21st

Assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

We are in the last 10 days of Ramadhan.

I am unwell and it's not ideal. Tonight is the 21st night, and possibility is there for Lailatul Qadr.

I hope i'll be given the health to utilise the chances optimally.

I pray for the best of everyone too.

till next time,
assalamualaikum

p/s in the spirit of Merdeka, politics aside, I'd like to wish Happy Independence Day Malaysia. May Allah bless us all

2nd Half

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

There are so many things that I'd really like to share but surely it will take ages for me to write and for you to read.

Therefore I'll write on the most relevant issue tonight.

The sermon on Friday reminded us that we have reached the second half of Ramadhan. The first half has gone, it is up to us to find the way to win the game, now that we are not far away from the end.

As for me, it was a 0-0 or a lose in the first 15 days. To win it, it needs a double of the amount of effort I have put in.

If it's a repeat of previous Ramadhan, well, I have nobody else but me to blame.

Ya Allah, grant me the strength to reap the benefit of your blessed Ramadhan.

till next time,
assalamaulaikum

The Muslims went on a war in Ramadhan, they survived and won it. Tiredness perhaps, is just another state of mind.

Sharing is Caring

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

1 of my colleagues met an accident a couple of days ago. Alhamdulillah, he is in good condition.

He can't remember much of the events due to the nature of the event. Of the few things he reminded us today was 'Baik korang belajar sementara peluang masih ada'.

This happens to everyone. Yet, the majority accept this as nothing more than a mere advice.

I realise time never goes backwards, so I hope this serves as a great reminder to me.

Sharing is caring, isn't it?

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Serene

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

I am currently in Kuala Lumpur, having the best holiday possible in months. After a few months of hard work, I have finally managed to get 10 hours of sleep under my belt. It's a great feeling I tell you.

Now I have 3 more days to spend here. How do I spend it?

Hmm, tomorrow I'll be at home giving support to my sisters' Ramadhan Bazaar. So, nearby ladies, come and get your hands on on our products, ranging from tudung to kuih raya. We won't feel bad even if you decide not to buy anything. We get to meet each other right and that is something as well.

There's nothing to lose when 2 friends meet together.

Sunday, on the other hand, is the day for lepaking and nothing else but football at night. Sadly Liverpool plays on Tuesday night and that means I am going to miss it.

I'll be back in Kulim on Monday night.

till next time,
assalamualaikum

I'm looking forward to catching up with friends this weeked!

Balik kampung

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

I am in absolute state of no energy to throw out the thoughts in my head.

Off the top of my head, home sweet home is the only thing that keeps me going.

I was lucky to be able to see my parents yesterday, but how can anyone say 1/2 hour is better than nothing?

I'm out,

till next time,
assalamualaikum

p/s I'll be in Kl until Monday afternoon. Won't be available for lunch. Hehe..

Mind Provoking thoughts

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

So how is everyone coping with Ramadhan so far? I hope things are going well for all of us.

This is the 2nd Ramadhan in Kulim. It is my 5th consecutive year celebrating it far away from home. Somehow the word 'celebrating' is not appropriate to the eyes of Malaysians.

The time has changed. When knowledge comes to you, or I suppose when you seek for the knowledge, you become a better person in telling what is the best for this or for that. Ramadhan is like a school, where you are trained to be a better person, if not the best. You celebrate when both when your son have started school and graduated successfully right?

Let us change the ancient way of thinking. Let us ask, why do we this and that. Have you ever asked yourself who started 'IMSAK' when there was no clock or watch existed during the time of Prophet Muhammad. Is this 'Imsak' originated from Quran/Hadith or invented by the Malays?

Start asking why, why and why.

Another example, who started the selawat for the 4 companions of Prophet, namely Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali? Did Rasulullah recite this in between Tarawih? Again, is this practise originated from Quran/Hadith or something invented by the Malays.

Stop saying the Ulamas are doing this and that.

Ask them to give proofs that there is an authentic(sahih) source of this practise.

Anyway, enough of mind provoking questions.

I came across these beautiful verses.

71. Hai orang-orang yang beriman, bersiap siagalah kamu, dan majulah (ke medan pertempuran) berkelompok-kelompok, atau majulah bersama-sama!

72. Dan sesungguhnya di antara kamu ada orang yang sangat berlambat-lambat (ke medan pertempuran)^[315]. Maka jika kamu ditimpa musibah ia berkata: "Sesungguhnya Tuhan telah menganugerahkan nikmat kepada saya karena saya tidak ikut berperang bersama mereka.

73. Dan sungguh jika kamu beroleh karunia (kemenangan) dari Allah, tentulah dia mengatakan seolah-oleh belum pernah ada hubungan kasih sayang antara kamu dengan dia: "Wahai kiranya saya ada bersama-sama mereka, tentu saya mendapat kemenangan yang besar (pula)."

74. Karena itu hendaklah orang-orang yang menukar kehidupan dunia dengan kehidupan akhirat^[316] berperang di jalan Allah. Barangsiapa yang berperang di jalan Allah, lalu gugur atau memperoleh kemenangan maka kelak akan Kami berikan kepadanya pahala yang besar.

Absolutely beautiful, aren't they?

till next time,
assalamualaikum

p/s Long have I stopped reading Quran without translation. It's not for a mere reading anymore, is it?

Memories of Auckland

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

Somehow my memories reminded me of my 3 year stint in New Zealand. I'm talking about Ramadhan particularly.

It was different. The Arabs had their own way. So did the Malays.

The Malays will forever be Malays.


I still enjoyed my stay there.

=)

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Progress, None!!

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

It does not surprise me anymore that Malaysians have started their raya preparations well before fasting month starts.

As you see, this is the same reason why Harian Metro remains one of the best selling newspapers now.

Malaysians do not enjoy being academic. They play down the beauty of Ramadhan, despite being yearly reminded of its values. To many, it's a month where we starve ourselves on solely food. Very mature I suppose.

The mosques are filled in in the first half of the holy month.

The religious authorities are ultra passive with Islam related issues in this country. Even more annoying, you are not allowed to criticise them. If they are sincere enough, many issues would have been wiped off ages ago.

They like to sit down on the luxurious seats and seem to think they have done a good job in giving lectures in between Isyak and Maghrib to a crowd of less than 20 usually.

Even in states like PAS-led Kedah and Kelantan, nobody even knows the names of their Mufti. Let alone what they have contributed to the development of Islam! Selangor pun sama kot...

We need a very charismatic leader to take us forward. We have had enough of these passive, ultra conservative authorities. Tomorrow we will still hear 'We must go back to the basics of Quran and Sunnah'.

Enough of rhetorics.

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Suffering

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

Is it me, or everyone else is also suffering from the rising cost of living?

I suppose this is how the BN Government is assisting the poor.

Seriously, previously an average meal for lunch would cost us RM 4. It's not like this anymore is it? I hate it that my wallet gets thin so quickly nowadays.

Minus your loans and bills, you are left with only a little chunk from your little salary. Imagine if the leftovers, a big portion goes to your dietary needs only. Terrible la...

Why can't the people enjoy the country's wealth? I mean, what benefit do you get in 'subsidy rationalisation'. Honestly, how much have you benefited from this recent event?

Any UMNO-pro supporters are welcomed to answer this question.

Whatever your answer is, come out and explain your reasons to the kampung folks here in Kulim.

Some things will never change, I think.

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Delighted

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

I'm on cloud 9. Fernando Torres has finally committed himself to Liverpool.



It has given us a new ray of hope.

I have this excited feeling that Ramadhan is approaching us fast. It's as if I've never been there before. I really hope this excitement will last for the whole 30 days.

Malaysia's hypermarkets have started raya sales well before Ramadhan starts.

It's an excellent development, isn't it? =p

Anyway, stop complaining and let's get the moral rebuilding mood started!

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Time for Change

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

360 medical officers in public service resign every year
She said the ministry was aware of the number of resignations and was doing its best to retain the officers through various initiatives, including increasing the number of medical, dentistry and pharmacy graduates in the public service.

"As a result, the number of medical graduates attached to the ministry is expected to increase to 3,793 this year compared to 3,702 last year.

This does say something, doesn't it?

The solution, as they say, is by increasing the number of graduates.

360 Medical Officers per year, which is equivalent to 1800 doctors in 5 years have gone to private. What a waste.

When you increase the number of the juniors, that means you need a lot of seniors to supervise them. Do they want a blind to lead another blind, again and again?

If you talk to us, the juniors, we seriously do not mind if our public hospital specialists' pay is raised. They deserve this very well. Their colleagues in private earn a triple or quadraple to what they earn in public. I would be tempted, and who would not?

Stop this rhetoric 'You are giving a service to the public, bla bla bla..'. It doesn't work anymore.

Many, including the Malays are rendering their service outside/overseas to the people that never paid a single cent for their(Malaysians) education.

I hope the government will do something. For us, we are still juniors so we are not asking much.

For the seniors, who are seeing hundreds and thousands of patients and being paid of merely RM5000, this is what I name ridiculously underpaid.

Specialists are more senior than senior doctors, and the gap between the pay is not that big.

The time has come for a change.

till next time,
assalamualaikum

Values learned

assalamualaikum

in the name of Allah the Most Gracious the Most Merciful

Lately, my interest in blogging has somehow renewed. I find it interesting again, to share stories and stuff.

Ever since I since started this job, I have hardly seen anyone surrounding me have the same interest. Not even close to following blogs.

As I said before, 'life' is as you define it.

Writing helps express out your messy thoughts, and they look perfect when you know the art of assembling and dismantling issues.

I suppose I inherit this from my father. Not that I am as good as him, but I like the way he decides things.

I learn how to criticise issues, and I dislike the old mentality of never question anything.

The time has come where you learn the academic side of everything you do.

Through experiences and lessons, I learn gradually that your seniors are never perfect, and your junior can be smarter than you.

Only knowledge makes you stand taller than the others.

You may have University of Auckland on your official stamp, which sounds good on the paper. The question is, does it give any extra edge? It does, of course, on the paper. It does not when you do not know how to differentiate between dengue and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection.

In Malaysia, being a senior makes you the boss. It gives you the power to order your juniors. You can never correct your seniors, even though they are on the wrong side.

Perhaps, one of the reasons Allah sends the students overseas is for the Malaysians to bring the good cultures back.

Sadly, the bring home the bad ones, and worst is, they never discontinue the old values.

PERFECT!

till next time,
assalamualaikum