Saya Mengucapkan `SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI' Maaf Zahir Batin..

Besok, 1 Syawal, umat Islam di Malaysia akan merayakan Hari Raya Idilfitri selepas sebulan berpuasa. Dan dalam sebulan itu juga saya seberapa yang terdaya, dengan izinNya Allah yang Maha Besar lagi Penyayang, Pemurah, dan Pengasih, maka terpaparlah penulisan dari berbagai sudut pengalaman seseorang atau kumpulan , di dalam dan diluar negara. Tidak ketinggalan juga penulisan yang merupakan pengalaman yang di alami oleh saya sendiri.

Catatan demi catatan telah tertulis dan ada yang tepat ada yang tidak. Ada hanya berupa simbolik kepada persitiwa yang sudah, sedang, atau yang mungkin berlaku. Dan ada yang hanya merupakan mainan khayalan saya semata-mata.

Satu perkara yang agak ketara ialah penulisan saya dalam bahasa Inggeris. Tak tahu apa nak kata, terkadang terdengar dengan kuatnya suara hati dalam bahasa mat salleh itu. Mungkin `background' saya yang banyak terdedah kepada suasana Inggeris baik di sekolah mahu pun pendedahan saya di seberang laut dan juga kerjaya saya di Malaysia yang memerlukan berbahasa Inggeris. Atau sememangnya hati saya memiliki dua hati dan dua perasaan, Melayu dan Inggeris. Inggerislah saya bila saya berbahasa Inggeris dan Melayulah saya kalau saya berbahasa Melayu. That is me! Tak tahu lah, dan mohon maaf kepada pembaca yang menganggap saya tidak patriotik.

Akhirnya, kepada pengunjung yang telah membuat komen, terima kasih saya ucapkan kerana dengan komen tersebut dapat saya mengusahakan penulisan dan topik yang lebih tepat dan bermutu lagi. Untuk pengetahuan pembaca, saya juga telah mengunjung blog blog lain dan telah membuat komen di blog mereka. Tak tahu lah samaada komen saya tepat atau tidak. Tetapi kata orang komen tetap komen!

Di Hari Raya yang mulia ini, sama samalah kita menyambutnya dengan kadar kudrat, hati, perasaan dan wang yang ada dan termampu. Dan saya sekeluarga memohon maaf zahir dan batin jika apa apa yang tersilap tulis dan menyebabkan hati terguris.

Wassalam.

The loneliest of heart, and the morbid of place...

The morbid of a place, the strewn of things in its bits and pieces, the crackle silence of an abandon alley, the expressionless face of individuals, and the creepy beat of the heart in the shadow of darkness, all sum up to a point, they are still alive and ticking. With sombre look, and non-haste walk and talk, and the gleam of half-shut eyes, they seem to belong to a life long forgotten. It has become a nobody's town now. But it is a god forsaken town that seem to forbid anybody to be near or come any closer. Is it because of the sin of the pasts, or sin of traitors that once roam and control the seas and the settlement near the rivers? Are they the grandchildren that curses seem to stay and stick and make them crawl in the hottest of heat. Are they?

There is no taker for the love of something...

There is no taker for the love of something or someone...It is all giving. Is that what life is all about? As always I would say I don't know. Here we are not talking specific but in `generalities.' Everywhere, everybody, every time, people start talking on the same topic almost daily and it seems there are more talker to listener, more books to readers, or more products to buyers. For that matter we don't listen. It is a life of all `expressing' and the response is all`distressing.' We are being presented with the idea of an effective communication encompassing all the elements of sender and receiver and the what not, but when comes to `actualities', everything comes to a naught. There is no movement or in Melayunya `anjakan.' In other words there is no sign of shifting. So what shall we do? Cry not, die not, but just do what you have to do. Sometimes heart that matters. Because heart resides the truth. Thus it is not the`generalities' but the `specific' that would spell success... Remember, we don't share dreams.. It is yours for the taking.

Presidential Debate

Bank crisis overshadows defense in first debate
Obama calls meltdown ‘final verdict’ on Bush; McCain urges spending freeze

Ini politik cara orang Amerika. Saya masih teringat ketika belajar di sana, debate beginilah yang ditunggu oleh segenap lapisan masyarakat penduduk Amerika termasuk golongan pelajar. Teringat saya, semasa Reagan berdebat dengan Carter, saya terpaksa menyelit dicelah ribuan pelajar yang begitu ramai menunggu perdebatan tersebut yang diadakan secara langsung dan dipaparkan di `giant screen' di dewan univeristi. Tak kira dari parti mana, mereka diberi kebenaran memasukki kawasan universiti untuk berkempen..

Of kind and harsh words..Of quality,productivity and charity...

I am just expressing my disappointment with the outcome of their work. Am I fighting a losing battle? I don't know. Or am I putting the benchmark for quality work too high? I don't think so. They are just taking advantage of the situation. They seem to fail in fighting themselves. Or they do not see the worth in fighting? Or there are nothing to fight for? Their attitude is mere taker not giver. They don't see them as a producer. If I were to define my mission, it is none other to make this country great! Everybody must create and produces something. But what do I get? Frustration.

Caught in this situation, of kind and harsh words, which would I choose? I have it all. Should I opt for both? I don't know. Fasting month should display creativity, productivity, and charity. We still have three more fasting days before the celebration of Hari Raya. As for the winner, the celebration is indeed a symbol of having a strong faith in the Greatness of Allah. Can they be a winner? If they are still far, far from achieving the divine objective, some soul-searching must be done...here and now..

Of strong felt relations...

Of strongly felt relationship...funny! Today I have been swarmed by thoughts and feeling asking me to make a rundown of all things I love and cherished most. I can't do that. Of what I felt most and of what I have a strong feeling to, that I think is possible.

Strange! Of what I cherished and love most might not necessarily give me that very needed attention I craved for. Perilous existence indeed!! What a thought! Life works well when we fail to make a sensible equation out of anything especially when comes to discussing about positive relationship among human beings. Happiness is the consciousness of things that run opposite to everything that is loving and positive. The love for nature is an exception. That is indeed the equation I have been searching and has been restless for some time. Being conscious of that, then I can go back to my work..

`SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI' Maaf Zahir Batin..

They are heading home for the Hari Raya and I wish them SELAMAT HARI RAYA and take care. At their age, they are very excited of getting home. Parents, brothers, and sisters, are everything to them. Their facial expression and gesture are all indicators of wanting to be there the soonest.
Have a safe `balik kampung' and SELAMAT HARI RAYA....

Mendekati istilah `bubble'...

29/09/08 ;Traders in a frenzy on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange yesterday as fear swept across the financial markets, sending the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 780 points, after the US government's financial bailout package failed to be passed by the House. — AP pic

`Bubble' dalam Melayunya buih. Buih hanya seronok dipandang tetapi cepat pecah. Orang ekonomi atau mereka yang berada dalam bidang pemasaran suka melihat `bubble' ini dalam konteks jatuhnya sebuah syarikat gergasi dan membawa kepada kelumpuhan ekonomi negara kaya dan tempiasnya terkena ke negara yang sedang membangun.

`Bubbling proses' ini bukan dibuat-buat atau diada-adakan. Ia juga sukar diramalkan kekuatan dentuman yang boleh meranapkan. Apabila terjadi ia merupakan pengajaran dan ingatan kepada umat kerana dosa manusia yang kaya raya dan lupa daratan. Oleh kerana nila setitik maka rosak susu belanga.

Ada beberapa petanda kepada `bubbling' ini. Itupun kita kena berhati dalam membuat analisa kerana petanda itu mungkin hanya `false alarm' atau petanda palsu. Dalam pada itu, negara terkaya di dunia, Amerika Syarikat, telah dilanda oleh `bubble-bubble' yang pecah ini dan pemebersihannya (bail-out) telah dianggarkan $700 billion! Congress telah berbelah bagi dalam soal ini. Tengok tajuk berita ini:

Bush to address country about bailout plan
Paulson reportedly compromises, will add limits on executive compensation

Bush: ‘Our entire economy is in danger’
President uses prime time address to make case for $700 billion bailout

updated 10:33 p.m. ET Sept. 24, 2008

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Wednesday warned Americans and lawmakers reluctant to pass a $700 billion financial rescue plan that failing to act fast risks wiping out retirement savings, rising foreclosures, lost jobs, closed businesses and even "a long and painful recession."

Apa dah jadi?

Satu daripada penyebab kepada `bubble' ini adalah pemeberian berlebihan gaji dan bonus kepada pegwai pegawai tinggi yang menampakan kerakusan manusia tanpa memikirkan golongan yang lebih miskin, daif dan memerlukan. Bayangkan Merrill Lynch (yg sekarang mengalami saat kegelapan), pada satu ketika telah memberi bonus tahunan kepada pegawai atasannya sejumlah USD$200,000!

Cuba renungkan laporan ini yang berlaku didepan mata kita sendiri:

The government’s main investment wing, Khazanah Nasional Berhad last week tabled a proposal to increase the salary of the CEO of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh by 100%, which means the salary will be doubled. Apart from Che Khalib, the utility company’s CFO, Datuk Izzadin Idris will also be getting the same rate of salary increase.

It was announced by Khazanah’s Managing Director, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar.
The timing also could not have come at a worse time, with the country now facing an economic downturn and uncertainties after the recent price hikes of petrol and household goods. Questions are also looming over the fate of other 28,000 long serving TNB staff, who are said to be subject to limited pay increase.

TNB’s annual report revealed that Che Khalib’s total remuneration for the year 2007 was RM1.1 million, out of which RM600,000 was his annual salary. On average, he received a staggering RM92,000 per month. The RM1.1 million amount will be able to pay approximately 60 junior executives earning about RM1,500 for a one year period.

`Market forces' atau `arus pasaran' selalu sangat disalah ertikan dalam pemasaran. Dunia sudah begitu canggih dengan sains dan teknolojinya menyebabkan arus juga boleh dipesongkan. Teori `kejurujualan' ada meperkatakan tentang hal ini. `Discover needs' dan `create needs' adalah dua perkara yang sangat berbeza `fitrahnya.' Pemasaran sekarang tidak berpijak di bumi nyata lagi. `Markets are no longer being based on needs that are discovered and genuine, but more often now it is being based on needs that are created from the sky, so to speak.' If ever there is a rich man's land, then the market is none other than a created market. Tetapi wajah dan rupa pasaran tidak hanya khususnya untuk orang kaya dan berada, tetapi juga untuk yang kurang pendapatan dan sangat memerlukan. Di sinilah berlaku kelalaian dan kelekaan. When you start play game with the devil, sooner or later the devil would make you more devillish than ever. Once you got the expensive taste of a devil, life then is no turning back..till it dawns upon the country bleak years of recession or depression. That is what is happening to USA now and probably to another economy in other part of the world.

Ini yang berlaku kepada kaum Nabi Noah yang mana akhirnya ditenggelami oleh banjir besar kerana yang pandai dan cerdik memperlekehkan pengikut Nabi Noah yang miskin, daif, dan hidup dalam kemiskinan.

Adakah keadaan yang sama akan berlaku kepada umat hari ini? I leave to you to do more analisis. Kita dibekalkan dengan kebolehan berfikir, maka gunakanlah kebolehan itu sebaik mungkin buat kebaikan bersama.

Remembering those days...

Long time ago I wrote this...

They are good people. The husband, Mr. Lyle and wife Mrs Ann Neeb, both are very cultured in their actions and words. So are their sons and daughter, Mark, Mike , and Heidi.

Heidi, their 10 year-old daughter , has a special place in my memory because of her drawing of me with words that are very touching. The night before the day I headed back to my university, the whole family gathers in the living room, Heidi played the piano with songs that truly represents the spirit of Mid-West American family....

Thought and behavioural infinity...23 puasa

Bottomless pit...terapung tiada sempadan, tiada kesudahan tetapi in control. Apa dia? Macam padang pasir, atau lubok berhantu, or a place called lubok pasu, caught swirling in a place called no man's land without ownership without title, without direction, like being thrown into a state or sphere of infinity, a beautiful one.. Hendak katakan jatuh, memang ada rasanya terjatuh. Bukan proses jatuh tetapi sensasi impaknya yang ditunggu tunggu. Sakit sangat ke? Atau terlalu indah sehingga tiada perkataan dapat menggambarkanya!! Ramai yang berteriak, `rumah terbakar`, `dia berlanggar', atau `dia jumpa kawan'..kesemua ungkapan tersebut membawa sensasi `thought and behavioural infinity.' Agaknya itulah pemikiran, perasaan , dan penulisan. Dengar teriakan `you next!' sudah cukup boleh mengaktifkan perasaan infinity yang disebut tadi. Not the behavioural side of it but the infinity of thoughts that seem to have no definite destination...it keeps on going or swirling round and round, upside down, inside up.. but I keep on breathing, faintly calling for help, take my hand and pull me out from that pit of infinity...

Die hard....the X-factor...

Everybody has his or her own agenda. So are the various organisations and groups. They too have their own agenda. Despite of the so-called planned and strategic move as claimed by some, we can still feel and see the mess created everywhere, which include politically, economically and socially. From what I see, despite the concerted effort of various organisation to fight for something, most of them are placed on the wrong side of the equation. It is a loser's equation, so to speak.

This is what I am trying to mean. In a buying selling situation, a winner is always the producer or the manufacturer. So if you want to fight a winning battle, place yourself as the producer and not as the consumer. The consumer is unsure of anything until they have a strong feel for wanting something. In the generic scenario of nature, leaders are leaders and followers are followers. The leader is proactive, the followers are reactive. If by chance a follower would find himself as a leader due to some miscalculations, the question is, would he be ready to take up the role?? It would put the country or organization in jeopardy if a leader still sees himself as a follower.

That is the reason why I have never seen a truly heated argument that can open one's mind to infinity of questions and solutions. What about our own member of parliament? If it is a class situation, the students should feel themselves as a leader and as such discuss things intelligently. Not in a million years they can improve themselves if they still feel themselves as followers. I hope this small piece writing of mine, is a wake up call to all those who want to improve themselves. Want examples? USA and our neighbour, Singapore. Remember we are born to conquer and not to be conquered!

So cool, so big, so divine...

So cool, so big, so divine..Lying low but the heart touches the sky..Sounds familiar ? No. Never heard of that. Right? Me neither.Only just now. Haha. So hard to fathom the thoughts of others what more a country with 27 million of pulses, an analyst might see it all. Life is not seen as a straightforward thinking. Say `good' to another person, what do you get? A slap in the face!! A person say yes but 100 says no. So clear it is something good and benefited them most, but it finds its way in the garbage can. Pembaca sekalian. Minta maaf ye? Semalam perut saya meragam. Hari ini otak saya pula meragam.

oddities in life...sedikit keganjilan..!

Mathematically, everything seems do not compute. It stinks! It should be yesterday not today. It should be done last year not this year. But it is today! Why you why me why she why he? How would I know? And why now? Oddities are everywhere. I got a sms telling me how I have been missed! Miss what? Miss kena tipuke? Rubbish. Not a word spoken when you have all the the time in this world to see me. One plus one is equal to two. But I teach my student it is not. It all depends what the one represents. One female cat plus one male cat, and after giving them time would lead to 5 or six cats. Wow! Bertrand Russel would woke up from his grave and salute me for that philosophy in mathematics. He has never come across that line of thinking before! Oh ye..orang mati mana boleh fikir kan..? Being crazy with figures would find yourself doing nothing but smiling while breaking your puasa. Bini tanya, tak puasa ke? Senyum je ni..ada ape ape ke.? Itu bini. Kalau Napoleon pulak? Beware of Napoleon! He would send you to the gallows. He hates philosopher. No wonder he was being exiled to St Helena to make him understand 1 + 1 = 0. Haha. I have to stop here. Odd! Tengah syok syok berhenti. Terlupa minum tongkat ali ke..?Bukan..Ingat tak awak kata Dr Mahathir, sebelum kenyang kena berhenti makan. That is odd! He is already 84, 85, whatever. He has to do that kalau tidak dia tak akan nampak angka 86. haha. Anyway, I have to stop here. Perut meragam!

Is life a distortion...?

I have been visited by strange thoughts these few days. Among the thought that has being playing on my brain is `perception.' The word perception has been playing on my thinking for quite a while now. As usual I have no problem in handling the situation. I write.


Perception has become close and intimate to me since I took teaching as my profession. Year in and year out the explanation is none other this. Perception has three components: the selective attention, the selective distortion, and the selective retention. Often I say this to the students, don't force upon you to like me if your background in the perceptual process would say otherwise. And the same applies to me, my preference of someone or something is well being determined by my past experiences. As such, I have only one sight, one hearing, one liking, and one understanding, when facing someone face-to-face. Nevertheless, it would be a different story if you give me sometime to think on something or someone. The depth thinking would make me observed things differently. So I would say we can be very emotional when facing someone face-to-face. The reason can be traced to one's development of perception. Thinking of someone from afar, it would be different. The interpretation can be more logical.


That is what perception in the English language. How would you explain it in Malay? Easy. In the form of equation:


Persepsi = Tersekat + Terlekat + Tersesat


We are what we have been exposed to for a long time, and as a result of the familiarity, we developed a pseudo-world that seems to be very real. That is the reason why we feel more comfortable when we are at home and among familiar faces.So next time you find yourself far away from home, give time to adjust and slowly you would like the place. This is because perception wears off after you are expose to a different place long enough to realize life is a distortion. Is it?

Komen buat Najib TPM melalui website beliau www.1malaysia.com.my

Komen ini ditulis pada malam 16 Sept 2008, sehari sebelum perlantikan beliau sebagai Menteri Kewangan Malaysia. http://www.1malaysia.com.my/

Pada mata kasar,negara kita aman. Berkunjunglah ke setiap bandar, aktiviti yang ternampak menggambarkan perpaduan bangsa dan kaum yang tidak tercemar oleh `pergolakan' di Kuala Lumpur yang sering dipaparkan dikaca kaca TV dan di dada suratkhabar. (Bertanggungjawab ke TV dan suratkhabar ini?)

Itu luaran nya, tetapi `gelombang minda' yang sedang berlaku dan menyeluruh pula tidak ternampak. Ianya sangat dirasai kalau kita bercakap dengan orang orang muda.Saya melihat,mungkin tidak disedari,orang-orang politik dan kerajaan suka membawa cerita lama kedalam dunia yang serba canggih dan baru ini.Hal tuntutan cuepacs, misalnya,orang orang muda ini rasa terasing dan terpisah kerana ramai antara mereka tidak kerja dgn kerajaan. Banyak lagi contoh yang boleh diberi.Fahamilah `arus perdana' pemikiran dan kerisauan mereka dalam konteks `this is my country and this is my world'.Is it?

Rata rata hidup mereka baru bermula. Mereka memerlukan perkhidmatan bas yg sempurna, perkhidmatan LRT yang tidak sesak, dan perkhidmatan lain yang menjanjikan pendapatan dan gaya hidup yang sempurna bersesuaian dgn generasi dan zaman mereka. Mereka menganggapkan itu adalah hak mereka. Dan mereka ini terdiri dari semua orang muda dari berbagai bangsa dan kaum dan suku kaum.We are facing young people yang sangat dahagakan perkara baru yg boleh menolong mereka memantapkan impian mereka dari mula mereka melangkah keluar hendak berkerja sehingga mereka melangkah pulang kepangkuan isteri atau keluarga dan dalam masa yang dijangkakan dan keadaan yang selamat.

So Datuk Seri, address more and act more on issues that affect the young people and I think you will have a safe passage to becoming a respectable Prime Minister. Beri mereka banyak peluang untuk berinteraksi sesama mereka dan dalam proses itu meningkat maju kerjaya dan kehidupan mereka.Pemberian wang tidak akan menyelesai masalah, tetapi beri mereka banyak peluang dan wujudkan pasarana lantas membuka banyak ruang dan peluang dalam bentuk pengisian apa sahaja fizikal dan mental, dan dimana sahaja, lantas akhirnya mereka akan merasai `together we are one Malaysia.." Kalau senario itu berlaku, tidak ada orang lain yang dapat mengugat kedudukan Datuk Seri. Selamat berpuasa, Wassalam.