My journey was not an easy one.

This years Hari Raya is just around the corner . It is exactly just 12 days to go . Even this I heard over the TV this morning . I do not realize that we have been fasting for 18 days . Perhaps it is because I am getting old and I am no more eager to celeberate Hari Raya . I guess I do not enjoy Hari Raya as the others do .

Even when I was a kid I did not really enjoy Hari Raya . I could still remember vividly, for us ( me and my siblings , 7 of us ) Hari Raya was just like any other days except that perhaps we were served with meat either chicken or beef as part of the menu . Chicken or beef became part of the menu only twice a year , that was during Hari Raya Idilfitri and Hari Raya Idiladzha / Haji . No Hari Raya clothes for us . Our clothes were just the two pairs of our school uniforms. What a pathetic situation for us . My children may not believe this but I am not ashamed to admit that it is true .Sometimes I would cry if I reminisce of my younger days . I do not blame anyone for the predicaments we were in . My father was just a taxi driver and later became a bus driver while my mother was just a housewife . With a meagre income ( RM.150.00 per month ) it was not enough for our parents to support the seven of us . Being the eldest in the family I felt it was incumbent upon me not to burden them any more and I wanted to get a job as soon as possible . Fortunately for me I did quite well in my Secondary School Entrance Exams ( or UPSR as is known today ) and so was awarded a Federal Minor Scholarship by the Ministry of Education which entitled me to an allowance of RM.30.00 per month .It was in the 1960s and the amount was quite big at that time . My secondary education ( Form 1 - Form 5 ) was practically financed by the scholarship . From there on I changed my mind and determined not only to have a secondary school education but also to proceed further to have a tertiary education .

Nevertheless my journey was not an easy one . All along the way there were challenges I had to face which I am not going to discuss about it here .

Our daughter Farin who is studying at UTM Scudai , Johor would be back on 10th October 2007 for Hari Raya . She is expected to be home till the 20th. October 2007 . At first we were a bit worried that she would not be able to get a bus ticket home because it was announced recently over the TV and the press that there would be a shortage of buses due to the boycot by some bus companies .The bus companies were not satisfied with the government of strict enforcement actions by the JPJ. I would not allow her to drive home because of the distance and the congested roads which could pose danger to her safety. However a few days ago Farin rang up and informed us that she had bought her bus ticket . I guess we would have to send her back to campus on the 20th October . My wife too would want to visit her family in JB too .