Susahnya politik Malaysia

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The End of Year Book List

No, this is not like the Time's Magazine All-TIME 100 Novels or Oprah Book Club Selections. It is not like New York Times Book of the Year either. This is just for fun.

The difference between The Chukai Insider's list is that the bloggers in this blog have to fork their own money to make such lists and the magazines or newspaper mentioned did not need that. Hence, the concept of listing books that left good impression is a big no to the two frequent book bloggers of The Chukai Insider. Instead of reviewing 100 books that should make the list of Book of the Year, The Chukai Insider prefers to list 100 books that are on our wish lists. I am not sure if the other The Chukai Insider's book blogger wants to add books to these lists. A thing to remember is that the books listed here are not necessarily published in the year of 2011.

Who doesn't like making lists? These two lists are just random wants and tonnes of money are needed to get all of them. Some of the books are a little bit ambitious to read. Whatever. But I do recommend you to buy the highlighted ones. 

End of 2011 Book Wishlist

Fiction

1. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
2. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
3. IQ84 by Haruki Murakami
4. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
5. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger
6. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
7. Night by Elie Wiesel
8.  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
9. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
10. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
11. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
12. After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
13. Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
14. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
15. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
16. I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
17. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
18. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
19. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
20. 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Non-fiction

1. The Social Animal by David Brooks
2. Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going by Lee Kuan Yew
3. My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore's Bilingual Journey by Lee Kuan Yew
4. From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman
5. From Beirut to Jerusalem by Swee Chai Ang
6. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
7. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
8. The Last Lion: Winstor Spencer Churchill by William Manchester
9. The Clash of Civilisations by Samuel Huntington
10. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
11. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
12. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
13. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
14. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
15. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
16. Boomerang by Michael Lewis
17. Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur Odyssey to Educate the World's Children by John Wood
18. Building Social Business by Muhammad Yunus
19. How to be A Social Entrepreneur: Make Money and Change the World by Robert Ashton
20. The Downing Street Years by Margaret Thatcher
21. The Path to Power by Margaret Thatcher
22. Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore
23. Jerusalem: One City Three Faiths by  Karen Armstrong
24. Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff
25. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Who does not like making a list, huh? The enjoy that you get is equal to that of window shopping. It's like clicking 'put this on cart' in Amazon and checking out when your realised that it was fun. Life, as a man with no penny but rich in... sees it. Hehe.-The Chukai Insider

'Interlok' withdrawal: A Sign of Malaysians Immaturity

The controversial Interlok has been withdrawn from national school syllabus, The Star Online reported this evening. The novel was deemed controversial as the word used is racially sensitive and derogatory in nature.

A thing to learn from this is that Malaysians are still not prepared to take sensitive discussions about their race to the main stream. Even to learn the nature of the situation in controlled medium like schools and universities are still considered unacceptable. However, I would love to point out the ongoing discussions and sometimes bashing of a race which is constitutionally placed to have 'special rights'. Well, that is a sensitive issue and very fair to say that it has offended many of the people considered to be Malay. More offensive to those who have worked hard and succeeded but seen as disabled who got lucky in this world because he or she is a Malay. But these things are discussed daily in the public life. And it is about constitution while the issue brought up in the Interlok novel is not. Well, biased? Politics.

Malaysians are still not able to discuss the lines that divide them through intellectual discourse. We cannot put the blame totally on the Government. We cannot put the blame partially on the Opposition either. This is about growing up and while some of Malaysians are already able to have intellectual discussions on these sensitive matters, there are majorities who still cannot. Education plays the most significant part. Why not the parent?

Parenting involves older people telling the young the right thing in Malaysia and most certainly not the kind of parenting that invokes and questions difference between right and wrong. It is always the case that what is deemed right to the parents must be deemed right to the children as well. That was how we were brought up. Unfortunately, the Malaysian parents fall under those who are categorised not being able to have intellectual discussions on these racial issues. That is why education in schools should be the medium to discuss about it. 

The Americans learn their literatures that portray the colour divided state of the nation. Novels like Mark Twain's The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn and The Colour Purple portray the coarse nature of the language used. However, Malaysians seem not be able to grasp the concept of discussing issues intellectually so that lessons can be learnt.

This is even more extensive in the politics. Among the politicians, I only see 1% from both the Government and Opposition that are able to confide the people with empirical and logical analysis of what they are talking about. Look at what Dr. CSL said before about Hudud and you will know what I meant. I wonder where did he get the numbers from. The other 99% of the politicians are just paid to shout and brouhaha in parliament or worse, on streets. A warning to aspiring politicians- do not become one when you really think you are not smart. It will bring the country to shame. Look at today's politicians and learn from their stupidity. Buang yang keruh, ambil yang jernih.-The Chukai Insider

Gingrich: Palestinians 'Invented' People

The US Republican presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich calls the Palestinians 'invented' people. -AP Photo

Newt Gingrich, the USA Republican presidential candidate calls the Palestinians as 'invented' people. 'Invented' people in this context means that the Palestinians never existed before. If we translated further the meaning brought by this ambitious man who wants to become the next president of the United States of  America, we can fairly say that he considered Palestinians as non-existent and therefore, should not have a country of their own. It is interesting though, that Newt Gingrich is a historian. It is true what they say that 'History belongs to the victor'.

For some of us, it is already a norm to see those who seek power to become the president of the most powerful nation to say something like that. However, in the context of being the most powerful nation, Dr. Mahathir was absolutely right when he said in BBC's HARDtalk that the Jews rule the world by proxy. Newt was certainly took the opportunity to get votes from the Jews in America. No one can deny what Dr. Mahathir had said before then. It was never about being anti-Semitic but it is about human being able to live in their own place peacefully.

Gingrich was no doubt correct in saying that the idea of a modern Palestinian state did not emerge until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the imposition of the British mandate in 1922. But then, the same could be said for Israel — which was only created by the United Nations in 1948.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70538.html#ixzz1ghVxU14x

Probably we can teach Newt Gingrich a lesson. In the Ottoman Empire, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Israel never existed. In the case of Israel, the whole world know the mass migrations of the Jews to Jerusalem from around the Europe to form a nation of their own. The Israelis should be called the 'invented' people then.

Palestinians probably have a stronger claim to nationhood than any of the above. Most scholars of the ancient Middle East, including many Israeli scholars, agree that the people known as Palestinians have been living the same area since approximately 1200 B.C. — or about when the Israelites entered these lands. That’s more than three millennia of continuous settlement, or, put another way, 2,600 years before the first American colony was established at Jamestown, Va. Romans and subsequent empires referred to them as “Philistines,” people who occupy the land of Philistia.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70538.html#ixzz1ghVdEXLP

When we say that this is a normal thing to do, we should ask ourselves what should we do. If certain quarter of people are saying this and that, will we be able to rebut and opine on such matter? That is why we should always know what we are fighting for.

Well, we should leave the issue to the experts. They like to play with the rhetoric and semantics. For each Muslim, it goes back to ourselves. How much do we know about the Palestinians to fight for them? What have we done to help our Palestinian brothers? Why is that we still cannot direct helps straight to them?

Muslim leaders seem to have no power to fight the Israelis even with their massive oil reserves and massive armies to fight their own people. We really hope the rise of the Islamists in Egypt, Tunisia and other products of Arab Spring nation can bring at least to the end of the sufferings of the Palestinians. I read a book on the Jewish and the Israelis. There is lots of things that we do not know about them. The fact that they are able to control the USA is a testament to their values. They did not do it through back doors but in the public eyes. However, their intelligence, hard works and unity are things that the Muslim world should learn. 

They do not take guns and bomb the shopping malls. They brought up children to study science, mathematics and engineering  and their military skills are envied by the rest of the world. They struggled and learnt lessons from their hardships. The Palestinians struggled too. But do they take education as a serious matter? If they do want to have education, are the Islamic countries helped the Palestinians to get quality education like the Israelis? Money without brains is nothing. Brains without Al-Quran is disastrous.-The Chukai Insider

Hudud: Something I've been waiting for

This video is about Hudud Law. This video should dispel myths about the law. It is an education. A knowledge person should know that opening your minds is the key to understand. I call Marina Mahathir, Zarinah Anwar and many other Muslims who mock the law to watch this and be enlightened. We prefer to use video instead of making a 'festival' or street demonstrations. Tak terasa ouch ke?- The Chukai Insider


More on Hudud here.

The tales on Facebook

It is getting harder and harder to read through Facebook's news feed. No, it is not the layout that bothers me. It is the tales of people's lives being posted that make me sicker day by day.

Alhamdulillah, if they are about love towards Allah SWT or to show compassion towards others. However, when it comes to your love life, no one wants to read about them.This is something universal. Your love life should always be kept private much more in our nation which is at the near end of being conservative. 

Yes, this is a free nation and you are entitled to do anything to do anything that you want. I myself in fact want to get rid of you from my Facebook friend list. I am free to do this and I surely will.

Freedom to speak of your minds comes with responsibilities. When you post about your love life (which I am not sure will bring you to marriage either), responsibilities as a son or a daughter of your parents fall on you. Most parents are on Facebook too nowadays. And it is pretty sure that those who posted 'ish geramnya aku dengan dia ni, ingat dia tu hot sangat ke?..' with annoying emoticons do not have their parents as friends on Facebook. Don't get me started with the open sins that you do when portraying your love towards your boyfriends or girlfriends through your statuses, updates and photos. 

I was known to be a guy who cannot write short forms and I am proud of that. The only short version of any word that stick to my brain is 'x' which stands for 'tak' or 'no'. Thanks to my mother and father, I was never allowed to write short forms because they think it was a waste to send you to 'sekolah tinggi-tinggi' but failed to write properly. I think Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka has my father and mother to be commended for their efforts to prevent their child from ruining the beauty of the languages that they use in everyday's life. So, when I see those who have written posts about their tales about boyfriends ( and yes, these are mostly from girls!) with short forms and spellings that follow The National Gedix Movement Language Code pronounciations ever (ex: sayer, jumper, wase (?)), I feel like having an Avada Kedavra from Voldemort instantly. Ugh, love the language and do not ever destroy the beauty of Bahasa Melayu. It is very common till many of us who cannot write the gedix-lingo prefers to write in English since we only can write in proper Bahasa Melayu. Hence, when I write in Bahasa Melayu, the sense of skema-ness creeps into the language. I really pity Bahasa Melayu being raped on Facebook and not to mention in SMS-es but that is understandable to do. 

Now, I really thank Facebook for the options to 'unsubscribe' posts. I use the application extensively. In fact, I use it on 90% of my friends. And now, there is no more monkey love stories posts from secondary school juniors whom I never make friends with (outside virtual world) and no more posts from friends who are in constant mood to release their anger through Facebook. 

Using Facebook is about choices too. 

Now, there are no more things that qualify to be in the vomitable-posts lists. And no more angry posts from people that I barely recognised. 

I was talking about choices. I choose to have Al-Quran translations, Hadiths, advices, notes on life, life lessons, quotes from notable persons, news and opinions on Facebook. CNN News, Al-Jazeera, Huffington Post, The Star and columnists have all replaced friends which are really not friends outside Facebook. 

Friends are there to remind you when you do wrong things and keeps you focused to your religion. I do not think 'poking' your former Head Boy qualifies you to be a friend of his. Ugh.-The Chukai Insider

I do not like my friends look stupid

*I do not like my close friends look stupid. If you are my friends and you are studying science, please read this so that you would not be blinded by facts given by politicians and of course, look stupid. Yes, it' about politics. And remember, people have different views and I respect that. I expect the same thing from you.

When it comes to Education issues, there is a group that says it should be left to the Professionals. However, when it comes to a Science (specifically a rare-earth materials issue), they are the experts in it. The Internartional Atomic and Energy Council is a no-professional to them. It is an 'old' issue but sometimes it's good to learn how stupid (or power-obsessed) a group of people are. 

This is a thing that I sometimes thinking why people still cannot see. Leave the Education to the professionals, they said. When the United Nations' International Atomic and Energy Agency (which of course made reports on Iran's nuclear programmes) published their findings, they disputed them. Wow. Leaving it to the professional, huh?

That is why I am inclined to the other side. And no, I am not the agent of the company. I was not paid to do this. Why did I say so? Because for most times, they always say that the people who are not in their sides are paid to fight against them. 

I am in no way in support one side or the other. But the scientist inside me is telling me that what is true based on experiments, theories and not just mere inferences is really true. It is not like evolutionists trying to convinve that we are from apes. They provided empirical evidences. And most importanly, the findings are verified by the international governing body. This is what each Malaysian should be taught in schools: to see things from at least two different views and analyse the situations. It is okay not to make decisions but most importantly to know which things are wrong or right. Again, the question of being right or wrong is subjective. What appears black to you may appear white to me. 

It is an issue that has been a hot one in Kuantan which is 45-minutes drive from my hometown. I did not care before because when I saw politicians began talking about science and atomic energy, I knew they don't really understand what they are saying. The politician was somehow good in her speech, but again the scientist inside me did not accept the rhetorical of hers. If Dr. Mahathir said so, I would believe in him. With backgrounds in Science and Medicine, I would believe in him much more than her. I think if you are a rational person, you would do the same thing. 

In this case, it is to choose between  a politician's facts and a science body's facts. Well, if you believe that science does not provide a more definite answer compared to a political fight, then go on to choose the side of the politician. Do not say you are boarding a plane though. Why did I say so? Well, according to facts provided by science, the radioactive emissions in flights exist while to the people of Kuantan, the radiation is zero. Well, go on listening to the politician. No, I do not think you are stupid. You're just like to pay few hundreds to get radiations on aeroplanes! That is not stupid.

I particularly like this letter published in New  Straits Times-LYNAS: I could keep thorium safely at home. The letter came from a doctor who resides in Kuantan. Even if he is not as famous as Dr. Mahathir, his credentials in Science is much better than the female politician. No? How else should I convince you? 

In his letter, the doctor said these:

• Thorium-232 is the only radioactive element associated with rare earth mining and it  is  regarded as the future green nuclear fuel.
•  It is present in rocks everywhere and even in its purest form, it radiates only alpha particles. (I don't know what to say if you are still studying geology and still studying rocks and yet at the same time opposing the project.)
• Alpha particles, which consist of two protons and two neutrons, are nothing more than helium atoms without their electrons.
• These alpha particles cannot travel  more than a few centimetres  and cannot penetrate the human skin.
   As such, you can hold a lump of pure thorium-232 in your rubber-gloved hands without any danger
  
• To be  frank, I would not mind keeping a few hundred kilogrammes of pure thorium-232 in my house if someone were kind enough to give me such a valuable substance.
• What we  need to worry about is the chemical toxic waste that such plants produce.
  
  
  But,  unfortunately, all industrial plants produce toxic waste and the only way to avoid producing these waste will be for us to remain  a poor agricultural country.
  
  
  My friends, do not just accept facts without checking properly about them. It is more important to check about them if they come from politicians.- The Chukai Insider
  
  
  
  
  

  Read more: LYNAS: I could keep thorium safely at home - Letters to the Editor - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/lynas-i-could-keep-thorium-safely-at-home-1.16994#ixzz1gTfrLuIH

Lynas MalaysiaThe Facts

Who is God?

This article was originally published here. The author said it is okay to share the article  and personally, I think it is one of the author's best works.-The Chukai Insider

One of the hardest things about faith is often mistaken as being the simplest aspect.

Belief in the Oneness, Greatness and Uniqueness of God, and His right to be worshipped unconditionally and undividedly. Otherwise known as tawheed. 

As a person who was born into a Muslim family I was able to grasp this seemingly simple concept quite naturally, alhamdulillah. To a certain degree there are advantages to this but when something is handed to you on a silver platter you tend to take it for granted. I don’t know what it’s like to not believe in God but I do know what it’s like not to know who He is. I know what it’s like not to understand His importance in our lives.

I have asked myself, “The human mind sees what it wants to see. Does God really exist or do I believe in Him because that’s what I want to believe?” 

The 21st century is a time when agnosticism and atheism are becoming increasingly rampant. Some people say religion is no longer relevant in our lives because they don't address the issues that the human civilisation is facing in this era. Some say religion is the cause of problems and bloodshed in this world. I think once you look past what some of the followers of these religions do you'll realise that all religions encourage mankind to do good deeds in this world. What differs from one religion to another is the concept of God.

Imam Ahmad recorded from Ubay bin Ka'b that the idolaters said to the Prophet, "O Muhammad! Tell us the lineage of your Lord." In response, Allah swt revealed Surah Al-Ikhlas:

"Say: He is Allah, One. Allah, the Eternal, Absolute. He begets not nor was he begotten. And there is none comparable to Him." 

{Tafseer of Surah Al-Ikhlas}

Atheists claim that God doesn’t exist (Na’uzubillah min zalik - May Allah swt protect us from this harm) and that human beings invented the idea of God in their minds to comfort themselves and help them deal with bad experiences. At the same time, they can’t explain the creation of the Universe except in theoretical terms. Logically, it makes no sense to say that a Higher Power didn't create the Universe. It makes no sense that intelligent beings exist on Earth without a true purpose. A lot of people drive themselves crazy trying to figure these things out but the truth is simple.

God has taught us through Islam that He is Al-Hayy (The Eternally Living One), Al-Malik (The One with Complete Dominion), Al-Quddus (The Most Sacred), Al-Qahhar (The All-Prevailing One). He is also Al-Wakeel (The Trustee of all His creations) and unlike any of His creations, He doesn't have a beginning nor an end - Al-Qayyum. So not only is he the God of the 21st Century, he is the God of all Time - the past, present and future. 

I know it’s not easy to love and have faith in something that has no physical representation in this world. When we love a person it is usually for a myriad of reasons. For example, you may love them for their cheerful personality or for their unconditional love. You may love someone simply because they make you feel happy. Your love for these people is a result of an awareness of their physical presence and how they are a source of positivity in your life. Now, try to think of Allah swt as the source of all the blessings in your life. A loving family, a special talent, supportive friends, a kind and patient spouse. We have been blessed because He is Ar-Razzaq (The Provider), Ar-Rauf (The Compassionate), Al-Wadud (The Most Loving) and Al-Wahhab (The Generous). Often times we focus on what we don't have and that's how ingratitude creeps into our hearts. But if we focus too much on what we do have, we become arrogant towards Him and the people around us. The key to avoiding arrogance is to acknowledge God's presence in your life and that He is the Creator, Sustainer, Cherisher and Protector of the Universe and all the worlds (Rab-ul alameen).

The question is: How does one know God? I believe there are many ways to know our Creator but this is how I've personally felt Allah swt in my life.

Step #1. Have an open heart by being humble and sincere. It's no coincidence that purifying one's heart and intentions is a major part of Islam. Allah swt constantly reminds us in the Qur'an that He knows our deepest thoughts and intentions.

"And conceal your word or manifest it; surely He is Cognizant of what is in the hearts. Should He not know,  (as the one) Who created? And He is the Knower of the subtleties, the Aware." 

{Surah Al-Mulk : Ayah 13-14}

"He knows what is in the heavens and the earth, and He knows what you hide and what you manifest; and Allah is Cognizant of what is in the hearts." 

 {Surah At-Taghabun : Ayah 4}

There's nothing wrong with saying, “I have questions… I have doubts…," but you also need to say, "I need and want to find the answers to my questions.”  If you want to understand Him, reflect on His attributes. Yes God is One but He has 99 attributes and the fact that He has revealed them to us is a blessing. To be Muslim is to seek knowledge and put knowledge into practice. It doesn’t stop at praying five times a day. It doesn’t stop at saying the shahadah. It’s the journey of a lifetime and during this journey you will have to think for yourself but He will guide you along the way, inshaAllah. 

Step # 2. Study and reflect on the Qur’an. Make time for this. This is your investment for the Akhirah. Don’t just read it without trying to understand the message of the ayah or surah. I couldn’t relate to the Qur’an when I was younger because I had a teacher who taught me how to recite it but he didn’t teach me how to contemplate on it. Often times I would read the Qur’an by myself and its content wouldn’t resonate with me. This is why Qur’an tafseer lessons exist – to make the Qur’an applicable in our lives. If you have never attended a tafseer class, you owe it to yourself to go at least once and see what it does to your understanding of the Qur’an. Otherwise, there are tafseer articles online and videos on YouTube and HalalTube by knowledgeable scholars of Islam. Personal suggestion: Start with the tafseer of Surah Al-Fatihah (article / audio)

The Prophet (may the blessings and peace of Allah be up on him) said: “Allah (mighty and sublime be He), had said: ‘I have divided prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. When the servant says: ‘Al-hamdu lillahi rabbi l-alamin’ (3), Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: ‘My servant has praised Me.’ And when he says: ‘Ar-rahmani r-rahim’ (4), Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says: ‘My servant has extolled Me,’ and when he says: ‘Maliki yawmi d-din’ (5), Allah says: ‘My servant has glorified Me’ - and on one occasion He said: ‘My servant has submitted to My power.’ And when he says: ‘Iyyaka na budu wa iyyaka nasta in’ (6), He says: ‘This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.’ And when he says: ‘Ihdina s-sirata l- mustaqim, siratal ladhina an amta alayhim ghayril-maghdubi alayhim wa la d-dallin’ (7), He says: ‘This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for.’” 

{Hadith Qudsi, Source: Sacred Hadith.com}

Step # 3. Deepen your knowledge of the concept of tawheed. Did you know the word 'tawheed' stems from the word 'wahad' which means One? Did you know that there are three categories of tawheed: Tawheed al-Ruboobiyah, Tawheed al-Ulooliyah and Tawheed Asma was Sifat? Don't be ashamed if you didn't know these things. I only learned about them today and I've been Muslim all my life (or I just don't recall learning about them in school).

Step # 4. Surround yourself with people who remind you of Him.  It is becoming increasingly challenging to be a Muslim these days. Our faith is constantly tested by our family, friends, classmates and colleagues. The society and culture we live in, basically. No matter how you see yourself - not-so-practicing Muslim, regular Muslim, etc. - if you want to know Allah you have to make sure that you make the conscious decision to be around Muslims who inspire you to become better human beings, better Muslims. Muslims who inspire the feeling of insaf (righteousness) in your heart.  They don't have to be scholars or Imams. They can be "ordinary" Muslims who strive to practice their deen to the best of their ability. Spend time with the righteous but not the self-righteous. Another personal tip: If you don't usually perform your prayers in congregation, break out of this routine one day and visit your local mosque or mussolah so you can can do so. Not only will Allah swt raise your darajah (rank) but He will also elevate your spirits, inshaAllah. A very beautiful feeling of unity, solidarity and serenity will arise in your heart because of the act of praying in congregation. This is the beauty of worshipping Al- Jami' (The Gatherer) with your fellow Muslims. 

Step # 5. Think positively of Allah swt and assume the best of Him.  Syed Qutb (may Allah have Mercy upon him) said: “The believing heart assumes the best of its Lord, and always expects the best from Him. It expects good from Him in times of ease and times of hardship, and it believes that Allah wants good for him in either situation. The secret of this is that his heart is connected to Allah, and the flow of good from Allah is never cut off. So, whenever the heart is connected to Him, it touches upon this fundamental reality and experiences it in a direct and sweet way.” [Fi Dhilal al-Qur’an] {Source: Hadithaday.org}

Now that I've shared about how I've struggled to acknowledge Allah swt in my life, I'm really interested to know how other people have come to know and understand their Creator. How have you experienced God's Presence in your life? What have you done to open up your heart to Him? Feel free to share your questions and thoughts.

SONY tu brand je

In my small circle of friends in Chukai, they might know what I meant by the phrase 'Sony tu brand je'. It has been something funny to us for about 4 years. Even in the small circle of friends, only 3 of them knew about the stories behind the phrase. I am not sure about some other friends but I am sure Apek, Amin and Ainul knew the story very well. It involved Pizza Hut and a gadget. Today, one of them wrote to me about it and reminded me how the phrase still is one of our best 'things' to remember. *Smiles

Although to two of them (who went to the same primary and secondary schools) keep insisting my Gong Pauh friend and me to stop it but they knew very well we could not. If you guys come home next holiday from the USA and Poland, the phrase 'Sony tu brand je' might be the first thing you hear from the two of us- the Mak Chili and Gong Pauh duo.

Since then, I have always smiled when I saw people struggling using any Sony products. No one can show that the phrase 'Sony tu brand je' lived up to its meaning better than my friend in Curtin, Intan. She struggled with her Vaio for quite some times and you would have no idea what words came out of her mouth when it broke down. Not once it happened, but quite a few times. 

You may forget what your friends have given to you on your birthday, but you will never forget the moments you were with them. 'Sony tu brand je' stays in my heart anywhere I go. I believe it does in the three As gang too!-The Chukai Insider

I just like this picture so much that I want to make it have a permanent place in my blog. 

The World, the way my friend sees it

THE WORLD, THE 

WAY CAD SEES IT

This is a photo of my friend Acad looking at a tree when he was feeling so lonely. He thought
it helped him to see the world in a different way by being a friend to a tree.
Photo location: Tudan's undiscovered prairie land.

Let me introduce to you to this guy whose life is filled with quotes (I would say most of them is about love), principles and in a way, philosophical. I met him in the largest warehouse in Malaysia, the low-cost carrier terminal, LCCT in KLIA. We were brought to see each other because of one particular reason. Fate. Our academic journeys were somehow led us to see each other in Miri instead of Arizona or Seattle. Well, lucky for him to see me in Miri instead of him going to Seattle if he intended to get to know me in Arizona. It is safe now to say that no jokes about going overseas can hurt our hearts any more. No?*Smiles.

Well, this friend of mine used to write as a guest blogger in this infamous The Chukai Insider. He used Cad as his pseudonym in his attempt to talk about love which is a rare thing to read about in this blog. Well, he is a little bit a 'word' guy. His English is much better than the Americans who scored 599 on their English section I would say. 

To Acad, I think your blog needs more words. I know pictures paint thousands of words but the uncreative side of me cannot see the words in your pictures. That was a joke if you could not notice. *Canine-toothed smile!

His English is so good that our Palaeontology lecturer recommended him to consider a career in advertising. This post is to let the world know about the existence of this housemate of mine. This is the blog about ways my heavier-than-me friend sees the world. My message to him: seize the present, that's the only way the past can be forgotten.-The Chukai Insider

THE WORLD, THE 

WAY CAD SEES IT

Book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

This is not a book review. And this is not a book review blog. It is a blog telling experience and sometimes large doses of serious things. Faham ke? Oh, I missed saying that to my Curtin friends. 

I bought Orhan Pamuk's Snow when I was on my way to Johor Bharu few weeks ago in KLCC's Kinokuniya. But I was struggling to finish it. I like Orhan Pamuk's stories because he brings the East and West thing and of course, Islamic identities that are portrayed through the characters which are sometimes not Islamic at all.

I know my friend bought The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time to get some sort of discounts so I left Orhan Pamuk's for a while for this book. At that time, I just bought it from BookXcess for just RM17.90. For non-book buyers, you have to know that it is cheap.

Okay, let's get back to the book. In one-word it's 'light'. However, the reviews say that it is both funny and sad. But I did not feel sad or come across something funny in the book. Yes, I do have feelings. 

If you can finish the book in 1 day, do not bother telling me because it is not an achievement to be proud of. Yes, you can finish it in a day provided you have nothing else to do. Reading the book was like a holiday from Al-Jazeera or CNN to me. It was good not to hear the phrase 'Eurozone crisis' for a day. I begin to like 30 Rock though. 

I do not want to tell the plot of the story but I am going to make you feel not surprised when you read the book as I am going to list down some details:

• A dog was murdered in a neighbourhood in the night-time and hence the title. Duhh.
• There was a boy living in the neighbourhood- smart, hate the colour yellow and brown, eccentric, in our Malay language we call him lurus bendul. He could not tell people's feelings and I share one thing in common with him- Both of us hate people touching our bodies!
• There were conflicts. 
• Who killed the dog?
• His father. 
• Where was his mother?
• She divorced her father since she could not stand taking care of her special son. 
• Guess who did she get married to?
• The dog's owner's husband.
• The boy could not trust his father any more since he lied to him about these things:
• He told the son that his mother had a heart attack and die. His son believed him. The son did not attend the funeral. The truth is, his mother was not dead but his father hid the truth because he could not face to tell the son that his mother could not stand taking care of him. 
• He killed the dog. Why? He had a conflict with the owner.
• If it is to be sad it must be about these things:
• The father did not want his son to be sad so he lied to him about his bad mother
• The mother left the special son for a new husband
• The special son could not understand his father's feelings although he was protecting him from anything
• The special son does not trust his father although he was the one that the son should believe in
• The special son loved the dog. And his father killed it.

Beyond the Classroom Walls

It is 3 pm and the monsoon seems not to take its place in Chukai today. It is hot and you need an extra fan. I sent my exam result to my sponsor two days ago and he replied the email yesterday. I do know that the officials check your results and performance etc. but it never occurred to me that they really check the numbers. I mean, each of the mark is looked at. One of them replied and gave me comments which elated me for a while. A little bit poyo eh?

Alhamdulillah, my result was okay and not super-excellent. I scored high on my baby subjects which proved to me again that when you like a subject, you score high in the exam. Although palaeontology and geoscience made my day, I was happier to see my geology result although it was 30 marks lower than palaeontology. 

I would say the mark is 'on the tong' which means the mark is just 10 marks nice above pass. I expected that I would get around 50-plus since my internal marks were extremely bad but I did not! Thank you, Allah! I did so bad in the Structural Geology Practical and I made stupid mistakes in Resource Geology Practical Tests. Do not get me started on the weekly quizzes. To make things worse, I answered Fault Types for a 'Fault Rock Question' in the final exam. I learnt my lesson- read the questions not just carefully but to read them at least 3 times before answering! Alhamdulillah, I scored well although from other people's eyes the mark it is low. I don't care. You do not know what have I gone through.

 اللَّهُمَّ لا سَهْلَ إلَّا مَا جَعَلْتَهُ سَهْلاً وَ إنْتَ تَحْعَلُ الْحزْنَ إذَا شِئْتَ سَهْلاً

Allahumma la sahla illa ma ja'altu sahla, wa 'anta taj-alul hazna idha shi'ta sahla

"O Allah!  There is nothing easy except what You make easy, and You make the difficult easy if it be Your Will"

 My sponsor said that there is room for improvement. Actually, there are thousands of rooms for me to improve! Although he said he was delighted to see a 9 and an 8 on my result, I know I should improve on my sixes. 

The seniors said this over and over again- the second year is the toughest of all. The thoughts of enduring second year which is 'tough' makes you question your ability to endure it. Well, you will never grow up without challenges, isn't it?

I personally failed once in my academic journey. My friends knew that and probably around a year ago, I remembered reading a post titled Zits. A friend of mine wrote it to tell how we cannot control our lives like we want to and she compared it to a game, Zits when I was broke down. I thought it was like Sims but never bothered to check it out. Thank you, Ainul. At that time, I remembered that some of my friends won't even calling me since they were scared that their calls might hurt me. Huh? But, it was your family and very close friends that made you went through the days. However, everything goes back to your relationship with Allah SWT. 

I firmly believe everyone should experience failure, at least once. I know it really makes good things happening to me. You struggled to make yourself stand up again. This is not the end. The journey is still long. 'Excellence is not an act, but a habit' Aristotle once quoted. These little achievements are the little medicines that heal your heart. For anyone else, it is nothing. For me, it is something hard to explain and I thank Allah SWT for that.

You may fail many times in the course of your life but how you get up is the most important. Ya Allah, thank you for the C in Physics A-Level.-The Chukai Insider

To my non-Muslim friends

To my Non-Muslims friends,

The concern and terror among your hearts which has been tremendously raised was unfounded. Unfortunately it’s like fearing something that doesn’t exist. With this, be assure that Hudud is mandatory for Muslims and it is most welcome for all non-Muslims with option of Syariah Court or Civil Court.

We are fairly appreciative regarding your concern about the differences of punishment between non-Muslims and Muslims. For example when convicted of a geng robbery which consist of a Muslim and a non-Muslim, the punishment will varies between a Muslim and a non-Muslim due to civil and syariah sentences.

Whichever punishment is lenient or harsher, the non-Muslim criminal is given a choice to choose either to be sentenced in a civil or syariah court. As Muslims, we are obliged by the law of our belief (Islam) whereby if we are not sentenced in this world as accordance to the Quran, we will be sentenced harsher in the hereafter. I’m pretty sure in any religion that believes there is a hereafter; they would devote themselves to strive for a better life hereafter which is blessed eternity. Hence, deep down in our hearts we really hope that other religion would respect our belief to implement hudud in our Muslim community.

*This is not from The Chukai Insider. I found it [HERE]. We should thank the authors for doing a great job!

Where are the Islamic Studies graduates?

Do you remember a top-gun Chinese politician featured on a sex video before? Well, apparently he said something that hurts the Muslim populations in Malaysia yesterday. This is where freedom of speech and democracy failed. Democracy allows freedom of speech to anyone regardless of his or her moral standard and credibility. Freedom to speak comes with responsibility. While we are supporting Malaysia to become a more matured democracy, it does not mean you have to put negative statements on issues which are close to the hearts of the Muslims. Being responsible not to hurt the other's feeling by condemning their religion's decree is something that we Malaysians really need. However, even a top politician failed to realise the concept of 1Malaysia in which acceptance of other's religion practice.

It is understandable that he does not understand the concept of how most Malaysian Muslims want the Hudud is implemented here. We do not look for models in Arab countries in doing so. There are so many things that you do not know, Mr. I-was-in-a-sex-video! 

However, a thing that baffles my mind is where are the Islamic graduates that Malaysians produce locally and abroad to answer, rebut and then make Malaysians understand the concept. It is agreed to most Malaysian Muslims (in this context, those who do not speak out via columns in newspapers or politicians) that Hudud cannot be implemented yet since there are lots of preconditions to be met. But since this I-was-in-a-sex-video man is offending ordinary Muslims (Hudud is part of Islam, therefore offending Hudud as a decree of Allah SWT is offending Muslims, although we all know you will deny it after this), I wondered where are the Muslims have gone?

Where are the Islamic Studies graduates have gone? 

I am not saying the responsibilities of dakwah fall under the Islamic Studies graduates only, but your focus of studies should enable us the rest who are not formally educated in particular subjects (hudud, nation building etc.) to understand them. I know the responsibilities fall under each of the Muslims, but we also need some education on the issues. This is where your parts are welcomed in the society. Do not make us scared by saying this and that. Make us understand and blend with the communities in the most creative ways possible. Then, there will be Muslims unity.

When Muslims are united, it should be easier for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to progress and not being stopped by non-intellectual politicians who are just so good in manipulating people.

Government sends students to Al-Azhar University, to Jordan and we even have our own international Islamic university! Where are the thousands of scholars who can speak for the ordinary Muslims. We know it is not viable to implement it yet since even our top leader is not being tarbiyah-ed enough to fill the position as a Muslim but pulling out wrong statement and facts about Islamic Law are unacceptable.

This is the time when you should produce articles, letters and discussions so that not just this video star understands about the issue, but to all Malaysians. 

Even our Muslim artists do not understand the concept- that means we cannot implement it yet. Note the 'yet'.
These are the target groups for our own Islamic Studies graduates whom I think must have better scholarly facts
to educate the ordinary Malaysians.

Why not produce simple articles or discussion without using the jargons which are hard to understand so that we all know about it. There is no point for you to put out the Islamic terms without us understanding them.

Be creative, be bold and be close to the people. Millions of ringgit Malaysia have been spent using taxpayer's money. This is the responsibilities that you owe to ordinary Malaysian Muslims.-The Chukai Insider

* I am not a pengkhianat bangsa or whatsoever, but if the Muslim scholars can produce articles, campaigns or discussions both in English and Malay would be much better so that they can reach our target groups.

Islam to a Chinese politician

When the Prime Minister was talking about the moderate values that need to be uphold, probably he did not think the limits to which moderations lie. To put the lines again is hard with the multicultural society of Malaysia.

The majority are Muslims in Malaysia. Whether they are practising Muslims or not is a different question because they share a similar thing- protecting Islam is their primary goal. Things that hold them united are Islam and issues that are related to the religion eg. hudud implementation, status of Islam, apostasy. Even to those who are not fully practising the religion, they defend the religion wholeheartedly. For me, it is better than them go against their own religion like some columnists who are in support of liberal ideas without referring to the Al-Quran or Hadiths as their sources when they proclaim themselves as Muslims. It is a sad situation.

It is even sadder to read this news today when a top Chinese politician said 'Hudud bad for business'. It is okay if you do not understand the law and its implementation but the act of going public to say that it is bad is unacceptable. Having ideas and opinions come with responsibilities. 

1. Investors will flee Malaysia if hudud is made federal law
• Hudud (if implemented) will provide a better environment for business. We do not want investors who come to our countries and feel unsafe and insecure. The hudud principle is to bring justice. In the process, the procedures will make it harder for the wrongdoers to be punished without thorough investigations. There are a lot of misconception given by leaders and Muslims alike which make the hudud implementation will oppress people while in fact justice is done. 
• Maybe the Chinese politician views Saudi Arabia as a model nation where hudud law is implemented. Saudi Arabia is more than that and even if hudud is implemented, Malaysia is never going to get close to that. Saudi Arabia hold strongly to the principles of Wahabism which is another thing this Chinese politician has to know that there are many interpretations of the Al-Quran and Hadiths but Malaysian Muslims are all for progressive development. 
• Disallowing women to drive is never mentioned in the Al-Quran. Women are even allowed to go to war in Islam. Hence to say that Islam is oppressive to woman is just plain stupid. A medical degree did not teach you that, isn't it? But you are living in Malaysia and your words are responsible for what you believe in.  
2. Hudud is not fair to all, particularly women
• Again, it is understandable that you do not understand Islam. Hence, if you do not understand the religion, never try to say things which are wrong about the religion. Furthermore, you are telling it to the public.
• Although you failed to explain how Islam is not fair to women your action has somehow managed to make the practising Muslim women angry. In which part of hudud that women is placed lesser than men? 
• Islam has hudud as part of its component. Hence, when you say hudud is not fair to women, you are saying Islam is not fair to women as well. It is a baffle to rational minds when you said so. I do not have to elaborate further since Muslim women can stand up on their own to criticise you. 
3. To the politician, please read this not for once, but at least for five times so that you can understand and keep your mind open. Let me tell you, openness to ideas is also one of Muslim values which enable the Muslims in Malaysia to progress. You on the other hand, are so closed-minded to understand about our religion. 

Needles to say that your statement offends Muslims. Malaysian Muslims do not have to go far to explain about their religion.- The Chukai Insider