Merdeka 2012 Album 1

31st August 2012, Malaysia's 55th Independence Day was celebrated. This album contains my snapshots from the parade at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, some with a little bit of editing.

Album 2 | Album 3

...I love parades and marching bands...

rindu

ada ketikanya, hati ini meniti batas-batas rindu
rindu yang subur, mekar dan mewangi
rindu yang dibaluti sayu
sayu akan kejauhan
kejauhan
jauh

dan setiap kali, rindu itu menjadi keazaman
keazaman dibaluti harapan
harapan bersulam usaha
dan doa
redha

hati ini cuba mempelajari, cuba menerima
cuba mencari kekuatan
pergilah ke mana-mana sekalipun
hati ini kembali menyerah
padaMu

hati ini perlu dipujuk
tolong...malam ini
jangan sayu
jangan...
pilu


The dreamer©2012

buat saja...

solat

kecil-kecil diajar bersolat. mula-mula ikut-ikut dulu. mini kopiah, mini jubah, mini telekung...kiut sangat. ikutlah ikut, walau sujud seperti superman tengah terbang di atas sejadah. bila dah besar sikit, belajar pula wudhu' dan bacaan-bacaan dalam solat. ayah dan ibu sentiasa ajak anak-anak solat berjemaah. terutama si ayah... kalau ayah bukan pemimpin keluarga yang baik, payah. kecil-kecil tak biasa berjemaah, tak biasa diajak ke masjid, bila besar bagaimana nak merasakan roh ummah? ayah dan ibu tegur anak pasal solat. ayah dan ibu sendiri mesti buat. bagi contoh kat anak-anak, baru anak pandang hebat.

bila besar lagi, dah pandai solat, tapi belajar solat tak pernah habis sampai ke hujung hayat. asas teknikal dah pandai, penjiwaan pula diberi tumpuan. fahami maksud, hafalkan surah-surah mudah, bacakan di dalam solat. sebelum itu...wudhu'. tak sempurna wudhu' tak sempurnalah solat. kemudian pergerakan. buat sesempurna mungkin, selagi sihat tubuh badan. lepas solat tambahkan zikir, hebatkan doa. rendahkan diri, tumpahkan air mata, pun tak apa.

ingat diingatkan, biar solat terasa berisi, semakin tua semakin tunduk, bukan tunduk melayan kantuk. tapi tunduk kepada yang disembah, agar sentiasa diberi petunjuk. Tuhan telah menjanjikan, solat itu pencegah kemungkaran. tetapi solat yang bagaimana. bukan yang macam burung belatuk. solat yang sempurna haruslah sentiasa diusahakan.

al-quran

kecil-kecil diajar alif ba ta. kenal huruf kenal sebutan. mula-mula baca muqaddam. kemudian 'upgrade' quran besar. kadang-kadang lagi besar dari tuan punya badan. belajarlah dengan guru mengaji, tidakpun dengan ayah dan ibu jika mereka mampu. belajar tajwid, belajar lagu. tak berlagu pun tak apa asalkan tajwid terpelihara. lain sebut lain maknanya. bukan semua orang pandai bahasa arab. bacalah juga walau tak faham. bila khatam, ramai buat majlis, pulut kuning bagai. bukan wajib tapi galakan. 'motivate' anak cepat khatam quran. tapi lepas khatam jangan terbiar pula, quran berhabuk di dalam gobok. bacalah baca, baca selalu, biar belum faham tapi kumpullah pahala. semakin besar semakin tahu. quran dibaca bukan saja-saja lagi. apa lagi bertadabburlah. jika dulu target nak habis satu juzuk satu hari, kini biarlah faham makna ayat walau satu ayat sehari. baca tafsir pun boleh, belajar dengan ustaz zahazan dalam majalah 'Solusi' atau IKIM FM pun boleh, belajar dengan imam suhaib webb dalam rancangan 'Reflections' pun boleh, tapi lebih baik belajar dengan guru 'eye to eye'. sebenarnya bila dibiasa-biasakan...akan terkesan juga di dalam hati, akan terasa juga keindahan kalimah Allah, walaupun pada permulaan mungkin rasa biasa-biasa. teruslah istiqamah, agar lafaz kepercayaan dan keimanan kita bukan hanya sekadar di mulut, bukan sekadar taqlid, tetapi turut terasa di hati dan di dalam jiwa.

insyaAllah, bila amalan meresap di dalam jiwa, dunia terasa lebih bahagia...

Nota: kata-kata di atas bukanlah satu leteran atau ceramah tetapi hanyalah kata-kata peribadi merangkumi harapan dan impian penulis untuk dirinya dan anak-anak buah serta 'bakal' anak-anaknya.

figure it out!

For artist and art appreciators, if you are anywhere around KLCC (Kuala Lumpur City Center) from August to October 2012, you can check out Galeri Petronas at Level 3, Suria KLCC because currently they are having an art exhibition entitled Figure Out: Seni Figuratif daripada Himpunan Seni Petronas (Figurative Art from the Petronas Art Collection). I just happened to pass by the gallery one day and decided to have a peek inside.

The admission is free. After registering, you will be given a brochure where you can read the introductory note from Dr. Zakaria Ali, the Professor of Art History from Sultan Idris University of Education (UPSI) about figurative story telling. The exhibition is arranged or categorized into 4 genres i.e. portraiture, leisure, work and political commentary. Of all the 'Portraiture' paintings, some are self-portraits and others are portraits of persons whose features somehow capture the artist's attention. Under the 'Leisure' category, the artworks represented the leisure activities people do to enjoy their free time and 'Work' represents the daily jobs of people especially the self-employed, homemakers and the government wage earner (including a Prime Minister). Lastly, the 'Political Commentary' section represents artworks that exhibits images with political issues and important political figures.

The exhibits ranges widely in terms of artwork types and artist from the 1950s to the 21st century. Some of the artist are, to name a few, Allahyarham Datuk Syed Ahmad Jamal, Allahyarham Dato' Hoessin Enas, Siti Zainon Ismail, Datuk Lat, Nik Zainal Abidin, Soraya Yusof Talismail and even Almarhum Sultan Ismail of Terengganu, Datuk Chuah Thean Teng, Masnoor Ramli Mahmood, Redza Piyadasa and many, many more.

Other than artwork exhibition, visitors will manage to take parts in the scheduled programmes. You might be too late for the art workshops organized on 29th August but you might still can catch the curatorial walkthroughs and art classes and talks by Prof. Dr. Zakaria Ali on 8th September and 13th October. On 17th October, there will be an art workshop for the primary school students facilitated by the students from UPSI. Check it out!

Di Hamparan Shamrock Kuseru Nama-Mu

saifulislam.com

Title: Di Hamparan Shamrock Kuseru Nama-Mu

Author: Hasrizal Abdul Jamil

Publisher: Galeri Ilmu, 2012

Language: Malay

Pages: 342

Price: RM30.00 (WM)/ RM32.00 (EM)

Among the books that I have read, Di Hamparan Shamrock Kuseru Nama-Mu joins the collection of life journals turned into books such as Travelog Dakwah books by Prof. Muhd Kamil. This book is a compilation of journals of Ustaz Hasrizal's journey and various life experiences during his years as a student in Syariah and Islamic Studies in Mu'tah University in Jordan, and later on as a Minister of Religion in Belfast Islamic Center, Northern Ireland and all his travels around London, Belfast, Galway and other parts of United Kingdom. This book tells the readers about the highs and lows of this Muslim's journey in his academic, professional and social life as he got involved in the bureaucracy madness, extreme perceptions, international security issues and day-to-day social interactions. As imam and head of an Islamic institute in a country far from his own, he faces a lot of issues regarding religion that are different from the ones we always face or know of in our country. Thus, reading all this stories really opens up our minds and widens our knowledge, makes us aware of how's the situation going on in other parts of the world.

There are a lot of new things that I know from reading this book. About the Muslim community in Belfast especially, and how is the relationship between the government and the minority groups of this Muslim and immigrant communities in Belfast. The experiences recorded in this journal are priceless. This is a very enjoyable book to read, a good medium for us to ponder and reflect about ourselves, with simple but interesting writing techniques. I love it.    

monolog

Assalamualaikum

Sebulan lebih tak menulis kerana beberapa faktor. Sedikit kesibukan di satu ketika, sedikit takde mood di ketika yang lain dan sedikit writer's block selebihnya. Kehidupan berlangsung dalam ketenangan dan keributan yang datang berselang-seli. Ada masa kebosanan, ada masa kesepian, ada masa terasa tenang dalam keamanan dan kebebasan.

Dan kebanyakan masa, aku kerinduan. Subjek kerinduan yang lebih dari satu, yang pelbagai. Kerinduan yang terasa seperti menghalang kebahagiaan.

Dalam ketenangan dan keamanan, adakalanya berlaku sedikit konflik. Konflik dalaman di dalam hati dan minda yang seakan-akan sedang menentang sesuatu. Seperti sel darah putih yang menentang elemen-elemen asing di dalam tubuh badan kita membuatkan aku kadangkala demam jiwa.

Kenyataannya aku masih dalam pencarian. Pencarian satu titik arah tuju yang tidak pernah tetap di satu tempat. Pencarian diri sendiri yang hilang kerana kealpaan. Mengimbas kembali sisi samar di bawah cahaya terang. Pencarian untuk kembali kepada fitrah, bukan mudah tetapi munasabah. Malah sangat perlu.

Aku tidak perlu menulis ayat-ayat cliche. Yang pasti Dia Maha Mengetahui.

A Chinese Life of Islam by Yamin Cheng

google image

I haven't been writing posts for quite some time, however, I've managed to read several books in my free time. The latest book that I've just finished reading is a non-fiction that I came across a publication website, IBT Books. I'm not sure if it is available widely in all bookstores, but you surely can find it and buy it from the website.

Title: A Chinese Life of Islam, The Search for Identity

Author: Yamin Cheng

ISBN: 978-983-9541-79-3

Price: RM21.00

Pages: 90

Publisher: The Other Press, 2012

Some information about the author, taken from the book: Dr. Yamin Cheng has been teaching in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in the Department of Usuluddin and Comparative Religion. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from IIUM, Master's degree in Religion from Gerge Washington University, Washington DC, and PhD in Religion from Temple University, Philadelphia USA. He has been an adjunct instructor at the Department of Religion, Temple University and also headed the Islamic Studies Dept. of an Islamic College in Melbourne, Australia.

In this book, Dr. Cheng describes about the Malaysian Muslim Chinese and discusses about the reality and the tasks that these people have to face in identifying themselves in the country. We know that in China itself, there are several Muslim groups and communities that is identifiable by their ethnicity and have a long run of history and legacy from hundreds of years ago. But the Chinese people in Malaysia's lineage of ancestors came from a different part of China, and from different ethnics, who are not originally Muslims, thus making them unlinkable to the Muslims in China in terms of legacy and identity. And then, by living in Malaysia, where the majority of Muslims are Malays, there are clashes of thoughts as to how or what is deemed as Islamic characteristics. Does one really can differentiate between religion and culture when both have been intertwined with each other in practice for many years?

Dr. Cheng presents this discussion in simple and readable 8 chapters about perceptions, the importance of ancestors, secularism, market-place society, the meaning of religion, Confucius and Buddhism, all to help prepare or shall I say, giving food for thoughts to the Malaysian Muslim Chinese in marking their own identity as a Muslim, and also a Chinese and a Malaysian. As a non-Chinese, but a Muslim and a Malaysian, I am interested to know that such 'dilemma' exists. It kind of open up the mind and made one to be more knowledgeable about other people.

you

we are the humble servants
we are constantly tested
we always take things for granted
we always forget
.
.
.
you
can't make up my mind, about you
you
are the arrow in my heart
are the lines in my subjective papers
are my test

you
are THE test

....
can i pass you?


The dreamer©2012

you know you are reading a good book when ...

you know you are reading a very good book when ...

1. when you start reading it, you are not able to put it down until the very last page - might even forget to eat, sleep or shower!;
2. you feel torn inside when you are reaching the end chapter - you want to know how the story will end but you also don't want the story to end so soon;
3. when you finally finished reading, you cannot sleep (if you finish at night), your feel warm and fuzzy (like being in love) or other types of emotional swelling depending whether it's a happy or sad ending;
4. you keep re-reading your favourite parts or chapters (or even the whole book!) right after finishing it the first time.

well, that's me...what about you? :-)

what a colourful world

One fine day (fine weather but not me..), at a clinic's registration counter in Tawau....

Clinic assistant : Nama? (Name?)

Me : Z*****

C.A. : Umur? (Age?)

Me : 3*

C.A. : Kerja? (Occupation?)

Me : P***** M*****

C.A. : Suku?

Me : Hm? Suku?... (a few miliseconds pass) ..owh, Melayu.

C.A. : Ok. (And handed my new clinic card.)

The conversation above might not matter much to just anybody, perhaps it's just a trifling thing. But it's significant enough for me to be remembering it, still. It reminded me how these little things made me aware of the gazillion roots or ethnicity this part of the country have. And how some people just feel that it's enough to know that there's only Malays, Chinese, Indians, Bumis or non-Bumis.

The reason why I still remember this little 'interview' is because never before in my life someone asked me what 'suku' (race) I am. The closest thing I could think of is 'bangsa' but that is almost never being asked verbally, you just simply write that information in written forms, rather absent-mindedly. But to be asked that verbally, I almost said, at the back of my mind, to the clinic assistant, 'Can't you tell?'.

The thing is, on the other side of the country, people just so used to the fact that (and take it for granted) the brown-coloured skin and flat-nosed (and tudung-clad ladies) are Malays, fair and slit-eyes are Chinese, and dark-brown skin with big eyes are Indians. Others that don't look close enough to that description or maybe 'half-half' of something might be the ones to be asked what race are they. Here in Sabah, one might have to ask to know...at least, for my untrained 'foreign' eyes, because there are not simply the 3 major races here, or Kadazan, Bajau, Dusun for that matter, plus the whole lot who came from the other side of the sea, I guess.

What a colourful world it is....a salad mixture, or bubur cha cha...whatever it is, it tastes good.