P.Ramlee - Ibu
Petikan Filem Ibu (1953)
Lagu : Ahmad Jaffar
Ibu, ibu
Engkaulah ratu hatiku
Bila ku berduka
Engkau hiburkan selalu
Ibu, ibu
Engkaulah ratu hatiku
Tempat menyatakan kasih
Wahai ibu
Betapa tidak hanya engkaulah
Yang menyinari hidupku
Sepanjang masa engkau berkorban
Tidak putusnya bagai air lalu
Ibu, ibu Engkaulah ratu hatiku
Tempatku menyerahkan kasih
Wahai ibu
Untuk Mak tersayang.....
Selamat Menyambut Hari Lahir ke-63 (26/11)....
Dari Anakmu Sekeluarga di Dubai
I arrived at the Dubai Airport Terminal 3 almost midnight. Two of my SoGul colleagues were with me.....they had a market visit in Tehran. So, the waiting for the Emirates flight at the IKIA that night was a bit bearable as I had somebody to chat with.
Once the plane touched down in Dubai, I texted my wife....wishing her a happy 36th birthday.....
Luckily, this time I didn't have any problem passing through the customs....Thank God....
Makan2 at Al-Attar Escala
That Friday evening, we had a little makan2 session up on the rooftop....It's actually a birthday dinner for Apit and my wife. We had Khairul and his family for guests....Apit has a new friend now....three-year-old Khalif.....Khairul's son. The kids spent the evening in the swimming pool while their parents chatted and ate.....
Saturday morning.......I had my driving lesson.....830am to 1100am.....My driving instructor told me that I only need one more lesson after this before going for the assessment test next week.....Hopefully, I'll get my driver's license before the year-end holidays.....so that I can bring my family somewhere during the off-days.
Then, at 1100am, Khairul picked me up and we when to the Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club....KP was organizing shooting sessions....We met him, and his friend Peter Lim, at Uptown Mirdiff and off we when to Jood Mandy for lunch.....A few others joined us there.
After lunch, we when straight to Sharjah, the Emirate neighboring Dubai....
I had been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.....to shoot a gun.
The first time, the shooting instructor gave me 22-caliber CZ-75 semi-automatic pistol. It a Czech Republic product...a small and solid handgun. The best thing was that it was a recoil-less handgun. My first few shots weren't very good but after a few rounds....I felt quite comfortable with it.....I shot 25 rounds with this gun.
How I did at the shooting club...not bad for a first-timer
After a shot break....I re-enter and picked up a 9mm CZ-75B Luger. The same make as the previous gun but much bigger in size and bullets. This gun had quite a nasty recoil each time I shot....and it's heavier than the 22-caliber one....It took me some time before I got the hang of it....
Well....If I were to own a gun...I think I'd go for the 22-caliber one....It lighter, smaller and it's quite easy to use....but I don't think guns are for me....I don't think that I would have a use for it....and it's dangerous...not to mention the responsibilities that come with it.....
My-UAE Shooters....(thanks to Sheila for the photo)
Anyhow...it was a pleasant experience....I'd go there if I have the chance in the future....and I'll bring the family a well....The kids will surely enjoy it....seeing their father shoot...like Horatio Caine from the CSI:Miami fame....
19th November 2004......one of the happiest and proudest days of my life......the birth of my one and only son.....Ahmad Afiq Hilmy aka Apit.
One of the happiest and proudest moments of my life
At the Putrajaya Hospital...his first few days....
The interesting thing was that we knew the exact date of his birthday.....the doctor at the Putrajaya Hospital set that date for the Ceasarian Section, through which Apit was born....just like his two elder sisters.
That was 4 years ago.....he is pretty much a big boy now.....a hand-full though but youshould expect that from a boy like apit.
He reminds me of someone.....Yours Truly!!!.....from eating raw Milo to the Combat games.....from Tom and Jerry to the Transformers to the Incredible Hulk......only that I didn't have Power Rangers when I was growing up......
And he also doesn't seem to have any problem taking a long walk....in fact, he likes walking judging by his body language.
He also adapts well to this different environment (in Dubai).....just like his father...hehehe....
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Rewind back to 4 years ago.....
I was waiting anxiously in the waiting room near the Operating Theatre.....when suddenly I heard this very loud cry.....I thought to myself....it had to be a boy.....The nurse wheeled him out and she opened the blanket.....There it was....a penis (hehe)....and I muttered "Alhamdulillah"....Praise be To Allah.....our prayers had been answered. We had a healthy baby boy. I conveyed the good news to my parents-in-law.....but not before I recited the Adzan in his right ear and the Iqamah in his left ear. Then, I called my parents who were waiting anxiously at home in Kota.
Unfortunately, he had a serious case of jaundice....we had to let him stay at the PICU for a few days before we were able to bring him home......
He was our center of attention.....especially to his sisters....They enjoyed having a small baby to play with......It was a joy watching him grew....and it still is now.....
But, just like any other child growing up.....he's not without any mischief or any unfortunate events associated with him....
* Once, he was locked inside the car when we were stopping at the Gunung Semanggol RnR on our way back from a family vacation.....It was actually self-inflicted....he locked himself in.....It took us almost an hour to get him out....with the help of some good samaritans nd the PLUS people.
* He also had this nasty cut on his brows. He head hit our coffee table table when he fell down while eating some snacks......
* Then he had this severe chicken-pox.....his body was full of those red, itchy, fluid-filled spots....What an unpleasent experience for a small kid.
* Another thing was that he only stop breast-feeding at the age of 3+ we were already in Dubai by then)....which really annoyed me and his mother as well...hehehe....
We held a big kenduri when we had his head shaved (majlis cukur jambul)....It's as a sign of my gratefulness to Allah for granting us our wishes......We slaughtered a cattle....it was really a big affair....just like a wedding reception.....And we did it "kampung style".....almost all the neighbours lent their hands......
A bald-headed Apit....after the kenduri
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Fast forward...4 years later today.....
A big little boy, with an emotion of his own....hehehe.....sensitive, independent, active and a hand-full but still need his mother's cuddling at night.....
Yes.....an MU fan in the making
He has also started to wear the Manchester United jersey that I bought for him for his 2nd birthday.....I'm going to make him an MU fan...like his father, that's for sure.
And to Apit......Have a Great 4th Birthday....I love you....We all love you.....
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PS: Here are some collages of Apit throughout the years (4 years exactly).....enjoy....!!!
Apit: Year 0
Apit: Year 1
Apit: Year 2
Apit: Year 3
Apit: Year 4
My flight to Tehran arrived at about 930am local time.....and was greeted by the cool weather....maybe about 10C-12C. I'll be spending the whole week here.....It definitely gonna get cooler in a few weeks.....especially when the wind blow....The snow has fallen in the mountains on the background of this city.....
I didn't miss the snow, then...I had experienced Tehran's snow back in February.....but I definitely miss fishing....
I browsed a few angling-related websites yesterday.....the price of angling equipment really surprised me......Aed200+ for a reel, another Aed200+ for a rod....Aed80 for a mono-filament line....plus a few Aed's for tackles and baits.....It didn't sound so bad after all.....Maybe, one of these days, I'd go out of my sabbatical here in the middle east.....a brand new experience for me....
But to fish in Dubai, you have to get a license from the Municipality......just like in the US...it's one of the methods to regulate fishing and to protect the fishes. It's not like in Malaysia where we can fish virtually anywhere we desire....without paying anything to the authorities.....
I think, Malaysian wildlife authorities etc. should implement this.....it's one thing to have a hobby.....but to safeguard our natural resources such as fish is also our responsibilities.....
I remember one time when I went fishing with a few of my buddies in the American River in Sacramento.....every once in a while, there will be a boat of Fish and Games wardens patrolling the river....urging us to flash our fishing license.....
I learned about Sustainable Development (SD) in one of my Graduate school classes.....and, in my opinion, regulating activities such as hunting and fishing is probably one of the aspects and requirements of SD.
Back in the US.....they have this minimum size limit for every species of fish.....as well as those species that are illegal to catch....
But, I definitely will go fishing in Dubai......maybe get a year's license....buy basic equipment and take the whole family on a fishing weekend.....maybe by the Dubai Creek or anywhere.....
OR if I can't afford the equipment, I might have to ship my rods, reels and everything from Malaysia....I'm sure they are gathering dust in the store room under the stairs. Then, I'll have something to show to my fishing buddies in Malaysia.....hehehe.....I CAN fish in Dubai.....and I might even make new fishing buddies here as well.
Here are some of the angling sites in Dubai:
http://barracudadubai.com/
http://www.sstuae.com/
http://www.angelfire.com/ut/FishDubai/fishingindubai.html
http://www.city-discovery.com/dubai/tour.php?id=2913
"Six Thinking Hats" is a powerful technique that helps you look at important decisions from a number of different perspectives. It helps you make better decisions by pushing you to move outside your habitual ways of thinking. As such, it helps you understand the full complexity of a decision, and spot issues and opportunities which you might otherwise not notice.
Many successful people think from a very rational, positive viewpoint, and this is part of the reason that they are successful. Often, though, they may fail to look at problems from emotional, intuitive, creative or negative viewpoints. This can mean that they underestimate resistance to change, don't make creative leaps, and fail to make essential contingency plans.
Similarly, pessimists may be excessively defensive, and people used to a very logical approach to problem solving may fail to engage their creativity or listen to their intuition.
If you look at a problem using the Six Thinking Hats technique, then you'll use all of these approaches to develop your best solution. Your decisions and plans will mix ambition, skill in execution, sensitivity, creativity and good contingency planning.
This tool was created by Edward de Bono in his book "6 Thinking Hats".
Read more about it HERE.
Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, sweeping away the last racial barrier in American politics with ease as the country chose him as its first black chief executive.
By Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 7 - The landmark decision to free Malaysia Today editor Raja Petra Kamarudin is a major victory for free speech, judicial independence and a blow to the Internal Security Act (ISA) considered by many Malaysians to be a draconian law.
Specifically, the judgment is a slap on the face of Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar whose cavalier attitude towards using the ISA in recent months was unprecedented.
Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng was arrested under the ISA on Sept 12 allegedly for her own protection but was soon freed following a public uproar.
The same happened to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok who was also arrested the same day for allegedly threatening "national security" but was released a week later.
Syed Hamid came under intense public criticism for these "cavalier" arrests and now the court has delivered another blow in its judgment rejecting the minister's arguments that Raja Petra had threatened "national security" and therefore needs to be put away.
Taken together - the arrest, release and today's judgment - are blunders that have seriously damaged the credibility of the government.
The judgment is also a blow to Section 8 of the ISA which says courts cannot question the discretion of minister in arresting anyone under the ISA, virtually giving licence to the authorities to arrest anybody with impunity under the "national security" blanket.
By freeing Raja Petra, High Court Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad agreed with counsel Malik Imtiaz's arguments that the Constitution empowers the judiciary to question any act of abuse by the authorities.
Syed Ahmad ruled that Raja Petra's arrest for allegedly causing racial tensions was unlawful, holding that the Home Minister had acted outside his powers.
The grounds for the arrest were "insufficient" and unlawful, he said.
Raja Petra, who was accused of threatening public security and causing racial tension by publishing writings that ridiculed Islam, also faces a sedition charge in relation to his posting of articles linking Prime Minister-designate Datuk Seri Najib Razak with the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu.
"It is a historic ruling," said Malik.
Malik had argued that the grounds of his detention given by the minister were incredible, unacceptable and should be rejected.
He also argued that the detention infringed on Raja Petra's freedom to profess and practice Islam under Article 11 and as such his writings were an expression of his faith and conscience.
Furthermore, he said that the Minister had acted with mala fide to silence Raja Petra who was only a vocal critic of the government but whose writings never caused chaos or threaten "national security."
The legal aspects aside, Raja Petra's release is expected to impact on national politics as well.
He is expected to invigorate and boost the opposition ranks with his spicy writings and constant revelations of government misdeeds.
Raja Petra is said to be worth at least a queen in the chess game between arch rivals - opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Deputy Prime Minister Najib - to succeed as prime minister of the country.
When Anwar was jailed on the first sodomy charge in 1999, it was Raja Petra who kept the Anwar-cause alive - domestically and internationally - with his Free Anwar campaign.
Raja Petra was also among the first few who sensed or knew that Anwar was about to be released in September 2004.
He was astute enough to read the future, quickly abandoning the Free Anwar campaign and setting up the Malaysia Today website, positioning himself as a key power broker in the emerging Abdullah-era.
With his multimedia skills, political astuteness and storytelling powers, he turned Malaysia Today into a powerful new weapon against opponents.
His powers, through Malaysia Today, to influence public opinion is phenomenal and was one key reason many thought he was put away.
But now that he is free expect the fireworks again.
From: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/
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Prominent Malaysian blogger released from prison
AgenciesPublished: November 07, 2008, 12:19
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian authorities freed the editor of an anti-government news Web site Friday after a court decided that his arrest under a law allowing indefinite detention was illegal.
High Court Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad ruled that the home minister acted outside his powers in having Raja Petra Kamaruddin detained September 12 for allegedly causing ethnic tensions.
Five hours later, a weary-looking Raja Petra was brought from a prison camp in northern Malaysia to the court in Shah Alam city near Kuala Lumpur, where he embraced his tearful wife and daughters after being formally released.
"I'm really glad it's over. I'm really tired. The judge's decision proves there is no justification for my detention," Raja Petra told reporters.
The government has accused Raja Petra, 58, of threatening public security and causing ethnic tension by publishing writings that ridiculed Islam in the Muslim-majority country.
He has infuriated authorities by publishing numerous claims of alleged wrongdoing by government leaders on his highly popular Web site, Malaysia Today.
The government has denounced most of Raja Petra's allegations as lies. He is also on trial in a separate case in which he has been accused of sedition by implying that Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was involved in the murder of a Mongolian woman. If convicted, he faces up to three years in jail.
October 2008 has just passed last week....but the month passed not without any meaningful events.....
Manchester United spent the October winning all but one of their matches. See the results HERE.
Ain got sick when I was in Tehran....luckily we had some help from our friends here in Dubai.
Both my daughters got awarded with the Student of the Week at their school....plus a bad news from Malaysia. Read about it HERE & HERE.
I had promised them something as a reward for their achievements....so, I brought the family to see High School Musical 3.....
But one day in October that really has a significance to me.......
As far as I can remember, one of the worst tragedies that ever struck me was when I got injured playing football a little more than 13 years ago. I vividly remember it…..one afternoon, 15th October, 1995……Masac 1 versus Masac 2, Winchell Field,
I cried that night….but not because of the pain. I cried because I knew that I won’t be able to play football, the way I did, ever again. Soon, it got even worse….the orthopedic surgeon told me that I can’t play soccer anymore. I could have it operated, but I won’t be 100% anymore….So, I talked to my mom and decided not to have the operation and let it heal by itself. I was a cripple for a few months after that. I was limping when I came back from the
It took me almost half-an-hour to walk to the bus stop to go to the campus the day after. It usually took me only 5 minutes.
I tried to make a come back…..playing in a 7-a-side tournament a few years back (in 2000 I think). But once again, it just gave away…..maybe it just couldn’t support my weight anymore (I had been gaining a few kilos since coming back from the
That’s why I took up fishing….and the video games. Fishing eases my mind…..it makes me feel relaxed but still provides that adrenalin rush, especially when reeling in the fish….Video games, especially sports games, let me re-connect to those feelings that I had to let go…..the feelings of scoring goals, the feelings of tackling people, the feelings of jubilation when I win and frustrations when I lose.
When I looked back at all those that had happened to me, I realized that when God took something away from you, He won’t give it back. But He will definitely give something else in exchange….just to see if you are grateful or not. For me, as frustrated as I was, I am still grateful that I can still live a normal life. The things that He took away from me….well it’s His decision……. I couldn’t do anything. As His servant, I am grateful that He’s given me a great family who loves me.
I always looked at the positive side of things.....I guess it helped me survived....I have had some shares of of hard lucks.....but I won't let those things stop me from going on with my life....
The important thing for me is to take one look at those unfortunate events and say..."What should I do next to make it better?".....I don't usually lament on bad luck.
