I hate Miri, but I love Miri.

-Friend of The Chukai Insider

I hate Miri, but I love Miri. Does that make sense?
Yeah sure, not to you it doesn’t. But to someone who actually stays here, it makes perfect sense.
But how do you hate Miri, but love Miri?

For starters, I can give so many reasons to justify my hatred of this place. Yeah of course, I hate this God-forsaken “city”!
I hate Miri cause the part of this so-called “city” I stay in, is barren. It has nothing. It’s like going to the least explored land in Antartica with a 0.13% chance of actually seeing “civilization”. Of course I’m exaggerating, you cant honestly believe that! But hey, this is just a statement made out of frustration of this boring place.

I hate Miri. And this is the worst part. Those damn mosquitoes I encounter about 26,500 times a day. According to the latest statistics made by Miri’s Health Department, the population of mosquitoes in Miri outnumbers the human population by 4,500 to 1. Yes, the figure is that staggering. Nahh, I’m just pulling numbers out of a hat. I’m not sure to be honest, but if you look at these red spots on my body (mind you, I have a lot of em’!) it certainly feels like it! I know I may sound dramatic at times, but ask anyone from here, they’ll even tell you the mosquitoes here are mutated.

But then again, when I really think about it, how can I really hate this place?
This is the place where I met so many great friends. But you could find friends pretty much anywhere you go wouldn’t you? Nahh, not this bunch that I have here with me now. Goody-goody with that pinch of craziness. Just the way I like em’.
Really, how can I hate this place? I’ve had so many wonderful experiences here, and I’m sure I’ll get much more in the next couple of years of being here. This is the place I’ll tell my kids about. The place “dad” spent 3 wonderful years studying at.
Now that I think about it, these past few months, though countless of complaints were made, I’m actually very happy bout life in Miri. It might not be the life I wanted a few years ago, but it’s certainly a life I’ll cherish for, for the rest of my life.

I guess that is why I hate Miri, but love Miri.

Thank you friends. You guys made it all bearable. Cheers.

Liyana, what is this?

Dear Liyana Lee,

Since I cannot contact you by any mean at all now, so this is my way of communication with you- through your blog feed at the sidebar of your so-called secret but available to public blog! Haha.

I've blocked you on Facebook for just a very stupid and childish reason. I will tell you if you come to Curtin. If not, then let it be. But just to let you know, no hard feelings. Ask Ita, she knows about the reason (without 's') and she responded with 'ee, ala tu pun nak block' feelings. Get it? That was a joke I was playing on you. I try to keep this post to be as mysterious as possible so that you communicate with me. 

To quote you;

"So I don't know, I need to rethink my decision on going to UTP instead of Curtin. We talked a bit about people we know in Curtin (Z, Kak Ita and Faidhi) and I remembered being quite close to Faidhi, but haven't talked to him for a year now. I don't know, I guess I think I would feel intimidated if I were to be around him again (reasons undisclosed but we did discuss it last night)."

To those who are always around Faidhi, The Chukai Insider has an important info for you; he could never understand why anyone would feel intimidated by this childish yet sometimes very matured with curly hair boy/man. Oh please, Faidhi is always a Faidhi. He felt it was extremely funny (and weird) when people get intimidated by him.

With regards to your decision to rethink of going to UTP instead of Curtin, I have many/tonnes of good and bad reasons to come to Curtin. But I could not think anything good of going to the other place, get it? I have informations on the curriculum here and if you want to get details, yes Faidhi-kind-of-details, then contact me. I can tell you about the dogs here too, if you want me to.

By the way, 'quite close'? And 'intimidated' are the phrases I'll be pondering today.

Another one, about you not able to 'terbang', Allah has always has a greater plan for you. I may or may have not found mine. And Kak Ita too. But we are all contented and feel very blessed here. If you ask the collection of people who were not able to 'terbang' in Curtin, they all will say they are super-lucky to be here. So, the bottomline is not how you are not able to 'terbang' but how you respond to the challenges from Allah S.W.T.

Study Marathon

It has been a while since the last time I wrote something for this blog. Yes, I was a little bit occupied, but was not busy in the last few weeks. Get it? 

It is like a habit to me to write something when it is close to tests or exams. Forget the weekly tests that I have always. Now, this is the last week of this year's Ramadhan. If you ask me, I would say Ramadhan is a tarbiyah month. And what do you feel about leaving Ramadhan this year? Of course most of us remember Raya Celebration. I cannot help it either. But maybe we can grow or outgrow ourselves to become like the friends/sahabat of Rasulullah S.A.W who always feel sad leaving Ramadhan. If we have tried and with the right intention (niat), Allah S.W.T will help us. I will leave myself a simple question to ponder during this Hari Raya- how have the last Ramadhan changed myself? How did I graduate from the last Ramadhan; excellent, mediocre or with just plain hungry and thirst? 

I have three tests this week. Geology 102 Structural Practical, Chemistry 144 and Geoscience, Environment and Society. The first two are hard but the latter needs supper tonnes of reading! Well, I call this to myself and my friends- let's study with the right intention but struggle hard to keep our marks high! From there, we can see how our intention is aligned from what Allah S.W.T obliged us to do. If we have the right intention, not just for the sake of exam, but for the sake of Allah S.W.T then He surely will help us. 

Berdoalah kepada Tuhanmu dengan merendah diri dan suara yang lembut. Sesungguhnya Allah tidak menyukai orang-orang yang melampaui batas. Dan janganlah kamu membuat kerosakan di muka bumi, sesudah (Allah) memperbaikinya dan berdoalah kepdaNya dengan rasa takut (tidak akan diterima) dan harapan (akan dikabulkan). Sesungguhnya rahmat Allah amat dekat kepada orang-orang yang berbuat baik. (Surah al-A'raf: 55-56)

SurahAl-Mu’minuun, 118:

Dan berdoalah (wahai Muhammad dengan berkata): "WAHAI TUHANKU, BERIKANLAH AMPUN DAN KURNIAKAN RAHMAT, DAN SEMEMANGNYA ENGKAULAH SAHAJA SEBAIK-BAIK PEMBERI RAHMAT!"

If you find difficulties in  your studies, always remember that it is sometimes for our own good. 

"Boleh jadi kamu membenci sesuatu, padahal ia amat baik bagimu, dan boleh jadi (pula) kamu menyukai sesuatu, padahal ia amat buruk bagimu; Allah Maha Mengetahui, sedang kamu tidak mengetahui." (Surah al-Baqara: 216)

Selamat Hari Lahir

I'm a Gryffindor!

Your result for The Sorting Hat: A Comprehensive Harry Potter Personality Assessment [Test/Quiz] ...

Gryffindor

49% Ravenclaw, 48% Hufflepuff, 40% Slytherin and 55% Gryffindor!

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

          Gryffindor's cardinal traits are bravery, pride, stubbornness and impulsiveness. Most people in the house of Gryffindor will be extraverted. (Remember, introversion is different than being shy: you can be a shy extrovert.) Gryffindors gain energy and life by being around people, grain strength from friends and enjoy working with those close to them. However, they are also emotionally volatile and can experience a wide range of feelings in a short amount of time, from unbridled happiness to deep depression to unrestrained rage. They are less emotionally stable than some of the other houses (such as Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff); Gryffindors are also impulsive. They're also generally good-hearted andtrusting, and for the most part like people at first sight unless they are given a reason not to. Gryffindors are Prideful, bad at taking criticism and easilyget into conflicts with others—this is the main trait that would bring their overall level of agreeableness from high to average.

          A Gryffindor's prideful nature coupled with their sense of justice and stubbornbehavior causes them to be extremely set in their ways. They have a difficult time backing down from a fight or admitting that they are wrong. It's also very hard for them to get over a bad first impression or change their opinion on someone.

YOUR ANALYSIS (Vertical line = Average)

• 
  You scored 49% on Ravenclaw, higher than 33% of your peers.
• 
  You scored 48% on Hufflepuff, higher than 47% of your peers.
• 
  You scored 40% on Slytherin, higher than 12% of your peers.
• 
  You scored 55% on Gryffindor, higher than 73% of your peers.

Ikhlas

It is narrated on the authority of Amirul Mu'minin, Abu Hafs 'Umar bin al-Khattab, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, say: "Actions are (judged) by motives (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated." [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]

Ikhlas? In between the Terawih prayers just now, there was a very short yet very significant tazkirah that I heard today. It was all about Ikhlas. 

Emergency Appeal

Emergency Appeal: East African Famine

AMATULLAH | AUGUST 13, 2011 12:26 AM

While watching the news with my mom the other day, a segment came on about the famine in East Africa. As we listened to the anchor share the stories of families coming to the refugee camps for aid, he highlighted one specific story of a father who walked for 30 days and 30 nights to save his three young sons. At one point in his journey, the children were too weak to walk so their father would carry them one by one – dropping one off at one point then going back for the other across the barren desert.

Then they shared another story of a mother. She was sitting quietly by the bedside of her child who just passed away. Her two other children passed away a few days before this baby. She sat there for hours, quietly, because she could not afford to bury her own child.

In the past 3 months, it is reported that nearly 30,000 children have died.

30,000.

Isn't it too much to eat?

While Muslims in Malaysia would have been eating two courses of meal for breaking of fasting today, Somalians are probably have nothing to eat. I read a story in Huffington before about a Somalian mother losing her breast milk to feed her child while on her way to food distribution centre. Can you imagine the devastating effect it has on the baby. How unbearable the situation for a mother to watch it happen to her child is beyond imagination. I admit that I bought extra food everyday. Well, I finished all of them but I think I would have been okay if I did not have another nasi goreng, soto ayam or mee jawa after my nasi with ayam for breaking of fasting. Come to think of it, the Somalians are not even close to a drop of water and I drink like a gallon of it every night. 

So how is it that the world has not noticed? And why is it so difficult for us to give?

The politicians argue about it here and there. They keep bullshitting us about the 'plans' while people are dying. If you can bail out a rich country for trillion dollars, why can't you at least set a portion of million dollars to give food right now? Yes, don't show your moronic I-know-the-economics-of-this-situation-but-you-don't-so-shut-up attitude. Oh please, if your large percentage of your Gross National Income (GNI) can go to military activities that killed millions of people in Iraq, Afghanistans and any other countries, why not show your mercy in times of hardship like this. Argh, who cares? The stock is plunging and it is far more important than saving those kids who have nothing for you, isn't it?

Take Back Your Heart

I slept at 3 last night and it felt like I've been leaving more important things to do. It's Ramadhan and I seem to read my Geology stuffs almost everyday now. It's getting harder. Don't even talk about Palaeontology because with the names, I seem to get more confused each time they are mentioned. Well, now not so much. Burning the midnight's candle seemed to work. All the time. Memorising names or Phylum, Genus and Species to be exact. Yeah, who would have thought some biology-like subject would come to me again since I've been avoiding it since SPM. 

I slept so late last night. At least I did something good. Yes, it is for my studies. But come to think about it again, would I have stayed up late night for something more meaningful than reading rocks and fossils? Would I have stayed late up in the night to find myself closer to Allah SWT?  Then, I found this article this morning. Bang! It hit me right! Let me share this with you. Yes, there are lots of words. But it worth your time. Yeah, I'm a blogger who likes to share other people's article (with citation of course). What a world it would be without us sharing knowledge and lessons?

I found the article [HERE].

TAKE BACK YOUR HEART

No one likes to fall. And few people would ever choose to drown. But in struggling through the ocean of this life, sometimes it’s so hard not to let the world in. Sometimes the ocean does enter us. The dunya does seep into our hearts.

And like the water that breaks the boat, when dunya enters, it shatters our heart.  It shatters the boat. Recently, I was reminded of what a broken boat looks like, of what happens when you let everything in. I was reminded because I saw someone, just like me, fall in love too much with this life and seek to be filled by the creation. So the ocean of dunya shattered her boat, as it had shattered mine, and she fell out into the water.  But she stayed down too long, and didn’t know how to come back up or what to hold on to.

So she drowned.

If you allow dunya to own your heart, like the ocean that owns the boat, it will take over. You will sink down to the depths of the sea. You will touch the ocean floor. And you will feel as though you were at your lowest point. Entrapped by your sins and the love of this life, you will feel broken. Surrounded by darkness. That’s the amazing thing about the floor of the ocean. No light reaches it.

But, this dark place is not the end. Remember that the darkness of night precedes the dawn. And as long as your heart still beats, this is not the death of it. You don’t have to die here. Sometimes, the ocean floor is only a stop on the journey. And it is when you are at this lowest point, that you are faced with a choice. You can stay there at the bottom, until you drown. Or you can gather pearls and rise back up—stronger from the swim, and richer from the jewels.

If you seek Him, God can raise you up, and replace the darkness of the ocean, with the light of His sun. He can transform what was once your greatest weakness into your greatest strength, and a means of growth, purification and redemption. Know that transformation sometimes begins with a fall. So never curse the fall. The ground is where humility lives. Take it. Learn it. Breathe it in. And then come back stronger, humbler and more aware of your need for Him. Come back having seen your own nothingness and His greatness. Know that if you have seen that Reality, you have seen much. For the one who is truly deceived is the one who sees his own self—but not Him.  Deprived is the one who has never witnessed his own desperate need for God.  Reliant on his own means, he forgets that the means, his own soul, and everything else in existence are His creation.

Seek God to bring you back up, for when He does, He will rebuild your ship. The heart that you thought was forever damaged will be mended. What was shattered will be whole again. Know that only He can do this. Seek Him.

And when He saves you, beg forgiveness for the fall, feel remorse over it—but not despair.  As Ibn ul Qayyim (ra) has said: “Satan rejoiced when Adam (peace be upon him) came out of Paradise, but he did not know that when a diver sinks into the sea, he collects pearls and then rises again.”

There is a powerful and amazing thing about tawbah (repentance) and turning back to Allah (swt). We are told that it is apolish for the heart. What’s amazing about a polish is that it doesn’t just clean. It makes the object that is polished even shinier than it was before it got dirty. If you come back to God, seek His forgiveness, and refocus your life and heart on Him, you have the potential to be even richer than if you’d never fallen at all. Sometimes falling and coming back up gives you wisdom and humility that you may never otherwise have had. Ibn ul Qayyim (ra) writes:

“One of the Salaf (Pious Predecessors) said: “Indeed a servant commits a sin by which he enters Paradise; and another does a good deed by which he enters the Fire.” It was asked: How is that? So he replied: “The one who committed the sin, constantly thinks about it; which causes him to fear it, regret it, weep over it and feel ashamed in front of his Lord—the Most High—due to it. He stands before Allah, broken-hearted and with his head lowered in humility. So this sin is more beneficial to him than doing many acts of obedience, since it caused him to have humility and humbleness—which leads to the servant’s happiness and success—to the extent that this sin becomes the cause for him entering Paradise. As for the doer of good, then he does not consider this good a favor from his Lord upon him. Rather, he becomes arrogant and amazed with himself, saying: I have achieved such and such, and such and such. So this further increases him in self-adulation, pride and arrogance—such that this becomes the cause for his destruction.”

Allah (swt) reminds us in the Qur’an to never lose hope. He says: “Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against their souls [by sinning], despair not of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful,’” (39:53).

And so, this is a call to all those who have become enslaved by the tyranny of the self, imprisoned in the dungeon of thenafs (self) and desires.  It is a call to all those who have entered the ocean of dunya, who have sunk into its depths, and become trapped by its crushing waves. Rise up. Rise up to the air, to the Real world above the prison of the ocean. Rise up to your freedom. Rise up and come back to life. Leave the death of your soul behind you. Your heart can still live and be stronger and purer than it ever was. Does not the polish of tawbah remake the heart even more beautiful than it was? Remove the veil you have sewn with your sins. Remove the veil between you and Life, between you and Freedom, between you and Light—between you and God.  Remove the veil and rise up. Come back to yourself. Come back to where you began. Come back Home. Know that when all the other doors have shut in your face, there is One that is always open. Always. Seek it. Seek Him and He will guide you through the waves of the cruel ocean, into the mercy of the sun.

This world cannot break you—unless you give it permission. And it cannot own you unless you hand it the keys – unless you give it your heart.  And so, if you have handed those keys to dunya for a while—take them back. This isn’t the End. You don’t have to die here. Reclaim your heart and place it with its rightful owner:

God.

Source: Suhaibwebb.com

BREAKING NEWS: A Dog Chased a Purple VIVA at Desa Senadin

Desa Senadin, 7 August 2011- A black dog with red eyes chased a purple Perodua Viva tonight. The incident occurred around 9.40pm Malaysian time. 

According to one of the passengers who was inside the newly-bought car, the dog chased the car just when the driver, Rakin Zaid,21 was about to change the driver's seat with the owner of the car, Intan Mashitah Amir Bashaa, 21. However, the passenger realized that a black dog suddenly came out of nowhere to the car. 

The passenger who wants to be known only as Chuk, said the situation was so intense inside the car. The dog came to the passenger window and started jumping around. In his word, the dog was acting 'crazy'. 

The driver, Rakin Zaid decided to run away from the dog and started driving towards the Chinese-restaurant-which-has-customers-that-don't-know-how-to-park-their-cars near the Curtin Village. Surprisingly, the dog still went to catch after them. According to Chuk, with the magnitude of the 'dramatism' of Acad Rashad, Intan Mashitah and Dayang Nabelle, the situation inside the car was beyond description.

Intan Mashitah then tried to drive the car after taking over from Rakin Zaid so that she can drive quickly into Curtin Village (the rule says only the owner of the car can bring the car into the housing area). Unfortunately, Intan Mashitah broke down just before arriving at the gate of Curtin Village upon seeing the scary evillish black dog with red eyes.

She just pulled the reverse gear and started driving crazy. Chuk who was on the copilot seat was shocked. What was she trying to do? She was so panick. You can imagine the drama inside the car. 

Acad then took over the driver seat and went to drive so fast to leave the dog far behind. Still, it chased them.

Heroic or not, he drove them safely into the gate of Curtin Village. The dog was nowhere to be found. Inside Curtin Village, they meet fellow resident, Azureen Alya, 21 who was walking around. They told her their stories. You may imagine the 'dramatism' faces of Acad Rashad, Dayang Nabelle and Intan Mashitah.

None of the passengers were hurt during the incident.-The Chukai Insider

Ramadhan State of Mind

It seems very hard to get the feeling of excitement during Ramadhan. Most of us take the Ramadhan as a routine. While we all know how important, how significant it is, there is always this business-as-usual mentality. Ramdhan is coming, and yes the daily bazaar visits and terawih came to mind. Yes, I'm talking about myself. One simple question a penceramah asked the audience yesterday was "How many of us get excited when Ramadhan is coming? What did we do on the last day of Sya'aban to welcome the first day of Ramadhan?"

It's very hard to be in the Ramadhan State of Mind. Today, every single click can make you go to Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. From there, you decide to go to which channel, which page and which tweets to be replied. 

What I meant by Ramadhan State of Mind is being in control of what we do that is aligned with what Allah asked/recommended and Nabi Muhammad asked/recommended us to do. And get the meanings out of the deeds. Not just doing good deeds, but to get revelations and meanings out of it. 

Self-control is my challenge. Reducing what comes out of my mouth is the primary goal. For a person who stops talking just before going to bed, it is a challenge to reduce talking. Why I wanted to be more quiet? Talking and keep talking reduces my consciousness, since things I've talked about are mainly nothing related to anything good. Nothing that will lead to me some kind of consciousness or revelations. Hence, less talking.

Something I know for sure is that if you keep yourself busy doing things that make you feel closer to Allah SWT will bring the Ramadhan State of Mind to you. Hopefully, once we have it, the state of mind will be permanently there throughout our lives. Maybe this Ramadhan is the turning point.-The Chukai Insider

Ramadhan

What is Ramadhan to you? If it is Merdeka season, we would have been asked 'what's the definition of Merdeka to you?' but never in my life that I heard someone asking me- 'what is Ramadhan to you?' -to me seriously. Maybe I forgot someone did that but that's only because we do not do it very often.

I am frightened by the fact that this Ramadhan would be just another routine for us. A month of annual fasting and celebration of going to the bazaars to buy as much food we can. 

I came around this quote by a Muslim scholar:

 "There are as many forms of fasting as there are organs of perception and sensation, and each of these has many different levels. So we ask to fast from all that Allah does not love for us, and to feast on what the Beloved loves for us. Let us certainly fast from the limited mind, and all that it conjures up. Let us fast from fear, apart from fear and awe of Allah's majesty. Let us fast from thinking that we know, when Allah alone is the Knower. Let us fast from thinking negatively of anyone. Let us fast from our manipulations and strategies. Let us fast from all complaint about the life experiences that Allah gives us. Let us fast from our bad habits and our reactions. Let us fast from desiring what we do not have. Let us fast from obsession. Let us fast from despair. Let us fast from not loving our self, and from denying our heart. Let us fast from selfishness and self-centered behavior. Let us fast from thinking that only what serves us is important. Let us fast from seeing reality only from our own point of view. Let us fast from seeing any reality other than Allah, and from relying on anything other than Allah. Let us fast from desiring anything other than Allah and Allah's Prophets and friends, and our own true self. Essentially, let us fast from thinking that we have any existence separate from Allah."

My dear friend of mine, and also my naqib in usrah, and my senior-who-I-always-give-hard-time said what's important is the QUALITY of your good deeds that matter. It could not be further from the truth. I think generally all of us know about this but it has come and gone through our ears. I give you an example how routines have made us lose focus about deeds that we do; reciting Al-Quran without understanding. If you have no Arabic basics to recite Al-Quran, you probably have difficulties in understanding the meaning. Well, for me reciting the verses without understanding it is a waste of time. It is true. I have realised this before but never try to really understand. Ask me when did I khatam? Ask me again when do I fully understand all of the verses? 

Our religion teaches us to comprehend and understand about what we do. Why do we recite Al-Asr after the end of any majlis? Why tasbih kifarah is chanted before that? What is surah Yasin all about? 

 The month of Ramadan to me represents such an opportunity to stop, reflect, and deepen one's consciousness. One is able to more concretely understand the beauty of this world and the blessings one has been given as one strives to deepen their relationship with the Divine by cultivating a better understanding of themselves and those that are around them. Or it can be an opportunity missed where one just gets hungry and thirsty and doesn't really ask themselves why they are fasting. 

Let's raise our consciousness and be aware of our purposes in doing things. Without true intentions, our deeds are not accepted and they waste your time and energy.-The Chukai Insider