The Reader

Jalan Melayu,Kuala Lumpur

I don't think any of my children knows where Jalan Melayu is located.The first time I was here was when I was on my first trip to KL in January 1965 on the way to SDAR,Tanjung Malim.My seniors took me to Restoran Waspada at Wisma Yakin.We walked all the way from Central Railway Station.

Last Saturday 5th Oct.,2013,my friends and me took part in Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk and I was happy to walk the memory lane again..Gone were the ample space and the barbers by the Angsana trees by the river..Now,the place is congested with new buildings,shopping stalls and cars...

By the way,there is one mamak shop here where I love to eat capati...

 

Passers-by at Coffee Box Restaurant

Below is a collage of photos taken from a location inside Coffee Box Restaurant located along Jalan Tun Perak,KL.After walking for more than two hours during the Scott Kelby Photowalk(5th Oct,2013) from Chow Kit area to Masjid Jamek area,a few of us needed a rest and some food and drinks.While waiting for the food/drinks to arrive,I saw 'slides' of people passing through the arch doorway.Normally in street photography,shots of people are taken at different places-why not take different shots from the same place.Trying to be creative and different,I took photos of passers-by just from one location-right in the comfort of the Coffee Box Restaurant.Here are the photos..#WWPW #WWPW-KL

Scott Kelby Photowalk@KL

I am going to join my photog buddies taking this train and shoot something and some people along our route from Chow Kit Road to Masjid Jamek...

Are we the best of people?

Many of us have our own versions to measure ourselves.Using different criteria will give us different ratings.As muslims,let us check ourselves against what our Prophet Muhamad said about the best of people....

A man stood up whilst Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was on the minbar and asked:"O Mesenger of Allah,which of the people is the best?"

He said:"The best of the people are those are most well-versed in Qur'an,those who are most pious,those who most enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil,and those who are most respectful towards their relatives".(Reported by Ahmad and al-Tabarani).

There are five criteria mentioned above. Just check ourselves against them?Are we qualified to be the best ummah?The reality manifest itself...

Every day,we are being bombarded by the bad news of evils.I am very reluctant to read the newspapers in the morning because it may spoil my mood for the day.A few days ago,I read about the Malaysia Audit Report and it made me sick in the stomach!This reminds me of what the British philospher Betrand Russell said:"Islam is the best religion, but muslims are the worst people".Looking at what is happening in Egypt and Syria right now,I am very sad to admit that Betrand Russel may be  correct when he said about us muslims!Many of us muslims are capable of doing good deeds but only a few are capable to speak against evils or prevents the evil deeds.

Another Hadith:" The fear of people should never prevent any of you from speaking the truth when he sees it or pointing out its importance.Doing so will not hasten one's appointed time of death or lessen one's rizq".(Reported by Ahmad and Abu Dawud.)

May Allah forgive me and my fellow muslims for our failure to follow the sunnah.

Advice from my grandma..

She passed away a few years ago at the age of about 95 years.She lived with my mother and every time I went back to visit my mother,I met her and talked to her.Despite her age,she still could remember what happened during during WW11 and I love to hear about our family stories.About half of them I almost forgot and my mistake was that I did not write them down..

If your grandma is still around,do jot down her stories.If not all those family stories will be buried as our family elders die one after another.

One lesson I want to share with my friends-old and young is about her advice to me to stay safe.Her simple guide is avoid going to dangerous places!That,to me, is risk management 101 from my grandma who has not been to any formal school in her life time.

Since ,you are reading this far,my advice is never let your mother wait for your call.Just take you mobile phone and say hello to her,NOW.

My first digital camera

Olympus C-750 Ultrazoom-4 megapixels.

Alhamdulilah..

Alhamdulilah,Segala puji bagi Allah swt kerana dengan limpah kurnia dan izin Nya,saya telah mencapai umur  61 tahun pada hari ini.Satu tahun telah berlalu sejak tarikh lahir tahun lepas dan satu tahun saya lebih hampir dengan mati.

Salah satu manfaat bagi mereka yang dilanjutkan umur saperti saya ialah saya masih lagi diberi peluang untuk beribadah kepada Allah dengan kualiti yang lebih baik dibandingkan dengan semasa saya muda dahulu.Satu lagi ialah bertambuhnya ilmu dan pengalaman untuk mengenal diri sendiri..dan mengenal Allah.

Perkara yang amat penting semasa dihari tua ialah kesihatan.Sekali lagi saya memanjat rasa syukur kepada Allah jua kerana memberi rahmat kesihatan kepada diri saya.Tanpa keshitan segala urusan yang kita rancang akan terjejas atau tergendala.Teringat kawan-kawan yang sakit dan telah mati lebih dulu dari saya..

Kepada yang masih muda,jangan tunggu bila tua nanti untuk membuat sesuatu yang baik.Mungkin kita tidak sampai tua atau sampai tua tetapi tidak berupaya.

Ya Allah,aku memohon taufik dan hidayat,perlindungan dan pertulongan dari Mu Ya Allah untuk meneruskan hidup ini dengan lebih berilmu,lebih beramal dan lebih beriman dari masa-masa yang lepas sebelum tiba masanya aku kembali kepada Mu,Ya Allah.

Nostalgia of My 50s..

Remember your iPod ten years ago?I love to have it wherever I go..This photo reminds me of my  love for music on the go and my encounter of five years with a French car-Citroen C5.Those days were when I was in my 50s and now I am in my 60s.My toys have changed to something they call iPad and MyVi.I was called Uncle Gadget then,now I call myself Grandpa Gadget.

Daun dalam daun?

Saya amat terpesona dengan daun-daun saperti gambar disebelah kanan.Pada mulanya saya tertarik kepada bentuk semacam lukisan daun diatas daun,tetapi selepas merenung sedikit mendalam,saya terbaca mesej tersirat didalam kejadian daun-daun ini..

Dalam perjalanan hidup yang pendek ini,kita diberi kesempatan untuk melihat pelbagai ciptaan Illahi,tetapi sayang   sekali kita gagal memberi pemerhatian yang sewajarnya untuk melihat,menikmati,memahami dan menghayati kehebatan dan keagungan pencipta segala sesuatu sama ada di langit atau di bumi.Kita terkejar kesana dan kesini dan terlupa dan alpa dengan apa yang bersama dan dekat dengan kita.

“Ya Tuhan kami, tiadalah Engkau menciptakan ini dengan sia-sia. Mahasuci Engkau, maka peliharalah kami dari siksa neraka.” (TQS. Ali Imran: 191)

 “Dia menumbuhkan bagi kamu dengan air hujan itu tanam-tanaman; zaitun, kurma, anggur, dan segala macam buah-buahan. Sesungguhnya, pada yang demikian itu benar-benar ada tanda (kekuasaan Allah) bagi kaum yang memikirkan.” (TQS.an-Nahl: 11)

Dia lah Allah, Yang Menciptakan sekalian makhluk; Yang Mengadakan (dari tiada kepada ada); Yang Membentuk rupa (makhluk-makhlukNya menurut yang dikehendakiNya); bagiNyalah nama-nama yang sebaik-baiknya dan semulia-mulianya; bertasbih kepadaNya segala yang ada di langit dan di bumi; dan Dia lah Yang tiada bandingNya, lagi Maha Bijaksana.

(Al-Hasy-r 59:24) |

Dibawah ini satu suasana yang cantik dan tenang anugerah Allah kepada maklukNya..

 

Tip:On being humble..

Many of us belong to the middle class and have our lunch and dinners at hotels and nice restaurants.One of the way to tame and train(tarbiyyah) our hearts so that we remain humble inside and outside is to eat where normal or common people eat their meals.Here is a photo of mine,attending a free iftar(breaking of fast) event at Masjid Sultan Mizan during the last Ramadhan.Another time I have my breakfast at the a small kiosk at the back of a shop along Jalan TAR,KL.

This is one way to take care of our hearts through our stomachs..

Humility

Getting close to  Allah by voluntary deeds is only done by those people who are completely humble and submissive to Allah. Similarly, having love for the beloved servants of Allah (HisAuliya) only comes about through humility and humbleness. Furthermore, some of Allah's beloved servants are the poorest and most humble people of this world. One must love them and be kind to them and accept them as one's brothers. This can only be accomplished by those who are humble and free of arrogant pride. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stated,

"Allah has revealed to me that you must be humble, so that no one boasts over another." [Muslim]

Compiled From:
"Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi" - Jamaal al-Din M. Zarabozo, pp. 1439-1441

 

 

Tip:To see blue Putrajaya Lake..

If you are visiting Alamanda,Putrajaya,just walk to The RASA Food Court and go out through the back door and walk down the stairs and you shall arrive at the lakeside and see this view.This place is only accessable by walking/cycling by the public and my cycling group cycle here almost every week.

Putrajaya has more beautiful places than I can count with my fingers but we must walk or cycle there.Better still,join me cycling-good for eyes,legs and heart..

To my friends in Putrajaya,please keep the water clean so that it remains blue all the time..

Below is a view of Pullman Hotel seen from Presint 4,Putrajaya.

 

Between truth and falsehood..

We donot need to have the minds of rocket scientists to differentiate between the truth and falsehood.With some knowledge and pondering on what have been going on at global,national,society and individual level,we should have known what is the truth and the falsehood in this business of life. We can choose to believe or not to believe;and we can choose to do or not to do;and likewise to be or not to be.The truth exists on its own but falsehood needs to be invented!

via adib.typepad.com

On leaves..

On leaves:I just wondered how many billions of leaves are there on this planet earth?Everyday,they generate fresh oxygen for all of us....Let us thank The Lord of All the Worlds(known and unknown,seen and unseen)-Allahu Rabbul 'alamin for His mercy(rahmah) for all of us..Syukran Ya Allah.All praises belong to You.Alhamdulilah

Have you got a dream?

My dream is to be a freelance photo-journalist one day...This photo was taken by my son Munir on 1/2/2007 using my Lumix FX8.Now I am more motivated because one of my photos was bought by an ad agency to advertise property project for their client and the prints appeared on NST,The Star and The Edge nation wide.

500px / Adib Noh / First sale!

A few days ago,an Advertisement Agency contacted me and requested to buy my photo as shown.I was elated and felt very happy because this is the first time in my life that one of my photos will get published in our national dailies-not to mention that I will get paid for something I love doing.Before I gave my consent,I asked the executive the purpose of using my photo.She told me that it will be used by her client to advertise their product to commemorate our 50th Malaysia Day yesterday-16th September,2013.I was very happy when I saw this photo of mine got published.I cannot keep this good news to myself,so updated my Facebook(Berisman) informing my friends and gave thanks to my photography sifus.My smile lasts for the whole day..and my fingers were very busy responding to more than 50 comments and more than 100 likes.It was a day to remember!!!

via 500px.com

Happy Malaysia Day

Happy 50th Anniversary to Malaysia and let us keep our environment green and clean..

 

Senja di Bangi,Malaysia

Myvi is my car for the last 7 years but not the same car.I traded in for Myvi Xtreme two years ago and so far I am quite happy with it.It could travel quite well to Perlis and to Kelantan. and Johor.

Guests of Allah

The Haj season is coming soon...Blessed are those who are selected to perform their Haj this year and be the guests of Allah.

For those who can't be there,we also can be guests of Allah at His houses scattered all over the world and a few are located quite near to our offices or houses.It is the masjid!(Masjid itu Rumah Allah).According to my guru,we can choose to be the guests of Allah now, but not in the Hereafter.InsyaAllah, if we frequently go to solat daily at our masjids,we may be the guests of Allah forever in the Hereafter.Better still, let's make the masjids our second homes.

Salah satu dari tujuh kumpulan yang mendapat perlindungan arasy Allah ialah mereka yang memiliki hati-hati yang terpaut dengan masjid.

Unfit English teachers

From The Star:SHAH ALAM: About two-thirds of English Language teachers in the country have been classified as “incapable” or “unfit” to teach the subject in schools.

Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said such teachers had been sent for courses to improve their proficiency in the language.

“The ministry will also consider sending them overseas for exchange programmes to take up TESL (Teaching of English as a Second Language) courses,” he said during a dialogue session on the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025 held at the Karangkraf headquarters here yesterday.

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My suspicion is hereby confirmed by the Minister of Education yesterday!

I was wondering why so many young men and women nowadays are speaking rotten English for years and now I got the official answer.We have,God knows how many years,about 70% of English teacher appointed by MOE who are unfit and incapable to teach english to our students.How many of our students were affected by teachers who could not teach English?How could MOE appointed them in the first place?

The previous PM of Malaysia talked about having a revolution in Education in 2006 and now the present PM is talking about having transformation in our education.If there are no actions taken,nothing will happen...

Q&A: All Marketers... and the challenge of telling the right story

Our series continues with All Marketers are Liars, a prime example of what happens when you tell a story wrong. I've done some pretty poor book titling over seventeen books, but this one was too clever by half.

Most people, of course, have never read any of my books, and even most of my blog readers haven't read any given Seth Godin book. So a book is judged by its cover, just as you and your brand and your product are judged by your (conceptual) cover.

People saw this cover (with the original ridiculous photo) and immediately assumed that they knew what it was about (how to lie) and that the title offended them ("hey, I'm a marketer and I'm not a liar").

via sethgodin.typepad.com

Telling the right story or story right?

My shot of the day during my wetland ride with my friends and family members..