Sayonara 2011 – Welcome 2012!

Me would like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year 2012!

Hopefully 2012 would bring in more joys and happiness to us despite the many uncertainties out there.

Be brave, lets us move forward to face the challenges awaiting us in the coming year – just as we have done before when welcoming 2011 and the years before that.

InsyaAllah, our sincere efforts to make the best of what has been entrusted to us won’t go to waste as we should put all our trust in Allah, who will surely provide for us our sustenance, for He is the Almighty and the all encompassing Provider.

Let us immersed ourselves in the remembrance of Allah all the time for we don’t know how much longer we will be on this earth, time is too short, so make full use of it to gain more knowledge so that we know who Allah is...may all our efforts to be good Muslims be rewarded by Him...Ameen......

Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
31.12.2011

The Zenga Zenga Parody

Me was watching a documentary on Al-Jazeera regarding the recent uprising in Libya against the rule of Muammar Gaddafi entitled “The Long Road To Tripoli”, when me came across the catch phrase “zenga zenga” being made into the popular “war song” of the young Libyan revolutionaries on their way to liberate Tripoli from the clutches of the Gaddafi’s regime.

The words were first uttered by Gaddafi himself during one of his speeches in the early days of the uprising back in February when he pompously dubbed the people who revolted against him as “rats” which he vowed to crush and hunt down the protesters “inch by inch, room by room, house by house, street by street“ or "zenga zenga” in the local dialect.

“Zenga Zenga” quickly became the “battle cry” and parodied by the media savvy young revolutionaries who cleverly turned it into a hip hop You Tube sensation which went “viral”- to mock and turn the table to fight Gaddafi “zenga zenga” until they achieve their objective of deposing the tyrant.

Me still remember, during the Iranian revolution, 32 years earlier, the battle cry of “La Syarkiyya La Gharbiyyah” that reverberated among the masses at that time had also proved potent for the revolution, enabling the support of the ordinary populace to rise up and put an end to the brutal Shah Pahlavi’s regime.

It was just amazing to watch the raw fighting spirit shown by these young fighters who were mostly made up of ordinary Libyans from various “non-combatant” background. On hindsight, it was truly remarkable to watch these disorganize band of fighters overcome a seemingly insurmountable situation with only the spirit of adventurism in them and no other agenda except a blazing desire to see Muammar Gaddafi go!

These were the true and unselfish fighters of the Libyan revolution. Together with their “foreign Libyans” counterpart, who had been living in exiled for the most parts of their lives while the regime was in power the past 42 years, they were at the forefront of the battlefield while hip hopping the “Zenga Zenga” song all the way to Tripoli, the capital of Libya and the seat of power for the Gaddafi’s regime.

What impressed me most watching these young fighters, especially those second generation Libyans raised in Europe, was their apparent resolve to totally forsake the comfort of their homes and their loved ones in pursuit of the single objective of liberating their motherland from the clutches of the Gaddafi regime and the freedom to choose their own destiny.

Let us resolve to make the “Zenga Zenga” parody as a plain reminder to us all, especially as Muslims, we should not be arrogant if we are in the citadel of power and if we are the downtrodden,we should fight for our rights by emulating the carefree fighting spirit and selfless sacrifices shown by the young Libyan fighters and not to easily surrender our precious freedom to despots who are bent to snatch it from us.

AllahuAkbar! Allah is Great!

Happy Birthday Nur AzZahra!

Tomorrow she will be 2 years old. How time flies, me still remember when she was born, me had just been discharged from the hospital and still recuperating from me surgery. Last week, a few days shy of her birthday, me had the sweetest of experience when suddenly the little AzZahra uttered the word “Oppa!” – grandpa!

Such was the joy of having to experience and being able to relive again those moments in the days gone by where your own little children, now all grown up adults, were themselves uttering their first word of "mama" or "papa" when they were about her age. Me really missed those beautiful period of the growing up years of me children, including Az Zahra’s father, either due to work engagements or them being away from home, after being taken care of by me in-laws in the village.

Watching the children growing up was always the greatest satisfaction of being parents and those happy moments would be treasured throughout our life's journey. Hearing the word "Oppa" coming from me sweet little AzZahra means the world and me would relish that moment and the moments to come watching her growing into an exquisite and impeccable Muslimah - insyaAllah.

Happy 2nd birthday Nur AzZahra!! May Allah blessed you, your little sister AzZuhaira and your parents and may you live your life to the fullest in the guidance of the Almighty Allah – Ameen.


"AzZahra and her little sister AzZuhaira"

Gaddafi Oh Gaddafi!

Today is the 21st day of October 2011, me is supposed to celebrate me “unofficial birthday” today, not many knew that today is actually me real birthday. It is quite complicated actually, to think of me birthday supposed to be today but in the official document it stated 1st of January instead. Nevertheless, me “trajectory” in life had been destined to be as such – a person with two “birthdates”, so no regrets...

To reflect a bit, this same time last year, me was in Saudi Arabia where me had had quite a unique experience of waking up in the holy city of Mecca and on the same day, by nightfall, sleeping in the holy city of Medina visiting the prophet’s mosque before coming back home a few days later. Being in two of the holiest places in Islam in a day was quite a feat in itself, more so if it was made on your own birthday! This time around, in stark contrast to last year, the 21st October falls on Friday, other than going out to the market in the morning and attending the Friday prayer in the afternoon, the whole day was spent at home, alone!

A year had gone by and to recount the many things happening would be quite a chore. Only yesterday me was in Bintulu for a business meeting. It was quite a somber meeting and the outcome did dent me spirit a bit. Nevertheless, the meeting had set me thinking that in business things could change dramatically and we’d better be alert at the slightest hint of trouble if we are to survive – true enough, it was a kind of premonition that our vendor status would come to an end and we are now “graduated” to the next level of playing field! After five years of being a vendor, the insatiable feeling of not having enough is too strong thus making us craving for more…alas the reality is not as such and we have to live with what we have to sustain our business operations.

Arriving home after the tiring trip, me attention was then transfixed at the news that the deposed Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi was killed just that afternoon in his birth place of Sirte in Libya. It did not meant much except that back in the late sixties, while me was growing up, Gaddafi was me hero when he took over power after a military coup. He had been me hero for quite sometimes after that until me realized that he too made the same mistakes other great leaders made – not willing to let go and craving for more when the time is up and in Gaddafi’s case 42 years is just not enough!

Such was our human folly, alas we forget that God is the all Powerful for He is the One that give and take back “power’ from whom He wishes, for His wills cannot be undone….

After all, the “Arab Spring” uprising which had begun in Tunisia then spread to Egypt earlier in the year had ended Gaddafi’s long tenure as a leader who had been blinded by his own hunger for powers…may God has mercy on his soul.

The Meaning of Freedom

Me hope it is not too late to wish everyone, a “Happy Eid 1432!!”. How time flies, for all that we know, Ramadan had long gone and even the blessed month of Syawal is rapidly moving towards a new month.

This short entry is meant to put to an end the “troubling” thoughts that me had had on the real meaning of “freedom”, which has just refused to leave me conscience these past couple of weeks.

It had started on a more mundane note when me was watching the antics of me son’s pet cats named Nini and Abu. Due to space and allergy constraints at home, Nini the mother cat and Abu the son cat, were mostly kept in a cage in front of the house. However, once in a while, mostly while nobody was at home, me took the opportunity to set them “free” albeit only inside the house!

The awesome thing that struck meself when seeing the two “freed” cats were the sense of elation which emanate after being released from their caged environment. Maybe sensing that their moment of freedom would always be short lived, they would immediately, with gusto, swung into action by making full use of their “freed time” horsing and frolicking together around the house. Strangely enough, me noticed this kind of “gusto behavior” was almost non existence with those cats being kept outside the cage having total freedom and all the time in the world – spent mostly snoring!

Seeing is believing, if we human are also kept in a cage or kept behind bars for too long a period, we would no doubt tend to value our moments of freedom more just like Nini and Abu the cats. But for those of us who are taking their God given freedom for granted - without realizing that it could always be “snatched” away from us at any moment, we would invariably failed to grasp its true meaning…maybe not until when it has been taken away from us for whatever the reasons…..



As for Nini and Abu, they can always look forward to enjoy plenty more “moments of freedom” in the future....when the allergic occupants are away working in the office!!

Happy Ramadan 1432H

Today we are in the 12th day of Ramadan. Me wish to congratulate those who had been steadfast in carrying out their duty for the past 11 days. Even though the month of Ramadan only comes once a year, the heightened spiritual experience that the month brings can be worth all the other months of the year combined together. This is what makes Ramadan so special, so much so it has become the only month mentioned by its name in the Quran!

For those of us who are fasting in this blessed month of Ramadan, we should count ourselves lucky for being given the opportunity to experience Ramadan all over again after undergoing the last Ramadan.

Me hope me could still continue to fast and at the same time do as much as possible good deeds which could “add values” to me fasting experience. Me know it is not an easy task but with Allah’s grace and guidance, insyaAllah me could still do it before the month is over…..

A short note not to be forgotten, me wish you all a happy Ramadan al Mubarak

A Brief Stopover in Jakarta

Me was in Jakarta last Tuesday on a day trip to meet with a potential agent for our products in Indonesia. Me still remember, the last time that me visited the city was about 20 years ago to attend a conference in one of the posh hotels in the city center. In between the years, me had the chance to visit Medan in the Sumatra island and the island of Bali and most recently Bandung to attend the graduation ceremony of me Along but never back to Jakarta until now.

Well to say the least, me impression of Jakarta then was about a modern metropolis in the making. Unfortunately, during this short trip me did not see much new development going on in Jakarta – maybe me meeting place and the route taken by our taxi driver were not on the “developed” side of the city. Nevertheless, during the journey to the agent’s office in Jakarta Pusat, the imagery of the city was that of a rundown city, with overcast sky where everything seemed to be so dilapidated and unkempt...and the streets, as it was known to be famous for, were clogged with cars and people...on top of that, it was kind of nerve wrecking experience to be sitting next to a semi “kamikaze” taxi driver!!

But what makes Jakarta, a city of about 24 million people during the day (and me was told,17 million during the night!), captivating and interesting, is that it is the capital city of Indonesia, an archipelago, spread across innumerable islands rich in natural resources and abundance source of human capital. Since the downfall of the old regime and the return of democracy more than a decade ago, the reviews on Indonesia had been mostly positive and encouraging and this sure is good news for businesses. And this has been one of the reasons why me company is looking towards Indonesia as a potential springboard to our overseas markets.

The meeting with the potential agent went on very smoothly. We ended up discussing on the present investment climate and the changes happening after a decade of democracy. Surprisingly, me was told, if outsiders see things being “rosy” for the Indonesians, majority of the still poor and “oppressed population” were actually longing for the good old days with the old regime back in business!

This came as a surprise, maybe the people was so used to being fully controlled by the state or the old regime (as the demarcation line was very blur then), that they could not figure out how to survive when left to the “elements” by themselves. As opposed to the old regime, the present government is more pro business but the business climate was said to still favor those with the right connections. This has apparently become a major stumbling block for foreigners as well the new breed of enterprising Indonesians to adapt as they are mostly professionals who still lack the key component of "know who” in doing business.

Business in Indonesia, as me prospective agent pointed out is still based on being able to “bond” with the end users or more like the “middlemen”. It is still very much based on forging a strong relationship with the well connected comprising of the rich and the powerful in the society. Even the government agencies are said to be helpless in preventing the multitude of "leakages" as they still could not muster the intricacies of the deals being worked out. In a nut shell, for outsiders to be successful in Indonesia, they have no choice but to adapt and create that special bonding through their trusted local agents.



Group Photo after the Meeting

So much for creating “bonding” in Indonesia, me was pleasantly surprised to have bumped into a business colleague while in the airport waiting for our respective flights out of Jakarta. He was a Dato’ and the chairman of our small business Club in Kuala Lumpur. We then got to talking about the little incident during our previous Club’s meeting in Kuala Lumpur where we got “ambushed” by a representative of a radical local NGO who based their worldview solely on racial factor.

True enough as me had suspected all along, the Dato’ was also caught off guard when the meeting he was chairing was rudely interrupted by the “intruder” who had apparently been “smuggled” into the room by none other than some of the dissatisfied Club’s members themselves!

We both agreed at that point, being in business and living in a borderless world nowadays, we should not confined ourselves to looking at solving problems from a very narrow perspective of one's own race....

Sayonara Jakarta, me know me will be seeing you again very soon...insyaAllah.

The King and his 4 Wives

Once in a while me wonder why life is such a drag. So much so it make us always forget about what is the more important to us. Maybe this short story about the King and his four wives would make us "see" more clearly what is the more important thing in our lives...maybe some have heard this before but here goes..

Once upon a time...there was a rich King who had 4 wives...

He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best...

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighbouring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another...

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her to help him get through the difficult times...

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her...

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short...

He thought of his luxurious life and pondered, "I now have 4 wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word...

Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart....

The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!"

His heart sank and turned cold....

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave."

Her answer came like a bolt of thunder and the King was devastated...

Then a voice called out:

"I'll leave with you and follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, she suffered from malnutrition...

Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"

In Truth, we all have 4 wives in our lives...
Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others...

Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave...

And our 1st wife is our Soul,

Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the ego.
However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go.

So cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now! It is your greatest gift to offer the world.

Let it Shine!

Before Me Time is Up

Today me went to the funeral of an elderly man, whom me only got the chance to know from a distance, although maybe me had often shook his hands after prayers in a nearby mosque because he was a regular there.

In a way there is nothing extraordinary about this man except that during his funeral this morning, me noticed the crowd who went to pay their last respect and prayed for him was a bit extraordinarily large given the fact that today is a working day and he had died a sudden death the night before due to a short illness.

However, upon hearing some of the comments made by the crowd, me had the feeling that this ordinary man is not really ordinary after all. The extraordinariness of this man could be seen from what he may have done to deserve such a special “honor” of an “easy death” (for he died “quickly” within a few days of being sick) and having an extraordinarily large crowd attending to his funeral.

Upon closer scrutiny, me believe there are strong evidences pointing to the fact that the good deeds which he did - by providing voluntary services to the community, may have contributed to him getting all those special “attention” at his funeral – only God knows.

Being ordinary human being, me could not help but to postulate that the dead man must have done many good deeds during his lifetime. One thing for sure, me was informed, up until the end of his long healthy life, he died at 77, he was still giving services to others by being the head of the Khairat Kematian of his Kariah (a sort of voluntary body to take care of the funeral arrangement for the dead members within the community). Being the head, he must have come across so many kind of “deaths” depending on the “deeds of the dead” to have realized for himself the importance of early preparation before his time is up.

Alas! me must also reflect on this occasion to start preparing before me time is up too!

What Scientists See in Islam

One thing good about the West is their never ending desire to find out "why" behind everything that they had ever come across. This has led to so many discoveries and endless streams of new knowledge which has enriched the West and the world at large.

This desire to find out why has also led them to discover, little by little, the truth which Allah has revealed in the Quran. Over the years many of these scientists have started to declare themselves Muslims after having discovered "things" which have been described in the Quran more than 1400 years ago...which only now is making sense to the scientists or people of the West, with their never ending thirst for knowledge.

Some of these testimonies could be discerned from the 2 video clips below - happy discoveries!!

The Six Mistakes of Man

Me thought this article is worth sharing for our own good. Me happened to "bump" on this article while reading a daily newspaper a few months back. Hope we can all learn something from the writing below...

"Over 2000 years ago, Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero noted what he considered the six mistakes of mankind.

Here we take a look at what the mistakes behold...:

1. The delusion that personal gain is made through crushing others.

In almost all business endeavors, the more people operate as a team, the more they will accomplish. You personally gain more from raising others up rather than putting them down. Crushing others means reducing their enthusiasm, their confidence and their overall ability to contribute. Raising them up increases their worth and yours.

2. The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected.

Stress is the by-product of worry. There are many things you should be concerned about, but few you should worry about. While working on a proposal you should consider it from all angles. Plan your materials and ask questions about its viability. After the proposal has been made, however, there is nothing you can do. Nothing can change the outcome. Worry is useless and fruitless. Let it go.

3. Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it.

Time changes everything. Who knows what you might find out next week..tomorrow …or when you turn the next corner. The impossible of yesterdays are commonplace today. You should never look at anything as impossible.

4. Refusing to set aside trivial preference.

Often, people fool themselves into thinking that the way they do things is the right way, when what it usually come down to is simply preference. And sometimes that preference is simply trivial – such as the way you put your shoes and socks on, the way you install a roll of toilet paper and the way you hire a new employee.
There is nothing wrong with preferences, but you should study your choices and make sure there is nothing trivial about your decisions.

5. Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and study.

I like avid readers. Those people will read its contents printed on the ketchup bottle at a restaurant. There are always new ideas and new solutions to old problems, but they can be missed unless you are constantly looking, reading and studying. Personally, I like to read three or four newspapers every day. I even like to read old news magazines in the doctor’s waiting rooms. Reading is brainstorming. Even a comic book can bring enlightenment.

6. Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.

Our workforce and consumer base is becoming more diverse, yet there are people who would deny that diversity. You can’t make everyone believe and live as you do. And even if you could, wouldn’t that be boring? Diversity brings more ideas and more experiences. We should celebrate the differences,not try to obliterate them.

Everyone is guilty of making the six mistakes of mankind at some time or other. We just need to learn from our mistakes every 2000 years or so..!!"

Egypt - The Land of the Pure Hearted

Egypt was in the limelight recently due to the popular uprising against their long serving President. The land of the prophets and the pharaohs was in a turmoil for just 18 days when it abruptly turned peaceful with the forced departure of their hated ruler. The long suffering ordinary people of Egypt was seen rejoicing at the prospect of enjoying their new found freedom for the first time in almost 30 years. Only time will tell whether their hard won freedom is here to stay or disappeared before their very eyes.

The ordinary people of Egypt had attracted so much worldwide attention with their sudden uprising and show of force. These same ordinary simpleton, who are mostly Muslims, had also caught the attention of an ex-Priest who became interested in Islam upon his return from a holiday trip in Egypt....where he found the hearts of these ordinary people are still as pure as they can be...

A Brief Stopover in Hong Kong

Me wrote this short piece at the Hong Kong Int'l airport while waiting for me connecting flight to Busan, Korea. It took about three and half hours flight from KLIA to Hong Kong and me have to wait for several more hours before me next flight to Busan at 0200 hours.

Me last transit at this airport was about a few years ago on me way to Japan. But this time around, me and me 2 colleagues got a pleasant surprise when discovering that the airport now has a musolla for Muslims to pray. So without further ado, we took the opportunity to fulfill our obligation together with a Brother from the Middle East. However, the fun part was, while we were inside the musolla, a lot of people got confused and entered the musolla thinking that it was a male toilet as it was located beside a female toilet and the sign at the entrance (as seen below) looked a bit like a male toilet sign!



Nevertheless, the long wait at the airport did not diminished me feeling of excitement on the prospect of experiencing Korea for the first time. Since this is me first trip to Korea, me is also feeling a little bit apprehensive at the prospect of meeting Korean business people for the first time and trying to anticipate their way of doing things. Obviously me got the feeling they are very much different from me Japanese business partners.

Nonetheless, me kids back home got even more excited upon knowing of me Korean trip since they have long been great fans of Korean movies and surely would love very much to have the chance to experience Korea for themselves. Alas, the time for them has not yet arrived, me doa is with them to have the chance to one day see Korea and their "Winter Sonata" movie idols!

Just as me experienced business dealings in Saudi Arabia recently, me hope the experience gained in Korea would be very useful in furthering the business agendas between Malaysian and Korean companies in building a better future for us all.

Got to go now, the time to board me connecting flight has arrived...see you all soon insyaAllah...

Tony Blair's Sister-In-Law, Lauren Booth, converts to Islam 24-Oct-2010

Happy New Year 2011!!

Today being the first day of the new year 2011, me would like to wish all who frequent this site a happy and prosperous new year 2011!!

May the coming days in this new year would bring us closer to more knowledge and wisdom that we need to progress in our lives...may this year be better than the last in so many happy ways:)-Amen...