’ barn

What is the purpose of forwarding this email? The clear intention is to demonize this girl, which in my opinion hasn’t done anything wrong. Its not that she had choped off the pig’s head or slaughtered it, roasted it’s meat, and eat it.

It is even sadder when later, many of the group member (yup, the so called educated people of Malaysia) start leavin their comment about the pic, and demanding explanation from this poor girl. Which later replied by a university’s lecturer, explaining that she is in the Vet program of the uni. But still people cannot accept the way she posed in front of the cam and accused her on putting Islamic law behind. Its ridiculious. I learned that Muslim is just not allowed to eat its meat, we can still touch with a precondition that we clean it later as described by the scholars.

This chaos can give Islam a bad impression. Thanks to these Muslim chaotic maker.

We all tend to mix things up. I think it is the stigma. We are banned to eat its meat. That’s it. Why we have to ‘jump’, and make a big mountain over not even a molehill. Be sensitive, we live in a country, where there are others that appreciate its meat.

That’s why I said we are hypocrite. When we have the opportunity to speak up anonymously, we put aside the borders and say all the insensitive things about others without deep thinking and analysis and this clearly potrays our shallow stands in the issues . This also apply to other races, I often found racist comments by the Chinese in the internet media (the blog and its comments) and even in my blog as well like in this, this and this posts' comment section. Some are insensitive remark on Islam, which was a direct results of Muslims failed to portray the true teaching of the religion. So its not their fault either, it is also ours, that carry the Islamic image in Malaysia.

Its not that I want to stir a racial tension, but it is what we all face, really.

Take a look at the ruling party, they themselves portrayed the similar issue. When one of the subparty declared that we are an Islamic nation, but then the other sub denied it. See, their understanding of our constitution is also clearly apart. It is not a surprise that the peoples they rule, themselves have the common misunderstanding, hypocritical stand in few issue.

The recent popular arguments, Bahasa Malaysia or Bahasa Melayu. My views? I don’t care! Even after we had changed our school’s name frm Sekolah Melayu to Sekolah Kebangsaan, still some despise these schools and choose vernacular instead. It is not about the branding! Not that I blame this to only nonMalay, we shouldn’t just look at things superficially, try to understand, why there are such reluctance. Is it the way the school being handle? Is it their teachers? (I’m sure the example at the top can influence in someway). We need more than, just accusing people being unpatriotic because they don’t want to follow 'the national custom'. Why don’t we all embrace all custom, don’t limit us just to the so called national Identity.

Luckily we all are very nice people, rarely causes any real problem, despite the issues and disagreement hidden beneath our friendly faces.

50 years had past…

I think we are lucky, living in a 'dream nation', but we all have to stop day dreaming and face the reality somehow. There are still lots of issues that need to be straighten up, esp. when the scenario still permit such discussion, fix where possible, before its too late!

Selamat Menyambut Ulang tahun yang ke-50, its time to bring it to the next level, Mutual-understanding is no longer enough…

p.s. I sometimes sense that we are seriously being attacked and poked by non-Malaysians esp. some of our ‘neighbors’, which have their own agenda. I think there are peoples that loath Malaysian peace and will do whatever it takes (thx to the www anonymity) to destroy the current state of serenity. So beware fellow Malaysians!

Guilty of Murder

Kota Bharu, August 20th 2007 (7.40 am) - An idle postgraduate student was found guilty without trial this morning under the offense of he-isn’t-sure-which-degree-of-murder. He had accidentally killed his cat (one of the newborn) while reversing his car out of the porch to send his sister to school which started at 8am that day. The incident occurs due to the false impression of the driver that all his cats have been removed from the pathway by his sister who was earlier waiting outside. The accident occurs so fast, and the kitten died on the scene simultaneously. Not only that, he was also yelled by his mother (it is so loud that he thought all the neighbors can hear he was being scolded), who was mad at him since he is in a hurry as he woke up late (after his Subuh prayer nap) that morning because he slept a bit late last night chatting with a stranger about Hizbu Tahrir (the stranger is one of the member).

The offender was reached for his comment about the incident while he was burying the kitten after he went back from sending his sister. With tears going down his cheek he said, “I take full responsibility over the dead kitten (May Allah forgive me), there is no point on blaming others. Although I am a bit frustrated being scolded like a kid, I accept it, she is just doing her job” "I never reverse without checking the car's under, but I didn't do that this morning, it is a mistake. I regret I did not do that." He is very sad that he had killed a life, especially when the kitten is the cutest among the three. He feel that he need to apologize to Minah (the kitten’s mum) and he feel a bit relieved when he later saw Minah is acting like usual. Only Allah knows what is in her mind.

When further asked about his comment on Hizbu Tahrir (HT), he said "I cant comment in a comprehensive way since my knowledge about this movement is still limited" Moreover, the stranger failed to address some of his question (such as how this going to work in Malaysia), The stranger said he cannot give the answer now, as it doesn’t work if he describe it online.

BTW, he felt that it is a good thing that there is such movement. However he think that the movement only sounded good theoretically and he is not sure how it is going to work practically especially in Malaysian context. He added, “I am sure Daulah Islamiah is the answer to the current miseries in Muslim majority nation especially the Middle East. However, I have no idea on how this is going to work via HT’s way, as I never heard of such movement before, it’s not even a real political party here!” He also promised to do his research on this by watching all the vdos and infos given by the stranger, and later get back to this issue, insyaAllah.

Sterile Memories, yet not cleaned

I went to HUSM this morning, to take my Hepatitis screening result. It is for my medical check up for the scholarship thingy. The health screening was done on Monday, but the result for the Hepatitis test can only be known after a week (bcos of the waitin list), but luckily the nurse expedite the process for me, I got the result today (after 3days). It is Negative.

And they also did an HIV screening on my blood which was not required in the forms. BTW, the doc asked me whether I would like to know the result, as the result is not displayed on the online system. Since the test has been done, why not?, I replied. So, the nurse went to the lab, and brought back a sealed result, Its also negative. Good to know there is anonymity in this full-of-stigma-disease screening, hope more and more people will take up the test, so that they won't spread it to others.

Alhamdulillah, I'm certified medically fit. Free from Hepatitis and HIV. Not that I'm in the high risk group. But there are possibilities for us to get these viruses even though we don't engage in the common you-all-know-what-activities that increase your risk of getting these deadly diseases. But having experienced being hospitalised, does make me a bit concern about this. You know its not a very safe place and accident can occurs. Luckily I was spared.

Speaking about accident, I had once in 2001, which is quite an awful mishap actually. The collision between my dad's boon-siew-honda with a car, causes part of my right hand skin tore apart exposing my bone. Its eerie when I think about it again, but at that moment I didn't feel any pain actually, I even managed to pick up the bike, and move it to the road side in the middle of the busy road, thanks to the adrenaline rush, funny somehow. Two nice peoples brought me to the hospital. As it is a government's, they only sew it back after 3 hours. I was only an after pre-uni student at that time, it happens during the break between pre-uni and my 1^st degree. I didn't say much that time, only wait for them to do their job, how unlucky. Some nurses in the ward are extremely furious when they attend the patient, lucky, they are nicer to me since later they knew I am a future health sc student. Very bias.

And today after about 6 years, I complaind to the doc attending my health screening, about the foreign materials I recently felt under my skin in the injured region (of course after I've been certified medically fit), she send me to the x-ray room, and they found that there are small pieces of glass scattered around my hand. I am shocked to see the x-ray film myself, I thought its only one, but its more than 5 pieces of tiny glass. Shit, why they didn't removed it during the after crash surgery, damn it. (Well I didn't swear verbally). The doc said probably bcos of the severity of the injury, makes sense, but with my limited knowledge about medicine back then, I do realise I was not treated in a proper way, but I didn't make a big fuss bout it, it is past).

Back to today's story, So the nice doc scheduled me with an orthopaedic next month. Another surgery mayb. Dont feel sorry for me, I am used to surgery. I already had two after the crash, one is to reconstruct the scar by a plastic surgeon, (luckily I was studying at one of the best university hospital in the country, so its all free and from the best) Anyway the scar is still there, but the appearance is greatly minimized. Another surgery was done to remove 3 small pieces of glass 2 years after the surgery. And I had endured series of injection after the reconstruction surgery, the plastic surgeon injected the scar region with a kind of steroid to minimise the scar appearance. So I'm not really scared with needles and docs n hospital. I'm used to it and have fair enough knowledge, so I do understand, comprehend and not that scared. Please don't pity me, OK?

My advice to my dear reader regarding our Government Hospital (based on my experience and my observation), NEVER go to these hospitals, if you are not knowledgeable (medically), since the doc will treat you like you cannot comprehend even a word from him (the docs wont say anything really). I know the doc's huge work load etc, but it doesn't hurt if the doc explain it in a simple way, I'm sure people can understand. Rather than, giving the silence treatment, and people misunderstood it. I had experienced a lot of these when I went back to my villages (the place of birth for my mum and dad). Because of the reluctance of these docs to explain things, people tend to take the alternative instead, which is meeting the bomoh etc, instead of taking the required treatment. Some bomoh is full of bullshit, seriously, black-magic or kena-buat-orang is usually the causative of the illness, not that I don't believe in these things, but Dr Harun Din had made a statement that there is no single human being can know the hidden stuff or the perkara ghaib, even our Prophet Muhammad PBUH don't know things beyond his senses, unless he was told by Allah.

And the result of misunderstanding the modern meds is unnecessary death. Yup its fate, but when there are ways to spare it, the death is not supposed to happen. And by eliminating peoples' believe in science based treatment, people tend to belief in khurafat and syirik based methodology, because in time of despair, people will do whatever it takes. Which is worst.

I had once go through this silly public health system when my close family, which is my grandma (may Allah bless her soul) pass away due to colon cancer few years ago without the families (even my dad) knowing the cause of death initially. I only knew it is due to colon cancer when I read the death cert. Thanks to the docs, which had zipped their mouth starting from my grandma's admission to the hospital (her stomach was bloated that time), to surgery and to few days unconscious in ICU till her life ends. Its fate I know. But this type of cancer needs years to develop to this stage. Again thanks to the docs at general practitioner or the clinics, that don't done/recommend any necessary screening during the cancer development, instead they prescribed kinds of pain killer and eventually to the steroid based med without prompting any caution. No offense, but I think this is how the health system works in Malaysia, I know there are good docs, but I haven't found any in the gov hospital, nothin compared to the university hospital (probably I am having a better treatment because I am one of them, mayb).

And it is also doesn't hurt if the docs treating my grandma (may her soul rest in peace) tell her son and daughters the cause of death, so that necessary cautious can be taken, as some diseases have genetic causative, meaning if yr parent have it, you have higher risk of getting it. Therefore the children are well informed in this, So that they can take the available preventive measures such as periodic scanning etc, right?

Enough blabbering I guess, nothing gained from it. The only way to improve this is to take part in the system and change it. InsyaAllah soon!

p.s. just remembered! about a nice General Hospital (GH) Doctor. He is a GH ophthalmologist that had performed a cataract surgery on my mum's eye at a private hospital (he work part time there), I wrote about this before, the link is here. He is not just willing to explain, but also charmin (my mum said so) And is still single (My sister in law's mum works at the GH, she knows all the gossips). So for singles out there in KB, you can try pretending having an eye complication, and go to the GH, lucky, you'll be scheduled to meet him. Yes he is a Kelantanese (an important aspect for Kelantanese)

My Twisted Love *updated KBMall PC Fair Kelantan

HP Pavilion TX1000

Read review by the professional here



My review:
Pros: the design, tablet (u can write on the screen, but its not very sensitive, need to press a bit harder than normal writing on paper); finger print reader; remote for media; plus almost all other things usually on normal notebook
Cons: like i said the touchscreen is a lil insensitive, but still alright, very useful for research student, as they will spent large amount of time reading journals digitally; can get pretty hot but not burning hot; Vista OS (hv few problems, normal microsoft thingy, is it a conspiracy?); no international warranty, only Asia Pacific; quite thick, but not that heavy.

It is now retaild at August's PCFair at RM2999 (for AMD Athlon X2 processor model, not the Turion, Turion is at RM4999, other specs are the same). I just wanna share this great deal. I almost going to spend 5K for it, Alhamdulillah I did went to Penang's PC Fair, and found about this there)

I think you can still grab this twisted beauty at venues below from HP's authorised reseller, HP only hv booth in KL's PCFair, which was held last week. I grab mine at Penang's, from one of the reseller, which v.nicely throw me a free HP carrying case along with this great deal (anybody wanna buy the bag, let me know, im going to put on ebay in few days).

The next/current PC Fair venues

10 - 12 August 2007
11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Johor Bahru City Square, Johor
Jalan Wong Ah Fook, 80000 Johor Bahru
Stadium Indera Mulia, Ipoh, Perak
Jalan Stadium Perak, 31400 Ipoh
Central Square, Sungai Petani, Kedah
Jalan Kampung Baru, 08000 Sungai Petani
Dewan Sri Mentakab, Pahang
Mentakab, Pahang

16 - 18 August 2007
11:00 am - 9:00 pm

KB Mall, Kota Bharu, Kelantan
Jalan Hamzah, 15050 Kota Bharu
Terengganu Trade Centre, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu
Padang Hiliran, 21100 Kuala Terengganu

17 - 19 August 2007
11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Mahkota Parade Melaka
Jalan Merdeka, 75000 Bandar Hilir, Melaka
Star Parade, Alor Star, Kedah
Jalan Teluk Wanjah, 05200 Alor Star
Dewan Merdeka MP Manjung, Perak
Jalan Pinang Raja, 32040 Seri Manjung

This is a must have notebook for college students esp the postgrads, its the cheapest Tablet u can get, most Tablet sell at a whopping retail price of 7K and above (Fujitsu, IBM etc)

p.s. I did went to the Kelantan's PC Fair this evening. This deal is not available here based on the HP's pamplet. Just wanna let you know.
Prbbly u have to checked it yourself at the PC Fair, bcos there is a booth I didnt visit, which is owned by the person I quarelled with in this post.

Tagged

There is this tag thing, among the bloggers, Im sure u all know what tag mean, you yourself is a blogger or at least an avid reader.
I was tagged by Zafi, in the name of charity. I dont think it is still valid, but anyway its fun to answer all the questions, actually more like completing 27 phrases. Here is my response in about 20 minutes time

1. A person is only as good as ... infinity, there is no limitation to be good

2. Friendship is always ... important, they are the want u talk to, things u cant talk with yr family

3. To love is to ...like something or somebody very much

4. Money makes me ...spend, or think about spending

5. I miss ...my childhood, where my judgmental is pure

6. My way of saying I care is by ...extending my help, if cant, my prayers

7. I try to spread love and happiness by...spreading the truth

8. Pick the flowers when ...I was ask to, I never pick a flower, no reason on doing that

9. To love someone is to ... admire someone

10. Beauty is ...not skin deep

11. When I was thirteen, what I remember the most was ...I was in an all boys boarding school

12. When I was twenty one, I remember...I was struggling to find myself

13. I am most happy when ... I feel happy, I am usually not sure why I am happy

14. Nothing makes me happier than ...the world is in peace

15. If I can change one thing, I will change ...something about myself

16. If smiles were ... therapeutic, why people don't smile to cure their misery

17. Wouldn't it be nice if we could ...all 'see'

18. If you want to be useful then you have to ...contribute

19. Money is not everything but ...it is a necessity

20. The most touching moment I have experienced is ...when my D praises me

21. I smile when ... I want to

22. When I am happy, I ...smile and talk more than usual

23. If only I don't have to work then...I will still work, doing something is working

24. The best thing I did yesterday was ...(sorry cant tell you, it is none of yr business :P)

25. If I ever write a book, I will give it this title ...SELF TITLED BOOK (hehe)

26. One thing I must do before I die is ...getting closer to Him

27. Doing this me, I feel like ... Im done

Im not going to tag anybody, feel free to copy if you want to answer these questions, its fun. Cheers!

What is gay? by a 12 years old boy

Look at the diagram below, observe the pictures and read the hyphenated words.

No, I’m not asking you to do the task. (If u want to, please, and please don’t ask me to mark, I am myself have lots of grammatical error in my sentences :P) But this task was given by me to a group of 12 years old for their English class. I was their on-call teacher.

Student A & B: [Talking and laughing]
Me: Boys, Whats so funny about?
Student A: He said Gerald is gay. [Pointing at student B]
Student B: [Sheepishly smile and avoid eye contact]
Me: [Not sure whats appropriate to say for a second. Come up with a question to Student A] What is gay?
Student A: Pondan! sir [confidently tell me]
Me: No, its not. [cant hold the straight face, I did smile]
Student A: Yes, it is [smiling]
The girls: [Smiling too]
Other boys: [No reaction]
Me: [Change topic, and laughing inside (No, im not going to change this English class to a sexual education forum)]

Im not surprise they know the jargon (which should not be known by their age at my time), its all over the media (the celebrity gossip etc). But I just don’t understand how they come up with that conclusion (Gerald is gay). Obviously they associate the term with effeminate male (they pics suggest he is befriending with two girls, thus Gerald is not masculine, maybe?), and its not about sexual orientation Haha Even many adult don’t understand this, how can I expect their kids to understand (speakin in Malaysian context). Even some of the so called expert on TV somehow suggest to viewers that gay is about the sexual activity u-know-between-not-the opposite-sex.
Thank God im not that shallow and I did take some social science subjects back in college.

Islam is a sexist religion?

I'm sure we all aware of this statement, from the media, or from other people around us, or even from our own thought, when we think about it base on our shallow understanding of Islam.
I guess its normal, we all human, logical being, faith doesnt come by without deeper understanding and thinking.

Therefore sometime, even Muslims themselves believe in this statement, and some even try to reinterpret the Quran because they think there are bias in the interpretation as it was translated by males, therefore it is from male perspective.
Probably this is an unnecessary step, because what I believe, we don't need 'new' interpretation, as the most important thing is, to understand the meaning behind what had been interpreted.

As a Muslim, we believe in all things Allah had told us to, its in the faith.
But, how you as a Muslims, going to face such remark on Islam. Is your current methodology is wise enough?
Or if you are still searching, you want the answer and you feel that your faith is not strong enough.

Even if you are not a Muslim, but you are open minded, and want to learn what Islam actually is, and why there are the so called 'sexist rules' in the religion,
Or you have been irked and unsatisfied, by the common answer from a Muslim regarding Islam. for example, When u asked, why a Muslim women need to cover up?, they replied with the common stereotypical: to prevent her from being raped. Of course this doesnt make sense.

There are answers for this.
Perfect Justice: Debunking the male bias myth by Yasir Qadhi

The introduction transcript

The topic that has been assigned for me for today, is entitled perfect justice debunking the male bias myth. In other words the topic is about explaining to non Muslims in our time even many Muslims why is it there are so many gender specific rules. Gender different rules in Islam.

Why do our women have to wear hijab and not man?

Why is it that a man is allowed to practice polygamy and not women?

Why is it that the inheritance is different?

Why, Why Why?

So many questions arise from non Muslims and even in our times for many Muslims They are questioning the fundamentals of their religion. The fundamentals of Fiqh. The fundamentals of Usul. The fundamentals of male female interaction and they are wondering why is our religion is so different from what we see around us today. From the environment we have been raised in and so I’m trying to explain in this talk in a nutshell our proper methodology of response.

How do we response to these allegation Somebody comes and tell us Islam is a very Chauvinistic religion? Its a sexist faith? It prefers men over women? And they list a number of things such as polygamy, such as hijab, such as inheritance, such as this and that, witnesses in the court and they list a number of things and they say look, look at this type of religion, its making women backwards, and is promoting male chauvinism and making men better than women. How do we response to these allegation? how do we defend our faith from these accusations?

Now the topic that I’m talking about is very common, is very common you’d heard it so many times on human rights in Islam, in fact I may even go so far as to say that this has become a staple topic for many conventions and many speakers. So much so that an average talk that is advertise with this topic in mind, would not even generate a great response because its cliché been there done that. I’ve heard this conversation before So let me reassure you that although the topic might indeed be very common. In fact one of the most common topics at Muslim conventions and gatherings. Let me be so bold as to state that the response you’ll hear today insyaAllah is a very very unique response It is a response that is rarely heard It is a response that I personally believe is a much better and perfect response than the traditional, than the stereotypical response that is given to these questions

Because and I claim perhaps very boldly and Ill justify this claim that the traditional methodology of responding to these allegations by traditional methodology I’m referring to answers that all of you know.

Why is a men is allowed to have more than one wife and a women isn’t? Well because during the times of war its men who dies and the women is more numerous because there is orphans because you know more widowers.

Why is it that u know the inheritances is more for the men vs. the women? Well because the men has more financial obligation than a women, so you have these (excuse me) stereotypical responses okay.

And I state quite boldly and Ill defend this insyaAllah that these responses have not, cannot and will not succeed in doing justice to our religion These traditional responses, they will not succeed in solving this bias In solving this perception that non Muslims and unfortunately many Muslims who are now grounded in their religion have of our religion with regards to male female interactions.

I hope, above transcript of the introduction had intrigue your interest in watching and listening to the video below. Mark your planner for an hour date with this Yasir Qadhi’s lecture, because I think it is the best lecture providing the best answer in this issue.

to download, find the link here

About Yasir Qadhi
Yasir Qadhi was born in Houston, Texas and completed his primary and secondary education in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston, after which he was accepted as a student at the Islamic University of Madinah. After completing a diploma in Arabic, he graduated with a B.A. from the College of Hadith and Islamic Sciences. Thereafter, he completed a M.A. in Islamic Theology from the College of Dawah.
His published works include Riya'a: The Hidden Shirk, Du'aa: The Weapon of the Believer, and An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'an.
Yasir Qadhi is currently pursuing his doctorate, in Religious Studies, at Yale University in New Haven, CT. At AlMaghrib Instiute he teaches the Light of Guidance and the Light Upon Light seminars, which focus on aqeedah.

Green for Fly, Red for Politics

This post is not about green/red apple nor political parties official colour.
But Its a bout me! metaphorically described.
As I am about to cross an important junction in my life.

Finally, an absolute green light from the scholarship provider.
Insya'Allah Im going to leave Msia this October, but not for-ever, I hope.
Finally, I think I'm happy, but mixed with all kind of emotions.
Perhaps, I am not really happy, huh emotion are complicated, wont be able to comprehend myself.

I have to start prepping spiritually, mentally and physically, I think I did already start, probably I need to multiply the effort.
More time on enriching these.
Maybe by cutting down my online hours, especially the time spend on political web-logs and news.
I came up to a conclusion recently that I don't feel I gained anything positive from reading 'em. Just plain hatred, which only boils my blood (haha, a bit exaggerating). But cant deny that I am pissed when the truth will usually find its way under the carpet. Swept by the prime media and lies.
At the end of the day, what I felt is a sense of anger and helpless. Which is not good for me, I need to cheer up and loosen up more.

I cant do anything to correct it, yes, but I did note it in my mind, Ill give my attention to this when the time comes, in the near future.

I have to focus in the most important things for me, for now, and let the other things revolve around. Prioritize!

Thanks all for your extended prayers, God bless.
Thank You, for the only You, the only one entitled for the credit, for all the blessing.
Hoping for bright years ahead.

p.s. Ive been tagged by Zafi.
Did saw the same tag on MarinaM's blog few weeks bfor,
will get back to the questions soon.

Jom Heboh Penang

Last weekend, I was in Penang. And coincidentally, Jom Heboh was bein held there that weekend. As I never been to this carnival, I decided to give it a try. So early that morning, my sister and I head to Queensbay Mall to experience it ourselves.

Well, its not bad at all. I arrived early, people not yet got up from their extra time weekend morning nap, therefore I was less bothered by mass amount of people. There were lots of booth from TV3's owned to food product to automotive to hotlink supersized booth to a ministry booth.

For those who hv never been to this carnival, here are things u can do:
TV3 booth, u can meet the celebrities, get their autograph, take pics (its no big deal for me)
Food booth, u can sample food, and buy em, they sold it cheaper compared to retail
it is a fun place to be.

The highlight of my Jom Heboh was Muadz.
He is a singer, a new talent with good intention. A good addition to our local music industry. We can categorized him in Nasheed, but with a fresh approach, contemporary image and music to spread the message of truth through the lyrics. Alhamdulillah, there are such efforts. Its a great thing I found about him there.

Here are the pics of the autographed CD (my sister's)







My sister was suprised that Muadz is an extremely nice guy when we met him. Probably because she never met a celeb, they are supposed to be nice, but I think he is genuine. He expressed his gratitude over our purchase, in fact he was the one opening the CD plastic wrapping using his own coin. I felt silly for a moment, I think I didn't even say thank you when we left. But I did say Good Luck (it is unnecessary when I think about it again) and All the best!

Haven't yet heard all the tracks as the CD is with my sis, but i did heard some (i think its live) during the carnival. He has a good voice, really nice tone, suite the lyrics and music. And his inspiration (written in the CD) are Sami Yusof and Outlandish (to name a few), owh now I see how he come up with this album. I hope Malaysian can embrace this kind of Nasheed genre. Its time to move away from the MTV guys, it is so 90s haha

I felt a bit sad, bcos he didnt get a good support during the carnival. Nobody bother to stop when he sang live at a booth, it was just couple of us and a few, which I think is pathetic. I saw most are Malay there at the carnival and of course Muslim, come on, give him a support at least by stopping by. Probably bcos no one knew him (just recently he got into the newspaper), he deserves attention like these guys below had.







...sucked into hedonisme for a while.
The male celebs were on makeup (not light!), hehe, i know2, the camera thingy, but seriously theyd lost their masculinity

Back to Muadz story, He has his own blog at http://muadzseekinglight.blogspot.com/
There are some clips from his album. Its worth a try to give a visit and listen to some. "The Wayfarers" is an awesome track.
For those in Malaysia, Grab his CD in stores. It cost less than RM30 and you are helping him spreading the words of wisdom to humankind.

Muadz is a lawyer by profession, and a singer by passion.

p.s. Frens, great to see you all in Penang.