Saturday, September 19, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Dedikasi Hari Raya
"Be a generation of change & Jangan nakai sangat!"
P.S.
Jangan try2 posa.
"Grow up, will you?"
"Aim for the skies; even if you fail, you are among the Stars that twinkle other people's life!"
"Your genteel manner & deep humility epitomise our family's background. Indeed, it is a virtue of Islamic values preached by our Prophet SAW. My heartfelt apologies & Thanks for everything =)"
"I really adore your familial spirits (semangat kekeluargaan). It is exceptionally one of a kind. Doakan kejayaanku di Melbourne. InshaAllah"
"Despite whatever you've endured of late, deep down I believe that your spirits survive those trials and tribulation unscathed. May your noble deeds be a spark of change to us all. InshaAllah. Thanks for EVERYTHING"
"Terima kasih atas segalanya. (terutamanya AVANZA). he he he. & Doakan kejayaanku di sini. InshaAllah"
"A simple 'Thanks' might not be able to do justice to whatever you've sacrificed for me (esp. the recent kuih raya delivery. he he.), but believe me, those memories will forever be etched in my heart!"
"Di bulan Ramadhan & Syawal yg. mulia ini, A*** memohon seribu keampunan atas segala salah & silap yg. dilakukan. Didoakan M&A sentiasa sihat walafiat di bawah lindungan Rahmatullah. Ameen..."
P.S.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Ramadhan
I believe my family in Malaysia is patiently waiting for my updates from Down Under. Truth be told, Ramadhan here is not very much different from Malaysia - except that you don't have a Bazaar Ramadhan here where you could exorbitantly splurge on 5 ayam golek or 10 sticks of ayam percik every other day.
Okay, okay. It is different so to speak. Strikingly different. Here, you can get a free iftar every weekend at Malaysia Hall. Back in Malaysia, you can actually get free iftar every day in most Masjids - provided that you have the will to go there instead of eating at home with your daily scrumtious iftar on the table. The food at Masjids are mostly lousy which would attract you to stay at home rather than congregating for Maghrib prayer at those Masjids.
Unlike in Malaysia, most people here are freakishly thrifty. - by 'most people', I am alluding to students in Melbourne. Not only that, they would go to the extent to which, waiting for any function (function with food/iftar provided) to wrap up is necessary. The reason being that they would get to 'tapau' the food for their iftar for the next 3-4 days. Well, what would you expect? There would definitely be leftover after the event. he he he.
Errr, do you get my drift?
It has been more than a fortnight of Ramadhan. I went out for iftar (PAID iftar) only once so far. The UNpaid ones were already thrice or more. The rest, I only ate at home in spite of, sometimes, having more salt than necessary in our curry OR even having not-fully-cooked nasi putih.
I love fasting here. Not because I don't have my family around, but I can get to see how united our Muslims (particularly Malaysian Muslims) communities are. There is always a common denominator amongst us - and that common denominator being unpaid AKA free food! I believe that this is the crucial unifying factor for Malaysian students here. =)
Come to think of it, we had a Malaysian Student Leadership Forum of late. It was a success and beyond our expectation; despite not reaching our targeted number of audience. It was really good for a start of a new Melbourne - a new Malaysian students in Melbourne to be precise. Never once did the Malaysian students community here, in particular its Students' Council hold an intellectual event like this. They only had social and sporting events thus far. The theme for the Forum was "Road to Unity - Because Unity is Strength".
Speaking of which, I remind myself of my life way back in 2002. We, a bunch of selective 13-year-old kids, were taught about Unity and why it was really imperative to us as a member of a larger Prep School community then. Every other week in our dining hall, we always shouted that "Unity is Strength" phrase. I wasn't so sure whether or not it was ingrained in our mind back then. But, I could still hear the phrase reverberates in my head every now and then.
Head oh cow-head.
By the way, I don't go for terawih for tonight. But, I have performed my terawih in my room. The Masjid is not very far though. It takes me only 3 minutes riding to get there. But, it's too cold to be outside. he he.
P.S.
I just couldn't understand why you need to march with a bleeding severed cow-head and at the same time waving placards stating "Kuil untuk Rodziah dan Khalid". If you are really a Muslim, go to Ayat 108, Surah Al-An'am (The Cattle) and have a deep perusal:
And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allah, lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge. Thus We have made fairseeming to each people its own doings; then to their Lord is their return and He shall then inform them of all that they used to do.
Who said I don't care about my country?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009

"It is not 'hak ketuanan Melayu'. It is actually 'hak keistimewaan orang Melayu'. Baca constitution tu betoi2 ye." MASCA Forum final rehearsal, 26th Aug., Monash Parkville.
Anyway, as of last weekend, there are already 3 ministers coming over to Melbourne and having a good time with Malaysian students. It is a very good move to have ministers talking to students and having an interactive discussion with one another.
P.S.
Please visit the event's official webpage at http://forum.mascavictoria.com
Friday, August 21, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Permata-ng tak berpasir
I keep reminding myself that this blog should remain apolitical. And it will always be because it is my personal avenue to speak up my personal accounts on things.
It is very hard when you tend to be non-partisan suddenly something happens that present you with a second thought.
I grew up in an isolated village in Bukit Mertajam,
He was the treasurer of Masjid Jamek Kampung Mengkuang - a post that he held for years. (I'm not quite sure whether or not he's still holding the post). After every Jumaat prayer at the masjid, he'll get back home a bit later than others to collect the money donated by the people. I can still remember vividly when he withdrew his own retirement fund money to be put into the masjid's bank account a few times in order to ensure that the money is not being understated.
He was entrusted by, if I'm not mistaken, Pejabat Zakat P. Pinang to distribute the money along with rice to the people in need in the village - regardless of their political inclination. I went along with him. I believed that it's not only about me helping him out with the distribution, but, it's also about eye witnessing the harshness of life that is clouding over the people there. The experience might not seem to be of paramount significance; nonetheless, it was an experience of a lifetime.
My ayah would not ask me to help him out anymore - perhaps because of my apparent commitment, but the impact would forever be etched in my heart.
I am also blessed with a very caring mother. Well, I think to pen down whatever values that she's imparted me or every single experience I had with her would take forever!
My ayah always reiterates to his kids that we ought not to be arrogant by whatever achievement that we have attained. The value of humility that he exhibits is an epitome of true Malay-ness. That has always been affecting us as his kids.
My eldest sister, for instance, despite her fierceness as the eldest sibling of 6, used to be our family's breadwinner. After graduating from the US as an accountant, she forked out big chunk of her money for my other siblings' education - particularly my 3rd sibling, Rohaizat who was at that time studying Law at IIUM.She is now working at a private company in Kedah.
My 2nd sister was not that lucky. After SPM, she went to KL to work as a Toll Cashier at
Speaking of him, I have no doubt that we would end up being a high-up Politician. It is just a matter of time, though. In my kampung, he has contributed to the wellbeing of the villager by providing them with extra income through a few programmes. The most significant one is the homestay programme where he, along with his colleagues manage to attract foreign tourist to the village - under the tutelage of the respective ministry. He is also chairing the Koperasi Gerakan Desa Wawasan at my place - a post entrusted by the people to him.
Am I campaigning for him? In a way, it is a 'Yes', especially when you see someone, who shared the same womb as you way back then, is having a rough time. This has made you think that you should give your full support to him. No matter how small your contribution is - even through this personal blog. I've seen and read many kinds slanderous remarks against him. Well, this is part and parcel of being a Malaysian politician anyway! Hope he is able to surpass this integrity test (or so they call).
Rohaimi is my 4th sibling. He works at Penang Regional Development Authority (PERDA) as a manager. Frankly, I have nothing much to say about him other than his current interest - that is GOLF! ha ha. Among 3 brothers that I have, he's the only one that I'm so scared to speak to. But, it's no longer the case now.
I also have another brother named Rozaini who is working as a lecturer in UiTM Penang. Out of six, he is probably the most religious one - given his background as an Islamic activist in ISMA Penang. He also has this kind of genteel manner that makes people always at ease when dealing with him.
Almost 9 years after Rozaini's delivery, my mak was in labour again. This time around her womb was occupied by a boy with a slightly crazy brain. The boy is now in
I was actually taken by suprise when I knew one of my brothers is going to contest in this coming by-election at Permatang Pasir. At this moment, I can see the ugly side of politics - that the people will do whatever it takes to attract the votes. Nevermind how sinful their actions may seem, nevermind the lopsidedness of the reports made by them, nevermind the venomous insinuations hurled at him. (A friend – an intelligentsia - spoke to me "Kalau politik Msia tak ubah-ubah lagi, malas aku nak join. Baik aku balik rumah tanam jagung lagi best")
I have to be tough. I know all along that my brother, who was alleged to have taken the people's money, rakyat's money; is not at fault. My brother and his wife had to bear the brunt for 6 years. Rest-assured, he wasn’t using the money - let alone feeding his family (including me) with the money.
I know too well that this can be questioned by the people especially at crucial times like this because he is apparently under the spotlights, is he not? He should now be finding ways on how to woo the voters.
A friend advised me that I should not involve in this - for I might be tensed up seeing and reading the remarks across the political blogs and media. The ugliness of politics can also see the people from both sides of the wall using the candidate's family's weaknesses to further bring him/her down the political scene (or so I was told). But, yeah, I couldn't agree more.
A good thing about him getting directly involved in the by-election is that the power of family institution defies any odds. I believe that my relatives - no matter what political bent they are in - are campaigning for him. Hopefully, my 3rd sister-in-law's parents - known for their ardent inclination for an opposition party - would also campaign for him. I think I'm not being too much by saying that he's also the epitome of change in Islamic values that his party is practicing.
To any freakish bloggers or commentators who are looking for more info on the candidate's family, you can take it from here. But, I implore you not to manipulate anything from the writing. If your intention is to create even more slanderous remarks, may you be blessed in HELL.
Dear Permatang Pasir voters, you won’t regret if you choose this guy to represent you. He will definitely deliver because…he is a man of his words.
This is not the scene during by-election alone. It has been like this years ago -
but without that black songkok & blue badge lah. =)
“Hang ingat baik-baik sejarah keluarga kita. Ayah ni dulu motong getah saja tau. Mak hang tu tolong tok hang juai kuih kat kedai tok hang dulu” Hj Othman.
P.S.
P.P.S.
The slightly crazy brain with 6353654654647mm-long hair guy has just got full mark in his Introductory Macroeconomics test. Yihhaaa! Many thanks to Faisal, his Bangladeshi friend who has been accompanying him throughout the test.
P.P.P.S.
I was told that my 3rd sister-in-law just delivered a daughter. Well, the 9th anak menakan for me! Ha ha ha.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
girls out there, watch out!
I spoke to a Malaysian here who is a very new Australian PR about how his kids are coping with the education system in Melbourne. He provided me with a story that had taken me by surprise.
In Melbourne (or Australia in general), going to school is a choice. It is not necessary. But, once you get into the system, you will see the stark difference from what you've experienced before in other parts of the globe.
In the kids' report (or so I was told), there is almost a 10-page long report for your perusal stating how your kid is doing in the kindergarten. The report is not about how many vocabs your kid has memorized, but it is all about his personal development and character-building process. It is about how deft your kid is when it comes to making friends. It is about making an elder kid out of just a kid. It is about how well your kid is socializing with one another - for instance, the kid is taught not to take toys from his peers without asking permission, and the kid should know where to restore the toys after playing with them.
All of these are seemingly trivial - but, the truth is, any nation-building process in every corner of the world begins with a small bunch of people who received an education extraordinaire - well, not exactly though, "but education is not the piling on of learning, information, data, facts, skills, or abilities" - that’s training or instruction - but is rather making visible what is hidden as a seed. This is how these people were educated.
Take our country for example, the few Malays or the so-called our forebears were not really Malays. In this sense, when you speak to them it's like you're speaking to an Englishman - their accurate intonation and thick British or American accent was obvious. They also lived in a house with a small bar inside it.
And those days we had a whole lot of the Malays who did not have a good education. They only kowtowed to what British asked them to do - in short, they were a "Yes, sir!" type of people. English education was there at that time, but only for those who could afford. In spite of whatever treatment and instruction they received back then, there was nobody who could bring them together to fight for independence. There were, however, a few decently educated Malays who exploited the Malay newspaper to create propaganda and hence sending tremour through the British establishment.
And here it came, a small bunch of Malay elites with the "Malayu Bersatu" & "Ke Arah Kemerdekaan Tanah Melayu" chants bellowing in their head, trying to bring together the people to fight for independence. Without these people, I doubt we could go this far.
Okay. That's the mukaddimah. (This reminds me of how long my ayah's mukaddimah was when trying to put forth a 'salient' point to me - that I shall not lackadaisically speak up against the powers-that-be. Whatever it is, I fully understood his point. Well, you are having freedom of speech every now and then, but after the speech, be ready!).
It feels like, I'm blowing this up out of all proportion. sigh.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK. Here's the key point (or rather the key narrative. Whatever you like).
When I was in primary school, I had this penchant for disturbing girls. What I did was I usually tarik-tarik their headscafts and then I got the hell out of the scene - and that was during Standard 5.
When I was in Standard 3, I was almost being stripped off my prefectship because I made a girl cried. Ha ha. It's so funny how things were then. I was brought to PK HEM's Office on the spot by a teacher. Unfortunately though, that was my 3rd disciplinary case.
She briskly said: "Rizairi, awak ni sudah 3 kali kena tangkap buat hal. Sepatutnya dah memang kena cabut baju biru awak tu!" (Because the prefects wore blue shirt instead of white then. And yeah, she didn't know how to pronounce my name).
I have not the faintest idea on how to vindicate myself. I was in a really serious peril.
A punishment was meted out. In lieu of being taken away the prefectship, I was canned by her - hard on the butt! Well, BIG boys don't cry! Rest-assured, I wouldn't dare do it again - unfortunately I did.
Surprisingly, my parents didn't care about all of these. All they cared was my academic results. It's a good thing though - that you just had to excel in studies and be a prefect in order to prove a point. ha ha ha. Plus, the girls' parents didn't even get to the school to put me on trial at Mahkamah Majistret Bukit Mertajam for all my misdemeanour. Otherwise, all hell would break loose.
Even though it's only about 8 years since I left my primary school, things have become much more sophisticated. Parents have become more involved in school's affairs that even the littlest thing like, for instance, when a kid calls another kid "bodoh" or "gemuk", it is already seen as a serious mischief.
As a repercussion, the parents would come to the school and tell the kid off (by themselves for Heaven's sake!).
Ha ha. Alas, even now, we (by 'we' I mean most of my peers) always end our speech with "dowwwh" which comes from the word "bodoh". ha ha.
This should change. Likewise, our education system should be at the front seat. To be at each other's neck or to take to the streets just because of PPSMI would do little in helping our country to produce the so-called 'towering-personality'. We have built 2 much-touted skyscrapers and 1 state-of-the-art airport. These are not the way forward this time around. We now need a bunch of people - like the ones we had decades ago but they should be a wee bit religious in order to cater for the current political demand - to move our country even further ahead.
This shall start with Education.
And as I said, Education is about making visible of what hidden as a seed.
"To build a nation, first, build a school" Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Khoo Kay Kim.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
...dan aku terus check flight ticket...
From Osem's Facebook wall thread.
Mohd Ikhwan Ahmad Zhaki ya ALLAH, selamatkan dan berikanlah kesembuhan kepada sahabatku azwan ariff. Kau Maha Penyayang dan Maha Penyembuh serta Maha Penguasa
Anna Ramli likes this.----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Bros MCOBs,
A batchmate, Azwan Arif Abd Aziz is currently on a critical condition after having involved in an accident last night. A very brilliant guy who got 4As in the A-levels just recently @ KYUEM under Bank Negara Special Scholarship. He's in Sg. Buloh hospital now.
Please make prayers n du'a for him.
May Allah give him strength to pull through. Ameen.
Regards,
Rozairee
Class of 2006
sulaiman'90
MCOBAlife 2221
InsyaALLAH.
Semoga keluarga beliau berada dalam kesabaran atas dugaan ini dan beliau sembuh sediakala secepat mungkin. Ameen.
Salam.
Nik St.BUL-Azmi
Innalillahiwainnaillahirojiun
I pray that your batchmate recovers and gets well soon.
Our batch, 1984, lost a brother right after SPM due to a motorcar accident, also a straight A's student. He was about to leave for the UK to do his A Levels. May Allah continue to bless Arwah Abd Azam.
Pls keep us updated of the situation.
Salam
Amir S
MS 84
Asm Bro Rozairee Othman
R u here balik kampung dah? Kita mohon Allah selamatkan brader kita ok.
Ah, ramai kita sekarang dalam keadaan kritikal, demam, sakit berulang2 dll.
Yang masih muda nampak kuat pun. Lagilerr yang umur setengah abad nih.
Harap kita jagalah keselamatan dan kesihatan, semua
Moga kita dilindungi Allah akan segala bala bencana.
Amin. Wassalaam.
HAI
Bro. Rozairee,
Pls. keep us updated on your batchmate's condition. Our prayers are with him.
Regards,
Aris Abdillah
Class of 1993
Mohd Shah House
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Bros,
First of all, thanks for all your words of encouragement. Azwan would have been so proud to be part of this great support system.
Allah might well have answered and reciprocated our prayers.
I just spoke to a batchmate - who also happened to be Azwan's roommate back in KYUEM. He's been at the hosp around the clock me think. Azwan underwent his 2nd operation this evening. The surgery was successful, alhamdulillah. But, we are just afraid of any complication or side-effects that could inflict upon his current condition. And we can only tell how serious the complication is once he's fully awake.
I was told that there are still blood clots on his brain. But, not the life-threatening ones.
So, keep praying brothers. Hope he will be fully-recovered (physically, and mentally) soon. He's going to the UK nanti if everything's fine.
Kind regards,
Rozairee
0206
Reporting from Down Under
Prayers from all MCOBs in Pahang. May Allah bless him with speedy recovery.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-arfauzi46-AlhamduliLLAH, insyALLAH.
Salam,
islah | c'79 | sulaiman
Alhmadulillah! Keep the prayers going! Never underestimate the power of the prayers!
Salam.
Nik St.BUL-Azmi
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care"
Good night Azwan.

Monday, July 20, 2009
Je ne sais quoi
Organising such event as this seems to be very hard. But, there is always more than that; always.
We have reached almost 52 years of
The Mass Media that should supposedly be used as a medium of Unity and Integrity has been unscrupulously exploitted by the powers-that-be for their own political gain - this has set us even further apart. Taking to the streets (protests) is seen as a taboo by some quarters despite the fact that the Constitution (thru which Article I couldn't remember) has given this Provision - this leaves much to be desired. Are our cultures changing through time? Or are we afraid of changes?
Else, are the powers-that-be really pulling the strings?
Here's the time guys, here's the place - where we can send our message to both our ancestors and leaders alike that we care about our country and we do always want a change; a change that can put us at the forefront as how we, our country used to be (a peaceful place without any racial tension and hatred) - and by extension, as to where our country would want to be with our own definition of Unity that would certainly go hand in hand with Prosperity and (holistic) Development. Let
Yes, it's the past what we ought to look back - for their mistakes ought not to be repeated. 1988 Judicial Crisis, the ensuing Operasi Lalang, the dreaded 13 May and perhaps (if we look deeper into the history of human civilization - that is the French Revolution back in 1789). It is now the Strengths that we need - which lies under the pretext of Unity. This Strengths would barricade any attempts that can shake our country and its people. This Strengths would also lead us to whereever we want our country to go. AND this honourable effort should start now.
"Because there is no Strenghs without Unity"
My two cents worth.
Monday, July 6, 2009
aduhai...
It took the small, sleepy world of my kampong by storm.
I just got a news about the passing of my kampong's village-head. As far as I could tell, he was highly respected and revered by the people in the village. But...so sad.
His son was a childhood friend of mine. I usually went to his house for kenduri or to merely meet up his son for some childish games then. So sad.
He had a daughter who happened to study in KISAS, Klang. However, death met her a couple of days before her SPM results came out. So sad.
This one event could vividly remind me of her death. I AM distraught. It was the day on which I made my IC. I AM really distraught. So, everytime I looked at my IC, my mind was suddenly shoved into a time machine - turning the clock back to that horrendous day. If my memory serves me right, she was run over (by a lorry) and killed on the spot. So sad.
Those of you who used mIRC before (Nak aku list-down nama korang ka? hahah) - listen here; she was the one who taught me how to get into the mIRC WebNet server - and hence, the hillarious #0206. Remember? So sad.
BTW, cute kan?
Eh!
Tak, tak, tak.
Cute GELLE HELLE HORRORR kan?
Well, anak menakan* sapa...
He asked me to convey this to the whole world:
"Errr.. Hello world! I'm Aqif. A, Q, I, F.. aaaQiiff"





inalillah..
yang kritikal nye bcos its a head injury, so head injuries are always very worrying.
sama2 kita pray for azwan ok ppl :(
doakan kesejahteraan sahabat kita...
ya, dia baru dapat resullts A level, belum terbang lagi, ada di malaysia