Malaysia goes to the poll on March 8.

In about a week's time Malaysians would once again be given the chance to exercise their rights to choose their representatives either in Parliment or in the State Legislative Assemblies. Unfortunately the campaignings are not as incessive and extensive as in the previous General Elections inspite of the fact that this time the campaigning period is the longest , 13 days .This is perhaps because the parties taking part already knows of the outcome of this General Election .

With due respect , the Malays especially , still are so tied down to their so called savior party , the UMNO .This is perhaps due to the incessant brainwashing by the government via the prime medias such as the TV and the newspapers . Even during this campainging period of this General Election the BN has been misusing the TV and the radios which are publicly funded , to campaign for their party . This is definitely a blatant misuse of public fund . Don't the right thinking people especially the Malays realize this ? Don't the Election Commission people notice this that it is an offence under the Election Act ? Well , who dares take action ?

Frankly , I am not against the BN government . I am grateful to the governement for the development made in this country .I have been a BN supporter all these while till I realized the series of mismanagement and blunders commited by the government . The most recent was the VK Lingam's case whereby most of us have lost faith in the judiciary of this country . That Indian lawyer could easily pull by the nose of the Chief Justice of Malaysia so much so even the judgemnet notes were even writen and prepared by the said lawyer . I was rightly dismayed when he could even arranged for the promotions of certain judges including that of the previous CJ which was supposed to be the prerogative of the PM. What does this reflect on the (former) PM ? That he too was easily pulled by the nose by the said lawyer . Surprisingly the so called then de-facto Law Minister Dato Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor who played a major role in the VK lingam's blunder are nominated again to stand in this General Election in Putra Jaya . Unwise decisions such as this by the BN make us wonder whether they are really serious to clean up their organisation and the government as promised .Claims by the PM that BN aspiring candidates are screened by the Police , ACA and other relevant authorities before they are accepted as candidates are just mere empty talks.

In order for Malaysia to have a good and credible government , Malaysia also need a good number of opposition parlimentarians who could be the guardian of the ordinary people's rights and welfare . They could also be a check and balance for the government so that they would not dare do as they pleases . The Malays especially the kampong folks should be made to realize the importance of this fenomena in a democratic country in order to ensure their rights and welfare are well protected . The Malays should not follow blindly and simply swallow what the government tells them . They should be able to think for themselves and make decisions according to their needs and the locality where they live in . Undeniably , we still want the BN to rule but with a good number of oppositions in Parliment who could voice out our grouses and feelings . The government should not take us for a ride and do whatever they like according to their whims and fancies or try to rake as much benefits as they could for them and their cronies out of the government's coffers .They should now realize that to be in the government , that does not mean that they are here to gain anything other than to serve the people . All these years that was the mentality of most of the BN wakil rakyats . That is why most of them suddenly become an overnight millionaires/billionares .

In memory of our late uncle ,Wak Shid .

At about 11.00 am today my wife received news that her uncle which we called Wak Shid ( Pak Rashid ) had passed away at about 8.00 am. He was in his 70s .At first she thought that it could have been a joke or a mistaken identity . I asked her to make inquiries to ascertain the truth of the information . To our surprise the information was confirmed to be true . Immediately , my wife and I got into our car and proceeded towards USJ Subang Jaya . While on the way we received information that the late Wak Shid's body had been brought to the Al Falaq Mosque at USJ 9, Subang Jaya and so we proceeded to that place . We reached the Mosque at about 1.15 pm. As the body was being bathed for the last time before burial , I performed the sunnah prayer ( Tahyatul Masjid ) and then recited the surah Yassin for the late Wak Shid . When the bathing rituals were completed I went to the room where the body was kept to pay my last respect before it was wrapped in a piece of white cloth for burial which was scheduled after Zohor prayers . Before leaving the room I recited the verse of Al Fatihah again .

The late Wak Shid was my late father in law's younger brother . He was a former engineer turned businessman and lived in Petaling Jaya most of the time before shifting to Subang Jaya . His death touched my heart because lately he was close to us . He had been to our house several times although we have yet to visit him in his house . He liked to joke and his presence would make conversation lively . I remember the last time I met him was in October 2007 ( a few days after Hari Raya ) at Asrina's ( our niece ) house in Putra Jaya where she invited us for 'makan ' . Wak Shid and his wife and brother in-law Hassan and family were also there . He was very jovial and we chatted on many subjects . His presence and his jokes made our conversation lively . I noticed that this old man was quite religious . When the time for prayer came , he would excuse himself to perform his obligation to Allah . His knowledge on Islam was stunningly impressive for he could quote the verses from the Quran relevant to our subject of converstaion . What made me impossible to forget him was when he played ' Imam ' during my Asar prayers on that day . At first he was reluctant to be the Imam but I insisted that he should be since he was senior in age to me . I still vividly remember when he performed the 'sujud' ritual which lasted so long that I almost wonder what he was doing in that situation . Obviously he was reciting a long ' doa ' . Any way being a ' makmum ' I obligingly followed . From Asrina's house we parted to proceed to my sister in-law's ( Cik Cah ) house in Shah Alam . Unfortunately Wak Shid and his wife could not joined us there . That was the last time we saw of him alive . I had planned to visit him in his house but due to some unavoidable reasons it had to be postponed several times . One of the reasons we failed to visit him was because my wife failed to note down his home address . I have been reminding my wife several times to note down addresses and phone numbers of relatives so that we could visit them when necessary . Only today that my wife made an effort to find the late Wak Shid's home address , even that after having received news of his death . It was a bit too late which we deeply regreted .

We have lost a good uncle . He obviously deserved a better place in Heaven . The short stint knowing him has tremendously made a great impact on our perception of this good old man . Another chapter of a life had closed . We who still remain in this world should always remember that life is short . Life in this world is just a passing through on our journey to eternal life in the World After . The world has existed for thousands or perhaps millions of years ( since Prophet Adam ) and we do not know how many more years it would last . People have been borned and people have died . The dead are remembered for their good and bad deeds . Those who have entered the books of History would be remembered a little bit longer while the rest would soon be forgotten . Ordinary people like us perhaps if we are lucky would be remembered by our children and the most may be by our grand children too but those unlucky one would soon be forgotten even by their own children . As Muslims we are told that when we die we would leave only 3 things which we will continue to benefit after death :-

1) charity that we have given which continue to benefit mankind

2) beneficial knowledge which we have imparted

3) supplication or ' doa ' by our righteous or God fearing ( solleh ) children

All the rest like property etc. would render useless except perhaps only for the benefit of our living children . It would be most dreadful if none of my children would want to recite the ' doa ' for me when I am dead .

To Wak Shid ,I pray that he would rest in peace and be placed among the faithfuls in Heaven . Amin .

Chinese New Year 2008-Year of the Rat.

Unlike the previous years this year's Chinese New Year celebration was a very sombre one with hardly any sound of fire crackers fired even in the Chinese majority areas in Klang . This was perhaps due to the discovery of a go-down filled with illegally imported fire crackers and subsequently lead to the confisctaion of the item which are most sought by the Chinese community . The boarders of Malaysia-Thailand incidentally are tightly monitored to prevent the smuggling to Thailand of government subsidised goods by unscruplous get rich quick businessmen . The sound of fire crackers could only be heard sparingly whenever there is a Lion Dance in attendance . I personally feel that the firing of fire crackers is unnecessary .It would only lead to negative things such as fire , disturbance of the peace and wastage . After all fire crackers are banned in Singapore and China . Why should there be any exception for Malaysia ?

On the first day of Chinese New Year accompanied by daughter Farin ( who was back from UTM for the Chinese New Year Holiday ), grand daughter Alisya and wife I went to my old friend's house , Mr. Tan Poh Sim in Batu Belah , Klang . It has been the host's practice for many years to serve us with KFC . Mr Tan is a close friend for over 20 years and every year we would visit him and vice versa ( he and his wife would visit us on Hari Raya ) . This friend of mine has lost a considerable amount of weight . He too looked elderly than before . However he commented that I have put on weight and advised me to do some exercises . He is not a rich man but he is very careful in his spendings and that's what made him to be successful property owner today . I do not have many Chinese friends now a days especially after my retirement , but Mr Tan Poh Sim remained to be truly genuine friend after all these years .

At about 2.00 pm we went to another long time friend's house at Kg. Teluk Gong . Mr. Oh Tow has remained close to me despite the fact that I am now retired . I have not gone to Teluk Gong for many years and I was surprised to see the development going on there . I almost could not find my way to the place due to the rapid development around the area . Mr. Oh Tow is rearing birds ( pigeon ) for it's nest ( consists of salivas of the bird ) which is a very expensive food item of medicinal value to the Chinese . He told me he had already invested almost RM 200,000 on the project . I had tasted the bird's nest ( actually bird's salivas ) when I visited Thailand ( it was damn cheap there ) many years ago . I did not find anything beneficial consuming the bird's salivas . It is just the belief by the Chinese community that anyone consuming bird's salivas would cool their body temperature and subsequently enjoy good health . I do not know whether this belief is supported by scientific findings which I very much doubt . I also do not know whether there is any ' fatwa ' by Islamic religious authorities on the consumption of the bird's salivas -whether it is haram or halal ( permissible or non permissible according to Islam ).

On the second day of Chinese New Year I did not go any where .

On the third days of Chinese New Year I ( alone ) went to Kg. Bagan Hailam , Port Klang to visit another long time friend , Mr. Loo . Bagan Hailam is a Chinese village built on stilts on mangroves land facing the Straits of Malacca . Almost 99 % of the people there are Chinese with very few Indonesian /Bangladeshi immigrants who rented houses / rooms there .The majority of them are fishermen . As I could not walk for long distance ( due to my knee problem ) Mr. Loo picked me up at the car park area on his motor cycle and I was transported right to the door steps of his house . Sitting on the verenda of the houses there would make us feel very soothing with the fresh air coming from the sea . After that we went to a seafood restaurant not far away from the house where we had a sumptious lunch of prawns and steamed fish . The restaurant was a new one owned by Mr.Peter Tan who happened to hail from Bagan Datok , Perak , the place where I was borned . I was told the total cost of building the restaurant was about RM 2,000,000/- . It is much bigger in size than the ikan bakar restaurant ( owned by a Malay ) which we used to frequent not far away . Because the roof is high above , it is much airy there . The food are chinese style cooking and it is ' halal ' . Frankly , I still prefer the usual ikan bakar restaurant whose cooking style fits my taste and I beleive of my family too .

All in all , I only went to 3 houses during this year's Chinese New Year - Year of the rat .

36th. Wedding Anniversary .

Today 3rd.February ( 1972 ) is our 36th. wedding anniversary . It was on this date that our ' akad nikah ' was performed in a very simple and modest manner , at my wife's family's house in Jalan Omri, Muar . There was no big feast and there was no sophisticated 'bersanding' ceremony . I got married without the blessing of my family . They did not hand any support at all . They expected that I should have married someone of their choice , someone from their clan . I was determined to break that so called family practice . Only my dear late ' Opah ' (my maternal grandmother) was the one who made things came true for us . When thinking of it , of course I am sad but what to do , it was all fated . But deep inside my heart , I was determined to make our marriage a happy one despite of all the hitches that we have to go through . What was the use of having all the big dos when eventually it was not a happy one or worst still if it ended in a divorce . Of course sometimes I had to bear with all the adverse comments from friends and even from family members of our marriage's simplicity . I just put on a deaf ear and console myself by telling myself that my family is mine and not theirs to decide or to comment . I have proven to them that my family is much a happier and successful one than most of theirs . At least I do not have to beg to seek sympathy and I stand proud even till today . I was quite successful in my career and my children have been succesful in their studies too . All my four children have undergone tertiary education of which two of them locally and the other two overseas .

After our 'akad nikah' my wife followed me to Segamat where I was transfered to . In the beginning we stayed in the Police Mess but later I got a government quarters in Jalan Datok Wan Idris, Segamat . It was tough in the beginning because we started from scratches . ( Unlike my children who began their marriage life with a silver platter ) . We did not even have a proper bed to sleep and furnitures to use because we just simply could not afford it . I still remember we had to sit cross legged ( bersila ) on the floor to have our meals . My salary then was only RM.320/-per month . Luckily things were not as expensive as it is today and we managed to make ends meet by being careful in our spending . I was then using a Volks Wagon car ( a popular brand then ) which I bought it second hand ( two year old )for RM.2,500/- . I still remember the registration number BV 6027 . I had to pay the installment of RM.125/- per month . ( A brand new VW car would cost only RM5,200/- ) . I used immitation tyres for my rear tyres which cost only RM.15/- each . Today we seldom hear of immitation tyres for cars . Only some lorries are still using immitattion tyres . We bought things for our house bit by bit , and even that they were cheap ones . After a few years when there was an adjustment of salaries for government servants , our economy began to improve . Inspite of that I kept on being careful in my spending because I had an intention to buy a house before I reach the age of 30 . In 1975 at the age of 28 years I bought my first house in Seksyen 11, Shah Alam , a double storey terrace house for RM.37,000/- . From then on life ran smoothly for us . My two boys were produced in Segamat but were borned in Muar General Hospital while my two daughters were borned in Klang ,that was because I was then transfered to Klang in 1981 .

I am grateful to Allah for I have been blessed with bounties ( rezeki ) , happiness and good health so far . I hope I would continue to enjoy these benefits for many years to come . Amin .

In memory of Dato Ishak Baharom.

Over the 8.00pm news of TV3 on Wednesday 30th.January 2008 was announced the death of the controversial former Mufti of Selangor from 1985 -1997 ,Dato Ishak Baharom . He was 80 years old and died of probably of high blood pressure . He was buried at the Selangor Royal Mausuleum , in Section 5, Shah Alam on the Sultan's request . The death of this man touched my heart not because he was a controversial Mufti but because he was our former ustaz/guru at the surau of the Police District HQ in Banting Selangor where I was then the OCPD . This was before his elevation to be the Mufti of Selangor . I remember him as a very humble person , soft spoken and very helpful . He came to our surau every Thursday evenings to lead our Maghrib and Isyak congregations and in between the two prayers he would lecture/preach us on religious matters . During the fasting month he would normally be at our surau every evenings to lead our Isyak and Tarawikh prayers . I was OCPD in Kuala Langat for 3 years from 1984 - 1987 and my association with the late Ustaz ( as we usually called him ) was very cordial . During his lectures in the surau I would normally sit besides him infront of my men to listen to him . Although most of us found his lectures to be a little bit dull due to his softspokenness , the subject matter that he used to touch on , were very informative and relevant to our daily Police life . I found out later that the late Ustaz Ishak Baharom was a highly educated person and he possessed a degree on Islam from an Indian University . Amazingly he never told us about his qualification . Infact when he was selected to be the Mufti Selangor we were very surprised of his sudden elevation . Prior to becoming a Mufti he lead a very simple life as a village man at Kg. Kanchong Darat , (Misbun Sidek's village ) a few KMs away from the Banting Police station . He had an old junk ( a 1970 Toyota Corolla ,if I am not mistaken ) which he normally drove to our surau .

He was dismissed as the Mufti of Selangor because of his sincere positive comments on the arrest by JAIS officials of three Muslim ladies who took part in a Miss Malaysia beauty contest . His comments had angered the BN government and Tun Dr.Mahathir , the then Prime Minister of Malaysia who then ordered the release of the ladies and freed them of all charges . Subsequently , he ordered the state government of Selangor to dismiss the Mufti . Since then he was in limbo - not allowed even to preach in the mosques in Selangor and ignored at public funtions . However this good old man took everything calmly . Nevertheless ,I think he suffered in silence .

A few months ago , I saw him at the local mosque here during Friday prayers . He came as an ordinary person and occupied the space among the crowds . Then I found out that he resided not far away from our house .My regret was I failed to talk to him and to ask him whether he could still remember me . Many times I thought of approaching him , but I was a bit shy and worried that he would not remember me . I then thought that I would do so later . But it is now too late .

Perhaps we would meet in Heaven . Amin .