from west to east ... KK

on the 2nd week in Sabah, i had the opportunity to fly to Kota Kinabalu to attend a meeting. i was kind of excited to go to another new place even though it's just for a short time. as recommended by a friend, i stayed at Cititel Express Hotel, which i think is conveniently located near to the meeting place and right at the city center of KK. i chose perhaps the smallest room they have, a standard single room with single bed, which is probably the cutest room i've stayed in so far in Malaysia (coz i've experienced staying in small-sized cute rooms in several hotels in Japan before). it doesn't have a mini fridge and coffee/tea making facilities, however there's the hairdryer, shower stuff, nice tv...and what i like is the layout of the room, just fit for one person. Breakfast there is simply marvelous but if you don't want to spend RM12 (the room rate is not including breakfast) for breakfast, you have quite a plenty of choice outside of the hotel for cheap and also nice food.

Since I still have a few hours of daylight after checking in, I decided to stroll around the city.

Yep, as you can see, I walked around where my feet (...or as a friend said..bus no.11.. ;) ) would carry me, first to look for the place where the meeting would be held, then found a few city landmarks as I went along such as Padang Merdeka, the Istana Negeri (just the entrance hehe), Atkinson Clock Tower, Gaya Street (too bad I arrived on Sunday afternoon, just after the morning market closed) and the KK Esplanade. 

Atkinson Clock Tower, Signal Hill Road

Why is Atkinson Clock Tower significant? By reading a little, I found out that this tower was built in memory of the first District Officer of Jesselton (former name of Kota Kinabalu) in 1903 named Francis George Atkinson who died because of malaria at the age of 28. Perhaps the late Mr. Atkinson was quite popular back then? (I couldn't find any information about him.) Structure-wise, the clock tower is constructed using only wood and without nails. Formerly, it served as a lighthouse to aid the ships and it is also one of the few surviving pre-WWII structures that had survived the air raids during the the war. The clock is still working until today.

near the KK Esplanade

Upon arriving at KK Esplanade, I was greeted by the fresh cool evening breeze. It was so nice, there were lots of people hanging out but it wasn't crowded. At that moment, it seemed so nice to chill out there, at the wooden platform, overlooking the waters and small islands beyond. 

Walking down a bit south, from KK Esplanade I crossed through what seemed to be an array of markets. Later on I found out that area was of Central Market, the Sinsuran night market (is it the same to what they call Filipino market? i'm not so sure..) and handicraft market. Tempted, I "tapau"ed some roasted seafood and local kueh before walking back to the hotel. 

yumm..yumm..imagine me finishing off 10 squids in one seating

on the next night, my colleagues and i had dinner somewhere in an area called Austral Park, still in KK. a colleague took us to Pak Man Resipi restaurant where they claimed to have menus from all states in Malaysia. after spending quite some time choosing what to eat, we finally settled on two tom yum gongs, sweet and sour tenggiri and sinigang na isda. I didn't know what the hell is sinigang na isda other than that it is a kind of fish dish in some kind of broth, but when i tasted it, i thought macam singgang (nama pun lebih kurang). there's sour and tangy like taste, in short, like singgang lah. quite nice actually, all of the dishes.

so, that's all in my short visit to KK. i surely want to come here again and go to other places there in other times. till then...touch down again in Tawau to continue life...

lapar...

8.32 malam

tepu. kuyu. laporr...

lokasi: opis

dem !

dah nasib menumpang kete orang...kot tak dah lama balik rumah. jumaat ni kena jadi speaker. dah lama tak speaking-speaking. speaking malay je yob...dah nasib kena menunggu ni sempat la mendraf powerpoint. campak-campak bahan je dulu...masaknya susun aturnya kemudian. nak praktis lagi.. hadoih, sempat ke ni..macamana aku nak bercakap ni..tapi audien tak le sampai seratus pasang mata..silap-silap limaploh pun tak sampai..dan semuanya keje gomen...ok lah..citer pasal benda yg aku tau, bukannya pasal menatang SBPA tu...

SBPA..apa cerita ah..minggu depan meeting mesti boss akan explain la tu...

adoyai..sabar menunggu..kalau dah makan dan mandi, selesa nak buat keje balik, tapi kalo dah kena menunggu macam ni...terbuang masa xleh concentrate..

hujan pun dah berenti..

Budak Kelantan

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My brother lent me this dvd a long time ago but I only watched it just about 3 weeks ago. I haven't heard of this movie until then. Probably because I was not in the country at that time (the movie was produced in 2008). Anyway, I will write a little bit of the story in here.

From the title, it is unmistakable that the whole story revolves around Kelantanese people, with full Kelantanese dialect spoken by an all-Kelantanese cast. Perhaps I can only recognize Danny (X-Factor) and Bienda from the casts list, the rest I haven't heard before, and one of them might probably be an ex-primary schoolmate of mine. However, acting-wise, I'd say good and natural. 

The story is said to be based from a true story. It tells about 2 Kelantanese young man, Buchek and Jaha, best friends in their childhood reuniting in Kuala Lumpur (KL) after so many years separated. Buchek is a good, pious young man, just graduated from university and selling burgers in KL while looking for a better job. Jaha, on the other hand, is a 'graduate' from Henry Gurney School (a school for juvenile delinquents), living in KL selling drugs and pimping. The story starts with introductions of the two main characters in their own life, until they two meet by chance at Central Market, both unaware of each other activities. For old times sake, Jaha invited Buchek to hang out with him and stay the night at his house. From there, Buchek finally got the gist of Jaha's activities. As he tag along, Buchek experienced being beaten by some rival thugs, tasted cough syrup mixed with drug and saw Jaha picking on women. However, with all that, Jaha still respects Buchek and let him perform his daily prayers.

The climax of a-day-with-Jaha-experience for Buchek is when Jaha and his friend tries to kidnap a Chinese woman who's jogging alone. During the getaway, they have to stop the car as the petrol is running low. While both Jaha and his friend are out of the car, Buchek, who they entrusted to take care of the woman, let  the woman free. Friendship turned cold. At other time, Jaha tries sweet-talking a girl, not knowing that the girl is actually Che Nor, Buchek's girlfriend. Jaha, feeling guilty towards Che Nor and Buchek, wishes to apologize. Buchek, who values his friendship so much and wants to help Jaha to return to the right way, senses that Jaha has a heart with Che Nor. Supressing his own feelings, he tries to coax Che Nor to meet Jaha and to give a chance to Jaha to mend his mistakes but Che Nor (being a sensible woman, to me) adamantly refuse.

After an unfortunate event that leads Jaha into killing a man one night, Jaha is being tracked by the police. While riding away from the police, Jaha met with an accident and died. With Jaha's death, the story ends, (and so is Buchek and Che Nor's relationship, I guess). From the start until finish, the story goes along with Buchek's narration about life and relationships between people and people with its Creator.

In short, the story revolves around the good friendship between two people, who although each lives a different life, they still respect each other and value each other for old time sake. Jaha, who probably never finds true love or meet a woman with high principle such as Che Nor, is perturbed, intrigued or even touched by her, so much so, that it leads Buchek went as far as asking his own girlfriend to accept Jaha (kinda outrageous to me). Buchek, although witnessing his old friend's dark life, instead of shunning away from Jaha, he still tries to save him. From the story too, I think people like Jaha and his friends are a confused lot. As depicted in some scenes, they have no qualms ruining other people's life but they are like vigilantes when a sister of one of their own is disturbed by some thugs.

This story is a real life drama. A reality that is not supposedly related to Kelantanese people only. It's a global reality. Life is all about choosing....of which way to take, or to stay...or to get out of a wrong choice.

Ladies, I am more cautious of my surroundings after watching this movie.

Misteri Jalan Lama

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Sometimes I make a decision to watch a movie based on my 'trust'. It may be the trust on the director, the actors or the producer. Based on my trust to Afdlin Shauki's working mind, I went to watch Misteri Jalan Lama. Afdlin may have said that his latest movie has a sombre tone, different from his other movies, but it didn't make me leave the cinema feeling sombre. Instead, I left feeling entertained.

Two brothers of different personalities undertake a journey back to their hometown for their father's burial. However, in the middle of their journey, they meet with an unexpected accident (not a car accident, ya). Lost, or so they seem, they try to resume their journey despite encountering mysterious people and creatures beyond their (and our) understanding. But finally, we will come to understand the story. It's quite a straight-forward one, actually. Indra and Ilya are the brothers grimm. However, Indra has been estranged from his family for a long time. When their father passed away because of a car accident which happened mysteriously, Indra received a letter previously written by his father to drive Ilya back to their village. Prior to the accident, his father left Ilya a birthday present (which is supposedly to be on the next day, he will be 25), and the present being a strange looking locket. When Ilya hold the locket, it shines and made Ilya sees some kind of vision that he cannot understand. And so, the journey. Indra is portrayed as an ex-car racer turned loser who's always in trouble due to his gambling habits. Ilya is the hope of the family and he helps his father's company to grow and succeed. However, Ilya has several health problems and he also cannot drive. That's why they have to go back together. An unfortunate event caused them to lost their car and they have to continue on foot. In the middle of the forest, scary things happen as well as encounters with two different kinds of ghostly creatures. They seem to be waiting for them, but each with different intentions. What are those creatures? How are they related to the brothers? What is the secret behind the locket...and their father's instruction? We would know it at the end of the movie. But we would have guessed it as the story goes on. We would wonder, does this person actually knows more than what he seems to show?

The story? Quite straight-forward as I have said before and understandable. The actors? Great, the two male leads are not disappointing. The dialogues? Nice and at some point, can make you laugh. Yup, some scenes that are meant to be scary, they do scare me. There are elements of surprise. And some dialogues that are meant to be funny, they do made me laugh. However, I'm kinda intrigued by the scenes at the climax of the story. There is a war. There is suspense. However, I couldn't stand the costume. It made me laugh. Oh, Afdlin...are the costumes meant to make us laugh? Because I did. Personally, I think he could make the costume better and nicer, I think the scenes there deserve more serious tone and perhaps induce some jaw-dropping moments from the audience.

But anyway, a good and entertaining movie. An mystery-fantasy tale of two brothers. 

Alamak...Toyol!

kakiwayang.com

Desas-desus mengatakan filem ni best! Asalnya aku langsung tak berminat nak tengok cerita ni, boleh terpengaruh pula nak tengok. Lagipun dapat tengok secara percuma, apa salahnya...kalau betul-betul best, aku tak akan teragak-agak untuk tengok sekali lagi walaupun berbayar. (Tapi teragak-agak jugak le kot kalau takde bajet..heheh).

Namun...secara keseluruhannya, filem ni biasa-biasa je. Alamak...Toyol! adalah bergenre komedi tetapi bagi aku, bolehlah gelak sikit-sikit tapi tak sampai pecah panggung perut. Pengalaman menontonnya..hmm, agak menghiburkan tetapi adakalanya aku rasa tak sabar nak tunggu ceritanya habis. Macam bosan sikit. OK, itu secara keseluruhan. Seterusnya .... 

Ringkasan jalan cerita

Pak Umar nak bela toyol supaya dia boleh cepat kaya. Dia beli toyol yang paling murah je dan rupanya tak berbaloi. Disebabkan perjanjian yang telah dipersetujui, Pak Umar tak dapat 'refund' balik toyol tersebut, maka terpaksalah Pak Umar cari pengganti. Fakhrul dan Kudin pula adalah 2 orang pencuri dan peragut yang tidak kompeten dan sentiasa bernasib malang. Suatu hari mereka terjumpa dengan Pak Umar dan dipendekkan cerita mereka mengambil Toyol untuk kepentingan mereka. Dan selepas itu bermulalah episod-episod malang seterusnya bagi Fakhrul dan Kudin bersama toyol mereka yang tidak pandai mencuri itu. Dalam kes yang lain. Farah adalah pembantu kepada Daniel di sebuah syarikat. Suatu hari Farah dapat tahu rahsia hitam Daniel dan cuba untuk membongkarnya tetapi tidak berjaya. Sebaliknya, tindakannya itu meletakkan nyawanya di dalam bahaya kerana konco-konco Daniel memburu Farah untuk membunuhnya. Dalam satu insiden, Fakhrul, Kudin, Toyol dan Farah bertemu. Fakhrul dan Kudin ingin memulangkan Toyol kepada Pak Umar lalu mereka semua mencarinya. Setelah berjumpa, dan berjaya memaksa Pak Umar untuk menerima Toyol kembali, Farah telah diculik oleh si konco-konco. Terus tak jadi pindah. Akhirnya mereka bersatu untuk menyelamatkan Farah. Berjaya atau tidak usaha mereka itu, dan akhirnya milik siapakah toyol itu, boleh tengoklah filemnya.

Jalan cerita, boleh tahan. Pelaksanaan jalan cerita, hmmmmm.

Lakonan

Lakonan adik Toyol boleh dipujilah sebab walaupun dia tak ada dialog pun, gaya dan mimik mukanya berjaya menyampaikan karakter. Lakonan aktor-aktor lain secara individu sebenarnya ok juga. Tetapi entah kenapa tidak ada yang berkesan di hati. Aku berkata sedemikian sebab mungkin aku mengharapkan cerita itu sangat kelakar tetapi hasilnya taklah kelakar sangat. Mungkin juga kerana tiada 'punchline' yang betul-betul berkesan. Mungkin juga kerana elemen-elemen lawak yang ditunjukkan dah ketinggalan zaman.

Apapun, filem ini adalah filem komedi ringan yang 'nonsense', dan kesannya bergantung kepada tahap ke'sensitif'an anda terhadap lawak jenaka. Tiada mesej yang jelas di dalam cerita melainkan sekadar untuk dijadikan sebab, jangan bela toyol kerana ia menyusahkan anda je.

Sekurang-kurangnya, solekan adik Toyol tu boleh dipuji...

Last but not least. the ewww parts...(takde pun takpe lahh) :
a. Adik Toyol menghisap puting Fakhrul
b. Aksi 18SX di rumah Farah, apabila Farah terkejut tengok toyol di depan mata...

...mengenangkan Toyol tu dilakonkan oleh seorang kanak-kanak, aku jadi tak sanggup kadang-kadang nak tengok scenes tersebut..(walaupun point (b) tu takdelah budak tu betul2 tengok ye tak...)

Please...please...i wish for something that could make me go "Wow, this is so funny, yet so brilliant!!".

Lord Edgware Dies

agathachristie.com

Title : Lord Edgware Dies

Author : Agatha Christie

Publisher : Harper, 2007 (The Agatha Christie Signature Edition)

Pages : 351

Genre : Mystery, Detective Story

Bought at : MPH Subang Parade

Price : RM39.90 (Value Buy-double books)
First published by Collins, 1933

From back-cover synopsis:

When Lord Edgware is found murdered the police are baffled. His estranged actress wife was seen to visit him just before his death and Poirot himself heard her brag of her plan to 'get rid' of him. But how could his estranged wife Jane have stabbed Lord Edgware to death in his library at exactly the same time she was seen dining with friends? It's a case that almost proves to be too much for the great Hercule Poirot.

Method of murder, stabbed to death. Motivation, prospect of marriage to a more powerful and richer man. The tricks? Yup, once we learned of the two existence at the same time but at different places, and digested the story-line from the introduction, we would've arrived at the possible tricks executed. Only we wouldn't have known who's who and how it's actually done until the moment of truth. But sadly, so many deaths in this story, more than the usual two murders in average for Dame Christie's stories. And also, we learned that there is a kind of abnormality in a person, that he/she cannot distinguish the right from wrong, and can only think of one singular thing at a time, unable to process the mind with moral values. That kind of person can commit a crime without remorse as long as he/she can get whatever he/she wants the most at the time. The story is told as narrations by Captain Hastings which are very interesting, especially at the part where he told us about his views about Hercule Poirot idiosyncrasies. As expected, an enjoyable read as always. Love it!  

of gangsters and ghosts...

Quite recently, I managed to watch 3 local movies for free. And this post is just dedicated for my thoughts on those movies. The movies are KL Gangster, Bini-Biniku Gangster, Hantu Bonceng. Hua haa....these movies are totally not belonging to my favourite genres but I believe that sometimes we have to get out of our genres, out of our usual environment to have a wider view. Or we can say to open our eyes too. Huaa..so serious tones even talking about movies, eh? So here are some of my opinions about the films. I can say that none of them made me went ga ga over them, but anyway, quite entertaining.

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KL Gangster (KLG) and Bini-Biniku Gangster (My Wives Are Gangsters; BBG), both have gangster elements in them, but in different moods. When KLG is all seriously brutal and violent, BBG turned the gangsters community into a loving family affair with polygamy issues, a comedy. But nonetheless, both are okay to be missed. I'm not saying that they are not at all good, my...making movies is not easy business, eh? Lots of creative work involved, but...ok, both directors are far from being veterans, so I should say, let these movies be their experimental lab work and hope for better stories in the future.

In KLG, Malek is a retired gangster formerly from King's clan, after serving time in prison due to being stabbed in the back (figuratively) by King's stepson, Shark who is very ambitious (and a whole lot brutal too). Malek wished to clean his name, do honest job and ask forgiveness from his mother whilst trying to reunite his family. But it turns out that the gangster community is not very easy to run away from, especially when his younger brother, Jai becoming more and more ruthless and plays the gangster game too far by joining Shark's crew. After Shark gone too far as to terrorize his mother and killed his best friend, Fadil...Malek lost his cool and went on for revenge on Shark and beat up Jai. From his narrations at the end of the film, Malek finally went in prison again but satisfied that his score's settled. I think all the actors played their characters quite well except for the lifeless puppets of King's lady companions. I think the director didn't give them much attention but anyway just put them there because gangster bosses should have lovely girls on their side at all times. The film is dominated by male characters, featuring the hardship of life, gangsterism,.....and probably, trying to show that gangsters have compassion as well? That's where I think is lacking. All there is in the movie is fighting, fighting, and heartless fighting. (And King is like a lame gangster leader). Lack of character development, as well as the story line goes.

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In BBG, I think this one is purely just for entertainment. Just good for some laughs (well, not enough a hearty laugh though for me...). Manja and Herry are happily married and quite well-to-do couple. Herry works at a private company, and Manja maintains a flower shop. However, Manja is more than that, she's actually a leader in a gangster group. Unable to be pregnant, Manja allows Herry to take Reanna, his assistant, as his second wife but little does she know that Reanna is actually the younger sister of Min Siam, another gangster leader, the arch enemy of Manja's group. There's a sinister plot going on as Reanna wants to avenge her brother, being incapacitated in a fight, thanks to Manja. After that both ladies keep on hating and fighting each other behind Herry's back, and being nice and friendly in front of him, while living in the same house. One day, Herry went missing and both wives are starting to have what seems like the ultimate fight when suddenly a mysterious fighter came and broke their fights. In the end, the mysterious fighter is actually Herry and he is actually the son of another group leader and all the things that happened to them, including all marriages are actually part of his plans together with the other senior leaders of the other groups because the old guys have all gone mellow and tired of having rivalries. Duh!

You don't have to take this movie seriously because it is not, it's a comedy. But I just managed a few polite laughs, thanks to the relationship portrayal among all of the characters...all except Mat Saja. Mat Saja is an assistant in Herry's office, I'm not quite sure what's the purpose of his character, if he exists to add more funny flavour to the story, nope, he didn't make me feel fun. To say that he is the bad guy, also nope, although he did do some not-so-nice things because of envy. His character quite annoys me, but maybe that is his purpose in the movie. Whatever. Acting? No challenging roles. Biasa-biasa je.

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Alright, third movie is Hantu Bonceng (Pillion Rider Ghost; HB). Scary comedy, yup there's a ghost but it's more comedy than scary. However, there's an element of mystery that need to be answered, and yes, I got the answer at the end of the movie. Quite a simple story but I'd say in smooth line. Almost every part of the story are told in light-and-easy way but the story's real and there's a message. Amran is a delivery boy who always take part in illegal races. One night, Amran won the race and claimed his prize, an unassuming innocent village girl (definitely she's not a smart one, why on earth is she there?). While she is riding pillion on his bike, Amran rides home but shortly after that encountered with an accident with a truck. He survived but the girl died. Since then, Amran is constantly disturbed by the girl's ghost and it affected his life. In another situation, due to his playboy-racer lifestyle, Amran is always in a difficult relationship with his girlfriend, Halimatun, a nurse at a hospital where Amran always end up to after racing accidents. Amran also has a great buddy, Kunyit. Due to the case, Amran, Kunyit and Halimatun bond together to solve it. Things turned a different way when they discovered that the dead girl actually has a living twin sister who looks exactly the same. Amran gets the sister's forgiveness and tries to help her when everything seems to be out of hand. With the help of his buddies and girfriend, Amran is saved and the mystery involving the sister is solved. It turns out that instead of really forgiving Amran, the sister actually plans a scheme to revenge him.

There are positive elements in HB where Amran and Kunyit repent for their sins, and in all its naturalness, they are challenged in their effort to change. So, even though I won't care to watch this movie repeatedly, for me it's better than the other two movies here, for comparison purpose. Better in the aspect of story line and messages in the story. And for the funny part, yep...it's funny. However, for the title's sake of Hantu Bonceng, the ghost is never seen riding pillion anywhere in the movie! Heh... Just my humble thoughts.

The Adventures of Tintin

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A trip to the cinema is usually a planned trip because I am choosy when it comes to enjoying movies. So, when a free invitation to a movie suddenly came up and there's no 'now showing' movie in my wishlist at the moment, I just chose movies that's really close to my taste. Hence, The Adventures of Tintin (TAOT) was selected.

I watched TAOT without reading any previews or reviews or any pre-existing knowledge whatsoever of it, except for having a little guess because the name's quite familiar and so it is probably an adapted work from a novel or some other works of art. Indeed it was, but from a comic book. After watching, I read up for some information and TAOT is actually "a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artiste Georges Rémi (1907-1983) who wrote under the pen name Hergé" (source: Wikipedia). Yup, his comics joined the famous books, novels and literature of long publication lines and globally famous.

The movie is a performance capture 3D film....which means, it's not real, but really close to real. All actions done by the actors are captured, animated and digitized in 3D. The story is about the journey of Tintin, a young journalist in unraveling the mystery of the unicorn sailing ships that is related to history or legend of its maker, Sir Francis Haddock. At first I thought this is only a kid's movie but WHEW!, with gunshots, fast-paced action sequence, unstoppable grinding of teeth (okay, that one is exaggerated), fight scenes and the seriousness of the story line....but no messy bloodbath, and there's some humour and funny moments and FUN! ....so, okay..it's for everybody.

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Tintin saw a unique three-masted sailing ship model at an open market one day and bought it with a good price, but suddenly found himself becoming a target to mysterious people who's actually wanting the ship for themselves. What's the story behind the model ship? What's the secrets behind (or in) it and who are the people who are also looking for the ship? The adventure of young Tintin and his clever dog made them crossed the sea and the air, and took them to race with the cunning foe, in finding the answers of the puzzles the ship maker left them. Good to watch!

ray of sunshine

sometimes...even when we are surrounded with people,

occupied with things,

so full with everyday tasks that made you breathless,

....

just a moment, a split-second moment

you feel lonely

a stab of feeling

like a prick of a needle

*******

you are like a ray of morning sun

shines softly

soothing warmth

touches me

makes the flowers bloom

and my feelings too

yet you are unreachable

i pray for a stronger heart...

mysterious.secrets.silence

memories.nostalgia.priceless

love is silence?

Love is telling each other a thousand things without talking.

'tis true....but...

Love can be communicated in many ways

and there are times love need words...

especially when distance is in between

...a little thought

Typhoon hit in Philippines, to the extent of China and Japan

Strong earthquake in Bali, Indonesia

Major flood in Thailand

Major flood and landslides in Central America

Very strong earthquake in Turkey

Those are the recent nature catastrophes which has occurred (and still occurring) in other countries outside my homeland. It attracts global attention due to its magnitude and the large effect that hit the dwellers. Alhamdulillah, my friends are ok in their respective countries...they are not directly hit by the disasters. Having someone you know in those places makes you become more aware of their countries' condition and well-being. Perhaps before we were quite ignorant of things happening outside our comfortable homes, or if that sounds rather mean, perhaps we didn't think much of it other than our sympathy when reading the news. However, now we wondered....we communicate...we help if we can..and we hope and we wish...for the best.

When I flipped through the local news....I thought, my country so far this year, was not affected by any super major natural disasters, Alhamdulillah...but I read and watched in horror of the "man-made" disasters cast upon other people's life just for the sake of pride, lust, greed and other sins...and those are what we call as crime. Robbing or thieving alone is one thing, but robbing and throwing people down from a bridge, or robbing and murdering a family having dinner together, slicing your own new-born baby, acid attacks...eerie, sick... sick, sick people without a sense of humanity...

Astaghfirullahal'azim....

Abduction

the new MBO in Subang Parade...
Photo: cinema.com.my

Yesterday evening, my buddy and I made a quick, rather unplanned decision to watch a movie after dinner for reasons that comprises passing time, spending time together ...and...trying out the newly built MBO cinema at Subang Parade for the first time. And somehow, we ended up watching this movie, Abduction, based on my one-time glance on its tv promo. Thriller movies are one of my 'thing', and the tv promo seemed to be promising a story that might put me chilling at the edge of my seat. However, after watching it, I thought the movie didn't live up to my expectations.

google.com.my

It is considered as an action-thriller. Action? Hmm, yes. Thriller? Well, maybe not so much thrilling. The story is rather straightforward, and predictable with not so much twists and turns as other thriller movies. If we look at the movie title, we assumed that the story might be about abduction, right? Well, for me...okayla..let me tell you the gist of the story. Nathan Harper is a high school student who seemed to be out of place in his own family even though his parents seemed to be the most loving parents on earth. His dad trained him boxing, he is the school wrestler and he sees a psychiatrist once in a while for anger/emotional management and also talks about his recurring dream of seeing a woman being murdered by a man. One day while doing his school project with his classmate Karen, he came across a childhood picture of himself in a missing persons' website. He tried to start his own investigation, which includes contacting the website's admin, which then triggers another bigger consequences that made the CIA and Russian mobs out searching for him. His parents murdered, and he and Karen are then on the run to look for answers while saving their lives. It turns out that his parents are not his real parents. So who are his biological parents? What's the meaning of his recurring dreams? And what is the connection between Nathan and the CIA and the Russian mob? Is there really an abduction? If you are still interested to know then go see the movie but I bet you'll get the answer halfway through the movie, the rest of it is just for your confirmation.

Anyway, it is still good to watch....if you are a Taylor Lautner's fan, coz you'll get to see a considerable amount of scenes exploiting him. There are some notable veterans though, namely Sigourney Weaver and Alfred Molina among others. I'd say this can be a teen-flick if not an action-thriller. Not that bad, but not that good either. The idea of the story is actually good but I think the execution could be better. Hmmm, can I have psycho-thrillers like Shutter Island or more realistic abduction like Ransom instead? :) 

 

mending scar...

sometimes you feel UP
sometimes you feel DOWN
sometimes you wake up in the morning
and dreading those things that you have to endure
but sometimes you also wake up with a SMILE
if you are POSITIVE
you would take it all
you would brave it all
'cause you know that there's something GOOD
for you
(only sometimes you don't know it yet....)
if you are NEGATIVE
you would still do it all
but you don't feel anything
other than a bitter heart

BITTER is viral
when you don't know how to find the GOODNESS in other people
when you don't know what is GOOD FAITH

your heart is like a mirror
what you see in it, is what you get
smiling heart, smiling countenance
dreadful heart, dreadful face
once there's a scratch
once there's a crack
you'll see it forever
but if you are positive
you can still smile
with all the cracks and scratches
'cause even though they can't be removed
they'll always be remembered
for the STRENGTH that they gave you......


The Dreamer©2011

vision 30s...

Bukit Kepong, filem Melayu & ...

Sejak akhir-akhir ini, nama Bukit Kepong tiba-tiba bergema kembali di persada negara. Semuanya kerana sebuah pernyataan yang telah dikeluarkan oleh seorang ahli politik berkenaan peristiwa bersejarah di Bukit Kepong 61 tahun yang lalu yang dikatakan telah menyentuh perasaan rakyat negara ini terutamanya waris ahli keluarga anggota-anggota polis dan penduduk kampung yang terlibat di dalam peristiwa tersebut. Satu pernyataan yang dirasakan kurang sensitif yang akhirnya mengundang pelbagai reaksi dari pelbagai pihak, tidak kira yang berunsurkan fakta, propaganda mahupun emosi semata-mata. Malah ada juga yang baru mendengar nama Bukit Kepong itu sejak berlakunya ke'heboh'an ini, termasuklah orang-orang yang berasal dari negeri Johor sendiri.

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Apabila mendengar nama Bukit Kepong, aku teringatkan sebuah filem 'Bukit Kepong' arahan dan lakonan Dato' Jins Shamsuddin yang pernah aku tonton semasa ia disiarkan di kaca televisyen lebih kurang 20 tahun yang lalu. Pada masa itu, aku masih kecil, entah berapa umurku aku pun dah lupa, mungkin masih bersekolah rendah. Aku masih ingat sikit-sikit pada awal cerita pengenalan kepada watak-watak di dalam cerita itu dilakukan dengan setiap pelakon memperkenalkan diri watak masing-masing siap berpakaian uniform dan memperkenalkan nombor anggota mereka berserta nama mereka. Aku mengenali beberapa pelakon terkenal seperti Jins Shamsuddin, Yusoff Haslam, Allahyarham A. Rahim dan Allahyarham Hussein Abu Hassan yang berlakon dalam filem tersebut. Ketika babak pertempuran dan serangan bertubi-tubi, aku memang menonton dengan penuh kegerunan dan menangis melihat efek-efek kecedaraan, tembakan, pengeboman, pembakaran dan penyeksaan yang dilakukan oleh pasukan komunis terhadap anggota-anggota polis Balai Polis Bukit Kepong, anak-anak dan isteri mereka ketika mempertahankan diri. Sungguh berkesan. Dan filem itu dihasilkan pada zaman era akhir 70an-awal 80an. Bagiku, ia cukup 'impressive' pada ketika itu.

Pastinya pada ketika itu, aku sekadar pernah mendengar tentang penjajahan British, parti komunis, bintang tiga dan lain-lain tanpa memahami sebenarnya apa perjuangan mereka. Bagi aku, apa yang aku lihat ketika itu, hanyalah sekumpulan musuh yang majoriti berbangsa Cina, menyerang sebuah balai dan berek polis yang dianggotai oleh majoriti berbangsa Melayu. Namun pada ketika itu, aku tidak pernah fikir pun samada perkara itu ada kaitan dengan perbezaan kaum, perbezaan perjuangan atau lain-lain lagi. Penjajahan British di Tanah Melayu ada buruk dan baiknya, namun penjajahan tetap merupakan satu penjajahan dan ia harus ditentang. Namun kaedah penentangan itu ada pelbagai cara. Dan niat penentangan itu juga bagaimana? Apakah kerana cintakan tanah air dan akar umbi bangsa serta ingin memelihara kebebasan mengamalkan agama? Atau terpengaruh dengan aliran luar yang belum tentu harmoni dan menjamin kebebasan?

Apapun, terasa bosan juga bila melihat isu pernyataan ahli politik ini didendangkan saban hari. Ini cuma satu isu, sudah berapa banyak isu yang dicanang setiap hari tanpa kupasan yang betul-betul berisi sebaliknya hanya kelihatan hujahnya dari segi agenda politiknya sahaja. Kenangilah sejarah untuk diambil pengajaran. Dan setiap orang harus bertanggungjawab dengan apa yang diperkatakannya. Mungkin ada sebabnya beliau berkata begitu, wallahu a'lam...

google image

Dari aspek yang lain, menyentuh tentang filem terbabit...dengar khabarnya Dato' Yusoff Haslam ingin menghasilkan sebuah filem 'remake' Bukit Kepong tersebut. Kita tunggu dan lihat nanti. Namun, adakalanya saya terfikir, kalau kita ke kedai-kedai cd, kita pasti berjumpa dengan dvd-dvd filem-filem lama karyawan Hollywood yang terkenal dari pelbagai era yang dikompilasikan untuk 'collector's edition', seperti filem-filem yang pernah memenangi anugerah 'Oscar' ataupun filem-filem 'box-office', antaranya Gone With The Wind, The Godfather, The Great Escape dan lain-lain. Tetapi kita susah untuk berjumpa dengan dvd-dvd filem-filem klasik tanah air kita sendiri sedangkan banyak filem-filem lama kita yang berkualiti seperti Abang, Matinya Seorang Patriot, Puteri, Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan, Jogho dan lain-lain yang aku teringin untuk tonton semula. Hampir semua filem tersebut telah aku tonton semasa kecil, banyak yang aku tak ingat kisahnya tetapi ingatan-ingatan kabur pada masa lalu masih kekal di dalam minda, entah kenapa ia masih tersimpan di dalam bahagian memori jangka panjang (long-term memory) aku, aku pun tidak tahu. Mungkin kerana ia berkesan di hati?

Itupun ada juga filem-filem Allahyarham P.Ramlee dan yang sezaman dengannya yang dijadikan vcd dan dijual dikedai-kedai cd. Dan filem-filem tersebut kerap juga ditayangkan di kaca tv, namun bukankah lebih elok kalau dapat dilihat pengabadian naskhah seni yang berharga di dalam bentuk yang lebih tahan dan lebih menarik?

Nota kaki: The Dreamer sedang melakukan carian di Youtube untuk mencari filem-filem itu...jika anda tahu kewujudan dvd/vcd filem-filem di atas, sila maklumkan ya.. :)

Helping Hand ~ Rumah Titian Kasih

I've been meaning to write about this shelter home for some time, even before the fasting month started, but anyway...better late than never.

Rumah Titian Kasih (RTK) is a shelter home for orphans, children and single mothers from broken families, the disabled and senior citizens and it is located just beside Tasik Titiwangsa, KL. It has been set up around 23 years ago and managed by Puan Sharifah Adlan (Mak Pah) and all those times, the home has been receiving voluntary help from various institutions, organizations and individuals in continuing its operation. The home basically provides roof for shelter for the people who need it, especially the young people who do not have any place else to go while they are growing up and receive their education until they can live independently on their own.

Other than receiving outside help, the single mothers of this home made small businesses selling snack food, mini catering and others as their source of income for this home. From personal experience, eating the lunch meal and the 'cendol' that they prepared were superb!

The following pictures were taken on 16 July 2011...

the place

sporting kids

their mini library

kids of various ages

the backyard...they need a more organized water-piping system

the open kitchen, maintained by the single mothers

Mak Pah, the driving force

For those who wish to help, you can drop by at the home at the following address to know what are their current needs, or help them with their business by purchasing their products at:-

No. 15, Jalan Persiaran Titiwangsa,

Tasik Titiwangsa,

53200 Kuala Lumpur

Tel. : 03-4025 5246

E-mail: rumahtitiankasih@yahoo.com.my

Direct monetary donations can be transferred to its Maybank account 564061002172

They have a blog, rumahtitiankasih.blogspot.com and also a Facebook account where you can know more about the home and its mission.

a little note to my father...

A father is the central figure in a family unit. A father is the strong man, the rock, the foundation. A father is the protector. Both father and mother have their very own important roles in their family. But I would like to point out to fathers in this one, that who you are, reflects who your children will be in the future. As a father, he is the leader. He holds his family together. He is the idol of his children, the wall for support, the roof for shades, the base for firm footing.

But father is also human. A father can't do it all alone. 

My father is the man whom I look up to as an idol, as a role model. My father is a leader. A responsible and knowledgeable person. A man of systematic nature. My father had been to many places. He was a teacher and continues being in the lair of education even after his retirement. My father is a man of few words, but that doesn't mean he never gives advises, and asks about his children's well-beings. To me, a gentle pat on my head is already enough for me to feel my father's physical way of showing love. And I know he never fails to take care.

And he is a simple man. And he is human. Sometimes I felt that if things turned the other way, I would've been a better person...but we can't turn around the clock. And I have learned, hopefully, to accept what had happened.

I miss my father, although I see him, although he's here. I miss him...because even though he's here, he's also far and there are things separating us. I want him to be happy during his golden years. I want him to be proud of me. I want him to know that I love him no matter what. And I never blame him for anything. I am glad that I've let him know that. I am thankful that I still have the chance to ask for his forgiveness and kiss his hand and cheeks. I am grateful, that I have that chance. My prayers are always for you, Abah. All the burden that you have carried all these years, may Allah ease them away from you, may Allah forgive you, may no harm come to you. And may I always be a good daughter for you.

Helping Hand ~ Rumah Aman

The people around us, including ourselves, are always in need of something. It's just a matter of affordability. Sometimes we can get what we want easily, sometimes we need some help in getting things. And the people below is part of the people who need our help. This post is in support for TLC Promise Me campaign for the children of Rumah Aman.

So what is TLC? Nooo....it's not T-Boz, Left Eye and Chilli musical trio from the zaman tok kaduk 90s. TLC, as you can read from here and here, is a company that provides a different way of charity by producing and selling household products that consumers like us need and the profit goes to the charity partners they are affiliated with. 

Rumah Aman ~ Nuffnang site

So, Nuffnang is joining TLC's Promise Me Campaign to help fulfill the need of Rumah Aman, an orphanage for boys of various age located in Shah Alam, Selangor in replacing their 15-year-old electricity wiring and lightning breaker system. Wanna know more? Check it out here. As you can see from the link, there are various way to help not just Rumah Aman but other charity institutions in affiliation with TLC's campaign. Buy TLC products, send your donations directly to the orphanage or pay a visit to the place to know what other things they need.

As for the TLC Promise Me Campaign, here are the ways for you to contribute :-

1. Online donation via Maybank2U with the remark "Nuffnang Promise Me S2" to Rumah Aman (Shah Alam) bank account no. 562106720433 (Maybank);
2. Donate via Milkadeal; see here;
3. Donate via cheque; issued to Nuffnang Sdn. Bhd. and send it to

12B5 & 12B6, Heritage House
33 Jalan Yap Ah Shak
50300 Kuala Lumpur

All donations are tax deductible.

There you are. Feel free to surf all the links provided and let's help in any way that we can.

Salam Aidilfitri

from today's date...

6 days more to Eid

6 days left of the best offer

take advantage of it as much as we can

for we don't know, this might be our last chance...

nota senin

Nota-nota dibawah dicatat daripada ceramah ringkas bertajuk "Di Ambang Aidilfitri" yang telah disampaikan oleh Ustazah Zuraini Mohd Shokori, Penolong Pengarah (Unit Pengurusan Kariah), JAWI Caw. Putrajaya pada 22 Ogos 2011 di Putrajaya.

Just for sharing :)

• Bulan Ramadhan, permulaannya adalah rahmat, pertengahannya adalah maghfirah (pengampunan) dan pengakhirannya diselamatkan daripada azab neraka. (Nota saya: Ini adalah sebahagian daripada hadith yang diriwayatkan oleh Ibnu Khuzaimah. Menerusi pembacaan, didapati hadith ini dinilai dhaif (lemah). Hakikatnya, keseluruhan Ramadhan adalah bulan rahmat, pengampunan dan dijauhkan daripada api neraka).

• Orang yang berpuasa diberikan pahala khusus oleh Allah swt. Maksudnya, pahala Allah berikan secara terus kepada orang tersebut. Orang yang berpuasa boleh memasuki Syurga Rayyan dari mana-mana pintu yang dikehendakinya dan selepas dia masuk, pintu itu terus tertutup dan tiada sesiapa lagi boleh memasukinya.

• Amalan-amalan sepanjang Ramadhan, terutamanya di penghujung bulan;

• Tadarus Al-Qur'an

• Solat sunat

• Iktikaf di masjid

Beriktikaf di surau boleh ke? Ada pendapat mengatakan iktikaf di surau jumaat boleh. Surau Jumaat ialah surau yang diberikan taraf di mana solat Jumaat boleh diadakan. (Pengkelasan surau-surau ini adalah bagi tujuan pentadbiran.)

Solat sunat tahiyatul masjid boleh ke dilakukan di surau? Ada pelbagai pendapat. Surau dan masjid kedua-duanya tempat solat untuk semua. Bezanya surau tidak diadakan Solat Jumaat. Ada pendapat mengatakan boleh dilakukan. Tetapi majoriti ulama-ulama besar berpendapat solat tahiyatul masjid hendaklah dilakukan di masjid sahaja.

• Taqwa itu ibarat berjalan di atas bara api...hendaklah berhati-hati...
• Istiqamah dalam melakukan ibadah.
• Dikatakan syaitan dan iblis diikat ketika bulan Ramadhan, tetapi syaitan dan iblis sentiasa berusaha untuk menyesatkan manusia dalam apa cara sekalipun, sepertimana difirmankan Allah swt dalam Surah Al-Hijr : 39 yang bermaksud;

"Iblis berkata: Wahai Tuhanku! Kerana Engkau telah menjadikan daku sesat, (maka) demi sesungguhnya aku akan memperelokkan segala jenis maksiat kepada Adam dan zuriatnya di dunia ini, dan aku akan menyesatkan mereka semuanya."

•  Syaitan berusaha menyesatkan manusia dengan 3 cara;

• Menyesatkan secara jelas ~ tidak mahu solat dan tidak solat.
• Mengelirukan kita ~ amalan menziarahi sanak saudara di hari raya yang sememangnya elok tetapi cara melakukannya kurang elok seperti berziarah dengan couple (majlis ada unsur maksiat dsb.)
• Menghiaskan perkara yang kurang elok agar nampak cantik ~ contoh: jualan murah (mengundang pembaziran), rasuah (kelihatan seperti hadiah) dll.

• Waktu doa yang mustajab;

• Malam Hari Raya Aidilfitri
• Malam Hari Raya Aidiladha
• Malam pertama bulan Rejab
• ?
• ? (ada dua lagi waktu tetapi saya terlepas dengar...huhu ) 

• Amat digalakkan untuk menitiskan air mata ketika berdoa.
• Cara Allah swt memakbulkan doa;

• Terus dimakbulkan sepertimana apa yang dipohon dalam doa.
• Dimakbulkan tetapi tidak semestinya mengikut apa yang dipohon (dimakbulkan dalam cara yang berlainan).
• Tidak dimakbulkan di dunia, tetapi Allah swt simpan di akhirat. 

Maka, jangan serik berdoa. Allah Maha Mendengar.

• Takbir raya Aidilfitri dari malam raya hingga sebelum solat sunat Aidilfitri sahaja.
• Takbir raya Aidiladha dari malam raya hingga 13 Zulhijjah (Hari-hari Tasyriq)
• Sunat untuk berwangi-wangian dan berpakaian bersih (pakaian baru kalau mampu) bersembahyang raya pada 1 Syawal. (Jangan 'over' tentunya...)
• Sunat bersarapan sebelum pergi sembahyang raya.
• Sunat berjalan kaki dari rumah ke masjid dan melalui jalan yang berbeza apabila pergi dan pulang. (Tengok keadaan kalau masjid jauh takyah le jalan kaki..)
• Menyegerakan membayar zakat fitrah.
• Bermaaf-maafan. (Ikutlah syariat muhrim dan bukan muhrim).

Itulah sebahagian catatan yang sempat ditulis daripada ceramah yang didengari. Selainnya sama ada tak sempat tulis, terlepas dengar ataupun tak dapat baca balik tulisan tangan sendiri (duh!). Jika ada maklumat yang kurang tepat diharap dapat memaklumkan kepada saya. Sama-sama kita belajar. 

those times

this time....2 years ago

the craziest
we were

mixed feelings
nerve-wreck

but we did it
yes, we did it....



The Dreamer©2011

Ensiklopedia Solat

Title : Ensiklopedia Solat

Author : Please refer content

Publisher : Telaga Biru, 2011

Pages : 467 (Hardcover)

Genre : Encyclopedia, Religion

Bought at : MPH MidValley

Price : RM100.00

Encyclopedia is a word originated from Latin which means "in a circle of teaching". An encyclopedia is a compilation and collection of information on a specific topic of knowledge, arranged in alphabetical manner. As written in the publisher's note, this encyclopedia is specifically about solat and it took them about 4 years to produce it. The team of writers consists of Rohidzir Rais, Fuad Ismail and Hj. Mohamad Wahid Abd. Hanif,  graduated from the prestigious Al-Azhar University, Egypt, in Syariah Islamiah; Al-Bayt University, Jordan in Syariah and Al-Azhar University, Egypt in Usuluddin (Aqidah and Philosophy), respectively. All of them are highly experienced in religious teaching and active in writing books.

The book's 4 syariah consultants are of highly acclaimed and widely experienced people in Islamic education, namely Prof. Dato' Paduka Dr. Mahmood Zuhdi Bin Abdul Majid, currently a lecturer in International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) in the Fiqh and Usul Fiqh department; Datuk Hj. Md. Hashim Yahaya, a former Mufti of the Federal Territory and a member of syariah committee in various institutions; Ustaz Abdul Ghani Samsudin, currently the chairman of the Secretariat for Southeast Asia Ulama' Assembly (SHURA); and finally Dato' Ismail Kamus, now retired and formerly served with the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department, the Islamic Center and was the resource person for the Islamic Affairs Division (BAHEIS) in the Prime Minister's Office.

That's it about the authors and editors. The content itself contains a wide range of solat-related topics from Air (water), Haidh (menses), Qada Solat, and sunnahs until Zikr. For every topic, the history, principles, dalils, literary and syarak definitions, methods and scientific aspects are explained with proper and accurate references. Mind maps, graphics and illustrations are included to help explain better.

Personal view. This book is a really good book for further references about various topic related to solat. However, I hope there will be a much better second edition as I think there should be more information about certain topics. For example, I have read about a certain tasbih to be recited in solat dhuha in other reference books but it isn't mentioned in this book. Perhaps, as a better encyclopedia, it can present more information pertaining sunnah obligation with proper explanations. In the cosmetic aspects, maybe for the purpose of reasonable price, the graphics and illustrations are not colourful, but the cover is very nice indeed. I think the publisher can improve on the type of paper used for printing and make the accompanying graphics looks better and interesting. However, this is just my two cents. In general, I do agree that :

1. The more you read, the more you know.
2. Learn, then practice what you learn.
3. Learning with books should be accompanied by learning with teachers.

...a book that should be in every home.. 

The Power of Sadaqah...The Secret of Giving

Alhamdulillah, aku baru lepas menghadiri sebuah majlis ilmu yang disampaikan oleh seorang ustaz yang tersohor di Indonesia (seperti diumumkan oleh En. MC Majlis, Top 5 di sana...) bernama Ustaz Yusuf Mansur. Orangnya masih dalam 30an namun telah banyak menyampaikan majlis2 ilmu, membangunkan puluhan ribu pusat tahfiz di Indonesia dan lain-lain negara di dunia serta telah menulis lebih 100 judul buku.

Majlis yang dinamakan Wacana Minda Khas Ramadhan "Membumikan Rahmat Allah" hanyalah majlis yang ringkas. Penyampaian Ustaz Yusuf yang bersahaja dan berkonsepkan "story-telling" agak menarik. Walaupun aku agak mengantuk (bukan kerana ceramah tersebut tetapi memang agak keletihan pagi ni), Alhamdulillah aku masih mampu mengikutinya. Before I forget anything, I'd like to write down bits and pieces of the stories he told us in this post. At least in this way I can remember it and at the same time, sharing it with my readers.

Ustaz Yusuf menceritakan tentang kehebatan bersedekah, tentang bagaimana keuntungan yang kita sedekahkan ikhlas ke jalan Allah swt diganti balik oleh Allah kepada kita berkali-kali ganda pula (berkali lipat bak kata Ustaz Yusuf). Antara cerita benar yang disampaikan adalah seperti berikut........(menggunakan ayat sendiri dan diringkaskan)

Dalam satu ceramah yang dihadiri oleh ramai guru-guru dan orang-orang berilmu, Ustaz bertanyakan siapa yang belum menjejakkan kaki ke Baitullah. Ramai yang mengangkat tangan. Ustaz tanya lagi, jika dengan gaji sekarang, mampu tak untuk pergi ke sana? Ramai kata tak mampu, nak kena menyimpan lama. Ustaz tanyakan siapa yang ingin sedekahkan sebahagian gajinya nanti ke jalan Allah dan InsyaAllah Allah akan beri ganjaran yang cukup sehingga boleh ke Mekah. Tiada siapa yang sanggup kecuali dua orang. Dua orang itu dipanggil ke depan dan setelah dengan yakinnya menyatakan kesanggupan dan keikhlasan mereka untuk bersedekah, Ustaz membacakan doa mudah-mudahan usaha mereka membolehkan mereka ke Tanah Suci. Di kala itu juga, salah seorang hadirin mengatakan kepada Ustaz yang dia akan membiayai perjalanan kedua-dua orang itu.

Yang ini kisahnya agak panjang tapi aku kompakkan saja, seorang sahabat Ustaz bernama A. Sani teringin menunaikan umrah tetapi tidak cukup duitnya. Dia bertemu Ustaz. Ustaz menasihatinya untuk bersedekahlah ke mana-mana masjid, pusat-pusat agama dan lain-lain orang yang memerlukan ikhlas dan yakin dengan Allah swt. Akhirnya Sani mengikutinya. Dia sentiasa bersedekah dan di luar waktu kerjanya dia membantu pula komuniti lain dengan ikhlas. Setelah beberapa lama, dia ditawarkan kenaikan gaji dan mendapat penghargaan daripada majikannya. Asalnya dia cuma berhajatkan agar cukup duit untuk menampung perjalanan dirinya namun pada suatu hari, majikannya ingin menghadiahkan sesuatu dalam bentuk pembiayaan umrah. Oleh kerana untuk dirinya sudah cukup, majikannya menawarkan untuk membiayai perjalanan isterinya sekali. Malah institusi/komuniti yang dibantunya secara sampingan turut ingin memberikan gaji kepadanya.

Kisah seorang penjual bubur. Ibunya teringin sangat nak menunaikan haji. Maka si penjual bubur pun berkata kepada ibunya yang dia akan usahakan. Isterinya bertanya mana mungkin dia mampu kerana pendapatannya yang tidak seberapa. Namun si penjual bubur yakin dengan hasil usaha dan doanya kepada Allah, dia mengagihkan hasil jualannya kepada 2 bahagian: pulangan hasil dan tabungan ibunya. Ia disimpan di dalam bank. Suatu masa, bank ingin memberikan ganjaran kepada penyimpan yang mempunyai simpanan sekian jumlah dan si penjual bubur terpilih. Hadiahnya merupakan sebuah kereta Mercedes Benz siri yang baru pada ketika itu. Si penjual bubur akhirnya nak jual sahaja kereta itu tetapi susah nak dapat pembelinya kerana entah apa masalahnya berkenaan pajak, tetapi akhirnya ada seorang yang mengetahui kisahnya dan harapan si penjual bubur maka dia membeli kereta tersebut dengan harga yang tinggi, dapatlah si penjual bubur membiayai haji ibunya dan akhirnya kisahnya dijadikan sinetron.

Ada seorang wanita yang bekerja sebagai seorang guru dengan gaji 150K rupiah (tidak pasti nilai sebenar samada ribu atau ratus). Dia bercita-cita ingin menjadi pengetua sekolah dan mendapat gaji lebih tinggi, 450K-500K rupiah. Dia bertemu Ustaz dan Ustaz tolong mendoakan, di samping itu dia juga mengamalkan sedekah dan sentiasa membantu orang-orang yang memerlukan. Tidak berapa lama selepas itu dia bertemu Ustaz sekali lagi untuk memberikan kad jemputan perkahwinannya. Ustaz bertanya khabarnya. Kata guru wanita itu, dia masih seorang guru bergaji 150K, tetapi Allah swt telah memakbulkan permintaannya. Tetapi bagaimana? Allah menemukan jodoh buat guru itu dengan anak lelaki seorang pemilik sebuah sekolah dan bakal suaminya itu berpendapatan 3 juta rupiah! 

Begitulah lebih kurang ceritanya. Semoga kita dapat mengambil pengajaran. Apa-apapun, amal ibadat kita haruslah ikhlas dan kita juga harus yakin dengan Allah swt. Kita selalu memohon dan memohon tetapi kadang-kadang kita tak perasan akan nikmat yang telah diberikan lantas terlupa berterima kasih kepada tuan empunya harta yang sebenarnya, Allah swt.