The Reader

Bilingual

When it comes to writing short notes like in my blog, I prefer to write in English. Some of my friends prefer to write in Bahasa Melayu( Malay). I guess it is a personal choice.

Sometimes, I find difficult to express my thoughts and feelings in English.Most likely, it is due to my limited vocabulary and/or my capability to articulate  the issue. In a few cases,no equivalent English words can translate the meaning properly.

A few days ago, a friend  asked to write articles of my interest for his new monthly magazine in Bahasa Melayu. I told him I am not qualified but he insisted.So,I sarted a blog entitled Kira-Bicara to practise writing in Malay language.

Kira Bicara is derived from Kelantanese dialect "kigho caro".I think it means to take note and do something about it.May be my fellow readers can explain better.

Some four years ago(before the word blog came into existence, I wrote a few short notes in my old homepage that may shed some light of what I mean by Kira Bicara(or Cara Bicara).

Note : Kira Bicara is not a daily journal like The Reader.It may be updated  1 to 4 times in a month.Everyone will be informed if there is any update via this blog.

Among the literati..

Last night I attended Raya Open House by a friend who is a famous poet.When I arrived, I was pleasantly suprised to see so many writers,poets,painters and a famous film director! When someone asked me what do I do and I replied that I just write a few sentences in my blog almost everyday. I felt like a Kancil( a small Malaysian car) being parked among Mercedes,Porshes,Jaguars,Volvos etc.

One poet asked me what Malay novels that I have read recently.I felt ashamed to tell him that I usually read English novels and seldom Malay novels.When he  noticed that I was slow to respond to his question,he told me that there is not much to choose from.When I told him that there are a few Malay novels in the bookshops, he corrected me that those are 'buku cerita'(story books) and not novels. Honestly, as a layman, I can't differentiate clearly between the two.

This is my first encounter with the national literati.I just sat there and listened to interesting conversations,some of which I don't understand when it comes to history of art.(Macam rusa masuk kampung).

On personal note, I will only get the prize for having the shortest hair-cut among the long hairs and beards;-)

On fitrah

Most of us are very familiar with zakat fitrah.In Kuala Lumpur, we are paying RM 4.50 per person. That is the easier part.The more difficult part is to maintain our personal fitrah.

During last Ramadhan, I attended a talk by a da'i. He talked about getting back/returning to our fitrah during Ramadhan.First thing first: What is our fitrah? What do we know and understand about it?What had happened to it as we live from year to year?

From my personal experience, we may be have neglected this part of ourserlves and spent too much time and money on our physical being.

Here are two links that I found very informative on the meanings of fitrah. Here and here.

Our children are 'amanah' from Allah swt to us.As parents,we must be very concerned about our children aqidah,ibadah and aklaq.The 'tanggung jawab' is very heavy indeed-'tanggung' mean responsible,'jawab' means amswerable/accountable.

Below is a hadith for our reference:

Prophet Muhammad - the Final Messenger of God, may God bless him and give him peace, reported that God the Exalted said:  "I created My servants in the right religion, but the devils made them go astray."  (Reported in Sahih Muslim.)  The Messenger of God, may God bless him and give him peace, also said:  "Each child is born in a state of fitrah, but his parents make him a Jew or a Christian."  (Reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).

Let's learn more about fitrah and do something about it.

A fisherman's life

On the fourth Shawal,1425 a man came to my mother's house with a bundle of fish. He came to visit my younger brother with his gift of his lastest catch from the South China Sea.

I took the opportunity to ask him about his life as a fisherman.He told me tha he owns a small boat and has two assistants.His daily incomes ranges from RM 50  to RM 1000( very seldom) a day depending on the weather and the time of the year. After deducting the repayment for the boat , the net and his two assistants,there is not much left for him.

He lives in a fishing village called Perupok in the district of Bachok.He sells his catch through a middle man who will handle all the selling to the retailers or exporters. When I asked him who made the most money,he told me the middle man who has a few more fishermen under his 'influence'.During bad times, the middle will take care of their financial needs. It is nothing new and it has not changed since I remembered some 30 years ago.At Kota Bharu, most middlemen will sell their fish to another two wholesellers who have the cold storage facilities for export market.

Your guess is good as mine as who makes the most money in the fishing industry.

I know of two government agencies who are supposed to help the poor fishermen. These agencies may have done something to help poor fishermen, but the one who came to my mother's house has yet to benefit. Poverty among fishmen is a global issue.

Fishing is billion ringgit industry, but my friend cautioned me that the trading of fish is quite fishy...

Whatever it is, may I offer my thanks to all Malaysian fishermen who dared to venture into the rough seas so that we all can have fish for our lunches and dinners.

Licence to Kill?

What would be your reaction if someone tells you that there is an epidemic that will kill at least 6,000 Malaysians every year?And anyone of us is a potential victim! Surely, most of us will be scared.But this 'disease' is a yearly affair now, and many of us have got used to it. It is nothing less than fatal road accidents and it happens most during the festivals-be it Hari Raya,Chinese New Year ,Depaavali and Christmas.

To-day, Berita Harian reported that during the recent 15 -day Ops Sikap V11, there were 11,609 road accidents and 200 deaths( compared to 241 last year).Sad to say,we have the highest death rate for 100,000 people in Asia Pacific!What a waste!For more statistical information,click here.

The issue had caught the attention of our Prime Minister.Efforts and campaigns were carried out ,and yet the death figure is too high for our country.

There are many factors leading to the road accidents and deaths- the drivers, the vehicles and the roads.I personally do not have a solution to this perennial national tragedy, but I hope the new department set up by the government to handle this matter  as soon as possible. The Chinese New Year will be coming soon...

Just take a look at our driving licences. Are these licences to kill or be killed on the roads?

Supply and Demand

By to-day, most Malaysians are back to work after a one week Hari Raya Puasa holidays (and also Deepavali). I hope everyone had a good festival and holiday and safely back in their homes/offices.

Let me share with you what happened to the infrastrusture due to the sudden influx of urban people going back to their kampung(villages) for the festival celebrations.On the night I arrived at my kampung, there was no water supply.We had to wait until midnight for the tanks to fill up and took our bath.

The next day, I wanted to get some cash from ATM machines at Bachok(5km away from my house).All the two ATM's belonging to all the big banks dried up of cash.We had to go to Kota Bharu(20km away). On the way, we had to face a big traffic jam starting all the way from Kubang Kerian.The roads were congested with cars from all over the country.

When I wanted to call  my friends from my mobile phones, I got the reply: Network busy.Not only the congested roads,inadequate water supply, no cash at ATM's but we also  have 'traffic jams' on our airwaves!

These are some inconveniences that we had to bear during festivals.However,some of them can be avoided or mitigated with proper planning.

The bottom line is we are happy and safe.

Drinking rubbish

The above photo was taken this morning at 7:30am (Saturday 20/11/2004) at the esplande facing the water fountains at KLCC,Kuala Lumpur.Some people are just irresponsible.Only effective enforcement from relevant authority can make our environment clean,nice and tidy.

To Sir,with Love

On the second day of the recent Hari Raya Eidul Fitri, a 60-year old man came to my mother's house to celebrate the Eid Mubarak. I know him since I was small. He used to come and visit my late father who passed away in Dec., 1980. He told us that he is 'anak murid'( a student) of my father.By the way, my father was a religous teacher since late 40's for three decades.

The words 'anak murid' means more than just a pupil or a student. There is a special relationship or bonding between them. It is more like father and son.Some students revered their teachers and love them more than their own natural fathers.One is proud of one another.

After having some 'kueh raya'( cakes etc), he reminisced of his time with my late father.Suddenly, he stopped and broke into tears. I knew the feeling when I also have similar experience with my late teacher.After his burst, he did not stay long.After we shook hands to say good-bye, he embraced and kissed me. I knew that kiss was not for me , but for my late father.That is how much he loved his guru.

I hold back my tears while we exchanged our salam greetings afterwards.It also reminded me of my late father,especially during the festival of Eid Mubarak.

By the way, if you still have teachers whom you love and respect, it is better to pay a visit while they are still around.

A beach destroyed..

To all muslims/muslimah readers of my blog,you are welcome back to read my musings after a week break.(To the others,you are always welcome!).I hope everyone had a good Hari Raya. Every Hari Raya,everyone of us has a story to tell. Below is my first...

It is my yearly routine that every time after I visited the cemetry at Banggol, I will take my family for a sea-food meal at PCB( Pantai Cahaya Bulan,formerly known as Pantai Cinta Berahi). This Hari Raya visit gave me a great shock to see the restaurants along the beach were 90% destroyed by the monsoon and the beach erosion. According to the shop owner it happened during the later part of Oct.,2004.All it took was a three-day heavy rains and raging north easterly winds to bring all the shops to debris.

What is left is only the kitchen portion-the rest were literally eaten by the sea.More pictures here.

Whose servant?

Yesterday, a friend of mine reminded me that many men wanted to be free from God.In the end, they became the servants of their nafs and passions.

I hope and pray that this Ramdhan has its 'tarbiah' effects on all of us so that we all become the better servants of our Lord,Allah Rabul 'Alamin and NOT the servants of our nafs and passions.

InsyaAllah, through fasting for almost a month now, we should have undergone the processes of muraqabah and muqarabah on our way to return to our fitrah-insyaAllah by 1st Syawal,1425.

Happy Eidul Fitr.

Note: This blog may not be updated for the next one week.