Tuesday, December 30, 2008

"You Will Be Martyrs"

Look at this picture? What do you see? Do you see terrorists or do you innocent children?

The people who did this might have said that the were seeing terrorists.....Because for them when Muslims attacked them, it was an act of terrorism. But when they attacked Muslims, it was justified an act against terrorism.

Either way, innocent people are still the victims.

To the Balousha sisters..... "You Will Be Martyrs"....

May Allah put your souls together with those who have received His blessings. Amin

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Five sisters killed in Gaza while they slept

Israel's target was the mosque next door. But the rocket attack claimed the lives of innocent children

By Donald Macintyre and Said Ghazali
Tuesday, 30 December 2008

The five Palestinian sisters were fast asleep when a night-time Israeli airstrike hit the next-door mosque in Gaza. One of the walls collapsed on to their small asbestos-roofed home and they were all killed in their beds. The eldest sister, Tahrir, was 17 years old, the youngest, Jawaher, just four.

"They grow up day after day and night after night. Within a second, I have lost them," the girls' father, Anwar Balousha, said yesterday. The 37-year-old, along with another three of his children, was himself injured in the attack on the densely populated Jabalya refugee camp.

The funerals of the sisters – Tahrir, 17; Ikram, 15; Samar, 12; Dina eight; and Jawaher, four – were attended by family members and thousands of mourners. But with space running out in the cemetery, the five girls had to be buried in just three graves, one for the eldest and the others forced to share.

Mr Balousha wept down the phone, saying he felt "how a father who lost his five daughters would feel". With recorded readings from the Koran audible in the background, along with occasional explosions in the distance, he added: "It is the will of Allah. We are believers in God."

Amid the pile of rubble that was the Balousha home yesterday, three torn blankets could be seen poking out from the ruins along with a painted blue iron, a broken brown cupboard and a baby's bed.

The Israeli military said it had targeted the next-door mosque because it was a "known gathering place" of Hamas adherents. It said four gunmen were inside it at the time of the attack. The mosque was named Imad Akel after the former leader of the Hamas military wing.

As Israeli strikes continued, the uncle of the dead sisters said the family had been innocent victims. "We are not those who are firing rockets against Israel," Ibrahim Balousha said. "We are just people, human beings and not animals."

The Balousha family had moved out of their house when the Israeli bombing started on Saturday but they had decided to return "to meet their fate" in the words of the dead girls' uncle. He said that three missiles had been used in the airstrike at around 11.20pm on Sunday night and that hundreds of neighbours had arrived to help in the wake of the carnage.

After the funeral, 16-year-old Iman, who was briefly buried in the rubble of the family home but survived, described her unlucky siblings' dying moments. "I told my sisters, you will be martyrs, this is the end."

Her grieving uncle said that Hamas had taken advantage of the funeral to chant slogans including "Vengeance, Vengeance". Shouts of "Bomb Tel Aviv" were also heard. But Ibrahim Balousha said he had given the militant group short shrift. "I told them, this is a funeral and not a rally."

Times were already tough for the family of refugees even before the latest tragedy. The girls' father is unemployed for 11 months of the year, picking up work selling Ka'ak bread around Ramadan. The family depend on food rations from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and a $40 (£27.50) monthly handout. "The story is almost the same for decades," Ibrahim Balousha said: "Intifada and miseries, poverty and catastrophes."

UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness said: "The killing of these young girls is another tragic illustration that this bombardment is exacting a terrible price on innocent civilians. As with the killing of UNRWA students [on Saturday] we hope there will be a thorough and impartial and transparent investigation.

"Most important of all there has to be accountability. We need to know if international law was violated and if so, by whom," he added.

The UN yesterday issued a "conservative" estimate of the number of civilians killed in three days of unprecedentedly fierce aerial bombardment, putting the death toll at 62. It is a deliberately conservative estimate because it excludes all men in the Gaza City area to ensure that it does not accidentally include uniformed personnel.

The Palestinian Centre of Human Rights said that "most" of the more than 300 casualties were civilian but their tally includes Hamas policemen. It also said some bodies had still to be identified because they were so badly disfigured and that its field officers – who aim to chart every Palestinian casualty – are facing "extreme difficulties in visiting some areas, particularly those under multiple bombardment.

The Israeli military insists that it is doing its utmost to prevent civilian casualties but repeatedly points out that Hamas regularly and "cynically and specifically" uses locations in heavily built-up areas.

Read More HERE

All Hail The King

My home-state of Negeri Sembilan has got a new Ruler now. A rightful one.

His Royal Highness Tuanku Mukhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir, the son of the Almarhum Tuanku Munawir ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the 9th Yang Di Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan.

It has been said that he was supposed to succeed his father to the throne in 1967 upon his death.

But due to some political intervention by a top politician at that time, the Almarhum Tuanku Jaafar was selected ahead of him. The reason given was that he was to young at that time.

But everything doesn't seem to matter now as the rightful King has been restored to the throne.

Let's all pray that Negeri Sembilan will continue to prosper under His Highness's patronage.

Daulat Tuanku!!!

More readings HERE

Sunday, December 28, 2008

12 Years and Counting......

12 years ago today.... it was the happiest day of my life....
For all these years you have been my first thought in the morning and my last thought at night.
Every year with you is sweeter than the last.

And I'm still looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you.
My love for you grows and grows with each passing year.

Happy Anniversary, to my wife, my partner, my best friend....

Happy 12th Wedding Anniversary Sayang

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Al-Fatihah - Farewell to A King

The Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Tuanku Ja’afar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, passed away at 11.45am today (27/12/2008). He was 86.

Negeri Sembilan State Secretary Datuk Norzam Mohd Nor announced Tuanku Ja’afar’s demise at the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital where he died.

He said Tuanku Ja’afar, who was the 10th Yang di-Pertuan Agong from 1994 to 1999, was unwell and had complained of headache and discomfort at 8.10am.

“The hospital was contacted and two senior consultants, Datuk Dr Tarmizi Thayaparan and Datuk Dr K. Sree Raman, rushed to the Istana Hinggap here to attend to Tuanku,” he told a special news conference to announce the demise at the hospital’s VIP room.
Also present at the news conference were Negeri Sembilan police chief Datuk Osman Salleh, State Director of Health Dr Zainal Arifin Omar and members of the royal family.
Norzam said the two specialists arrived at Istana Hinggap at 8.25am and found Tuanku Ja’afar to be too weak but conscious and they advised that he be taken immediately to hospital.
“Tuanku was rushed to the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and was administered emergency treatment.
“I wish to state here that Tuanku Ja’afar passed away at 11.45am at the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital,” he said.
Norzam said Tuanku Ja’afar’s remains would be taken to the Istana Besar Seri Menanti in Kuala Pilah for the lying-in-state ceremony before being laid to rest after the “asar” prayers on Monday.

He also said that this was to allow for the return of Tuanku Ja’afar’s children who were abroad.
Norzam said Tuanku Ja’afar’s remains would be placed in the Balairong Seri (Throne Room) of the Istana Besar Seri Menanti to enable members of the royalty, leaders and the public to pay their last respects.
He said the state had declared 40 days of mourning from today and all official government functions over the next seven days have been postponed.
“All government offices and buildings must fly the state flag at half-mast for the 40 days. During the mourning period, all male government employees must wear the songkok bearing a white band while the female employees are required to wear a white band on a sleeve.
“All entertainment outlets must also postpone all their activities over the next seven days from today,” he said.
Norzam said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who is on holiday in London, was expected back at 10am tomorrow.

More stories HERE

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

An (Almost) White Tehran – the Sequel

I arrived in Tehran this week on the 21st Dec... Officially the first day of Winter (the winter Solstice). I was told that the night before, Iranians celebrated the coming of Winter with a feast of water melons, oranges and other fruits. For Iranians, celebrating the Winter will be meaningless without the water melons. In Malaysia, we don’t usually eat water melons at night... especially during the cold and rainy seasons. Well, different people, different cultures.....

That’s what great about being an international traveller like me..... You get to experience other people’s culture.

I have been travelling a lot now.....especially to Tehran, Iran. I guess my face is one of the most familiar ones with the Hotel (hehehe). Every time when I arrive at the Hotel to check in... the reception clerks will just greet me, take my passport and give me the check-in form to fill in. No questions asked. I guess they were expecting me to check in every week.

And due to my extensive travelling with the Emirates Airlines, I have been up-graded to a Gold member by Skywards, the Emirates Airlines frequent flyer program. Now I will have the luxury of having to wait for my flights at the Business Lounge. Lucky me......and I can take a guest with me too.

I was thinking that snow would welcome me to Tehran this week. But it didn’t snow at all.... it rains almost every day with occasional sunshine. And the temperature was not that cold....maybe about 5 to 8 degree Celsius... (but sometimes it would suddenly plunge to about 0 degree).

These flowers are still braving the Tehran winter

The sun is shining but it's still cold in Tehran

Taken from onboard the Mahan Air flight....somewhere between Bandarabbas & Esfahan, I guess

This is considered as a mild weather for Tehran....considering that it’s already Winter. Perhaps it will snow in one or two weeks. So, for now....there are no photos of snow except from last week. But there’s snow in the mountain though....it’s time to go skiing, ski fans!!!.....

There were about 15 to 20 Malaysians at the Hotel.....all government servants, I guess. They were part of the PM’s entourage to Tehran for a working visit (?)..... One of them said that the PM is staying at the Estaghlal Hotel and so are some of the VIPs. Non-VIPs are staying at Homa. The PM is in Tehran? I hope they’ll be no shoe-throwing sessions this time in Iran during the press conference....just like what happened to Mr Bush last week in Iraq. Well, as I have written earlier in my previous posts, Iranians respect us (Malaysians)... most of them, I think. They said that Malaysians are very good people... and the most important thing is that most Malaysians are Muslims....it doesn’t matter if we are Sunni Muslims....as long as we are Muslims, then they’ll be no problems. So, Pak Lah doesn’t have to dodge any shoes here....

Tomorrow, I’ll be back in Dubai.... can’t hardly wait to be with my family back. Next week, I’ll come back for a meeting....hope to see some snow....