The Reader

Sydney Habour

View from hotel
Originally uploaded by m.a.h.e.r.a.d.i.b.

This photo was taken by my son Maher when he was in Sydney a few days ago.I love the view. It reminds me of my trip there in 2000 and I remember that I took a few photos of the boats coming and going into the harbour.

Another big item of my interest is the bridge on the left of the photo.A friend suggested that I take a trip with him and walk on the curved streel trusts of the bridge.I told him with a definite NO!Walking on the bridge deck is good enough for me.

Oh Ramadhan..

Sajak ini ditulis hampir sembilan tahun yang lepas dalam bulan Ramadhan 1420

O h  R a m a d h a n
madah dan bicarahati

 
 

Oh Ramadhan,
Bulan yang diturunkan Al-Qur'an,
Bulan rahmat dan bulan berkat,
Ramadhan al-Mubarak.

-Aku bersyukur kepadaMu Ya Allah kerana diberi kesempatan menemui Ramadhan kali ini.Aku berharap Engkau bukalah pintu keampunanMu dan rahmatMu untuk ku.Dan izinkan lagi bagiku berjumpa Ramadhan ditahun depan dan seterusnya...
 

Oh Ramadhan,
kedatanganmu ditunggu penuh harapan,
dan ketibaanmu kami mulia dan raikan,
para abidin dan solehin berpesta
peluang beribadat kepada Yang Esa.

-Dulu,puasa adalah satu beban yang terpaksa aku tanggung kerana suruhanMu.Sekarang ianya satu nikmat ibadat yang aku rela dan redha.Dan aku  tersenyum gembira melaksananya keranaMu. Dulu,aku lebih suka menonton Tv atau membeli-belah bersama anak2 dan isteriku.Sekarang,aku lebih suka dan rela bersama mereka setiap malam di rumahMu Ya Allah.
 

Oh Ramadhan,
Setiap tahun Kau datang,
Hanya  sebulan bersamaku,
Membawa bersamamu Lailatulqadar,
Dan Kau akan pergi lagi,
Di iringi tangisan para abidin dan solehin.

-Adalah menjadi harapanku untuk memanfaatkan bulan Ramadhan ini dengan memperbanyakkan istighfar,zikir dan solat memohon keampunan dan keredhaan Allah swt.Aku panjatkan doa ini  kepada Engkau Ya Allah untuk diperkenankan supaya aku tidak termasuk dari mereka yang rugi saperti firmanMu dalam surah Al-Ansr.

Oh Ramadhan,
Lupalah peritiwa dulu,
maafkan aku kerana mengherdikmu,
Kini aku amat senang bersamamu,
Aku lebih rela dan redha,
Datanglah kepadaku,
Aku akan memeluk ciummu...
 

Berisman; @ Kuala Lumpur,18 Ramadhan 1420.

 

Pick your eggs..

Going up north-2

About nine months ago, I went to Perlis and Kedah for business and pleasure.Tomorrow,my wife is accompanying me to Kangar and Alor Setar.It must be more than 25 years she has not met her old friends(the pun is intended) since I left Alor Setar in December, 1982.

Talking about old friends,in my case,my peers are in our late 50's.And when we meet again after a few decades,we are  not  sure whether someone is our friend.In one case,I forgot the name of my old class mate of Form Remove A (SDAR).He almost killed me for that .How could I forget?.Over the years,we do change a lot-especially around the top and the middle.I had a good laugh when my friends and me hugged one another and the first part of our bodies that met and kiss one another is the expanded belly.

To my cousin at UniMAP,let's get ready with our cameras to take a few nice shots of sunset at Kuala Perlis.And of course, the sea food later at night.I do remember ,the last time was great.

To my regular readers,most probably,I will not be blogging for the next two days.InsyaAllah,I will be back in  KL on Friday night.

Note to my jogging buddies: If Ramadhan starts on Monday next week,let us meet for our morning jooging at KLCC garden at Station No 16 at 8am.

Education in art

."...art is power.It influences the mind,the nerves,the soul ,the feeling".
(Jaques Barzun)

A few days ago I received an invitation for the launching of Dato' Syed Ahmad Jamal's art exhibition at RA Fine Arts from YM Raja Ahmad.It is open until 15th September,2008.

Name	R A Fine Arts
Address	No 6, Jalan Aman (off Jalan Tun Razak), ,
Phone	03-2161 7341
Email	[email protected]

So far,I have never turned down his invitation because I love art and wanted to know more about Malaysian art and artists.

I arrived about 15 minutes earlier and got the chance to talk to the famous artist as well as the DG of our National Art Gallery,Dr Mohd Najib.During the conversation before the event and during high tea later,I asked a few questions and got a little education on art and how to appreciate art.

RWW at KL Sentral

RWW at KL Sentral
Originally uploaded by Adibi

RWW stands for Read While Waiting.

Do you have a book with you any where you go?

Most of the time I do, so that I can read something while waiting for someone or something.I also carry a small pocket notebook to write something whenever I am free while I am on the go.

Last Saturday I was at KL Sentral to see how RWW Project was carried out and took this photo.I hope this voluntary effort by individuals who love reading could create awareness among the members of the public to read while waiting.

May I ask,"Do you take a book along where ever you go?".

On the right is a photo of a school girl who was reading a book while waiting for her parent to come and fetch her.Most people complain of no or little time to read;but in fact we have wasted a few pockets of little time that we can read.

Business Networking Meet

Sdarabiz TT-13/08/2008
Originally uploaded by Adibi

About two weeks ago,I managed to organise ameeting among my school alumni members to meet one another for a business networking meeting.I was pleasantly suprised that more than 20 businessmen and business managers came for the meeting.The idea for this initiative was mooted by my junior who proposed the concept of a business ecosystem where everyone is connected to one another-each contributing in their own way,complementing and supporting each other business endeavours.

During the introduction,I explained the 4C-Community,contents ,collaboration and commerce for mutual benefits.The first I did was to set the communication plan.Most of thought that we have the network;but what flows in the network really matters.Social relationship is not enough, we need to build up the business relationship where everyone can benefit both ways by giving first.

If we give, we shall receive,insyaAllah.

Knight riders..

It was raining outside as I was preparing to get my riding gear ready to participate in the monthly Putrajaya Critical Mass bicycle ride last night.My wife kept nagging me not to go because of the rains as well as she was worried of any untoward incidents may happen to me in participating in such an event.A 20km bicycle ride is no short distance for a person of my age.Deep inside, I think she may be right but I was quite determined to take part.My 18-year old son was in concert with my wife in giving me advice not to go.These concerns had shaken my confidence so I planned to take a short cut for a 10km ride.My son was equally worried about me,so he offered to drive me to Putrajaya-just in case I may not be able to drive back.Earlier,I have committed with my schoolmates Nadim and Saifuddin that I would be riding with them last night at 9:30pm.

We arrived at about 9pm as scheduled.The meeting place was at Darussalam Restaurant at Precint 9,next a Petronas Station.There,I was very pleased to see at least 50 cyclists were getting ready with their bikes.The people came in all sizes-big and small,tall and short,males and females,old and young.Even kids were there to ride with their parents.Seeing this, it added more confidence in me but still I don't believe I can pedal 20km last night.When I told my friends Nadim and Saifuddin, they assured me not to worry and they promised to be with me all the time and all the way.However, they said I could do it and let see how it comes.

Actually,this is my first time riding my bicycle at night. We started on the flat road and  later went downhill.It was a great feeling and I was enjoying myself like a kid with his new bike!Well,as we all know, the road could not go downhill all the time.When I came upon a uphill ride, my bike started giving problem whenever I shifted my gears.Luckily with the help of fellow riders, I could get back to normal riding.Our first scheduled pit stop is at PICC, but my group continued on until we had another uphill climb.This long uphill climb really tested my pedaling power and my endurance.I was very slow and Sharin and Saifudin came close to ride with me and keep me talking.Nadim was following me from the back.I almost give up before I reached the top.They keep me talking and time passed a bit easier on my legs and my knees.I felt so thirsty and decided to stop for a drink and relax for a few minutes.

Starting again,I saw at least a kilometre of downhill ride.It brought big smile to my face and I told myself to enjoy the reward of my previous 'hard labour'.Four of us just let our bikes ran on their own and again,I felt like a young kid enjoying the cool night air of the beautiful city of Putrajaya.

To cut the long story short,we came upon a few uphills(not as bad as before) and the subsequent downhills.I kept on asking Sharin how far more we had to go and the confidence to finish the ride suddenly came to me. Another pit stop was in front of the Palace of Justice,but we did not stop there but continued a few hundred metres and took  another breather at a bridge.The sight of the city from this bridge is breath-taking.How I wish I had my Canon 400D with me.

As we approached the starting point,Sharin told me that we had clocked 21.5km(the first ever in my entire life time).That brought joy and gratitude to my heart.At last,I made it!!! Thanks to Allah swt and my dear friends for your support.May Allah swt bless you and I am looking forward for another ride in October,2008 insyaAllah.Last but not least,my thanks to the organisers for the job well done!

Lesson learnt: When something seems impossible,donot give up.Get helps from our friends and do'a to Allah swt.InsyaAllah, we can overcome the hurdle or achieve our goals.

More photos of the ride taken by Nadim here.

Islamic education

As a muslim,I am asking myself what kind of education did I receive after I graduated from a university? Yes, I may be a professional engineer,but what Islamic knowledge have I acquired through my formal education?As a muslim father to three young men,I am asking myself whether my sons had received Islamic education? By the way ,what is Islamic education? Here is a link that expounds on its meaning.

After reading the article,you will make your own conclusion.What are you going to do about it?Personally,I realised that there are a lot of gaps and missing dimensions in my own education. At my age(55+),what am I going to do about it?Not only for me, but also for those under my care-my wife and my children.

When it comes to knowledge, we do not know what we do not know.When I listen(or read books) to talks/lectures by those who know,then only I know what I don't know.So my CPD(continuous personal education) began 10 years ago and until today,I am still a student.We may be experts with our hands(like playing badminton), but we may be just novices with our legs(like playing football).Similarly, we may be  experts with our brains but we may be just novices with our souls.To be really educated,our body,mind and soul need proper education.

What is proper education? Please don't ask me,for I am still a student.Go and find a guru;he or she may be able to help you.

Note about the photo: Dr Musa Fatullah Harun who taught us on how to live as muslims/muslimahs using his book Perjalanan Rabbani.

Wacana Fikir ATMA

Wacana Fikir ATMA
Originally uploaded by Adibi

Terlebih duhulu,izinkan saya mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih kepada Prof Dr Wan M Nor kerana kesudian beliau menjemput saya untuk hadir di majlis pelancaran Wacana Fikir ATMA.Jika ada kesempatan sebegini,saya biasanya akan berusaha sedaya upaya untuk bersama bijak pandai supaya apa yang mereka ucap dan bicara,dapatlah saya menambah ilmu dari masa kesemasa.

Dalam keghairahan mengeluar sebanyak mungkin teknokrat Melayu dalam tahun 70'an dan 80'an(saya salah seorang daripadanya),peratus profesional bertambah dengan baiknya,khususnya di JKR dimana saya pernah berkhidmat dalam tahun 70'an dan 80'an.Tapi sayang sekali,pengetahuan kami dibidang budaya Melayu dan fikrah intelektual Melayu amat sedikit yang kami tahu.Kejahilan ini telah menyesatkan kebahagian dari kami dari mengenal diri dan bangsa sendiri.

Dalam ucapan perasmian,YB Dato Razali Ismail,Timbalan Menteri Pelajaran mengingati kami supaya berhati-hati dengan apa yang terkandung diminda kami kerana hasilnya adalah terbentuknya budaya.(beware of your thoughts....) Beliau juga menjelaskan pusingan jahanam: Err in knowledge-leads to Lack of Adab-Leads to false leaders.And the cycle repeats itself.