The Reader

Blogging & Twittering on The Bus

On 29th April,2008 insyaAllah I will going to Singapore by Odyssey bus.The bus will leave KL at 1pm from its office next to Mont Kiara.It is scheduled to arrive at Orchid Hotel,Singapore at about 5pm.It is a business trip for me to attend a seminar related to my profession at BCA,Braddell Road,Singapore.After the one day seminar on 30 th April,2008,I will be taking the bus at 7pm to return home to KL.

On both journeys,I plan to blog here and to twitter.If you wish to chat with me,I shall be online all the way(subjected to wifi availability provided by the bus company) at Yahoo Messenger.My nickname is berisman.

All are welcome to chat or read my musings while I am on the bus...

On 29th April,2008 insyaAllah I will going to Singapore by Odyssey bus.The bus will leave KL at 1pm from its office next to Mont Kiara.It is scheduled to arrive at Orchid Hotel,Singapore at about 5pm.It is a business trip for me to attend a seminar related to my profession at BCA,Braddell Road,Singapore.After the one day seminar on 30 th April,2008,I will be taking the bus at 7pm to return home to KL.

On both journeys,I plan to blog here and to twitter.If you wish to chat with me,I shall be online all the way(subjected to wifi availability provided by the bus company) at Yahoo Messenger.My nickname is berisman.

All are welcome to chat or read my musings while I am on the bus...

World Book Day

As a booklover,I was aware of it and was reminded by other biblio-bloggers.Why didn't I blog about it? To be honest,I am disappointed at the efforts taken by authorities to promote reading.So  this frustrated old fellow let it passed by...

But today, this old fellow got energised  a bit by the news below.IMHO, there was NOT enough EFFECTIVE  efforts taken.I call upon the National Library to present to the nation the performance review of their programme for the last three years and to come up with  a revised strategy and action plan for the next three years.

Personally, I have attended a few launchings of Bulan Membaca, but looking back, they were more ceremonial than anything else.

What did I do to promote reading? I persuade my relatives and friends to read books and sometimes I gave away my books to them.Last year, I bought 20 books and lent them to my schoolmates.They were supposed to read them and exchange them at the next monthly 'teh tarik' gathering.I hope they do....

Reading in silence for World Book Day

 
2008/04/27

KUALA LUMPUR: Five hundred children between the ages of 4 and 6 read storybooks in silence for five minutes yesterday to mark World Book Day. They were joined by more than 1,000 people at the National Library and thousands of others in public libraries in Malacca, Terengganu, Perlis and Sabah in conjunction with the "Let's Read Together" programme.

   The event, aimed at instilling a life-long reading culture, was held concurrently at the four state public libraries.

   National Library director-general Raslin Abu Bakar said the children were picked  from 19 kindergartens here.

He added that a survey on the reading habits of Malaysians would be conducted soon and he was confident that the results would show that they were reading more than they did three years ago.

   A survey in 2005 found that Malaysians read only two books a year.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation declared April 23 as World Book Day to further strengthen the love for reading.

Colouring and public speaking contests were also held at the compound of the National Library. There was also a fair selling books, clothes and snacks.

   The event was opened by the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry secretary-general Dr Muzahet Masruri.

---

© Copyright 2008 The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. All rights reserved.

No 'democracy' in knowledge

The article below reminds me of what my guru taught me about knowledge.It is either you know or do not know of a particular subject matter.Little knowledge is very dangerous;what more if there is no knowledge at all.There is no 'democracy' when it comes to knowledge.As an example when the structures of a portion of MRR2 suffered some cracks,I must listen to a learned structural engineer of his view and not anyone else.Similarly when it comes to religious matters.We need subject matter experts to explain to us so that the public will not be confused.

Lately,I observed that many issues are commented by people who have no knowledge at all.This ,according to my guru, is a form of takwil al-jahilun i.e the discourse of the ignorants.Some people are so eager to give their views even though they have no knowledge of the issues or subject matter.To ordinary folks like me, we must be wary of these people so that we are not being misled by them ,no matter what is their positions in the society.On the other hand,the scholars must speak up so that ordinary mortals like me can understand.

Below is the article taken from Nasiha website:

Strength in Silence

Someone once asked the Prophet, peace be upon him: "Which land is most beloved to Allah, and which land is most despised by Him?"

The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied: "I do not know  until I ask the angel Gabriel."

Thereafter, Gabriel informed him that the most beloved places are the mosques and the most disliked are the marketplaces. [Musnad Ahmad, Musnad Abî Ya`la, and Mustadrak al-Hâkim]

In stark contrast to the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the Companions, and the eminent Islamic scholars throughout the ages, we find many laymen who are quite willing to speak with authority on every matter, great and small, regardless of how well informed they are. Many people speak hastily before giving the matter sufficient study. Had they only done their research, they would easily have seen how wrong they are. Alas, some people are just not prepared, mentally or emotionally, to deal with difficult issues and to research them with the required degree of thoroughness and rigour.

The media has emboldened the general public even further. Many people now regard it as a weakness when a scholar remains silent on an issue or admits he does not know the answer. They feel ashamed themselves not to have an opinion about everything, even if it is a singularly difficult question of Islamic Law or a tenet of religious belief. Every topic has become the same – politics, economics, ancient and modern history – and it makes no difference how much specialization is required to do justice to the matter.

Source:
                        "Allah Knows Best – The Value of Being Impartial" -  Salman al-Oadah

                                                                                                                 

Continuous upgrade..

During last Saturday Kuliyyah Subuh,our teacher Dr Ali Saripan reminded us to continuously upgrade ourselves from being just muslims to the next higher level.He quoted Ayat 35 Surah AlAhzab.Donot remain where we are since we become mukalaf.In a way, it is similar to our career development and income level.No one of the right mind would like to remain stagnant in their positions and be satisfied with the same income level when we first started working.But, in all honesty, do we make an effort to upgrade ourselves from being a muslim to be a mukmin ? How about being a solehin next?and next?

To upgrade ourselves in the eyes of Allah swt, we need ilmu(knowledge) and we need to do amal ibadah.All of us muslims du'a for al-Jannah for us, but many of us,including your truly, have done very little indeed!Aren't  we ashamed of ourselves that what we ask does not commensurate with what we have done to deserve it?We do know that no matter what we do, we cannot claim the right to be admitted to Allah's Al-Jannah but still we have to do as much as we could and beg His Mercy to be admitted to Allah's Al-Jannah.

Our du'a : Ya Allah,kami tidak layak menduduki syurga Mu ,tetapi kami tidak tahan menanggung azab neraka Mu.Olih yang demikian,izinkanlah kami di tempatkan di syurga Mu ,Ya Allah,Ya Rahman  dan Ya Rahim.

[33:35] Sesungguhnya orang-orang lelaki yang Islam serta orang-orang perempuan yang Islam dan orang-orang lelaki yang beriman serta orang-orang perempuan yang beriman dan orang-orang lelaki yang taat serta orang-orang perempuan yang taat dan orang-orang lelaki yang benar serta orang-orang perempuan yang benar, dan orang-orang lelaki yang sabar serta orang-orang perempuan yang sabar dan orang-orang lelaki yang merendah diri (kepada Allah) serta orang-orang perempuan yang merendah diri (kepada Allah) dan orang-orang lelaki yang bersedekah serta orang-orang perempuan yang bersedekah dan orang-orang lelaki yang berpuasa serta orang-orang perempuan yang berpuasa dan orang-orang lelaki yang memelihara kehormatannya serta orang-orang perempuan yang memelihara kehormatannya dan orang-orang lelaki yang menyebut nama Allah banyak-banyak serta orang-orang perempuan yang menyebut nama Allah banyak-banyak, Allah telah menyediakan bagi mereka semuanya keampunan dan pahala yang besar.
[33:35] For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast (and deny themselves), for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.

Pen maintenance

  Pen maintenance 
  Originally uploaded by Adibi

My old Parker Frontier is having problem.The ink does not flow anymore.So, I took it my friend Nazley,who is a pen collector and he knows how to do some 'mechanic' work.He helped me to clean up my Parker using ultrasonic device and now my old parker is okay.Thanks Nazley.

I share his enthusiasm in collecting good looking and well engineered fountain pen.Today,he showed me the mechanic of how the ink flows properly in the right quantity and explained  a few pen terminologies like GP,CT,GT etc.

After using fountain pen for more than 40 years,I discovered that there is a ball bearing in the fountain pen and its function!

Istana Kampung Gelam

Last Sunday was the second time I visited this Istana.The first was about 30 years ago.I was so happy and pleased to see that the Istana has been turned into Malay Heritage Centre and here I could 'walk' back to 17th  Century and learn something about Malay diaspora.

I was specially fascinated by the old maps,the beautiful hand written letters in jawi,old photos of Singapura as well as the history of Malay films.

While reading the jawi letters on the wall,it reminds me of Awang Goneng's write up.I was pleasantly suprised that in those days,receiving letter was done in a big ceremony with special adat isti'adat of the royal household.The art is missing in today's letters,especially via email;-)

When was the last time I wrote letter on a writing pad and posted it to someone?If my memory does not cheat on me, it must be in June,1976 when I wrote a hand written letter to my mother from Sheffield,England to inform her that I have passed my exam and will be coming home in July,1976.For the information to younger generation,there was no sms and telephone service in my kampung at that time.The only form of communication is by letter writing.Nowadays,my niece who was studying in India could 'chat' via sms with her mother EVERYDAY.And when my son went overseas,I can chat online with him in real time.

At Wardah Bookshop,Singapura

  At Wardah Bookshop,Singapura 
  Originally uploaded by Adibi

Honestly,I was very reluctant to get out from this bookshop!
{Macam tikus jatuh ke dalam tempayan beras!}

Last weekend,I went to Temasik(aka Singapore) to be with my kids -one is working in JB and the youngerone is on training in Singapore.We decided to have our morning coffee(plus martabak,of course) break at Zam Zam restaurant-just opposite the road to Masjid Sultan. While waiting for my wife going window shopping,I discovered The Faridah Of Islamic bookshop called Wardah Books and it reminds me of the Specialist Bookshop once located at KLCC.It has a great treasure of high quality Islamic books,especially on sufism.The ambience is also great and after I bought a book entitled Liberating The soul Vol1(A guide for Spiritual Growth) written by Shaykh Nazim Adil al-Haqqani,I don't feel like going any where else.

My great syukur to Allah Rabbula'lamin for His Guidance to lead me to this treasure of knowledge.Alhamdulilah.

My du'a: Ya Allah,please don't leave me alone to myself and please guide me all the way and all the time until I arrive to be with You ,Allahu Rabbul'alamin.

Double posting using BLOG IT

I am posting this note using BLOG IT  via my FACEBOOK  to check whether it gets uploaded to both of my blogs.

Using my NUVI 200W,here are some statistic for my travel yesterday 19th April,2008

From KL to Larkin,Johore Bahru      331.2km
Overall average speed                      83.8km/hr
Moving average speed                      92.7kkm/hr
Total travel time                                   3 hrs 57 min
Moving time                                          3 hrs 34min
max speed                                       129km/hr

PS:
This post script is written without using BLOGIT apps.
After my posting,I found that it worked well with this blog but I saw 5 repeated postings at my  vox blog. Btw, this is my first time using my new NUVI200W to travel from KL to JB and around the City at night.The GPS managed to lead me right to Nasi Lemak Senibong restaurant without any trouble.IMHO, Nuvi 200W is a good investment in satnav.
 

 

The Choice

Life is a journey where the road we travel has a few junctions along the way.Some are minor junctions but a few are major ones (like Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham) that can greatly affect what is coming before we are going to meet another junction or a flyover.At each junction or intersection, we are faced with choice to select only one route.Once the decision is made, we continue our journey and we all shall own the consequences of that decision.

My first major choice to study at my kampung (village)or to go to a boarding school after my std 6.Then, I have to make a choice to change school when I was in form 3(LCE)-to remain in SDAR or to move to TIKL.After my MCE(O Level), most of my friends went to Technical College and I chose to do my HSC(A Level).Later I chose to study at Sheffield University and not at other university.Upon graduation,I have to choose to work in JKR or DID.And later,I had to choose my bride...

And the list go on....until I die. Life is full of choices and a few times, we may not make the right choices.Even after we made a choice, we don't even  know whether we made the right choice.The element of uncertainty is inherent in all decision makings.

Last night, I saw this book The Choice written by my favourite author Mr Nicholas Sparks at MPH Bookshop and immediately I bought it for my wife.The title prompted me to write the short note above about choice.It is not similar to solving linear algebraic equations where there are uniques solution to each problem.Every decision is a risk.
My first encounter with Nicholas Sparks when I bought his book called The Notebook.When I finished reading it, my wife took  a little longer time to read it because she had to stop a few times when she needed some extra time to wipe the tears that keep flowing down her cheeks.To cut the long story short, both of us are fans of Nicholas Sparks.

This book is a present for my wife.Currently,I am still reading The Last lecture .Have a good weekend everyone.

TADABBUR and TAZAKKAUR

كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الألْبَابِ

[38:29] (Al-Quran ini) sebuah Kitab yang Kami turunkan kepadamu (dan umatmu wahai Muhammad), Kitab yang banyak faedah-faedah dan manfaatnya, untuk mereka memahami dengan teliti kandungan ayat-ayatnya dan untuk orang-orang yang berakal sempurna beringat mengambil iktibar.

In 38:29, Allah says, that the very purpose of the Book is TADABBUR and TAZAKKAUR, i.e. to ponder upon it and stay mindful of it.

[10:57] Wahai umat manusia! Sesungguhnya telah datang kepada kamu Al-Quran yang menjadi nasihat pengajaran dari Tuhan kamu dan yang menjadi penawar bagi penyakit-penyakit batin yang ada di dalam dada kamu .dan juga menjadi hidayat petunjuk untuk keselamatan, serta membawa rahmat bagi orang-orang yang beriman.
O mankind! there hath come to you a direction from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts, and for those who believe, a Guidance and a Mercy.


[43:44] Dan sesungguhnya Al-Quran itu memberikan kemuliaan dan peringatan kepadamu (wahai Muhammad) dan kepada kaummu dan kamu akan ditanya kelak (tentang isi kandungannya yang kamu telah amalkan).
The (Qur-an) is indeed the Message, for thee and for thy people; and soon shall ye (all) be brought to account.

Referring to the above ayats,I was reminded by my teacher to engage myself in the 'TADABUR OF AL-QUR'AN'. The teacher reminds me to understand the meanings of the ayats and to obey and live (hayati) by the ayats.This is a monumental task even the mountain will crumble to pieces in humility.

[59:21] Had We sent down this Qur-an on a mountain, verily, thou wouldst have seen it humble itself and cleave asunder for fear of Allah. Such are the similitudes which We propound to men, that they may reflect.

Sekiranya Kami turunkan Al-Quran ini ke atas sebuah gunung, nescaya engkau melihat gunung itu khusyuk serta pecah belah kerana takut kepada Allah dan (ingatlah), misal-misal perbandingan ini Kami kemukakan kepada umat manusia, supaya mereka memikirkannya.

This is a reminder to all,especially yours truly, to take extra efforts and time to STUDY AL-QUR'AN and to practise(amal) immediately whatever I have learnt.Time and tide wait for no man.