Here Comes The 'Aftermath Sale'!! (24th November 2011 - 28th November 2011)
This Mod has a very important announcement to make today. Don’t worry people, even though it’s not exactly the latest, we guarantee you they are good news. Heard of the ‘Big Bad Wolf Sale’ last month at M.A.E.P.S.? Correct! An aftermath sale is coming up before Mr. Wolf wrap up his party for good, pack up, and goes counting down for 2012.
Kindly do not confuse this ‘Aftermath Sale’ (also dubbed as ‘Fire Sale’) with the ‘Big Bad Wolf Sale’ as books at the ‘Aftermath’ are remainders of the previous sale. Range of selection will be limited and you’ll also find books in imperfect conditions.
Major highlight of the ‘Aftermath’ is that all books will be going for RM 5 and below (all stocks must go!). Asides from that, you’ll be entitled for a ‘3-Years Free Membership Redemption’ and also a ‘Big Bad Wolf’ bookmark with every purchase you make as our token of appreciation. OCBC credit card holders will also enjoy additional 5% discount when they use their card for purchase. Porter services are as usual, will be available throughout the sale to help you with your loads to your vehicle.
The Aftermath Sale will be going on for five days from 24th November 2011 – 28th November 2011 at South City Plaza, Serdang (kindly refer to address & map below) from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. So hurry grab you bags, trolleys, boxes, and most importantly your wallet and head to the ‘Aftermath Sale’! Our Big Bad Wolf team awaits your arrivals.
Feel free to follow ‘Big Bad Wolf’ on their Facebook by clicking ‘Like’ @ http://www.facebook.com/bbwbooks for further updates and firsthand information from time to time. Thank you.
Venue:
Ground Floor, South City Plaza,
Persiaran Serdang Perdana,
Seksyen 1, 43300 Seri Kembangan,
Selangor.
GPS Coordinate:
N 03’ 01.715”
E 101’ 42.611”
Public Transport (after dropping off at KTM ‘Serdang’ Station):
Rapid KL Bus: U416 / U432
Metro Bus: No. 8
Asides from buses, you can also take a Taxi from the train station to South City Plaza.
This is the most winter-like Terengganu can get. With
the rain, muddy roads and the non-stop wipers on the screen, this is monsoon.
The wind from the high-pressure air of the cold China is blowing to the
low-pressure air of warm Australia down under. As the wind passes through
Terengganu, it brings along the clouds. The clouds. It looks like Voldemort is
coming but he never does. Bummer.
While the kids are staying inside, the mothers have to
cook lunch early as most of the kids get hungry easily in this cold season.
Fats are burned. Cold. Windy. The Chinese winds. Hence, they are hungry.
The sound of the rain droplets fills your ear. The
monsoon music.
In a place somewhere in the north, there will be a
race. The fishermen will not go to the sea this monsoon season. The wind is
their eternal enemy. Yet, a group of boat sailors are flocking to Kuala
Terengganu for a monsoon cup. Ops, Monsoon Cup. Money. Champion. No benefits to
me. Not interesting. Ugh.
Frankly speaking, the race is boring. Waste.
Promotion? Not so much Caucasians are dropping by! Still a
promotion?
Chukai-ans do not depend on fishing industry as their
source of income although there are somekeropok
lekormaking in Kuala
Kemaman, but all of thepenggetel
keropok lekorseem like
they are rich enough even without going to the sea to catch fish. Their
bungalows are bigger than my house. Perhaps only infinitesimal amount of
fisherman still exist in Kuala Kemaman. But this is the time when fish price is
rocketing to the moon! At least that is what my father says. No one is going to
the sea, so no fish inpasor
(to orang luor, it's PASAR), more demand, less supply equal to RMsssss.Mahal! Orang puteh kaboit's bloody expensive!Mahal sampai berdarah-darah!
That is why I eat only chicken. I want to reduce the
burden of my father buying expensive fish.
Rain brings a heavy problem to the people of Chukai.
Traffic. Everyone has a car. Ops, every family has almost more than one car!
Some even have more cars than the number of their family members. Maybe Al-Gore
can come here and lecture these people about environmentalism crap. Your visit
will boost Kemaman's popularity too. At least there is one American coming to
Mak Chili!
There is a Porsche. I do not know who drives it. Oh,
the black Porsche going to the not-so-Mak-Chili-anymore Kampung Mak Chili. Yes,
not-so-Mak-Chili-anymore compared to 10 years ago! By the way, there are so
manylongkang besor(GIANT drains) in constructions. Flood
prevention. Good. Our own Smart Tunnel.MakChiliFloodPreventionSystem(MC-FloPS).
Ido
notwant a Porsche. If
someone wants to give it to me, then Alhamdulillah! I might as well sell the
car back, and get and i-Pad. Ops, I think I will buy more than one i-Pads so
that I can give them to my siblings and friends. Oh, the dream.
Oh the monsoon... and a little sister who is still
holding the TV remote control tight in her hand. When is my turn?
Oh...hungry again. I blame the cold monsoon.-The
Chukai Insider
I have mentioned this perhaps thousands of times before and I will repeat this perhaps again and again. I love The Lion King. I watched the movie when I was still less than 1.0 m in height till now when my little sister is still watching it. Maybe we just take the Lion King as a simple cartoon that ends with a happy ending. Why don't we take serious lessons from the movie? The reason is it will destroy the fun mood of watching the movie, isn't it? Let's not discuss it further. This post is only a remembrance of how much I loved the movie. And Tarzan too! By the way, as an Insider of Chukai, I would like to report that it rains in here. It's the monsoon.
In this book, Farish A. Noor (a Senior Fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies) sought the ideas of history revolving around Malays and the mix of the Chinese and Indian cultures way back to the Hindu-Buddhism era in Tanah Melayu and lots of other issues which were never told in formal syllabus of our history education.
Being one of the persons who is looking at other views history of Malaysia in critical ways, the author then puts credible sources that link the issues with the rest of the ethnics in Tanah Melayu and Malaya namely Chinese, Indians and the Peranakans. How interesting it could get is how the relationship between keris and Buddhism in which many people would have never thought of when they put it as a symbol of a certain race while in fact historically, it is not. Extremists of certain races should notify then why their lack of knowledge and perhaps their lack of enthusiasm to learn about other's cultures bring only harm to them. When we come to look at the issue from a scholarly point of view, we can see how un-intellectual we were when the issue of a politician kissing a keris before were brought to the chaotic discussion about ketuanan Melayu. This notion that keris become an Ethno-Nationalist (ethnic-based symbol) symbol puts a turn to the issue when it is discussed in lengthy details in the book. In this case, if we were taught about it in Sejarah, the students would not get stuck with views of the 'winners of the past' only.
The author is excellent in bringing contemporary issues which we are dealing with such as relationships between races, homosexuality, ketuanan Melayu and how 'racial difference' became a big deal in Malaysia. The ideas portrayed in the book show how we come here this way and understanding the process will turn Malaysians to become more understanding. As I myself was the product of Malaysian education system, I doubt anyone can argue the credibility of his sources which are dealt extensively in the footnotes.
The struggles of PAS and the globalisation values portrayed by Hang Tuah were my favourites. The story of the progressive leader of PAS from 1956-1969, Burhanuddin Al-Helmy puts a new perspective and light into how PAS came into one of the biggest and most influential parties in Malaysia. The Hikayat of Hang Tuah on the other hand, shows how Hang Tuah himself was already travelled to many parts of the world apart from the ubiquitous stories we heard of him. Why do we focus his stories with Hang Jebat only? There are so much more of him apart from his questionable fights with Hang Jebat. In fact, in my opinion Hang Tuah was more 'globalised' than we are. And he did not just converse in Malay.
The book tells how does Hang Tuah was sent to India to visit the Indian Empire of Bijaya Nagaram by the Sultan of Malacca and spoke keling(no offence intended) to the King. The King then impressed with his linguistic skills and sent an ambassador to Malacca immediately.
"Maka titah Kisna Rayan: “Hai Laksamana, kau ini Peranakan apa?”
Maka sembah Laksamana, “ya tuanku shah alam, patek ini peranakan Melayu, tapi patek dari kechil-kechil ke Majapahit, maka patek berlajar mengaji bahasa Keling dari pada sa-orang Lebai; maka oleh itu patek mengerti sedikit bahasa Keling itu”."
This book enables me to think about many of the issues critically. It brings us differences of opinions which I think is vital to our society. These critical thoughts and how we become a generation that understands stories from many points of view will make Malaysia a better place. While Keris has became the symbol of Malay, it should be the symbol of unity of Malaysian heritage since it is originated from the Hindu-Buddhism kingdoms of the Malays. That is the perfect example. Malaysia would be such a much better place if our politicians read this book. However, will they accept the opinion of this blogger to read the book? No.
Hence, I ask all of you to read it as you are the agents of change of Malaysia. It is quite expensive (RM 40.00 ) though. Borrowing the book from me is highly welcomed. No reasons not to read it.
Every Malaysian should read this book. It is highly recommended.-The Chukai Insider
This is the English edition of Dr. Asri’s Mengemudi Bahtera Perubahan Minda, a compilation of his articles which originally appeared in Mingguan Malaysia.
This is the most important book to be read for each Malaysian. I cannot stress this further but the Islamic influence on the daily lives of Malaysians seems like eating chicken rice without the chicken. However, many of the concepts and what we perceive to be Islamic are not right at all. I have became a fan of Dr. Asri's ideas which are basically a new presentations of the ideas of Al-Quran and Hadiths. Mind you, it is not the ideas but the way they are presented and narrated to fit today's situations.
"Dr. Asri believes Islam in Malaysia is in dire straits and needed to be rescued yesterday. Not necessarily rescued by political leaders or religious figures though as the good doctor argues that in many cases it is those authorities who are the most responsible for pulling Islam down to where it is now in Malaysia. No, everyone who considers him or herself a Muslim (regardless of social status) must take responsibility and practise Islam as it was practised by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). In order to do that, Malaysian Muslims must totally shed the (mostly racial) prejudice, the superstitions many have associated with Islam and the attitude that the ustaz knows best and he must not be questioned."-The Malaysian Reader
The Chukai Insider highly recommends this book to ALL MUSLIMS AND NON-MUSLIMS ALIKE.-The Chukai Insider
*This article is about the mixing of religion and politics. I've read Orhan Pamuk's The Museum of Innocence before and this is my second time reading it. I'm halfway. When others might say fictions do not make you think or be informed of things, I reject the notion. It happened so because you do not think of the message portrayed in the fictions.
My friends and I might or might not get a position in politics but there are certainly interests on our part to be very interested in it, not for in the name of politics itself but in the name of the our beloved Malaysia. Even reading a novel like this makes me think of politics and how do we compare the subject in a wider sense. It shows vividly how does promotion of secularism in a Muslim society could bring more harm than good. READ MORE >>
I seems like it was two months ago (I don't want to use the ordinary 'it seems like yesterday') that I put my right leg on the land of Sarawak. And yes, I still remember that it was my right leg since I have been doing the 'right-hand-leg-first' for many years to start doing anything-closing doors, going outside, switching the light on. This 'do-right' habit which sometimes turned into an obsession was first realised by my dear friend of mine, Afedizal when he saw me walking into his car. I always start touching everything with the right hand. If I accidentally use my left hand upon touching something, I would 'rub' it with the right hand with the thought of 'cleaning' the place that I touched. Yes, sometimes I think it is a sickness.
Back to the story (and reflection), I am waiting for my first year result now. Since I entered Curtin, my Geology seniors have been telling me to get as much marks as possible for 'deposits' for second year as the units will be getting tougher and hence there will be drops in your marks. Thus, the first year marks can cover the drop. But my friends and I managed to get scores which are only in good range and they are not very excellent. I know we all should have been grateful since there were many others who could not get as much as us and even failed but the feelings were there. There is always this feeling of ungratefulness among us and we would only realise it after quite some times.
And now, these feelings come almost like last semester. The waiting. The dup-daps in your hearts. Doa, usaha, tawakal (Pray, effort and tawakal) become something that I should remember and most importantly to be practised. I always forgot to thank Allah SWT for what has He given to me. These feelings of insecurity and 'what ifs' keep coming to us all the time that can shatter our faith and trust towards Allah SWT.
Maybe we expect too much in our academic life while we are not up to it. No? While it is okay to set the bar high, it is not good to set the bar that you must reach. With the five units that I took this last semester, I did not really be thankful to Allah SWT with the strengths that he has given to me to work on my marks. And I feel sorry for myself for not showing my gratefulness towards Him when I scored good marks. Why?
We live in an environment where excellence is celebrated and failure is always being seen as a bad event that you can cry for nights or even months. But when you achieve the excellence that you always strive for, you always feel and think what others might say too, especially your friends and forget Allah. Honestly, most of us and me, myself do not really like it when your friends say that you are smart, and so that surely will make you score high while in fact you worked hard for it. The praises sometimes delude you from working harder. Don't you think so? And you always forget that the success come from Allah SWT.
For certain subjects which are like my baby subjects (and my favourites), there are some sort of indescribable feelings about expecting the marks. I did score high for my internal assessments in some subjects. These are the things I should be thankful for but sometimes I lost in the sea of insecurity towards myself. Why would I? I think it is partly because you and your people around you have always associated and verified you with academic excellence. Well, why not if that is your strength? But it comes to yourself to see it as something that you need to prove to them, isn't it? For this, I blame myself for putting my intentions of acquiring knowledge not in the name of Allah SWT. Worse, if you put your intention of doing things other than in Allah's sake, some ulama consider it as small syirik. And, I believe firmly on that seems that it is a serious matter to my faith. We sometimes lost in pursuit of excellence.
The expectations that we have for the future sometimes make ourselves doubt about our abilities. While Allah SWT has told us to pray only to Him, and our wishes will be granted, why would we worry about these things that we are not sure of? There is always a hole inside your heart that is longing for something of a greater power.
When you study and perform very well, you give validations to yourself that you are able to do it. While in the process that will determine between you are either 'success' or not, the hole inside your heart will be longing to be filled . Allah SWT knows best.
Fill the hole in your heart by loving Him. Loving Him means I put my trust in Him and that for me, is what tawakal all about. Alhamdulillah.-The Chukai Insider
*Lately, The Chukai Insider has lots in his minds and hence the boring articles. Dia sedang berusaha membiasakan diri supaya tidak kekok menulis dalam Bahasa Melayu sebab dia kurang pandai menulis dalam lenggok bahasa yang tidak skema kerana pada dirinya hanya Bahasa Melayu Terengganu yang paling selesa digunakan namun ramai yang tidak faham kot!
Few weeks ago, a friend of mine mentioned the concept of Ulul Albab and since I come from Terengganu, he made the effort to mention about the concept being implemented in the state. Tahniah kepada Terengganu!
Why should we say Tahniah to this lovely state of mine?
I've been reading Dr. Asri's Islam in Malaysia: Perceptions and Facts for these couple of days and found out about the concept of Ulul Albab. And Alhamdulillah, even Dr. Asri mentioned about the concept being applied in the education system of Terengganu.
Why would this Ulul Albab being so special? Why should I bother writing about it?
In his book, Dr. Asri puts forward the fact that The Noble Quran itself champions the term Ulul Albab- it is not an invention of the ulama, or a motivational speaker or a political leader. The term Ulul Albab itself appears 16 times in the Al-Quran (Asri, 2010) and it is therefore the one that we should be striving for.
Ulul Albab means those who are 'possessed of understanding'.
“Sesungguhnya dalam penciptaan langit dan bumi dan silih bergantinya malam dan siang terdapat tanda-tanda bagi Ulil Albab (orang yang berakal)” AlImran :190
Those who possessed understanding therefore should have mature minds and accurate judgements. Let us strive for these and fulfil the concept of Ulul Albab instead of championing other slogans which are just not as complete as the Words of Allah SWT.
Apabila kita berusaha untuk mencapai tahap itu, maka seharusnya perangai dan kata-kata kita berubah. Bagaimana? Ilmu menjadi jawapan untuk kita mendidik diri ke arah kecemerlangan diri.
Sebelum kita bertempik dan meraung mengharapkan perubahan orang lain dan perubahan dalam negara, seharusnya kita merubah diri sendiri dulu. Tidak guna jika kita berkumat-kamit mengenai Ulul Albab tanpa berusaha untuk menjadikan diri kita salah seorang daripadanya. Dan ingat, bukan tugas kita untuk menentukan adakah kita Ulul Albab atau tidak, namun usaha yang kita buat perlu diambil berat.
Untuk memenuhi seseorang yang 'possessed of understanding' kita seharusnya bertindak bijak dan matang. Menjawab 'tukar je kerajaan baru' bukanlah jawapan kepada masalah sosial di negara ini.
I cannot stress this further but changes in the country starts with you- not the country.
“Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)” 13: 11
I know many of us have heard this before and those speaking about politics are mostly the ones who heard it mostly but ignore to these Words of Allah SWT the most. It is true what my friend said to me when I ask 'should you involve in politics' and she answered 'only if they are smart enough'. The Ulul Albab generation therefore is therefore the right ones who can get involved in politics. And hence, politics will be clean and Bersih. No Seksualiti Merdeka, no corruptions, no grafts, no leaders who cannot cover aurat properly, no poverty, no people putting other thing than what Allah SWT has ordered to be more important.
Let us be of the Ulul Albab, and not those of slow thought. -The Chukai Insider
McCarthy's The Road might be the book that stays in my mind as a fiction which is very simple and yet very much of a substance. Oprah influenced me to buy the cheap version of it at BookXcess.
The novel starts with two nameless persons- a father and his son walking on a barren, cold road in America heading coast. Large portions of the story are told to describe the journey from an unknown place to the coastal side of America. Maybe I am not qualified enough to judge the novel as 'all modern novel can do is done here' (Warner, Guardian) but the story is very simple but filled with words that capture your heart and imagination. Within the period of several months, the father and son face cannibals and hoping to come across 'good people'. It is post-apocalyptic and hence the dusty atmosphere. It is not mentioned what catastrophe has happened that left America to be in the situation though. The mother of the son killed herself before the story starts since she could not cope with the situation. What have happened before the story starts is a mystery. The father died when they reached the coast and the son does not know what to do with his father's corpse for three days until one of the 'good guys' comes and save him.
As mentioned before, the novel is so simple that it keeps the message alive. People do the unimaginable things, including eating their children to survive. As Kirsty Wark of Observer put it- a warning. Some reviews call it as an observation to future as effects of global warming. I study Palaeoclimate and I doubt it though.
Or you might wish you'd never been born.
Well, beggars can't be choosers.
You think that would be asking too much.
What's done is done. Anyway, it's foolish to ask for luxury in times like these.
I guess so. -Nameless Father and Son dialogue. The Road.
The book is terrible. Terribly beauty. Simple with a profound message.-The Chukai Insider
Seandainya anda melihat sebuah negeri di Malaysia yang buat waktu ini boleh saya katakan paling maju, anda mampu melihat urus tadbir yang bagus. Namun jika anda berada di sebelah sokongan yang membangkang perkara ini, anda mungkin tidak mampu melihatnya. People see what they want to see. Dalam kes ini, sudah tentu yang membangkang akan terus membangkang. Ini adalah perkara paling bodoh yang berlaku dalam sistem politik negara apabila semua yang salah perlu dijadikan sat benda yang betul jika berada di pihak kawan, namun semua perkara betul perlu dikatakan salah jika berlaku di pihak lawan.
Dalam kes negeri paling maju di Malaysia ini, saya akan merujuk kepada The Pale Blues dan The Reds. Jika anda tidak memahami perkara ini, terdapat banyak blog-blog lain yang boleh membicarakan hal ini dengan lebig terbuka. Saya masih tertakluk di bawah satu akta sebagai seorang pelajar.
Gaji Minimum
Dalam bajet dan polisi negeri maju ini, saya amat kagum dengan ketegasan Pengetua Negeri (harap faham) yang mewakili The Pale Blues. Sementara Kerajaan Belly Button ('belly button' bermaksud 'pusat' di perut anda) masih bergelut untuk melaksanakannya, beliau sudah berjaya melakukannya. Gaji minimum RM1500 itu memberi maksud besar untuk golongan berpendapatan rendah. Mengapa ini perlu dibangkang?
Surplus dalam bajet
Perkara ini adalah yang paling penting. Saya begitu berharap negeri Makang Ikang saya beralih seketika untuk melihat pengurusan kewangan negeri paling maju ini. Bukan saya mahu negeri Makang Ikang ini bertukar kerajaan (bertukar Pengetua amat saya harapkan, tapi bukan parti) namun tolonglah lihat ke arah negeri paling maju ini. Surplus, yakni lebihan atau keuntungan dari pendapatan memberi maksud pengurusan kewangan yang cekap. Surplus di negeri maju ini menyebabkan simpanan (reserves) di negeri ini berada pada tahap RM918 juta pada tahun 2010. Pada masa yang sama, negara berada dalam keadaan defisit. Defisit adalah antonim kepada surplus.
Cuba tanya negeri Makang Ikang berapa jumlah simpanannya. Janganlah berharap duit royalti minyak sahaja, carilah sumber pendapatan lain.
Bilakah anda bekerja untuk rakyat?
Untuk semua ahli politik dari semua parti, soalan yang perlu ditanya ialah- Bilakah anda bekerja untuk rakyat? Jika anda bekerja untuk rakyat, perkara yang baik perlu anda sokong. Kita belajar dari sekolah rendah untuk menjustifikasi mana yang betul dan mana yang salah, bukannya parti mana yang betul dan parti mana yang salah. Jika anda memperjuangkan agama, mengapa perkara yang baik untuk agama (meningkatkan taraf hidup, rezeki) perlu anda halang?
Perbandingan
Jika dibandingkan Pengetua Negeri yang menghina hamba Allah SWT yang lain dengan memberi batang penyapu dan seorang Pengetua Negeri yang meletakkan gaji minimum RM1500, sudah tentu anda tahu yang mana lagi baik. Satu lagi perbandingan, seorang Pengetua Negeri yang kontroversi dengan rumah banglonya (The Chukai Insider- How do you live your life, Mr Khir Toyo) dan seorang pemimpin yang menguntungkan negeri, mana satu anda mahu?
Ciri-ciri korporat
Pengetua Negeri paling maju ini bekas tokoh korporat yang memegang jawatan tinggi dalam sebuah syarikat berkaitan kerajaan dulu. Apabila masuk dalam arena politik, beliau tentulah bergelut untuk memuaskan hati penyokong bawahan yang juga termasuk The Rockets. Sudah tentu, The Reds yang sentiasa membangkang walaupun mereka tahu mereka kurang pandai untuk melawan beliau.
Saya berdoa negeri Makang Ikang saya mendapat seorang Pengetua Negeri yang boleh membawa Ulul Albab ke negerinya dan bukan sekadar pandai memberi duit percuma kepada rakyatnya. Sekian.-The Chukai Insider
*The Chukai Insider really wants his state to be led by someone of a corporate-like and maintains Islamic concepts held by most citizens of the state. He does not normally write in Malay. Forgive him for sounding skema and unnatural.
The Chukai Insider has found himself one of the best book bloggers which does not fill her blog with chicklits only. The Chukai Insider does not rate book blogs on the basis of its literary quality but more of 'mass interests to certain books'. That means the books are what he thinks he will like.
The Chukai Insider does not think that a book blog filled with reviews of books which are not popular are good for his reading time. Everyone needs the time to have quality books and for The Chukai Insider, a Malaysian kind of perspective is an added bonus. Hence, this blog is the best of its kind. Anyone can have a different opinion about this but he does not care. It does no harm to him to like this book blog.
The Best Book Blog 2011- Hidayah's Book Club- A Passion Shared.
What this blogger features in her blog is simplicity. She is able to capture The Chukai Insider's attention with her wide range of books which are not just interesting but easily available in bookstores in Malaysia. Her passion towards books does show through this blog. Overall, the blog looks very 'honest' and not 'faked' or 'plastics'.
The reviews are also short with ratings and you feel like she is your friend telling you which books to read with as much honest opinions as possible. The important thing about any book blog is the substance not the physical outlooks. This blog is surely the best of its kind. Congratulations!-The Chukai Insider
*The Chukai Insider likes to do this kind of 'poyo' magazine,newspapers-like thing when he has so much time now. He does not think writing is his passion and grammar is not in his radar but he really welcomes 'grammar police actions' since he is just too lazy to rectify grammar mistakes and constructive criticisms. Before doing your 'constructive' criticisms, read this.
Sometimes, it is hard to find words to describe what thoughts that were cluttered in your minds. To write what is in your mind is a tough job.
It is the purpose of this blog to make self reflections and to let others to understand the writer's thinking process because he could not get enough of 'telling people' the way he wanted to.
This blog is not a space for others in the first place, it is a space for the blogger to make himself think and realised the purpose of his thinking. And in the process, he can find answers to many questions that boggled up his minds.
When he saw 'Berbeza Pendapat Tidak Sinonim Dengan Bermusuh' on Facebook news feed, then he was so happy to see something that he tried to say for such a long time. Alhamdulillah! He had so many conversations with friends telling them 'It's okay if we believe in different things but we know all of us are good', 'we know we want a better Malaysia' etc. but the article made by Saiful Islam is the most accurate and most aligned with what he have thought for such a long time.
Although Saiful Islam's article discussed how he had difficulties with regards to the Seksualiti Merdeka issue, it is almost the same thing happening to us with friends on a daily basis on wide array of issues.
A friend of mine once even said 'Tak payah la nak discuss bende-bende ni, nanti gaduh' when I asked opinions of a friend of mine about hudud. And hence, the conversation stopped while my heart was furious with anger. How then should we know what each of us understand and move forward? How does Islam is going forward when discussions are to be stopped at any level? I should not be angry too.
However, in the process we must remember not to hurt others. I say this first to myself then others.
“… bahawa hendaklah kamu menegakkan agama dan jangan pula kamu berpecah belah dalam urusan tersebut…” [Al-Syoora 42: 13]
If we have agreed on that, the discussion will be so much easier because all the parties concerned already know that it is okay to have different opinions but that will never make them enemies.
Kita boleh berbeza pendapat.
Tetapi kita tidak boleh berbeza akhlaq.
Apakah beza antara perbezaan pendapat dengan perbezaan akhlaq?
Sebagaimana fakta juga ada garis panduannya, demikian juga akhlaq.
Akhlaq tidak relatif dan terbuka tanpa panduan.
Membawa akhlaq yang bertentangan tidak sama dengan membawa pendapat yang bertentangan.
Kecelaan akhlaq mesti ditegur. Mesti diperbetulkan. Untuk menyatakan pendapat yang berbeza, kita tidak perlu menjadi kurang ajar, menggunakan perkataan yang kasar, apatah lagi mempersoalkan isi hati orang lain ketika mana kita bukan Tuhan yang boleh menyingkap apa yang ada di sebalik tulisan dan percakapan seseorang. Kita sewajarnya hanya menghukum pada apa yang zahir, kemudian bertaqwa kepada Allah untuk menguruskan apa-apa yang tersembunyi. Source [SaifulIslam]
Sekali lagi ingin saya tekankan, berbeza pendapat tidak sinonim dengan bermusuh!-The Chukai Insider
"wahai orang-orang yang beriman, kenapakah kamu mengatakan sesuatu
yang tidak kamu kerjakan?! AMAT BESAR KEBENCIAN di sisi Allah jika kamu mengatakan apa-apa yang tidak kamu kerjakan"
[Surah As-saff, 61:2-3]
Upon seeing these words of Allah SWT posted by my friends in a blog with a title of 'Warning' (which made me to take it more seriously) and on Facebook's feed, I stopped doing anything for quite sometimes. The world stopped. The universe was brought to a halt. It brought me to think of it as a big message of how responsible you are for what you said, preached or talked about.
We do this is in our daily lives. I posted about Be Islamic, be critical before and upon reading how a friend of my friend passed away, the message was deeply embedded in my mind. The phrase 'amat besar kebencian di sisi Allah jika kamu mengatakan apa-apa yang tidak kamu kerjakan' should go to our minds on a daily basis.
Yes, I did talk many things about Islam, morality, how should we behave etc. and sometimes I do not feel they resonate in my heart. Let's change ourselves and others. It is 'ourselves' that comes before 'others' and the 'and' is there means we should do them (changing ourselves and others) together.
We have always talked about how morality and justice should be placed in our life. There are always the Islamic guidance that we follow, but sometimes we do make mistakes of not following Allah's words. Not going to classes, I would say is one of the thing that my friends and I should be regretted of doing. When do it regularly, it became a normal thing. And for me, why did I choose class to go to? Was it my choice to decide which lecturers are boring or not?
And yet, sometimes I 'lectured' others for not going to classes which I considered important. In what way other classes were not important?
In times like this, the need of friends are vitally important. What will happen if there was no one reminding us about this? It is always a friend who are always honest to us to make us a better person. And that is why, choosing good friends are of equally important.-The Chukai Insider
It is too late to write about this. But it is never too late to convey the positive message brought by a campaign through Youtube recently. I could not grasp the fuss with the Government for banning the video. Is it because the sometimes-stupid Namawee was in the project? Well, I could accept that and many of us cannot because to some, he said the 'real thing' although what the 'real thing' hit them right them (the supporters) in the nose.
However, banning the video on mainstream media would be a much stupid political act, I would say. We are not even trying to go down the streets to protest (in which I don't support either), but this is a simple act of calling others to do the 'Must-do-thing' for the nation. We should give credits to those who have worked hard to make the campaign.
The video tries to convey the message to encourage as many voters to do their right as a citizen of this country. And yet, the Government banned the video. I know this campaign came at the right time since my close friends are all not registered although qualified to become one. Hence, to put it simple why does the Government 'curbed' this movement of doing the right thing to Malaysia. Not everyone can become Nicol David to become the world's No.1 player but still they want to contribute to the nation. One of the ways is to encourage others to Vote. How was that wrong still baffled my mind.
Do not say that the Government already has campaign on their mind since what they are doing with the 'Mari Mengundi' ads made by Jabatan Perfileman Negara was one of the campaign programs that made some of us say 'euww'. The ads should go to the list of the worst ads ever. I do not know how to make the Jabatan or any Government's Jabatans to change with today's 'changes' except with that kind of harsh criticisms as previous constructive criticisms were like going down the drains.
One thing that we are sure of is that even Ku Li was present in the video and that was significance in encouraging Malaysians to cast their vote especially the young ones. Do not say that what am I saying is illegal as I am still a student. How about the rights of me as a Voter? Don't you think that it is a kind of contradicting when they want us to register as voters at the age of 21 but asked us to stay away from politics. You shut up, just register! Woo..
Instead, the Undilah.com website is actually a good ground for the short-message Twitter generation. Here are some of the contents (in which the video was banned!):
Who shall I vote for?
In a democracy, you are entitled to your personal political preference. We don't care who you vote for as long as you do vote.
What do I need to do to vote?
You need to be a Malaysian citizen over the age of 21. You also need to be a registered voter.
How do I register myself as a voter?
There are many voluntary organizations, NGOs and political parties who regularly promote voter registration in public places and events. You may register through them. You may also register at any post office. Just bring you identity card and ask at the counter. It is very easy and takes about 10 minutes.
When should I register?
You may register at anytime. However, if you intend to vote in the coming general election, please register yourself as soon as possible. The Election Commission imposes a voter registration cut-off period counting back 3 months from the date of the election. In other words, you are only eligible to vote if you had registered at least 3 months before the date of the general election.
My friends, you know you have responsibilities to your nation. I have registered myself as a Voter. How about you? It is hypocritical to talk politics when you are not registered as a voter when you are legally qualified to become one. Undilah!-The Chukai Insider
It is a thing to me and maybe you have done it too- to compare your current reading with the previous ones. After those two books which still I am reading, they feel 'lighter' in the literary sense. Cewah, bajet literarist! I made up that word!
When I went to read The God of Small Things just by scanning through, it was 'worth the Booker Prize'. The words were beautiful and smart. But I still think if you want to start a reading habit, don't start with the novel. Maybe you can try the lighter Dan Brown's and Harry Potter's.
The God of Small Things was 'heavy' and not The Lord of the Ring's 'heavy'. It was written almost with the same literary 'heaviness' as Life of Pi but of course in a different way. And to compare it to Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, this novel is of course lighter and less fun. It was just after reading the last page, you probably might wonder- was that it? The intricate story told in 'hard' way but 'that's it'? Do you get me? If you don't, read the book.
With regards to the 'scenes' in the novel which me, sometimes a liberal in Terengganu, but always a conservative from KL-ite's view, think these are what good novels are made of. What good novels in common have for me is the ability to make me think and able to introduce me to something new. They are able to make you feel the message behind the storylines. The God of Small Things does that, and maybe my yawning would have destroyed the essence of the message to be portrayed in the novel. Go read the book!-The Chukai Insider
From experience, I can say that this book is quite polar. People either love it or hate it. I love it.
I think it's very beautifully written, the prose is divine. I can honestly say I have never read a better written book before. Of course, in terms of substance, it is again quite polar.
There are some rather disgusting scenes in the book which understandably, not many people can tolerate, as evident from the negative reviews. Maybe I can accept them better because I'm in medschool because for me, Arundhati Roy described some of the worst and yet normal of real life events in a very tasteful manner. For example, I just saw my very first autopsy in Poland today and when they cut open the large intestine, well, you should know what's inside if you passed high school biology, most of us managed to keep a straight face. So yes, perhaps my threshold for those things is somewhat higher than most. Still, Arundhati Roy would have triumphed in describing what I saw just now in a delicate elegant prose worthy of the Booker Prize. So I salute her for that, and I totally understand why she felt the need to put scenes, no matter how disgusting, into the story. It simply adds to the reality of her characters and her story and well, let's face it, India.
For me, the essence of the story is innocence and how a child is robbed away from it. The book shifts from past to present so fast and so randomly that it does take some time to get your bearings, and some might say it becomes boring and he forgets he's reading the book after a while, but I don't think this makes the book any harder to deal with.
I love how childhood is portrayed in the book. I love the prose.
Set in Kerala, a place where I went to visit my long-rooted family, Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things had somehow managed to make me read it till the end. The book is full with very distinct ways of descriptions but for me, it failed to describe the enormous amounts of coconut trees in the communist state of India. It was like a sea of pokok nyiur when I went there but the writer made no effort to mention about the trees.
Yes, if you are breeding yourself to become book-lover, please do not read this book. You will hate reading for the rest of your life. You will hate English and Kerala and words.
The book is very boring until at some point I forgot that I was reading the book and it was still in my hands. I was lost, but fortunately the story was not so complicated to catch on.
The book won The Booker Prize, but it never won my heart. The novel is about a family in India full of traditions and of course 'tempered with who to be loved'. The caste difference which played a very significant part of India's bygone era was portrayed in the novel- through love and making out of course.
The plot is like 'violating the plot' if I am to discuss it here as what the review suggested. The plot is so detailed and fabricated in a way that you have to finish the book till the end to understand it. Yes!
There are two English-speaking Kerala Indian twins, with their mother Ammu, their grandmother Mammachi and their great-grandmother Baby Kochamma! Not to forget, the Anglophile uncle of theirs, Chacko. And his wife and daughter, the English Margaret Kochamma and English-Indian Sophie Mol respectively.
The English wife and her daughter Sophie Mol came to Kerala via 'London-Mumbai-Cochin' flight and somehow somewhere her daughter was killed in a tragic accident. The twins were with her.
Their mother, Ammu made a forbidden love of different caste (between Touchable and Untouchable) that led to all sorts of tragedy in the family. If you are reading this, it will spoil your reading experience with the book. But I doubt you will read it because The Chukai Insider DOES NOT RECOMMEND YOU TO READ THIS BOOK! The Chukai Insider took five painful days to finish it! -The Chukai Insider
