Kalau ditanya kita ni siapa, mampukah jawab begini…?

~*`*~

When once asked by a journalist to introduce himself, Imam Shahid Hasan al-Banna said:

“I am a traveler seeking the truth, a human searching for the meaning of humanity and a citizen seeking dignity, freedom, stability and welfare under the shade of Islam. I am a free man who is aware of the purpose of his existence and who proclaims: “Truly, my prayer and my sacrifice, my living and my dying are all for Allah, the Lord of the worlds; no partner has He. This, am I commanded and I am of those who submit to His Will.” This is who I am. Who are you?”

(source:  http://butterflyrubrics.wordpress.com/2005/12/13/al-mathurat/)

…Yes, Bahasa Melayu..ingat ape tadi ek? :-p

This is my first official post in Malay…

I figured that there are certain things which I would feel more expressive if written in Malay.  I’m not sure how far I can go on writing in Malay, but I’ll take a whack at it.  hehe.

So, starting today, I’ll be using both languages, English and Malay for my posts.

Ehem..Jadi, mulai hari ini, saya akan menggunakan dua bahasa, Bahasa Inggeris dan Bahasa Malaysia untuk post-post dalam blog ini.

(haha, took a little time to translate there…)

He contacted my parents on the first day of the riot.  After that, we weren’t able to get hold of him for several days.  Couldn’et get through to him by calling, messages sent unreplied, and the usual online appearances came to a halt.  Only till yesterday did my family’s call reach him.  Phew! What a relief…I thought we’d never get to know his whereabouts…

So, in the meantime of waiting news from him …the only way of knowing what’s going on in his area was through the media depicting what’s going on in Egypt, instead of getting firsthand input from Dromey.

===

If you take a look at the mass media like this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0bDBotP_tk&feature=related

…or this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQD-X9G9xfk&feature=topvideos

…or maybe this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsh4quDRx28&feature=related

..You’d probably get the impression that these protestors are crazy and irrational.

Think again.

One would only reach to that extent for a reasonable pushing reason, because it’s not only one person going at it….it’s THOUSANDS of people.  Citizens would only go to such heights if they are excessively, totally, immensely discouraged and frustrated with the country’s political system and its politicians.

…and it’s obvious the citizens have had enough already.  Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year dictatorship has been a great torture for Egyptian citizens.  Under military rule for so long (Mubarak was an air force officer before he became a politician), Egyptian citizens experienced utmost oppression from the Capitalist government.  The ruling system had been going on for decades…even during Mubarak’s predecessor, Anwar Sadat’s reign.

If that’s not enough, the whole world knows that it’s because of Mubarak that aid to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing won’t get through.  Thus, deceitfully helping crash hopes of the Palestinians for yielding help from those wanting to aid through land routes.

Citizens will not tolerate anymore!

Muslims and non-muslims alike are now battling to overthrow the oppressing Capitalist government.  Anyone who has any ties with the American or Israeli government is a BIG NO NO for the Egyptians.  It is apparent that the road to arise the truth will not be a pretty and easy one.  Whatever happens to Egypt will again affect all nations, as it did for Tunisia and Gaza.  May the whole world see the oppression that’s being overthrown, and one day be united in going against what’s wrong.

Egypt, we’re all praying for the best for your people.  Help open the eyes of the World to lead truth to us all…

===

Dromey…come back home soon.  Hope Malaysia takes action as soon as possible in fetching you there.  May ALLAH get you home safely and determine the best for you back here in Malaysia… Ameen ya RABB…

May Allah Bless You,
“To the world you might be one person, but to one
person you just might be the world”

For all the negative things we have to say to selves
Allah has a positive answer for it.

You say: “It’s impossible”
Allah says: All things are possible

You say: “I’m too tired”
Allah says: I will give you rest

You say: “I can’t go on”
Allah says: My grace is sufficient

You say: “I can’t figure things out”
Allah says: I will direct your steps

You say: “I can’t do it”
Allah says: You can do all things

You say: “I’m not able”
Allah says: I am able

You say: “It’s not worth it”
Allah says: It will be worth it

You say: “I can’t forgive myself”
Allah says: I FORGIVE YOU

You say: “I can’t manage”
Allah says: I will supply all your needs

You say: “I’m afraid”
Allah says: I have not given you a spirit of fear

You say: “I’m always worried and frustrated”
Allah says: Cast all your cares on ME

You say: “I don’t have enough faith”
Allah says: I’ve given everyone a measure of faith

You say: “I’m not smart enough”
Allah says: I give you wisdom

You say: “I feel all alone”
Allah says: I will never leave you or forsake you

You say: “Nobody really loves me”
Allah says: I love you

May Allah Be Pleased With all muslims… Ameen.

I love each and every muslim for the Pleasure of Allah !”It is in rememberance of Allah that the heart finds peace”

Fee Aman Allah

Mohd Nuruddin Mohamed,
Kubang Kerian

Original post: http://nuruddinzenki.blogspot.com/2011/01/this-day-is-yours-grab-it.html

Many authors had written on the subject of worry in their books, some of them are given as per below:

• Napoleon Hill (1883 – 1970), recognized as the all-time American best selling motivational author, once said: “If you are worried or afraid of anything, there is something in your mental attitude that needs correction. Unless you control worry, one day you will discover that it controls you”

• Jeffrey J. Mayer in this book entitled “Success is a Journey” (1999) wrote that worry is one of the six symptoms of fear. In this case, you feel anxious, you’re uneasy, and you are not sure whether you had made the right decision.

• Georgette “Zeta” Galas in her book entitled “How to Break Through Invisible Barriers” (1999), wrote: “When we have a desire and hold on too tight out of fear we may lose it, the end result will surely be anguish. When we know our true selves, worry, doubt and fear will dissolve”.

• Linda R. Dominguez in her book entitled “How to Shine at Work” (2003), wrote that part of turning problems into opportunities is to recognize that we always have a choice. We can choose to be angry, we can choose to worry, or we can choose to be thoughtful and respond in a way that moves us forward. It is up to us.

To learn how to conquer worry, the following worry-related rules adapted from “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living”, first published by Dale Carnegie in 1944, can be used as evergreen examples.

In the early days, Carnegie made his living by teaching adult classes in night schools in New York. He realised that one of the biggest problems of these adults was worry. He wrote his book by reading what the philosophers of all ages have said about worry. He also read hundreds of biographies, all the way from Confucius to Churchill. According to him, we won’t find anything new in his book, but we will find much that is not generally being applied in our daily life.

Rule #1: Instead of worrying about ingratitude, let’s expect it.

A businessman in Texas felt bitter for his thirty-four employees did not say “Thank You” to him after receiving a bonus of about $300 each for Christmas.

According to Carnegie, instead of wallowing in resentment and self-pity, that man might have asked himself why he didn’t get any appreciation.  Maybe he underpaid and overworked his employees. Maybe they considered a Christmas bonus not a gift, but something they had earned. Maybe he was so critical and unapproachable that no one dared or cared to thank him. Maybe they felt that he gave the bonus because most of the profits were going for taxes, anyway.

On the other hand, maybe the employees were selfish, mean, and ill-mannered. Maybe this. Maybe that. According to Carnegie, this man made the human and distressing mistake of expecting gratitude. He just didn’t know human nature.

Rule #2: When fate hands us a lemon, let’s try to make a lemonade.

This was a story of a lady following her army husband who was stationed at an Army training camp near Mojave Desert, in California. The husband was ordered out to maneuvers in the desert, and she was left in a tiny shack alone.

The heat was unbearable — 125 degrees in the shade of a cactus. There was nobody whom she can talk to. The wind blew incessantly, and all the food she ate, and the very air she breathed, were filled with sand, sand, and sand! She wrote to her father, telling him that she was going home as she couldn’t stand the situation one minute longer.

Her father answered her letter with just two lines — the two lines that completely altered her life:

Two men looked out from prison bars,

One saw the mud, the other saw the stars.

Her attitude changed after receiving her father’s reply.  She would look for the stars. She even wrote a book under the title Bright Ramparts …she had looked out of her self-created prison and found the stars.

Rule #3: Basic Techniques in Analysing Worry

This was an insurance man’s interesting story. When he first started selling insurance, he was filled with a boundless enthusiasm and love for his work. Then something happened. He became so discouraged that he despised his work and thought of giving it up. Then on one Saturday morning, he sat down and tried to get at the root of his worries. He began asking himself following questions:

a)    What was the problem?

He was not getting high enough returns for the staggering amount of telephone calls that he made.

b)    What was the cause of the problem?

He did pretty well at selling a prospect, until the moment came for closing a sale. Then the customer would say, “Well, I’ll think it over, Mister. Come and see me again”. The time wasted on these follow-up calls that was causing his depression.

c)    What were all possible solutions?

He checked his record book for the last twelve (12) months and studied the figures carefully. He made an astounding discovery! He discovered that 70% of his sales had been closed at the very first interview! Another 23% of his sales had been closed on the second interview. And another 7% had been closed on those third, fourth, fifth, etc., interviews. He came to the conclusion that he was wasting fully one half of his working day on a part of his business which was responsible for only seven per cent of his sales!

d)    What was the best solution?

He made a quick decision that he would immediately cut all visits beyond the second interview, and spent the extra time building up new prospects.

Conclusion

As stated by Bob Adams in his book entitled “The Everything Time Management Book” (2001): “Don’t worry about things that are beyond your control. Let go. Unnecessary worry only creates unnecessary anxiety. He also added: “Constant worry leads to complications in life. Talk it out and make yourself believe that worry will not help anything; it will only harm. The fewer worries you have, the simpler life will seem”.

We have to believe that part of turning problems into opportunities is to recognize that in anything that we do, we always have a choice. We can choose to be ungrateful, we can choose to worry, or we can choose to be thoughtful and respond positively in a way that moves us forward. It is up to us.

We do not have to go to Harvard to learn that we should worry less about what others think, say and do.

Adapted from iluvislam.com (Original article written by Kamaruddin Hassan)

I learned a new word about 3 weeks ago.

“Gombek!!” Yelled Hanis, my 4-year old little sister.

I asked my other younger sister, Dayah (22 yrs old) what ‘Gombek’ means.  She’s always at home, so she could probably clear me on the newest progress of those two little squirts, Atiqah (6 yrs old) and Hanis.  I also thought that perhaps I might have missed a Kelantanese word people used that I didn’t.

Well…To my surprise, according to Dayah, GOMBEK is a word Hanis created that she didn’t realize she created.  And to the looks of it, it is not a very nice word either.  hehehehe.

Short clip of the girls’ conversation I heard one day:

Atiqah:  Hanis GOMBEK!

Hanis (with confidence): Eh! Tak baiklah kecek (cakap) GOMBEK!  Apo ni, kecek GOMBEK nih!

Atiqah: Gapo dio gak GOMBEK tuh, Hanis kae hok kecek GOMBEK dulu…

Hanis(with an innocent face): Tok tahulaaaa….

*BIG SIGH*

…I was just hoping to get an answer to the big secret word.

GOMBEK still has no meaning….aduh..Hanis, Hanis…

I thought, mana pulak budak ni belajar lagu Krismas ni.  Memang tak boleh dibiarkan adik saya tu terus nyanyi lagu2 Krismas.  I immediately said to Atiqah, “Hey! ape nyanyi lagu-lagu Krismas nih!  Tak baik tau, Tiqah.”  She answered, “Why?  Krismas best laaa.”  Kesiannya adikku ini…

Then it hit me!

I realized that my two youngest little sisters, Atiqah and Hanis are little Disney freaks – they are totally immuned to Disney shows.  It’s every day Disney at home.  Sure, their English vocabulary is quite impressive.  But it seems, rupa-rupanya, ada elemen negatif jugak mereka ni dapat from watching Disney.  Aiya…

Christmas in the US

I grew up in US till I was 13, so I was practically used to the whole Christmas air of Decembers in the US.  Winter would always be synonym to Christmas.  More than a month before Christmas, stores would be filled with Christmas sales.  Everywhere I went, whether it was school, the grocery store, the library, malls, supermarkets, it was RED, GREEN, WHITE!!!  Candy canes…Santa Claus…fake snow(because my place didn’t snow)…stockings..reindeers…Christmas trees…you name it!

It was like this really jolly kind of air in my ex-hometown, Tucson… well, as it seemed.  All my friends at school were telling me of their planned vacations over the 2 week school holiday.  And then there were the stories of the expected presents they were to receive.  Not to forget, the presents they planned to get for their family and stuff.  Some also shared about the couriered gifts they got from grandparents who would send them for they wouldn’t be able to spend Christmas together.

It sounded splendid to me them.

After 10 years having spent Eidulfitr in Malaysia…I can see the HUGE difference between Christmas and Hari Raya.  You could simply get the message from little kids around you.  Listen to what little kids look forward to Hari Raya.

Yeah, sure, ada jugak la sebut…nak duit raya.  But, there’s more that they look forward to.  “Nak jumpa nenek.” “Nanti Raya nak balik kampung, boleh jumpa dengan _____, _____, dan _____”.  And also, kids know already, “Pagi raya nak ikut Mak pegi solat Raya.”

In Tucson, there is no special day off for Hari Raya.  Most Muslims would take their own day off for the first day of Hari Raya.  The main event for us Muslim residents of Tucson would be the mass gathering at either Reid Park or this other park I forgot the name of.  The Masjid in Tucson couldn’t fit the huge Muslim community in Tucson.  The morning would start with the Takbir, reminding all of the Greatness of ALLAH.  This would then lead to the prayer most encouraged to perform for Hari Raya.

Then, it was the part I most looked forward to: eating together with long-not-seen brothers and sisters.  It would be such colourful mornings – the beautiful new outfits of the Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.  Then, there were the elegant Mexicans and Arabs.  There were also the colourful dresses of the Sudans and Algerians.

Conclusion

Eidulfitr teaches the beauty of always remembering ALLAH and the beauty of brotherhood.  Presents and ‘duit raya’ is just an extra element added to the celebration of Eidulfitr.

Can’t wait for next year’s Merry Eidultfitr!

Being in my last semester of my degree years (YEaH!!!), we TESLians have to complete an Academic Exercise (we all shorten it to ‘AE’).  We all see it as a miniature thesis.

My title:

English Language Classroom Anxiety:  A Comparative Study Among Special Programme and Regular Programme School Students

Going back to what I was saying… SPSS… I’d like to share with you my struggle with it.  3  reasons why it has been a BIG challenge for me:

1)  I am SO not good with numbers.

I am a visual type person, to understand anything, I need to be able to picture it.  Find it difficult to understand why everyone wants a mean and standard deviation for everything! LOL…(*thank you to Puan Wan Hartini & En. Norazman for helping me get cleared on that)

2)  My data was not going easy on me.

Life could be easier if my data was straight forward and gave out results the way most past research I read through did.  Unfortunately for me, it didn’t.  A lot of stuff came out insignificant and contradict one another and stuff…  leaving me to work out other methods in the SPSS to give me results I can use for my discussion.  ANOVA, paired Sample t-test, Reliability analysis, independent t-test??? AARGH…

My supervisor is one of those perfectionist kind of types, and wanted me to make sure my procedures absolutely follow the right statistical methods.  So a lot of SPSS studying went on throughout these 2 months!!  (did I mention my Hari Raya holiday was given a fair portion to SPSS??? – yup, early mornings/late nights SPSS, those other times would go to actual berhari raya)

3)  Have to juggle with all other heavy subjects.

I found out that in other universities, last semesters would go fully to last semester projects.  Even if there were any subjects, it would be ‘light’ ones.  Well, we juggled both.

So this past semester was all about heavy assignments + AE (SPSS!!)

Rajin betul UiTM ni….huhuhu

So, did I get anything from all this??

An absolute yes!

Sure, my other peers didn’t have to struggle with their SPSS as much as I did.  Perhaps their data was more cantik. Certain friends who started later than me were able to submit AE earlier than I could.

But, due to all I’ve learnt throughout the struggle – the unreliable reliability, contradicting data,  the hundreds of online SPSS tutorials, SPSS lecturer consultations, I feel I am much more prepared to face my future masters! (thank you Mdm Aida!)

This all taught me patience, perseverance, determination.  Yezza!

I like to remind myself:

“What doesn’t kill you just makes you stronger.

That’s the secret behind ALLAH’s trials.”

Thank you ALLAH!

One of the many tutorials I went through (very helpful):

I go back to Kelantan only once every few months, so some amnesia thing goes on where I can’t remember where certain kitchen tools, or other certain things are placed in the kitchen.  That’s how I call Mak when I try to find something.

Mak patiently answers to my call and and shows me whatever is needed.  Well, that’s my way to be manja with Mak for a sec.  “Mommy…” hehe.  She would never negatively reply back and say something like “Ape panggil mommy-mommy nih, mak is enough.”  Sabar Mak ye…..

Being in Melaka, whenever a problem makes me tense or a bit ‘off’, Mak’s just a phone call away.  Just need to talk to her to soothe my emotions; tenangkan jiwa.

At times, when calling Mak, I would actually tell Mak what’s going on, what my problems are, express all my worries… to get advice from Mak.  So Mak would actually know that her eldest daughter over here in Melaka is going through a major earth-toppling dilemma.  But, at other times, when I feel stressed, I would call mak just to hear her calm voice and ask about any new things that are happening at home.  Perhaps ask about my cute little 4-year old sister and what are her new progresses.  From mimicking people to ordering people around, to becoming an extreme barbie-pc-game freak..haha… that little spoiled dwarf :-p I miss her so much….Hanis…

Mak is always willing to spend her precious time in updating me on whatever needs to be updated.  Yup, being the oldest sister, have to always keep progress of the younger ones.  Mak understands that.

Like I was saying, at times, I would just ask what goes on at home.  I wouldn’t actually tell Mak that I’m stressed out.  Because I know, if I do, Mak would start to worry.  I’m sure she’d be worrying more than I worry about myself.   So I don’t tell her that I’m stressed out….I just try to laugh and joke around with Mak to let my tense go away…I just ask of her du’as…

Mak’s du’as are priceless…..

Sometimes I think to myself, how can Mak be so understanding of me?  When I feel like the whole world is putting pressure on me, and the sky seems to be falling, but at the end of the day, I could still turn to my Mak for shelter.  There are times where not one person could understand problems I face or what I really want, even myself.  But Mak could understand.

I think to myself…. what kind of ‘magic’ has ALLAH given to all these mothers to make them such special and wonderful people.  The sincerity within their hearts for what they do for their children it above all the noblest of noble.  SubhanALLAH.

“We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents; in pain did his mother bear him, and in pain did she give him birth..”

(Al-Ahqaf:15).

I am now in my last month of my degree years.  Have I taken for granted everything my Mak has to offer…yes, I have… astaghfiruLLAH…  How I envy my little sister who gets to stay at home and help Mak.  What am I able to do for Mak from Melaka?

Forgive me Mak, for all my wrongdoings…

You are the QUEEN of my heart, Mak….Mommy

I LOVE YOU…..

According to the PM, there were three key issues raised – employment, taxes and subsidies, and education.

In his words, “employment was the most frequently discussed with some of you calling for the implementation of a minimum wage policy”. Also, he noted that “comments from the youth requested for increased tax rebates for young families or ways to provide financial assistance in managing the rising cost of living”. As for education, the feedback on his blog related to concerns with education quality and the rising cost of education.

Now that the budget has been unveiled, it is clear that the civil servants preparing the budget have completely ignored the Prime Minister. Firstly, the implementation of the minimum wage policy has been further deferred for the umpteenth time. The only beneficiaries of wage reform appear to be security guards who deservedly see their minimum wages raised and female civil servants who will now have longer maternity leave.

• As for education, whilst there is a substantial allocation to cater for recurring operational expenditure and some new infrastructural spending, there is nothing new in the budget that can allay the number one concern of middle-class Malaysians. Especially disappointing is the failure to grant relief for private higher education costs which are rising steeply.

• Given the trend, it looks like higher education will soon be affordable only to those that can get into the public universities or those who have wealthy parents – and also perhaps those that can draw on financing from family members and Ah Longs.

• Affordable housing has been very much in the news even if there have been few letters to the Prime Minister on the topic. It is now beyond the reach of many in the younger age group living in the larger towns and especially in the Klang Valley. There is no evidence in the budget of any official concern to tackle the problem.

• There are also no measures aimed at curbing the rising cost of living. Why is there a lack of attention to addressing the rising costs of housing, transport and health as well as food? Part of the reason is the government’s Alice in Wonderland estimate of inflation – it has projected a figure of 2-3 per cent for the year. Further, according to the government’s estimate, Malaysians will be quite a bit wealthier in 2011 compared with 2010. Per capita income is expected to go up by 6.1 per cent to RM28,000, and income in terms of purchasing power parity will hit US$16,000.

• This is of course data which does not reflect real life – just a hypothetical average. The majority of Malaysians will, in fact, not only feel but will indeed be poorer rather than richer in 2011 given the relentless rise in cost of living that is not reflected in the inflation data.

• One group though that will not be poorer will be the big guns benefiting from the slew of mega projects contained in the budget. They include the planned erection of a RM5 billion tower. This is a potential monstrosity which will serve little purpose except bring to a standstill traffic in that congested part of the city. It is obscene that this is being done in the name of honouring the country’s heritage.

• Hopefully citizen groups, residents in the area and heritage organisations can organise and bring pressure to bear on the government to stop this project before it gets off the ground.

• As evidence of how poorly conceived the budget planning process has been, it should be noted that the budgeted amount for the year for all the corridor projects – which is supposed to help decentralise development and increase rural incomes and well-being in the other parts of the country – is only one-third of that allocated for this massive planned erection.

• It is disappointing that the budget does not deal at all with the procurement issue which has resulted in wastage, inefficiency and higher costs to the average Malaysian in the last 30 years. Presumably we are going to see business as usual in the tenders for Private-Public Partnership projects and the continuation of “privatized gain and socialized losses”.

• Another concern is that much of the budget continues to go into operating a bloated civil service. As much as three quarters of the national budget is spent on paying salaries and other benefits to over 1.3 million civil servants.
  • This means that of every dollar spent in the budget, 75 sen goes towards manning the civil service, leaving little left to carry out development work that can benefit the country’s population. There is clearly something fundamentally wrong in the way the country’s budget is being spent when so much of the allocation goes to paying for a sector that is generally regarded as unproductive and standing in the way of efficiency.

• Finally, this is a budget that is touted as being friendly to business. The question is not only which and what businesses will benefit but also whether the projects undertaken will benefit the country.

From the listed projects, it appears that we are returning to the era of mega high-status, expensive projects which will provide little value-added to the Malaysian economy. Projects such as the proposed RM5 billion tower should be scrapped, and the resources spent instead on the expansion of public housing, transport, health and other badly needed amenities and services that can truly benefit the ordinary people.

(Adapted from: http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2010/10/16/budget-2011-a-budget-for-the-big-boys-and-civil-servants/)