Destinasi ku ...

"Antara Anyer dan Jakarta" was a title of a song sang by Sheila Majid back in 80s. I tried to find the meaning of "Anyer" using the Google translate but to no avail. What about the song? Nothing. It's just because I just came back from Jakarta for a conference trip cum SHOPPING trip. I was accompanied by Suzana Ahmad and Norizan. Day 1: ====== Our journey began on 12th December. At approximately 5am, the driver reached my house. Izan is already there, in a short while Suzana arrived. We headed to KLIA. The check-in was a winding queue. After checking-in it leaves us with barely enough time for fajr prayer. At 9am, the tree stooges sat foot on the Indonesia land. We make a quick visit to the money changer and proceed for a cab. We have planned for the trip carefully and agreed to travel light as we will not be checking-in to the hotel upon arrival as the checking in time is only at 3pm. Instead, we headed towards our first destination, TANAH ABANG. It is r

Alhamdulillah ... a blessed morning. The sun rises, the birds chirping, the fishes swim happily. The tortoise approaches the edge of the pond as I pass by it. That's 'sunnatullah'. The lifecycle that has been designed and created by the Greatest Creator, One and ONLY - ALLAH SWT. Only yesterday, last night before going to bed, I was busy searching for a place to spend the weekend as I felt that I need a break from the 'laborious' week. This morning, during a tazkirah, I found an answer to where I want to be. I'll make a date with a very special and dearly, the One who bestowed me with this wonderful life. A date with ALLAH SWT. This is also going to be an act of love for his Messenger, Muhammad SAW. By performing what Muhammad SAW did, it shows how we loved him, Bai Nana Lau Kana. Tonight I plan to take the kids to the surau, to together perform the solat kusuf, a solat especially done during eclipse. A hadith says: Bukhari :: Book 2 :: Volume 18 ::

Petikan dari email yang baru diterima: ======= Assalamualaikum dan salam sejahtera, SEGERA: Sebagaimana yang semua sedia maklum atau mungkin ada juga yang baru dimaklumkan, pra pendaftaran kursus pelajar dan jadual waktu semester hadapan bagi program sarjana muda dan sarjana walaupun sesi hanya akan bermula Mac nanti JWK perlu dibina pada dalam minggu depan. Maaf oleh kerana kesibukan yang teramat, baru kini teringat pasal JWK . Pelajar dimestikan membuat pra pendaftaran kursus (kod dan kumpulan) semester hadapan sepenuhnya bermula 5 - 24 Disember 2011 sebelum semester menduduki peperiksaan akhir semester ini. Bersama-sama ini disertakan Borang Permohonan Kursus Program - Sesi Mac - Julai 2012 untuk dilengkapkan oleh semua KPP dan Koordinator bagi semua kursus-kursus termasuk program master yang berkenaan. Sila edit borang mengikut keperluan program masing-masing. Juga disertakan data ramalan untuk permohonan kursus dan pembinaan JWK tersebut. Mohon jasa baik dan kerjasama s

It was Monday, 28 November 2011, a public holiday as it was a first day in the Muslim calendar. I looked at my wrist watch. It was 10pm. I was still at the airport. Working. Working? At the airport? At 10pm? On public holiday? What are you talking about? These might be some of the questions popped up in your mind. However, it is very true. It's the truth. I was there to fetch the second keynote speaker, Prof Steve Horward, for our i-User 2011 conference. It was the second time I visited the airport on the same day. I was at the airport earlier (6.30am) that day to fetch our first speaker, Prof Alan Dix. And again on the evening. The morning flight was as scheduled. However, the second flight from Melbourne, Australia was one hour delay. The passengers started to come out from the arrival hall. Suddenly, every male foreigner looks alike to me. Luckily, I have the envelope which has the speaker's name on it. I put up the envelope high to be seen. A big smile came on a

Bola! Bola! Bola! Everybody was talking about the final football match between Malaysia and Indonesia. It was a three hours long of match. They completed the first half with 3 minutes additional time with a tie, 1-1. Second half is more intense. Both teams are playing their best. They completed the second half with additional 3 minute still tie at 1-1. During the additional 30 minutes, Malaysia missed few chances. And a salute to Khairul Fahmi Cik Mat for playing excellently protect our goal with other team mates. And the game still ended with a tie. Fuhhhh!!!!! The tense grew stronger, not only on the player, but I guess more on the supporters. Almost all Malaysians are watching it. PENALTY is going to be the determinant. Who shoot well, who protects the goal better? Everybody was waiting. Cold sweat start flowing. First shot by the Indonesian, it hit the net. Goalllll!!!! went the roar. 1st shot by Malaysian is also a goal. Only few shouts of happiness can be heard in the Gelora

This is another unique date. "Kata, tak ada apa yang special pada tarikh ....", some may have this thought. I cannot blame those who feels that way because I am the one who really oppose celebrating special dates, but this is not celebrating it. Just feel like updating the blog, and when my daughter told me that today is 20.11.2011, I said to myself, that's it! I must update it today. Why? ... because ..... it's CLEANING day!!! And everybody has their bits of task to do. Hakim is helping ayah with men's chores, Atikah doing the floors, Sabrina was excused because she had a fever. Even so, she did help with some kitchen chores. While Ibu, doing some bits of this and that. We were not at home for three consecutive weekends, it really calls for cleaning. And later, I made Atikah try her hands in cooking with the special ' Asam Pedas Keladi ' and 'Kari Ketam'. Hakim with some of his 'toys'

Fuhhh!!! What a hectic day!!! 8.30am meeting which ended at 12.30pm. 1.13pm when for lunch 2.30pm rush to another meeting which ended at 5.40pm How does this sound? Boring isnt' it. Not interesting at all. What do I have to say .... it's the job. It's an amanah. Therefore, sorry students, I can't see you today. I am very busy ... there's actually a long queue of students wanted to see me, my phone keep on signalling smses coming in one after another -- all are my project and research students. It seems that I have to allow them see me only after 5pm or at 8am. Very little choice I have left. Sacrifices is a must now. Time sacrifices. Anyway, Alhamdulillah. It wont be for long. After 28th November, Dr 'Hj' Nordin will be back to resume his duty and I will be able to take a deep breath again. However, I still hope to relinquish my other post too, that is from being the Chairperson for Faculty Academic Mission. How I wish! I Wish! I Wish! Wa

Salam all, Almost like a routine, we will annually return to our second 'hometown' at least once a year for a 'lazy' vacation. It's near to Shah Alam, it's a fun and exciting place and most importantly, it's time to really spend time with kids. Accept for this year, our year end vacation is in November because I have classes on December and cannot take leave. Now is the semester break, therefore, i would not want to miss this opportunity to spend time with my kids at our 'second hometown'. Why 'lazy' vacation'? Some may call it free-n-easy but I called it lazy vacation. It is because its a vacation that we normally will lazy ourselves in the hotel room, go for swimming, out for meals, and relaxing. This is what I call a 'lazy' vacation'. The other type of vacation is the one when you go out for sight seeing at a new and different location or at place that you have never been before. This type of vacation requir

Salam all, Today is 11.11.11. Everybody thinks that today should be a memorable day because it will not happen again. Perhaps only in 3011, only if the earth is still intact but we definitely will not be there to witness another 11.11.11. Heard on radio, many mothers selected today to deliver their babies. Many couples decided to tie their knot on this very day, some are even giving marriage gifts which cost RM11,111.11 and many more. To me its just a date. Nothing special about it. As mentioned in my new year posting, perhaps the only significant is that it is easier to remember your most memorable dates with this unique date. But, to purposely deliver your baby on this day? I am a bit reserve about this. I don't quite agree if we purposely choose the date, except if we have medical reason that requires a caesarean section. It seems that nowadays many mothers would prefer to deliver babies through caesarean instead of normal delivery. In my personal belief, if w

Statement: Yup! It's Alive .... Question: What is IT that is alive???? Answer: My blog. My blog is alive again. With only one posting in September, none in October, and this is the 5th for November. How I missed updating the blog. It's just like letting out whatever is boggling me. And it feels good to re-read the posting as it reminded us on all the previous happenings in our daily life. Question: Why is the blog suddenly alive again? Answer: It's semester break. And I am on leave. I purposely took leave to stay at home. This is the only opportunity to take leave and just lazily spend time at home till next February 2012. This is all because the new academic calendar as directed by the Ministry of Higher Education and imposed to all public universities. With this new academic calendar, there are two sessions, one session is for the Diploma programmes (follows the old calendar June-October/ December-April), and another session for Bachelor and post-g

Salam all, Look at the chef in action. Still in his office uniform. This is not a common scene. Even the kids were surprised to see ayah put his hands into cooking. This is not any cooking. This is the special ' Red Mutton Soup ". Ibu only prepared the ingredients, but the correct measurement is just his taste buds. He tasted this soup before in one of his many 'jamuan' (feast), and now he is making it for the family. For the complete recipe, please visit my other blog . This is really a moment that must be captured as it seldom happen. But the cooking was marvelous. It's true if people said that men really have 'something' in cooking. Adios! Chiao! Wassalam.

Salam all, It was about 6.45am when my phone rang. It was my mother calling. My heart pumping will always accelerate when receiving a call from mother especially at odd hours. This must not be something good. "Ajis dah tak dak. (Ajis had passed away)", that was my mother's short sentence. Innalillahi wainna ilaihi rajiun. "When?", I asked. "Pukul 5 pagi tadi (Just now at 5a.m)", my mother answered. Ajis or Norlajis Bin Ali is my cousin aged 51. He did not have any medical problem before, until last week on Thursday, when he fell unconscious while on duty. He never regain conscious after that till his last breath. We went to the hospital on Eid-ul-Adha, but did not gain permission to visit him who was in the ICU because it's not the visiting hour. Last met was during Eid ul-Fitri. He is among few of my mother's nephew who will never fail to pay my mother a visit during Eid. I guess because he was a regular at our house during

Qurban is the slaughtering of healthy animals such as cow, goat, camel or qibasy as a way of saying thank you to Allah for giving us the rizq (rezeki). It is also an act of obeying the instruction from Allah, just like Prophet Ibrahim a.s perform the qurban upon his son, Prophet Ismail a.s. However, Allah SWT replace Ismail with a large qibasy. The instruction to slaughter Ismail is just a test to Ibrahim. And, as an obedient servant of Allah, Ibrahim undoubtedly obey the instruction. Therefore, for those who are capable (with extra rizq) it is call for to do qurban every year just like what Rasulallah SAW did every year. If we are able to drive a RM100K car, what is it to spend the most RM800 a year to qurban??? If RM800 is too much for a goat, the minimum is about RM250 for a part of a cow. In practice, Rasulallah will peform qurban of a lamb or goat, one for himself, and the other one for him and his family. So friends, if we have this extra rizq, let's do it yearly (THIS IS A

Musim haji ..... telah tiba lagi --- this is part of a lyric from an old nasyid. Back then, the nasyid does not mean anything to me, but now, the word 'LABBAIK' can easily made my fragile tears to come rolling down on my aging cheek. How I missed KAABAH. Missed the beautiful days, being there in Makkatul Mukarramah doing nothing else besides devoting ourself to ONE AND ONLY, ALLAH SWT. Waking up as early as 3AM in the morning, get ready for the midnight solat, the most beautiful time to humbly 'talk' to Allah. We feel so close to HIM ... nothing compares. From the midnight solat, we stayed on till solat fajr, which then we head back to our hotel for breakfast. After breakfast we will have a short tazkirah at the roof top of the hotel. We were there during the cold season. Being at the roof top, it was windy which add to the chilly morning. But listening to the tazkirah crept all those uneasy feeling. After tazkirah, we normally had a nap before getting read

Salm all, Alhamdulillah this is already the 3rd day of Syawal. Allah has bestowed us with a sunny and wonderful day despite the rainy days on the last days of Ramadhan. Alhamdulillah everybody were seen happy, children is the most, happily collecting the duit raya ... and nowdays, RM1 is the minimum compared to my days when 50sen is alredy a luxury. How things changed. One thing never change though, is the happy moments to be with brothers, sisters and cousins whom we rarely meet. I only managed to be with my siblings, nieces and nephews for few hours ... but those are moments to cherish. Mak, forgive me for not being able to be by your side longer, but my prayers are always with you. today is already the third day, some has moved to another in-laws house, some has not. whatever it is, wifey, please obey your husband as jannah is based on his redha. Put on your happy faces as no other people will know how you actually feels. with 3rd "yawal, some has started their syawal f

Salam 28th Ramadan, Another day to go. The final round! Go! Go! Go! Have you completed your 30 juzuk of alQuran? Have you stayed-up at night for munajat ilAllah? One final night .... let's do it. Tomorrow is Monday, follows by Tuesday, which is 1st Syawal. It's a day when we celebrate the winning of our fight against one nafs. We are able to be patient not only from eating and drinking, but also, we are also more patient with other insan .... and also, the winning of oneself to perform ibadah ilAllah. Let's celebrate this eid with lots and lots of takbir and tahmid. May our eid will be blessed by Allah. Do not waste all our good effort during Ramadan to be a better Muslim. Allahu Akbar! Alhamdulillah! La ilaha illallah! Come Tuesday, we will listen many good wishes of 'Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir & Batin'. And with smiling faces, people will shake each others hand. But lets do it proper: When you want to shake hands among muslims (ma

Salam all, Selamat Hari Raya!!! A google image search found me with thousands of images of Selamat hari Raya. But I chose the one below: Wah! Wah! Wah! Dah tak sabar ke nak sambut raya??? Ada dua malam untuk bertarawikh lagi tau ..... Ini peluang terakhir nak pulun tahun ni. Tahun depan belum tentu ketemu lagi. Sebenarnya, mood raya semenjak usia meningkat ni, sudah tidak semeriah dulu. Sebaliknya, Ramadan yang semakin hampir ke penghujung ini menggamit rasa pilu di hati. Mengenangkannya, air mata ini pasti mengalir ke pipi. Andai ini Ramadan terakhirku, Adakah telah diterima taubatku? Andai ini Ramadan terakhirku, Adakah telah diampuni dosa-dosaku? Andai ini Ramadan terakhirku, Adakah telah menjadi insan bertaqwa? Andai ini Ramadan terakhirku, Adakah aku telah bersama mereka yang tidak akan dijamah seksaan api nerakaMU? Andai ini Ramadan terakhirku, Adakah telah sempurna penghambaanku padaMu? Andai ini Ramadan terakhirku, Adakah telah cukup bekalan untuk dibawa

Salam semua, Ya, betul! Hari ni dah pun hari ke26 kita berpuasa. Kalau nak hitung bilangan puasa yang berbaki, guna sebelah tangan pun dah cukup. Maksudnya, malam ni adalah malam 27. Atau orang Melayu selalu panggil Malam 7 Likur . Tapi aku tak pernah dengar pun sebelum ni pasal malam 7 likur ni, hanya setelah bergelar orang ' KL ' (ni pun kalau orang jati KL terima masuk suku) nilah baru aku kenal 'Malam 7 Likur'. Entah apa kelebihan malam ni untuk orang Melayu, aku pun tak pasti. Tapi yang aku selalu nampak adalah rumah-rumah dah mula bermandikan cahaya. Tak cukup cahaya letrik, cahaya minyak tanah pun ada. Fikir 2X, membazir pun ada. Semoga kita ni taklah tergolong dalam golongan orang yang membazir sebab membazir tu sahabat syaitan. Nauuzubillah . Penat puasa, solat, ngaji Quran sepanjang Ramadan, tiba2 hujung Ramadan bersahabat pulak dengan syaitan. Mesti syaitan yang masih bergari tu dah mula nak senyum sebab ada orang dah nak mula bersahabat dengannya. Nauu

Salam All, Today is 25th Ramadhan. I am already on leave. Not because too excited to celebrate the Eid but just to lessen the number of leaves that I still have since this year end I would be busy with the semester and would not have time to take leaves. Secondly, I took leave just to spend more time with my daughter who has safely reached home from Dungun yesterday afternoon. 'Syaitan kena rantai' ... the syaitans (devils) were chained, no syaitan during this Ramadhan, etc. ... these are some of the verses that we normally hear people were saying every Ramadhan. In actual fact, there is a hadith from Rasulallah SAW on this matter: Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "When the month of ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of the (Hell) Fire are closed, and the devils are chained." -Sahih Bukhari If the devils were chained, why are there still people who commit sin? Why are we still (at times) lazy to perform iba