Kampong Yayasan Al-Jenderami

                                           Masjid Kg.Yayasan Al-Jenderami


On Sunday 18 December 2011, I was invited by a cousin of mine, whom I called Zai for short to a maulid at his new house in Jenderam Hilir near Dengkil, Selangor. He told me on a few occasions about his dakwah centre in Jenderam Hilir and said that I should know his Chairman of the Al-Jenderami Foundation because he is also a retired senior civil servant.
As Allah S.W.T. wills it, I finally made my way to Jenderam Hilir using my GPS and thus on that Sunday I found the location of his kampong without difficulty.
As the route to Putrajaya and Cyberjaya is familiar to me, the drive only took me just slightly less than an hour as the sunday traffic is fairly clear along the way. Now many taxis going to KLIA are plying through that route as it avoids the toll to the airport.
When I arrived at the Kampong, it does not look like the traditional village but saw many of the houses are fairly new and built around a mosque which is shown in the picture above. The dakwah centre is situated adjacent to the mosque and the terrain is generally undulating.The road within the Kampong is typically narrow, just fit for a car to pass by.
As I approached Zai's house which is near a steep enbankment, I was directed to turn into the left sharp turn descending into his house lot and saw him at the entrance guiding me to the temporary parking next to his house lot which is empty.
The maulid has started at about half-an hour earlier and I met my cousin Cikgu Nordin, the elder sibling of Zai seated at the porch entrance on a mat. So I joined him and followed the group who are mostly dressed in the jubah and serban in reciting the maulid-rasul. It was accompanied by the arab drum and sounded much louder than the ordinary one which we see used by the kompang group.It was an experience because the normal maulid that I used to follow in Rasah more than 40 years ago was without the accompaniment of the arabic drum even though the leader then was the late Habib Omar Al-Attas who originated from Hadramaut.
After the maulid was over, the congregation was invited for lunch and after that I met the Chairman of the Al-Jenderami Foundation who was in PM's Department together with me, but he was the Secretary to the Cabinet Division and I was in the Legal Affairs Division. He seemed to be well connected with the place and told me that he is learning from a Tuan Guru at the centre the rudiments of Tauhid,Feqah and Tassawuf all over again. He has sold his house in Petaling Jaya and shifted to Kajang so that he is nearer to Jenderam.
It is good to see him being involved in going back to be learning the basics from the 'kitab kuning' direct from a Tuan Guru which is a rare thing nowadays.

Radio Pencen

As an ardent fan of Radio Pencen which is singularly managed online by a colleague of mine who is a diehard broadcaster and once served with me at the Unit Penyelarasan Pelaksanaan in PM's Department in the late 90's, I feel it would be doing him justice to highlight his yeoman's service in still entertaining his audience of mainly pensioners and friends.
Tengku Ali Bustaman a.k.a. as Pokku had been a veteran broadcaster with RTM and of late he has not been in the best of health but despite that he never stopped this online radio. You could listen by going to the website, http:radiopencenfm.listen2myradio.com/ and it goes on air daily from 9.00 am till midnight with short breaks for meals and prayers. You can also make requests on your favourite oldies,especially after 9.00 pm for your easy listening.
So please enjoy Radio Pencen.

Wedding Feasts

It is the norm that when the school is closed for the long holiday at the end of the year, I receive a good number of invitations and sometimes I have to it a miss owing to the clash with some other important commitment.
But there is one which shall remain in my memory because I almost go to the wrong one due to the close proximity.
My classmate during my schooldays in KGV Seremban invited me to his son's wedding feast which was held in an open field right in front of his late mother's house. I would normally come early especially during this rainy spell. However I found that many had the same idea and what made it worse there was an IT festival held at the Sports complex nearby which made the road to his house very congested. I parked my car at quite a distance and walked to his function.
As I was walking towards the rows of tents near the house, I realised that they are not situated at the open space but smack in front of the terrace houses. My son called me and said "Abah, you going to a different person's function" and pointed out to the sign which showed a different name. My wife also laughed at my mistake,which was averted in time.
When I arrived at the friend's function I related the story to my sister who was there earlier helping out the host. Otherwise I would have wondered why the faces of the hosts looked different. Then I later learned that they were supposed to have the feast not at the same time to avoid the confusion because of the close proximity but somehow the neighbour decided to have it at the same time so as to avoid the rainy spell.

Lady of the Lamp

                                              
                                                     Lady of the Lamp
By Courtesy of Google

                  Stillness in the night


                 She walked her ward rounds with care


                 With light in her hand


I was in lower school of the King George V in Seremban and my teacher Mrs Mc Coy read us the poetry on the Lady of the Lamp which I remember to this day.

The Rambutan

                                                                          Rambutan


      Garden rambutan

     
     Is now ripe and hanging low


     To pluck when they come


I planted the tree when my first grandson was born eleven years ago. It began to bear fruit when he was about five or six years old and every time it fruits I tell him that the tree is to remind me how old is he. Now I wait for my grandchildren to come and pluck them.

Wan My Grandma

During my childhood days, I used to sit on the 'mengkuang' mat in front of my maternal grandmother whom I called 'Wan' in the still of the night at my Kampong in Terachi, Kuala Pilah. She also weaved the mat from the mengkuang leaves which had been cut in long strips and dried.
In silence of nights
By the flicker of oil lamp
Sat the urn on mat

Thunder and Lightning

Last monday my automatic gate refused to open when I pressed the remote after a heavy downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning. I smelt something like a burnt plastic coming from the control box and guessed that it had been knocked out by the lightning which was followed by a booming thunder which caused my circuit breaker to trip and all my electrical lights went off.
Of late the Klang Valley has seen a lot of thunderstorms which caused havoc in certain parts like Subang Jaya being hit by hailstones and strong winds which caused trees to be uprooted and falling on a few vehicles. I attended a wedding function recently in my neighbourhood and commented to the guy who was seated at the same table with me that the day looks bright as it was midday, but he cautioned me that it would change very fast soon, and sure enough by 3.30 pm a heavy downpour came as usual. So the pattern is that a bright sunny first half would be followed by a heavy thunderstorm by the afternoon. Recent warnings by the Meteorological Department has been issued to residents that flash floods and strong winds are to be expected from now until March next year. The whole country is bracing up for the bad weather which has caused flooding in neighbouring Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. We are told that the supply of rice would be curtailed as many areas which have been the suppliers of our rice have suffered greatly from the overflowing rivers straddling those countries. Not only that we are now facing shortages of vegetables and greens and the price of red chillies has sky rocketed to RM20.00 a kilogram.
Hence I pen down a haiku as follows;
Thunder and lightning
Light up the sky and booming
Sign of Almighty

Hank's Rainbow

My good friend Hank just phoned me this morning urging me to continue writing the short poem known as Haiku. I had written one earlier and he took the trouble to revise it so that it conforms to the strict 5-7-5 or 7-5-7 syllables for each line. He added that with my standard of English, it would go to waste if I did not continue to contribute in writing the short poems.
I appreciate very much Hank's untiring effort in encouraging me to join him in this healthy exercise. Another friend on this list, Pak Cik Hassan wished me well in his earlier comment on my first effort in writing a haiku. Hank's reason for egging me on is to motivate me to continue updating my blog. In fact he asked me to open another blog just to accommodate poems. But for the time being I just stick to one. So here is my second attempt at haiku poem.
Day of Sacrifice
In piety for the Hajj rites
For Humanity

A Small Brick

I receive this reply in the comment I made on Al-Manar's blog, that a small brick is thrown to me so that I update my blog.
It was exactly a month ago that I went to a three day program conducted by ESQ Leadership Center on the recommendation of Fauziah Ramly, a fellow Member of the PSC when we went all over the country interviewing candidates for entry into the Public Service. It started on a Friday and ended on Sunday, a full three day program. I had to miss an invitation from a close family member, one in Seremban and another in Setiawangsa. I wanted to post my experience of the three day course and attach a few photos but I just kept on postponing it.
One of my cousin commented why on earth I was attending a course even after I have retired. It just shows the attitude by many that when one retires, it is the end of learning. As I said in my short speech when I was invited by the course organiser to give my feedback, I told my audience that I am a life-long learner, which is in accordance to the saying that you must never stop learning "from the cradle to the grave".
When I told a friend that I attended the course, he was extremely excited because he attended the first one when it was introduced here more than six years ago. So I told him when I see him next, we shall "Salam semut" which is the term used by the trainer. What impressed me most about the three day course is the experiential learning that is adopted in the training. There was no note taking and there were plenty of exercises that made the whole journey an exciting one. One should only follow the course in order to understand and experience the impact on the participants.
If such a program existed when I was a Head of Department, I would have readily adopted it for all my staff. The  approach of using the audio-visual means to attain the maximum impact was really astounding. But the most significant to me was the methodology and the inclusion of Islam as the driving force in its message and it is meant for all mankind. The founder of the training module, Ardy Ginanjaar should be celebrated by the Muslim World for he takes the Al-Quran and the Sunnah as the primary source and inspiration for his initiative. May ALLAH S.W.T. Bless his efforts in bringing to realisation that knowledge of the worldly matters is in fact rooted in the revealed Knowledge which had been brought to humankind since our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was appointed as His Messenger, more than 1400 years ago. Wallahuwa'lam.

Giving Haiku A Try

A few days ago, my dear friend who went with me to the OPA Penthouse last buka Puasa whom we call Hank (after Hank Marvin) called to impress upon me to try writing poems again. I tried writing a few poems before also with him encouraging me, but I stopped after I was preoccupied with attending to my late father then in Seremban.
Knowing how difficult to start again in writing poems, he suggested that I try Haiku which is a very short Japanese poem consisting only three lines So here is my first response to Hank's persistent urgings:-
I welcome the morning sunshine
With a bright soothing ray
And pretty butterflies flitting in the garden
From my readings on Haiku which Hank asked me to search on Google, I find it more complicated compared to writing it. But one thing which I register well is that it is closely intertwined with our observation of nature around us, and that is what I have attempted.

Buka Puasa at the OPA Penthouse

I have been trying my best not to miss the Buka Puasa at every Ramadhan organised by the Old Putera Association ( The ex- FMC/RMC alumni ) for the last several years because it is the only time to meet old friends from the College in Sungei Besi. Last Sunday night, on 14 August it was held at the OPA Building near Saujana Resort and as usual my fellow OP (Old Putera)Hamzah @ Hank whose blog entitled 'Birdhouse' came to fetch me and we were the early birds to the function. However it gave us the chance to be at the Secretariat and and perused the old photographs of the activities of the College's Coys (Companies)and tried to recall the Budak Boys in them. Hamzah also got his copy of the annual directory of the Old Puteras which is normally circulated during the Annual Dinner.

This time the Buka Puasa is sponsored by one of the OP's and thus we did not have to pay for the food served, unless one wants to donate for the Charity Fund of the OPA. I have been noticing over the years the people who seemed to attend are the same familiar faces, and this is understandable because they know that it is at such functions that they can meet old friends. For this Ramadhan I notice a few absentees probably they prefer to break the fast amongst their own family members because it falls on a sunday night. As usual the normal routine of Buka Puasa ended with "Moreh" after the "Terawih" and we left fairly early, that is before 10.30 p.m. To me the significance of the Buka Puasa at the OPA gives me the opportunity to see some of my old colleagues which I have not seen for many decades and this time I did come across my old Company Boy who came with his son, also an OP and we shared the same table. Sheikh Taufik, the uncle of that first Malaysian who travelled to the Space station some years ago kept us laughing all throughout with his non-stop jokes. This is something which is not easy to share the precious moments of your lifetime amongst friends who went through the regimented life of the only unique institution of our Nation. The uniqueness is reflected by the presence of our non-Muslim friends who came to share the food with us such as OP Frank Beltran, OP Mike Tan and others. It is indeed a manifestation of the dream which was first started by the late Field Marshall Templer when the FMC was established as an institution to prepare young Malayans irrespective of their creed, colour or religion to take up their positions as leaders in the Armed Forces, the Higher Divisions of the Public Service and in the industrial and commercial life of the country.

Ramadhan O Ramadhan

The month of Ramadhan 1432 Hijrah is the most significant for me because for the first time I am welcoming the holy month without my father because he passed away last May 2011.

It was only in Ramadhan 2010 that he was admitted to the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital, Seremban at about 3.00 am in the morning during the first week of Ramadhan. I was in Kuala Pilah when myn sister phoned me asking me urgently to come back to her house, and I knew something was not right with "Abah". Upon my arrival he was already taken by ambulance to Hospital and I followed later.

Now he is gone but the memories still linger on and I supplicate to ALLAH that he is placed amongst the pious and his soul be Blessed with peace. My father had a very strong will and he fasted for the first few days though we asked him not to because of his age and frail health. He was then 90 and was not too well due to his condition of having to live with an internal cathether due to his bladder problem and his mobility was limited because he had a hip joint operation twice many years back.

Of course when I was in Seremban helping my sister to look after him, I used to do my Terawih in Masjid Panchor Jaya and only on the weekends I came home to PJ.

But as a consolation, this Ramadhan I have my son Haniff to accompany me to Terawih at Kelana Jaya Al-Hiadayah Mosque. He had been away for the past half a dozen years and we had no opportunity to go together for terawih. Indeed it is a Blessings which I readily welcome and grateful to ALLAH for the chance given. I supplicate to ALLAH that our Ramadhan this time will bring us to greater heights in our " Taqwa " which means our closeness in performing HIS Commands and refraining from what is Forbidden, InshaALLAH.

Homeward Bound

Alhamdulillah my short stay in Cork is coming to a close, and my purpose in coming here has come to a satisfactory conclusion. By the Grace and Blessings of ALLAH Almighty I have managed to revive Haniff's condition to a stable level which marks the first step towards normalcy in his disposition. today 21 Rejab 1431 Hijriah /23 June 2011 will be recorded in my diary as the turning point in our lives when Haniff shall travel to Dublin accompanied by Cik Afidah Arshad, the Embassy official who had tirelessly assisted in the management of Haniff's situation since he was overwhelmed by his inability to cope up with the rigorous demands of his course of studies at UCC which is one of the finest and established University in Ireland who had produced thousands of graduates in the field of Medicine and distinguished themselves in the profession all over the world.

From my vantage viewpoint the School of Medicine in UCC is one of the best Schools in it's area of specialization because the curriculum is an amalgam of theory and practice right from day one for students who chose Medicine as their choice of discipline. Haniff arrived in 2004 and underwent the Pre-Med year and along the way the curriculum was changed from the traditional syllabus of Pre-clinical and Clinical years was changed go an integrated one. Thus if he had graduated this year (discounting the repeat years in 2007 and 2010) he would have been amongst the first batch to graduate on the new module. But fate had it that Haniff suffered a bout of depression last August and Hasnul, my eldest son came to see him and that put back Haniff on track to continue his endeavor. Just before his fourth year exams, he was barred from taking it due to insufficient class attendences and other reasons best known to the School and this put him back to the situation back in August 2010. Indeed it was the last straw that breaks the camels back and I had to come here and sort out his situation,and what took place on June 11, 2011 was the most traumatic experience in my whole adult life and it was only my Faith on ALLAH's Will that saved the day for me and Nasimah. I shall never forget that fateful day in my life, where I had to grapple with my emotions, overwhelmed by the sight of Haniff crouched in his blankets on the cold floor of the Store in his house, oblivious of his surroundings and totally devastated at what was happening in his quest for that piece of paper which would have been conferred to him on the week of our arrival in Cork. Nevertheless I am going to pull him back from the precept and believe you me I am going to put him back to normalcy even if it is going to put my life on the line. There is no greater disappointment in my life greater than my inability to be with him when we were needed most, and this is it. I supplicate to ALLAH Almighty that I am given the Will and the strength to do what has to be done to come out like a Phoenix arising from the ashes. It has been proven many a times that one's failure is the motivation to one's success too because a wise person does not consider a fall to be a finality in this World of Challenges whereby only the fittest shall survive and also Thrive. QED.

A Heart rending Discovery

It was an unexpected discovery of sorts when I arrived at 32 Riverview Estate on that fateful Saturday 11 June 2011. I was prepared for the worst when I was told that Haniff would not be at the Airport to welcome Nasimah and I though we had travelled thousands of miles across the Globe to see what happened to him.

Only our Faith in ALLAH gave us the strength to pull through this traumatic discovery of him after a futile search everywhere looking for him as he was nowhere to be found around the house nor the nearby places where he used to frequent on his bicycle.

When I was told Haniff was in the Store of the house,covered in his trusted blanket, without the lights on and was locked from the inside, it was a miracle that made his housemate to enter from the other side and found him there made Nasimah and I cry our hearts out as he hid his face from us, as if he was lost in his own world. We immediately carried him to the kitchen and hugged him to our hearts content telling him that whatever had happened is all ALLAH'S WILL and we render our willing acceptance with complete submission to HIM and supplicate to HIM for our Deliverance. My heart was completely broken and my cool was completely shattered at that point of time. If ever it was due to my omission or commission of negligence on our part as parents we readily atone for them and beg forgiveness from our son and ultimately to ALLAH.

Now it has been one week we are here to salvage Haniff's future and I had been busy in sorting out many issues with regard to his mental health and overall wellbeing as well as his studies. When I met Dr.Kieran Doran last wednesday I conveyed to him in no uncertain terms that since Haniff is unable to make decisions for his future in his studies, I therefore as his Father and Guarantor takes upon myself to make him withdraw from his Medical studies forthwith and bring him home with no possibility of returning to Cork as there is no certainty that he will not suffer the same situation should he continue. He had been away too long and we wanted to nurse him back to his normal self. We just cannot afford to lose him. Fortunately his sponsor concurred and now I am delaying our flight home so that Haniff can wind up his matters regarding his personal effects etc. And say Good bye to Cork which had been his first home for almost seven years. It is a sad day for all of us to fly off from Cork this coming Friday, but our journey of discovery has added a further dimension to our lives and we shall come out braver and stronger to face this World and it's trial and tribulations. May ALLAH Bless us all.

Another Journey on Self Discovery

Today my flight not to fantasy island would be close to midnight on Friday, June 10, 2011 and I will be accompanied by my dear wife, Nasimah Ahmad Noordin. When I last met Ustaz Sharum last Monday night in Seremban, he advised me by saying, " Tuan Haji, please look at this journey as if it is another journey of the heart to perform your Hajj, the prime objective is in fact to bring you closer to your Creator, ALLAH Almighty". Never in my thoughts that my decision to fly and see my son Haniff in Cork is another Journey of the heart, MashaALLAH!

Now I am more imbued with the thought that my sacred journey is indeed carved in the righteous path of Almighty ALLAH! What an eye-opener and I thought a sacred journey is only to Makkah Al-Mukarramah or Madinatul-Munawarah! InshaALLAH, Ustaz Sharum, I shall bear in mind as to your most precious advice, as I shall go with an open mind and more importantly with an a big heart. May ALLAH bestow His Blessings on those who seek the truth and also speak and hear the truth because only then our hearts shall be opened to accept whatever comes your way whether good or bad as a Blessing in disguise.

Facing A Difficult Situation Requires Inner Strength

It is amazing how I have been able to face the challenges that come my way at this stage of my life, when I thought that retirement is a breeze. I retired in the year 2000 and then put in another five years as Member of the Public Service Commission whose job is recruitment of young and not so young hopefuls who are keen to be public servants or in plain language, to become Government Servants.

Since the end of last year I have been plying up and down the highway from Kuala Lumpur or precisely from Petaling Jaya every weekend to Seremban to take up my duty as the eldest son in my family to look after my father who is in frail health and who had been in and out of hospitals for more than a decade. He is now going to be 91 years old this coming August. We had a helper to assist in looking after him before but the last one bolted away and we felt that enough is enough, so we did away with looking for a helper to assist my sister who is the one taking care of my father. My other two siblings chipped in to take over my place whenever possible.

But so far I had experienced a trying time not only helping to care for the elderly but am facing another problem at hand with regard to my youngest son who is struggling to complete his course in medicine in Ireland.

Recently he had to repeat his fourth year as he had not been able to cross the hurdle in his exams and assignments. My eldest son flew over last September to find out what was the problem and managed to put him back on track and I negotiated with his sponsor for the continuation of his sponsorship, who fortunately allowed him to repeat.

However I learned recently that he had again stumbled even before the exams started in a week's time from now, and quickly got in touch with officer on the spot to keep me posted on the situation. At the same time an effort is made to get some assistance on traditional platform from an Ustaz in Seremban who had the experience in treating students who were facing similar situation now and in the past. If this is another trial and tribulation that I and my family is being faced with, an ingredient which is critical to have is the patience and forebearance and level headedness to render whatever help we can to have him back on his feet again. Thus inner strength is the factor essential to see us through the difficult times. I only supplicate to ALLAH that we could go through this trying period with grace and calmness and hope that ALLAH shall bestow His Mercies and Blessings to see that we shall overcome the situation with steadfastness, InshaALLAH.

My Old Friends

Today my two old friends when I was in Lower School KGV Seremban came to visit my father at KPJ Seremban. It was way back in the 50's and we were in the Special Malay class which was the equivalent of the Remove class today. After more than half a century we are still close as if we were in Mrs. Chong's or Mrs. Mc Coy's class. We went back to the good old days when the school was like the centre of the world for us, especially who had stayed at the Malay Boy's hostel which was just across the road and connected to the KGV School by a short tunnel.

Harith and Malek are of course bosom friends since they were the school sportsmen unlike me who just cheered from the sidelines. However I left for the RMC then known as the FMC after form Three. I proceeded to University of Malaya after RMC but they went to work in PD at the oil refineries after their Cambridge School Certificate. We were reminiscing about our classmates and also our schoolmates in KGV.Malek later became a contractor and Harith joined the oil and gas industry after he left as a technician with Esso Refinery in PD. I told Malek that he taught me singing the tune 'Melody Dunmore' and I won the class talentime crooning that song. Malek is an all round Jack of all trades but master of none, while Harith sticked on to be a technical man right till now where he lends his expertise in technical aspects of O & G business as a consultant. The surprising thing is that Malek is now bent on market gardening, and he is engrossed in planting all sorts of vegetables and greens on a ten acre plot in Ampangan. Recently I visited him at his vegetable farm and I came home with some fresh brinjals and chillies. I told Malek, it is his fate that he is still busy as ever and this time as a farmer. I am indeed blessed for having them as friends even though we are now grandfathers already. May Allah Bless our continued friendship and enjoy the comradeship in a complete cycle of our life on this planet.

The Aura of The Keris

It is common knowledge that the Keris is the symbol of Malay heritage. But it also reflects the aura of the owner,which I discovered last night when Ustaz Shahrom had a look at my two keris one of which I inherited from my maternal grandfather and the other which my wife took from her late father.

It was out of curiosity that I took them along to make sure that they are free from any problem. There have been many legends surrounding the majesty of the Keris in Malay folklore,especially in Hikayat Hang Tuah, where the Keris Taming Sari is reputed to give special powers to whomever owns it. But looking at it from the religious viewpoint it is ' Syirik ' to believe in such things. Notwithstanding the tendency to indulge into the wrong side of the matter, the Malays had been known to practice many things which were inherited from their past cultural inheritance without batting of an eyelid.

What intrigues me most is that the Ustaz refused to keep my Keris for safekeeping because he had the experience of losing his client's Keris when his car was broken into. And he also asked me whether I had been taught by my Guru Silat as how to look after it. When I told him what I was asked to do like smoking the Keris with incense every Thursday night, he commented that there is no need for it to be done.According to him one must have the know how in order to keep the Keris in good order. He told me to clean it with lime that could easily bought from the market.

In the days of the feudal Sultans and nobles, the Keris is the equivalent of the side arms. It was unthinkable not to be without it as it was the symbol of one's personality and the person is ready to use it if challenged. To me I shall keep it as a reminder of my roots. My grandfather was a local Chief who formed what is known as 'Tiang Balai' and as Dato' Dagang Paroi, he was also tasked with the authority of overseeing the miners in his jurisdiction. Therefore this was once one of the symbols of authority and power to adjudicate should problems arise. It is the aura of the person who possessed it. So be it.

The Fallen Tree

Yesterday 23 April at about 5pm a huge tree probably more than 30 years old fell on to the road a few houses away from mine in a freak storm and hit the power line across it thus throwing the neighbourhood into darkness almost till midnight.

Fortunately there were no cars passing by during the incident as it is very close to the junction going out to the main thoroughfare leading to one of the most busy four-way junction controlled by a computer assisted traffic lights, in Kelana Jaya which once used to be the biggest roundabout in the Petaling District in Selangor.

I only came to realise it when my eldest son arrived to fetch my wife to go to Hartamas housing area near Mont Kiara. My neighbour in front of my house said he was driving in Petaling Jaya during the storm and there were many old trees suffering the same fate and the MBPJ emergency response team must have been kept very busy indeed. The TNB crew arrived about half an hour after the storm stopped and a recce party arrived to assess the damage when I was just outside my gate and talking to Renny Cheong.

I suppose the MBPJ crew was busy elsewhere and could not come to remove the fallen tree who blocked the entrance to Jalan SS3/94 thus making many drivers to turn around as the road is used as short-cut from University Garden going to Taman Megah and Taman Bahagia.Many parents also had to take a different route in order to fetch their children from the Sri Permata Secondary School nearby.

As experience had taught me in the past, I have my emergency lights on a standby and it came to good use during this power blackout. The TNB repair team had to remove the fallen tree whose trunk had become weak due the rot taking place and since the house in which it is in has been turned into an office, nobody was around during the freak storm and thus the security guards who manned the entry into the neighbourhood just a few feet away must have thanked their lucky stars that it missed them by a close shave.

Since the damage on the power line was extensive and also it brought down the street lighting pole across the road, it was long just before midnight, power was thereby restored much to the relief of the people in the neighbourhood. What baffled me was that the fallen tree was just beside a stump of a tree trunk which must have been deliberately cut down years ago and the owner did not bother to cut down the wild acacia tree next to it or he must have thought that it is better for it to go down on it's own. The fence also is currently breached and should anyone wants to steal the portable garden furniture it could easily be done. To me the fallen tree is an analogy of a diseased State brought down easily by nature because the caretaker allowed the rot to eat at the very base which holds it firmly to the ground. Neglect and "Tidak Apa" attitude caused the downfall of a State which is eaten away by the rot, this time it starts from the base, unlike the fish where the rot starts from the head.

Silat, The Malay art of Self Defence

I learned the Silat which is a form of an art of self-defence from an exponent in the sixties when I was a student. My teacher was then working at Rasah Camp which was started by the British and handed over to the Malaysian armed forces upon independence. At that time I was staying at the government quarters in Channer Road, Seremban. I still continued the lessons when my father was transferred to Port Dickson.

However I stopped attending the lessons after completion of the training and deemed to have graduated and was given a token in the form of "Wafak" which should be worn when necessary. The Silat which is taught by my Guru, who died more than twenty years ago had many followers, and I was informed even Tan Sri Sanusi Junid was also one of the students when he was working in the Standard Chartered Bank in Seremban then.

As time passed by I lost touch with the movements and had forgotten the art, until recently when I was told by an ustaz that what I had learned was good to serve a certain purpose before, but the consequences of the action would only be seen in the detrimental effects whom one does not realise till much later. Thus I had to do something about it and had to perform certain things in order to severe the pact which the Guru might not have done unconsciously. This is something which is I did not expect rather late in my life whereby I had to perform a sort of " cleansing" process in order to break the pact and thus freeing myself from undesirable influences of the supernatural forces. The lesson derived here ought to remind others that a strength can be a weakness over a period of time and one must always be on guard and avoid the unnecessary complications very much in later life.

The DD M.A.Bhd, AGM.

Yesterday 17 April our family Company had it's second AGM since its incorporation, in Seremban. The attendance was fair though the notice was sent to all shareholders in accordance to the law. This time I awaited the coming of the AGM as it is my first as the Adviser as well as a shareholder. What made it more interesting is the sparks I was expecting from one of the Director's who failed to turn up for the previous Board meetings thrice without valid reasons.

However he did not show up but still his name was up for the AGM to consider his re-election. Before the voting, I raised my objections as to his lack of commitment and his failure to fulfill his fiduciary duty, and his re-election was expectantly rejected by the shareholders. I am thankful to my relatives who mostly are unschooled in corporate governance, but knew what integrity is all about.

Another aspect of corporate governance which fortunately is present in the AGM is that I had picked my cousin who is a successful businessman and well educated and most important of all is his trustworthiness in managing the company as Chairman. Without this essential ingredient he would have just followed the wind and the whims of certain quarters who were merely intent in squeezing the company's reserves. May the next AGM brings forth better returns for all and every member of the Family Company.

I am back

One of the most important thing that I missed for a long time is updating my blog. Now I have a new toy to play with in the form of an iPad given to me as a gift from my family members. It means so much to me because otherwise my blog would be full of cobwebs.

With just a few words to say how much I miss being in touch with my fellow blogger buddies, I am delighted to be able to continue this journey. After all life is short, and we would not know whether we are going to be around tomorrow or day after.

I supplicate to Allah Almighty that I am able to continue this blog for some time to come.

Leave of Absence for an indefinite period

My apologies to friends and acquaintances who had been following my blog for a long absence. I am now on leave of absence from blogosphere due to my God-given commitment and duty of caring for my infirmed father who is in his early nineties.

Since I have no access to my broadband in my present location, so I regret very much for this temporary embargo on my blog.

God-Willing, I shall be back when time permits. Kind Regards.