an evening tea with AFIQAH...

|

She turns 10 today. Ushering her mood to the joyous point, we’d ‘thrown a small gathering at her Aunties’ cafĂ© & bakery – d TwinzBites, Permyjaya, Miri. It was not really a birthday party (because we do not celebrate birthday) but rather an evening tea with Afiqah.
With few of her good friends, cousins and even nephews:: Muslim: Cindra: Izyan: Fauziah: Faliq: CT: Ojan: Farah: M Fahmi happily cheered her day. Happy birthday Afiqah.
Her greatest Aunt and Uncle who sponsored us Chicken, Beef and Lamb Sate that have made our evening tea more elaborated. The ‘lemang’ – glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk inside a bamboo stick was nice. The birthday cake (above photo) was none other produced by the TwinzBites
May Allah swt bless you with His Grace and Mercy. He is the most Gracious, Compasionate and Merciful.

It's a shame:: Malaysian DPM appalled by poor roads in Sarawak

|

Above is the headline that I've scanned from one the popular Malaysian newspapers - the Star Sarawak headline dated January 27, 2011. The Deputy Prime Minister was embarrassed with what he saw - the poor road conditions when he visited Limbang. Hello Mr DPM, it is not only Limbang, but in general, the roads condition in Sarawak except Kuching are in dire state - bumpy, full of potholes and unsafe. Nevertheless, thank you very much for activating the alarm. Well, what is most important to me, the relevant parties should be brave and sensible enough reciprocating the DPM's remarks.

TwinzBites::some of their latest products

|

The 'dodol' - nek bol's recipe. You will normally find this delicacy during the month of ramadhan and 'Hari Raya' or the Eid. Well...,not anymore! TwinzBites had broken the tradition by producing the 'dodol' for our daily consumption.

thoughts 2 PONDER

|

Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world. If you compare, you are insulting yourself.
No one will manufacture a lock without a key. Similarly God won’t give problems without solutions.
Every successful person has a painful story. Every painful story has a successful ending. Hence, accept the pain and get ready for success
Easy is to judge the mistake of others. Difficult is to recognize our own mistakes.
It is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to cover the earth with carpet.
No one can go back and change a bad beginning; But anyone can start now and create a successful ending.
If you miss an opportunity don’t fill the eyes with tears. It will hide another better opportunity in front of you.
Mistakes are painful when they happen. But year’s later collection of mistakes is called experience, which leads to success.
Be bold when you lose and be calm when you win. Heated gold becomes ornament. Beaten copper becomes wires. Depleted stone becomes statue. So the more pain you get in life you become more valuable.

my old craze::GT XCR 4000

|

I bought it in 1999 at one of the bicycle shops at Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI), Kuala Lumpur. Cost?....relatively cheap - more than RM 4000. It has climbed more than 100 hills and went through almost 500 kilometers on and off road. It's service was suspended when I was on overseas stint. Now, I need it service to explore what Bintulu could offer us so as to drained out my alarming cholesterol level in my blood stream.

almost 21 years old

|

This thing has been with me since 1990 – and that was 21 years back. My friends (one of them is still working at MLNG and the other is very successful with his business) were laughing at me when I bought it (the largest on the shelves – about 10 liters in volume) at one of the electrical appliances in Bintulu. I could not recall at what price I’ve bought it, but definitely expensive then! I’ve told my two friends, it is for long term purpose and I was very optimistic that it will survive until the end of time…………..

another BLOW?!....it is a true fact anyway.

|

Taking the cue from my earlier release on Malaysia Education System; on the 5th of January 2011, in the Star – Sarawak edition, it was another blow to our Ministry of Education when the issues on the History subject and shortage of trained teachers were highlighted as the Headline of the paper and eventually became the ‘sound bites’ in the State of Sarawak. The Headline was – “Lest we forget – State rep: History must include contributions by Sarawak”. Below is the excerpt of the news:
Quote “The Government should not make History a compulsory Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) subject until the syllabus has been revised to include the contributions made by Sarawak and Sabah. Padungan assemblyman Dominique Ng said the current syllabus mainly on peninsular Malaysia and excluded the history of Sarawak and Sabah and international history.
Ng said Sarawak had a long and rich history stretching from the prehistoric age through the Srivijaya and Majapahit empires, the Brunei Sultanate, to the sovereign state of Sarawak of 100 years” unquote.
Indeed, there is some logical sense about the matter, I which I give full support and definitely agree with his points. There are many other significant things, such as the story of the Grand Old Lady (which I’ve released in December 2010), the story of oil and gas industry – its contribution to the nation building, etc. that are not properly shared with all the Malaysians and others. Who to be blamed? Or rather; Who is the responsible party to seriously look into the matter?

Chapter 3.2::there is always a FIRST time in life...

|

The Chapter 3.2 of their life – the first day in School. After more than two months Nana and I running high and low with the State and Divisions Education Offices, even with few schools in Miri and Bintulu, Alhamdullillah!.., What a relief!!....finally Muhammad Asri, Muhammad Aiman and Afiqah went to school on 5th January and 4th January 2011 respectively. We managed to secure the reputable (that was what we heard from friends) SK Kidurong I for Muhammad Aiman and Afiqah, which is merely 4 minutes drive from our house. And, for Muhammad Asri, it was rather late though, we received the approval letter from the State Education Office via the Bintulu Education office on the 4th January 2011afternoon. A day later, he made his way to the school – SMK Kidurong on with the help of Nana’s good friend – Maimon.
Malaysia Education System – what a fuss?!! Hello there…Mr Education Minister, I think there is a need to look holistically into our bureaucratic education processes and our education philosophy. Well, I have a lot of things to say regarding the matter but decided not to vocally share it here. Nevertheless, the lessons that we had learnt:
-True good friends are important part of us. Hence, building up rapport & networking is essential.
-We must know and understand how any processes work.
-Finally, be patient and consistently ask Allah swt’s helps.

a Tribute to my late LOVELY mom

|

I received this story from my colleague in Finance department of this Second largest LNG Plant Complex in Bintulu this morning. I was really touched and in fact tears showered my humble eyes, hence motivated me to share it in my blog as part of story of my life. It reminds me about my lovely mom who passed away in December 1976, when I was eleven (11) years old. After my late father passed away sometimes in 1974, she has to shoulder the burden and take the bread-winner’s responsibilities to ensure among others, we were well educated. Alhamdullillah, praises only to Allah swt....Thank you Mom, I missed you so much. How I which you are still around to see what we are now? May you always under Allah’s Blessings, Grace and Mercy.
To my kids, nieces, nephews, and all the children of the world, please be reminded that, the real success of our life is purely base on your academic achievement but rather your attitude and aptitude towards ‘why we exist’ in this world. To top it all, it is fundamentally based on how we obey Allah and His Rasuls’ rules; how we respect our father and appreciate the kindness of mothers’ sacrifice.
To my lovely wife Nana; zillions of thanks for your support and hard work in managing and ensuring the kids got whatever they are supposed to get. I know it is not easy to become my wife though, but InsyaAllah, one day you will be paid with a good harvest by Allah Rabbul Jalil.

To cut that intro short, here the story goes:
One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first interview; the director did the last interview, made the last decision. The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.
The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?"
The youth answered "none".
The director asked, "Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"
The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.
The director asked, "Where did your mother work?"
The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner.
The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect. The director asked, "Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?"
The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.
The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.
The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high.
When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid. The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly.
His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.
This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.
After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.
That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.
Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.
The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"
The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes"
The Director asked, "Please tell me your feelings."
The youth said,
1] I know now what appreciation is. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today
2] by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.
3] I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, "This is what I am looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired."
Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.
A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?
You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way.
You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person.
The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

Ta'lim : Part XXV

|

It has been reported by Nu’maan bin Basheer Radhiyallahu anhu (ra) that the Holy Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him) said: “There are people who do not transgress the limits (laws) of Allah swt, and there are others who do so. They are like two groups who boarded a ship; one of them settled at upper deck, and the other, on the lower deck of the ship. So, when the people of the lower deck needed water, they said: “why should we cause trouble to the people of the upper deck when we can easily have plenty of water by making a hole in our deck.’ Now if the people of the upper deck do not prevent this group from such foolishness, all of them will perish – but if they stop them then they all will be saved.”


Once the Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him) asked him; “O Messenger of Allah! Can we people be destroyed even when there are certain pious God-fearing persons among us?” He answered; “Yes, when evil deeds predominate in a society.”
Nowadays the Muslims are generally anxious about the decline and fall of this Ummah, and they suggest certain plans to stop this decline, but they never consider as to what is the main cause of our decline. They fail to identify the true reason of our spiritual and moral decline, particularly when the proper remedy has been told by Allah swt and the Holy Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him).