The demise of my mother in-law .

We had planned to go to Johor Bahru on the 12th December 2009 . We wanted to send our daughter Farin to go back to her campus after a month long semester break of her Masters programme. We had to send her because we did not want her to drive her Kembara all by herself . However due to my wife's eye disease ( the normal sakit mata ) ,she decided to postpone our trip a day later , ie. on the 13th December hoping that it would then subside .

At aboout 11.20 pm 12th December 2009 while I was in my room upstairs surfing the internet to look for a good makan place in JB ,suddenly I heard my wife cried loudly downdtairs .I thought something must have gone wrong downstairs . A few seconds later she burst into my room crying while informing me that her mother had passed away in JB . Immediately , I told my wife to pack up and and we would start on the journey that night itself .At first she told me that we should go only the next morning . I then told her that even if we were at home we would not be able to sleep that night and we might as well drive slowly .

At about 12.00 midnight we ( the 3 of us ) began our journey to JB . It was a slow drive because I was driving an 8 years old Kembara and I was worried of it's engine. We stopped over at Pagoh to ease ourselves and a quick cup of tea before resuming our journey . There I realised there was a peculiar sound from the engine . However we proceeded to our destination while praying all the way to Allah for His protection . At about 06.15 am we reached my mother in-law's place . After performing my Subuh prayers , I went inside my mother in-law's room to recite the Surah Yassin , verses from the Holy Quran . I manage to read it 3 times and prayed for Allah's s protection during her sojourn to the next world .

My mother in-law was a soft spoken , kind lady who never said bad things about others , no matter how bad she/he was . She had been nice to me right from the days when I was still not well off . As far I could remember nothing that she ever did that could have hurt me . I have the fullest respect for her and infact my respect for her was more than that to my own mother . Her demise would certainly have a profound effect on me .With her passing away , I have an unfulfilled wish , that is to bring her to our new house in Klang .Each time I visited her she would tell me that she would like very much to come to our house but when I invited her to come she would tell me to wait when her health would get better .

She died at the age of 88 , an age that I consider long enough for one to live in this world . All my sisters in-law except my wife and her eldest sister were at her bedside when she passed away peacefully . I was told that a few hours earlier she did ask for my wife and they told her that she would come only next week . Obviously they did not get the right information from my wife . Moreover I believed ( as she has always been in that habit ) my wife wanted to make a surprise visit to my mother in-law . This time it was not my mother in-law who was in for a surprise but instead she was .

Our sons Aizad and Azman and their families and our daughter Eileen who managed to get a compassionate leave from the Hsopital ,arrived at about 10.00 am just in time for them to pay their last respect to their late grandmother .

All the religious rituals were done in the house itself attended by close family members . At about 11.20 am 13th December 2009 my mother in-law was laid to rest at the Muslim cemetry at Jalan Majidee, Johor Bahru .

At about noon we sent our daughter Farin to her campus in Skudai . On the way at Skudai town, we stopped at a workshop to make an appointment to have Farin's car repaired . We were told that the piston was faulty and had to be replaced and it would cost us a few hundred bugs .

Although I had earlier planned to stay in JB for a day or two , I however decided to put it a side and got back to Klang that day itself together with our son Azman . My wife decided to remain behind .We left JB at about 5.00 pm and reached Klang at about 10.00 pm.

Family reunion - small open house

I really did not know what prompted me to hold a small Hari Raya open house cum a family reunion in my house this year .We had it on the 11th.October . Perhaps it was just that I wanted to call the neighbours for a small feast. Normally , my wife would put on a blank face each time I bring out the suggestion to have an open house . She would find all sorts of excuses to avoid having it . It was so difficult to erase her negative attitude . As a result this was our first open house since we moved in to Klang .

I took the opportunity to invite my siblings and their families too . I was so delighted all of them came except two of them . Any way , one of them visited us on Hari Raya day and he might felt that it would be redundant on him to come again . The other brother was living in Seremban and had separated from his wife . He probably wanted to avoid bumping into his ex-wife . ( Incidentally his ex-wife came ) . I was more delighted when my mother too came . ( My mother is now staying with my sister in Puncak Alam ) . I hope whatever rifts within my family would have been mended . It was most disgusting to have rifts within the family for some petty reasons .

Almost all the food that were laid on the table were finished . There was no wastage and we were very glad .

Paying respect to the elderlies.

It has been the tradition for younger people to pay respect to the elderly relatives by visiting their houses during the Hari Raya Idilfitri . It is also a means to renew relationships whom now a days we seldom meet due to our own commitments . I do admit that I too had failed to do so for the past number of years due the nature of my job where I do not have the time to spare for such activities . However since my retirement I have made efforts to mend my mistakes . I would not fail to attend weddings of relatives or some one is sick or some one is dead no matter how far their locations are . I realized that I need their support in the future especially if I were to hold such festivities . Without their support my festivities would be left without many in attendance . Now a days ,I just could not depend on my former colleagues or my former subordinates . That is a normal situation for some one who is retired . Through the years of not getting in touch they tend to forget us .

On 3rd.October I and wife visited my aunty in Bukit Damansara ,KL whom we have not visited for many years since my uncle passed away . She is among the few remaining aunties that I have in this world . From there we then proceeded to Ampang to visit another uncle but unfortunately she was not at home . After Zohor prayer we then came to my sole living uncle in Ampang . He ( my mother's sole brother ) is more that 70 years old but surprisingly he does not look that old . From there we then came to Ampang Jaya and visited my cousin , a former ' ustaz '. He is also about 70 years old . Except for his knee problem , he is as healthy as a horse . His wife is also a former ' ustazah ' . Something special about this lady is that she could heal the sick of course with the will of Allah .

The whole days was spent visiting the elderlies and we enjoyed it very much .

I and wife with our 3 grand-daughters on Idilfitri day.

Idilfitri 2009

This years's fasting month ( 20th.August )was a quiet one . Due to my knee problem I could attend only a few days of Tarawikh prayers . I tried to attend for a few days but due to the excruciating pain on my knee I had to stop it . Any way I did not miss the prayers which I did in my room . Of course I did it while seated on a chair .

This year's Eid ( 20th September )was done in a very moderate manner . This was mainly due to the appreciating increase in prices of things especially household goods . As a pensioner I could feel the pinch of it's effect . Apart from that we had just spent almost RM 30,000/- on our Dublin and Europe Tour in June . To compensate that we had to reduce our expenditure in order to get back to our feet .

Unlike the previous years I visited my father's grave on the eve of Hari Raya . This was to avoid congestion at the grave site on the Hari Raya day .I was accompanied by my son Azman and daughter Farin .

Any way all my children were back for the Hari raya .Inspite of all the ' dificulties ' we enjoyed this special day and thanked Allah for all that He has bestowed on us .

Our daughter Farin received her Electrical Engineering degree.

On 17th.Aug. 2009 I and wife proceeded to JB to attend our daughter Ezreen farina's convocation at University Teknologi Malaysia . Earlier in June her elder sister Eileen Farhana received her Medical degreen in Dublin . Upon arrival we checked in at the Sri Malaysia Hotel . In the evening we visited my mother in law .

The next morning we came to the University to attend the convocation . The crowd had arrived earlier and we found it a little bit difficult to get a parking space . Once inside the hall we were told to put on the health mask in order to prevent the speread of H1N1 which was at it's peak then in the country. The mask were given free to each and everyone of us . It look as if we were in a different planet because of the health mask that we wore . The ceremony was officiated by the Sultanah of Johor who was the University's Chancellor . Unlike the convocation that we attended in Dublin , it was a lengthy process .

Our daughter Farin received a Secod Class Upper Honours degree in Electrical Engineering and the Dean's award for her last semester .We were proud of her achievement because she managed to do it without having to go through her Matriculation . She was one of those Express MARA programme scholar . She was then just 20 years old . After the convocation was over we came back to our hotel . We stayed another night at that hotel .

The next morning we left JB for home .

A frustrating experience with MARA - yet Ezreen Farina proceeded to do her Masters in Electrical Engineering.

Despite of getting 2nd class Upper Honours degree ( Electrical ) , a 7 band in IELTS , 3 simultaneous Deans award and an unconditional offer of a place at Sheffield University to do her Masters degree in Electrical Engineering , our daughter Farin was unable to do so because of MARA's reluctance to sponsor her. True to many's belief that now a days MARA is a very unreliable agency . It was just merely rhetoric talk by the BN govt. to help the Bumiputeras . In actual fact it was just ready to give it's helping hands only to to the UMNO cronies . Since I do not belong to that category, they gave all sorts of excuses . Infact I even wrote to Dato Shafiee Afdal ,the Minister in charge of MARA . The agency played ' wayang kulit 'with me . The Minister gave a 'sokong' letter but the MARA Director replied that it was under consideration . Till the end ( 10th Sept. was the date when my daughter was suppose to report to Sheffield ) there was no positive reply and I told my daughter Farin to forget about it . She did not apply the JPA scholarship because JPA put a condition that it would only sponsor JPA scholars while my daughter was a MARA a scholar .Luckily she was offered a place to the Master's degree programme at University Teknologi Malaysia , Skudai ( her alma mater ) which she began attending on 1st July 2009 .

In the mean time she applied for a fellowship from the University Malaysia Perlis .She was successful in the interview and was offered the fellowship via a letter but was told to wait for the official offer letter . Till today she did not receive the official offer letter and the contract . When she contacted the University for clarification the university seem to be in the dark about it .

Fed up with that she applied for another fellowship , this time from the University Technical Malaysia , Malacca . Like the earlier case she was successful in the interview and was informed by phone that she was offered the fellowship .She is waiting for the contract from UTech.Malaysia, Melaka . I hope this time what had happened earlier would not repeat itself .

Eileen - to report to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital.

On 18th June 2009 our daughter Eileen received a telephone call from the Ministry of Health asking her to attend an induction course for a week in Lumut before beginning her housemanship .She would be informed of her posting at the end of the course . In the mean time I had already contacted the Ministry of Health through a friend of mine to have her posted in Klang which is near to our home .

On 21st June 2009 I and wife with our daughter Eileen left our home to go to Lumut . We went by the coastal road via Sabak Bernam and Sitiawan . We reached Lumut about 2 hours of driving . There was nothing much to see in Lumut except the sea .After dropping Eileen at one of the Holiday Resort where the course was supposed to be held , we left Lumut in the afternoon and reached home in the evening .

On 25th June 2009 Eileen called up my wife from Lumut and informed her that she would be posted at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital,Klang. She was asked to report on 27th.June. Eileen came home on 26th June by bus which was provided by the Ministry .

On 27th June morning she reported to the Hospital but was told to come again on 29th June when the Medical Officer in charge would be around .So, from then on she began her career . I wish her luck and all the best .

On the extreme left is our daughter Eileen Farhana with her graduate mates.

Marble's Arch, London




London Eye







Outside Buckingham Palace

Holiday Villa,London.










Our room the Alpha Suite,at Holiday Villa.











Inside our room.

At Oxford Street,London.

Walking back to our hotel after some shopping.

Strolling the streets in Amsterdam.

Busy Amsterdam.

River cruising in Amsterdam.





Also showing a replica of the ship used by the Duch to invade Malacca in 1641.



The building by the river used to store spices obtained from the East Indies.

Places in Paris.

Places in Belfast,North Ireland.

One of the landmark in Belfast.

There is also a Belfast Eye.

By the river in North Ireland.

At the Giant Pass in North Island.

Graduation Day for our daughter ,Dr.Eileen Farhana at UCD Dublin.

Walking around Dublin City.

Our two grand daughters, Alisya and Adrina at the KLIA before our departure to Dublin.

Our trip to Dublin and Europe.

As planned early morning of 2nd.of June 2009 after Subuh prayers we left home and straight away head for the KLIA. Azman and his wife sent us to the airport . Immediately we checked in our luggage consisting of 3 medium sized bags . I informed the airport MAS staff that we were on transit to Dublin and requested them to transfer our checked in luggage to our Aer Lingus plane at Terminal 1 at Heathrow Airport .Another bag, I took it with me into the plane . After bidding farewell we head for the immigration counter before boarding a train which took us to the departure wing . It all went through nicely and we boarded the MAS plane flight No: MH 04.At exactly 1000 hrs. the plane left KLIA and began our 12 hours non stop journey to London Heathrow .While on the plane we were served two meals and light refreshments .

Transit stop over at Heathrown airport.

The plane touched down at terminal 3 Heathrow airport, London at about 1530 hrs 2nd.June UK time about 20 minutes ahead of schedule . The weather was slightly cold .Since our flight to Dublin by Aer Lingus took off from Termina 1 , we had to walk some distance and then into a train which took us to Terminal 1 . At the Terminal Custom checkpoint we encountered a rude Immigration Officer who tried to be funny with us. He was an Indian borned officer and asked us some irrelevent questions . I reckoned he could have been influenced by the Hindraf movement which has a base in London .Any way we were finally allowed to pass through .

The Flight to Dublin.

We boarded an Aer Lingus flight No: El 179 at about 2010 hrs. The flight was just about 1 hour 5 minutes and we reached Dublin airport at about 2120 hrs. The weather here was slightly colder than in London .After claiming our luggage , I contacted our daughter Eileen who was already on her way to the airport .We were grateful to Cik Ann ( Eileen's housemate ) , a Kelantan young lady who has been staying and working in Dublin for a number of years for she drove us in her own car from the airport right to our hotel , the Rethmines Travelslodge Hotel which was situated not far away from our daughters residence . It was almost right in the city centre and was within walking distance to the shops .Our daughter Farin stayed with her sister Eileen while I and wife stayed at the hotel .The hotel was earlier booked by Eileen at a very cheap price . As we were tired we slept soundly for the night .

Strolling down the city of Dublin.

3rd.June was a free day for us and we spent our time by going window shopping at Dublin City .There wasn't much to see in Dublin actually .Any way the whole day was spent in the city.

Convocation Day at the University College Dublin,National University of Ireland.

The convocation day of our daughter Eileen was on the 4th.of June. At about 0930 hrs. we hired a taxi which took us right to the vicinity of the hall of the University College of Medicine where the convocation was to take place . Outside the hall I met my former comrade in-arms in the Royal Malaysia Police when I served in Klang and Shah Alam districts , Sjn.Major Jamar . He was with his wife and flew over to Dublin to witness the convocation of their daughter who was my daughter's coursemate . There was supposed to be another member of the rank and file of the Police in Shah Alam whose daughter was also to graduate. But it was from the Trinity College of Medicine , a nearbouring College which was also under the National University of Ireland . I am proud of these two men for being just a member of the rank and file they nanaged to produce intelligent children and to be doctors . The convocation was a short one , unlike our local universitites which normally have lenghty programmes .By noon it was all over . I managed to catch some pictures by my video camera for my family to view .We then left the convocation hall by bus . We had lunch at an Arab restaurant in the city . On the way home we went to Eileen's apartment . Late in the evening we came back to our hotel .

A harrowing experience at the Dublin international airport.

On 5th June morning we left our hotel for the airport . Cik Ann was again willingly sent us to the airport . We were scheduled to fly to Zurich to begin our Europe tour . Then began the first snag. We were refused our boarding passes although the tickets had been paid for . The reason given was that they needed to see our tickets showing when we would leave Zurich .The airport airline staff refused to hear our explaination that we would be leaving Zurich by train and the tickets would be purchased once we reached Zurich as we could not purchase them online . Even if we were to buy the ticket that day it would take about a week for them to send the tickets to our place . As such we had to cancel the trip to Zurich and forgo the tickets that our daughter already paid for . Till this day I still cannot accept the rationale why the Dublin airport airline staff should imposed such a condition because it is not her country that we were going to . It was another country , Switzerland . After all I and my wife were senior citizens while two children were students . We were genuine tourists and we would not want to overstay there . I intend to write a complain letter to the Switzerland government of the situatiuon we were in . Because of that we had to reschedule our trip . We would instead go to London and from there take a Eurostar train to Paris . This means we would skip going to Switzerland. The airline tickets to London would only available on 8th of June . Not to waste any time we would then go to Belfast ,North Ireland .

An unplanned holiday in Belfast.

From the Dublin airport, we boarded a bus and head for Belfast . It was a 4 hour journey . Reaching Belfast we checked into a Travelslodge Hotel in the city centre - two rooms for the four of us .That day we spent the time by going shopping and visiting the City Square and taking some pictures . Belfast was quite a big city with many historical places to see .Things were slightly cheaper here .My wife bought a few handbags from Mark & Spencer shop. Northern Ireland which is under the UK's administration , uses the pound sterling as their currency , while Southern Ireland ( Dublin ) which uses the Euros .

A tour of the countryside of Northern Ireland.

On 6th.June we went on the countryside tour for the whole day by chartered bus .Other tourists in the bus included an Arab family , an Indian family and a few tourists from mainland England. We visited some remnants of the old castles , walled city of Derry ( Londonderry ) the famous Giants Causeway and many more .All along the way the driver explained about the places that we visited . The trip took us the whole day and we reached our hotels in the evening feeling exhausted .

Anyway the Belfast trip was quite an interesting one and fate had brought us there because we never planned it to be there . Any way I am grateful to Allah for due to His will we were able to be in Belfast .On 7th.June morning my wife continued her shopping spree before we boarded a bus back to Dublin. That night we slept in Eileen's place .

The day when we really left Dublin.

On 8th.June evening we left for the airport again . Cik Ann , again volunteered to send us to the airport . The plane , Ryan Air would take us to London Stanstead airport . We reached London Stanstead airport at around midnight . There was no point for us to check into a hotel because our Eurostar train to Paris would start at 0530 hrs and we have to be there at least 1 hour earlier . The Train station was at the St.Pancras International . From Stanstead airport we hopped into a bus which took us to Baker Street ,London . From there we hired a taxi which took us to the St.Pancras Station. We reached the station at about 12.30 hrs. We had coffee and then found ourselves a place to sit to wait for the 0530 hrs Eurostar train to Paris . It was a harrowing long wait plus the cold weather . We were almost frozen in the cold early morning during the 4-5 hours wait . Luckily there other passengers in the same boat , like us too . But we were then almost looked like refugees from somewhere .

The Eurostar train ride London - Paris.

At about 0430 hrs. ( 9th.June )we checked in , just like the air flight would be . We were surprised suddenly there was a big crowd of people lining up to check in . There were also some Malaysians who were either going to Paris or Brussels .The train started to move at about 0530 hrs. The ride was a comfortable one . Throughout the journey we could see wheat and corn farms and animals grazing in the fileds . Amazingly we could not see the ocean ( the English Channel ) although we passed below it . The journey to Paris took us about 2 hours . We reached Paris Central Station which was situated at Gare du Nord . From there we then went to the tube station .After a few minutes journey we disembark at the Wagram Station . Eileen called the proprietor of the apartment that she had booked . She was told that we could only checked in at 1400 hrs. It was a bit of a problem for us because we could not be dragging our bags around the city to spend the time . I then told her to call her again so that at least we could keep our bags in the room .It was a bit of a problem because she could not converse in English well. After some haggling finally she agreed to come and allowed us into our apartment . The apartment was situated within a short distance from the Wagram station .It was a nice apartment with two bedrooms , a kitchen and all the utensils required of a house . After a short rest we came out to the city .We then bought one-day open bus tickets which allowed us to hop into the bus anywhere we liked for the whole day .It cost 22 Euros each which included the boat ride along the Paris River . We visited almost all of Paris city which included the Eifel Tower , the Notre Dam and many more . In the evening Eileen and Farin continued with their city tour while I and my wife had to be contented by resting in our rented apartment . The next morning (10th.June ) at about 0900 hrs after having packed our luggage we chartered a taxi to go the Central Station at Gare du Nord . The taxi meter showed it was Eu 14.00 but the taxi driver in Paris normally would take an extra Eu 3-4.00 more .Unlike in London the taxi driver would only take the amount that was stated in the meter . The train tickets to Amstedam were already bought online by Eileen .The train began to move at 1000 hrs and the journey was about 6 hours . On the way we could see farms and animals on the fireld .It was quite a scenic view .

Two ' unforgettable ' nights stay in Amsterdam

We reached Amsterdam after a long journey . After a short distance walk from the Central station we finally found our hostel .Although the condition of the room was unsatisfactory we had no choice but to accept it . We had to pay Eu 180.00 for two nights . Considering the condition of the room , it was a bit expensive . The staircase to our room was so small and it could only admit one person at a time .It was a bit of a difficulty to carry our bags up the staircase .However the proprietor helped us to carry up the bags . After a short rest, we came down and atrolled down the streets near our hostel . There were many shops selling all kinds of goods . Comparatively , I found that things in Amsterdam were much cheaper than in any other cities in Europe . Things like leather goods such as bags , leather jackets and belts were very cheap .In between I could also see sex shops . Of course I did not tell my wife about them .

Amsterdam Boat Ride .

On 11th.June morning we bought tickets for the Amsterdam city River Cruise . The tickets cost Eu 12.50 per person . It was a 2 hour ride along the river with explainations from the Pilot all along the way . We could see boat houses and old buildings which were built by the the famous East India Company. During our history lessons in schools we read about he East India Company in the spice trade in the East Indies . It was the East India Company that colonised Malacca and the Indonesian archipelago . After that we continued with out shoppings . We met some Malaysians during our stroll of the streets of Amsterdam . We had lunch at an Arab Restaurant . After that we came back to our room to rest . While having discussions about the next day's plan I found out that the train to Brussels would only start at 1400 hrs. and that would meant that we would reached London late in the evening . It would be very inconvenient to check into a decent hotel in London at that hour . After much pondering I finally decided to forgo the already bought train tickets , Amsterdam-Brussels . Instead we would fly from Amsterdam to London . This meant I had to stump in about RM.2000/- for the flight .

The flight, Amsterdam - London Stanstead Airport.

On 12th.June at about 0630 hrs we left our room for the Central Station .We had to slowly tow down our bags through the narrow staircase .We walked slowly to the Central Station . From the Central Station we took a train which took us to the Schnidol Airport . The flight was at about 0930 hrs. and it would take about 2 hours .It was an Easy Jet .Com. - a budget air carrier . On reaching Stansted airport we boarded a bus which would take us to Marbel's Arch. Some how about a few kilometers on the highway our bus lost one of it's tyre pressure and we had to be transfered to another bus . That was perhaps a bad omen . After waiting for about 30 mins. the replacement bus finally came . From Marbel's Arch we took a taxi which brought us to Holiday Villa Hotel ,a Malysian owned hotel at Bayswater,London .The room had been earlier booked by our daughter Eileen via online .

Another harrowing experience .

On reaching the hotel we confidently came to the counter to ask for our room keys. We were shocked to be informed by the Turkish borned receptionist that there was no reservation made for us . According to her the hotel never received our reservation . We showed her our computer print out reply that the booking was confirmed . She insisted that the hotel never received it .She then offered us an executive suite which would cost us L 210 (pounds) per night . It was not that I did not have the money but I could not stand with the way they were treating us . .I almost lost my temper with her. To make matters worst we saw mat sallehs ( white men and women ) being given their room keys . They were treating us like we were outcaste or parias .I felt insulted . I demanded to see the Manager . After sometime the Manager came . He was a nice man ,Encik Jeffrey Abdullah , a Chinese Muslim convert . He managed to cool me down and gave us our room - Alpha Suite with the same price as stated in the computer booking confirmation print out . It was a L 160.00 (pounds) per night room . After having a short rest we walked to the Bayswater tube station and went to the Oxford Street for some shopping .

British people are ' buayas ' too.

On 13th June morning after breakfast I approached a male Albanian borned front office staff of the hotel to inquire about the hop in bus tickets . He told us that he had some tickets for sale for L 25.00 ( pounds ) each. I knew that the price was only between L 19.00 - 22.00 ( pounds ) , so I did not take the offer .I then further inqure from him about the taxi to the airport . He offered to arrange for the taxi at L 65.00 ( pounds ) while I knew that it was actually between L 35.00 - 45.00 ( pounds ) only .I even showed him the computer print out of the hotel which stated it would be at L 40 ( pounds ) only . He was then giving all sorts of excuses . From this , I know that the British people are also ' buayas ' ready to pound on to any unsuspecting victims .

London City Tour by Hop in Bus.

We then walked to the Bayswater area and bought the Hop in Bus tickets from the ' Red Bus Company '.As we were senior citizens while my children were students we were charged L 22 (pounds each ). This included the River Thames Boat ride . There were two bus companies competing in the same business. The other company was the ' Original Bus Company '. We visited almost the whole of London city . We came down wherever we liked and hopped into the bus whenever we wanted .From my observations there were'nt much changes in London after about 10 years since my last visit .One noticeable development that I noticed was there are now many halal food outlets . This is perhaps because there are many Muslims tourist that are coming to London now a days .

A humiliating experience at the Harrods.

We came down from the bus at Harrods just to give my daughter Farin who came to London for the first time , the experience to be at Harrods , the so called famous shopping mall . While we were at the food outlet I noticed a middle aged, fair skinned pregnant Muslim lady with a ( tudung ) headscarf smiling at us . She must have been from either Turkey/Afghanistan or any East European countries which now comes under the European Union .I did not pay much attention on her after that . While I was picking up some chocolates I was pickpocketted by her . I did not realized the incident until an English lady , I believe to be a house detective who called me and asked me whether I had lost anything . After checking my sling bag , I found out that an envelope containing about Eu 2300.00 were missing . Then I saw the said envelope on the floor not far from the the Muslim lady who had earlier smiled at us .I counted my money and found it to be still intact. I was told by the house detective that she saw the Muslim lady put her hand inside my bag and took out something . She threw the envelope on to the floor when she was caught by the house detective .The house detective also told me that the lady was one of 4 ladies known to be pick pocketers in the area . I asked the detective whether I should make a report but she told me not necessary since I did not loose anything . I then thanked her . That was a humiliating experience that happened to me . Being an ex senior Police officer I felt so humiliated and angry towards the said Muslim lady. Being a Muslim , if she was really a Muslim, her conduct was a disgrace to the religion . However after that incident I realized that I should not be so over confident of my security in the future although I may be an ex senior Police Officer. After having thought of the incident , I prayed to God to forgive her and prayed that she would repent and stop her criminal activities for her own sake and for the sake of her unborn child .We then came out of Harrods after buying some chocolates and quickly hopped into the bus . Due to that incident I may not go to Harrods again .My wife and I decided to go back to our hotel while our daughter Eileen and Farin continued to make use of their one day hop in bus tickets . On the way back to the hotel I stopped by a taxi service shop and made arrangement for the taxi to the airport for the next day . The agreed fee was for L 45.00 ( pounds ) .

Checked out from Hotel.

On 14th.June at about 11.00 am we checked from our hotel . We kept our bags in the hotel's store and then went to Bayswater to do some last minute shopping to kill the time till 5.00 pm. , the time we were scheduled to go to the airport . We bought a one day train ticket and came to Marble' Arch . We had the opportunity to visit the Art's muzium . We were thrilled by the pieces of arts .

Witness the Indian community's protest procession.

While we were at Marbel's Arch suddenly we heard the sound of Indian drums and protest shouts against the British government for equal rights. There were a few thousands of them consisting of Sikhs and Hindus and might be Muslims too . I did not know what more' equal rights ' they wanted because I saw quite a sizeable number of Indians were employed in the Police , Immigration Departments and the airports and I believed in the private sectors too . Some of them were also successful businessmen .Typical people , always not satisfied with whatever they have .Isn't that is happening to this people in our country too ? This bunch of ungrateful people should realized that they are much better than their counterparts in their original home country .

We left the place at about 1400 hrs. and came back to Bayswater . We had lunch at a Turkish restaurant .

Eileen bid farewell to go back to Dublin.

At about 4.00 pm. our daughter bid farewell to us to go back to Dublin .She had to go to Stanstead airport to fly back to Dublin . She would remain there untill 25th June when she would come back to Malaysia for good . We then came back to the hotel . At about 1700 hrs. we left the hotel to go to the Heathrow airport to come back to Malaysia . The Afghan borned taxi driver told us that life in London was a bit difficult than before because of the economic downturn . He told me that he would prefer to come back to Afghanistan if the situation allows .

The flight home.

Our flight MH 01 was at about 2200 hrs. Any way we checked in our luggage at about 1900 hrs. We then waited outside the airport and later at the waiting lounge . My wife and daughter Farin bought some chocolates at the Free tax shops . We then boarded the plane at about 2130 hrs . The flight home began about 30 minutes later . We were served dinner and later breakfast while on the flight . We reached KLIA at about 1730 hrs. Our son Azman picked us up from the KLIA .We stopped in Shah Alam to have our dinner . We reached home at about 2030 hours .

Home sweet home.

After having been away for about 2 weeks , to me Malaysia is still the best place for me . The weather is nice where we can perform our obligation to God without hindrance . Our cities are beautiful and modern and the people are nice . The food are tastier and our country is peaceful .I am grateful to Allah for He has given me and my family a beautiful place to stay .

Last minute preparation for our trip to Dublin and Europe.

Tomorrow morning at about 0800 hrs. we would have to be at the KLIA . Our flight MH 4 by Malaysia Airlines would be flying at about 10.00 am . We would arrive at Heathrow airport at about 1600 on the same day .From Heathrow at about 2020 hrs. we would board a Aerlingus flight to Dublin and would be arriving there at about 2120 hrs. I hope our daughter Eileen would fetch us at the airport . Now , I realized that our stay in Dublin would be a very short one . I should have planned to stay a little bit longer so that we could explore a little bit of Ireland . Any way, I hope the 2 days in Dublin would be properly spent so that we could at least familiarise ourselves with Dublin city .

Just now I managed to change RM. into Swiss Franc 320 . That is the only amount the Money Changers in Klang had . The Swiss Franc is difficult to get here . It is easier to get the Euros and the Pounds . I hope I would be able to get some more Swiss Franc at the airport tomorrow .

We have just done some last minute shopping of some food items to be brought over during our Europe journey . Tonight I hope we would finish packing . Tomorrow morning after Subuh prayers we would leave home for the airport , KLIA .We have to start the journey to the airport earlier in order to avoid any traffic jams .

Although we are a little excited , we are also sad to leave our little grand children , Adrina , Alia and Alisya . They are so close to us . Any way I hope to buy them some presents from Europe . Our grand daughter Alisya has decided to stay in our house during our abscence although it is a two weeks school holiday for her . She must have found it uninteresting to stay in Kajang with her maternal grand parents . Any way our daughter in-law Shidah would be taking a 1/2 day work during this period .That means she would be home by noon .

Busy with the Money Changers.

I have been visiting the money changer's shop quite often lately . Unfortunately the values of the euro and pound sterling keep on escalating .I would then postponed buying either the euros or the pounds thinking that it would improve the next day . Unfortunately each changing days resulted in the increase of the value of the Euros and the Pounds . It is less than a forthnight before our trip to Dublin . It looks like we could not wait any longer and would have to buy the euros before it continues to escalate further . Since our stay in London would only be for 3-4 days I think 1,000 pound would be sufficient . Besides we could make use of the credit card . Perhaps Eu. 3,000 - Eu.3,500 would be enough for us to spend in Europe . I do not think that we would easily succumb to being lured by the so-called cheap sale gimmick . While Eu.10 would sound cheap to the European earners but to us it would almost amount to RM 50 . We have to always keep in our mind that Eu.10 is not RM 10 . Well , if there are actually really cheap things ( after taking into consideration the exchange rate ) I would not discourage my family to purchase them .

Our main problem during this journey , I foresee would be finding halal food . I may not be very particular about it , but my wife would .She would not want to dine in a restaurant that is not certified halal . God has said in the Quran that Islam is not meant to make things difficult for it's followers . We would be in a state of ' darurah ' and so we should use our initiative to make good of whaever is available as long as it does not go overboard .

God has answered our prayers .

We were on our way to Maideen Supermarket, Subang Jaya yesterday ( 1st.May 2009 ) to buy shoes for my wife for our trip to Dublin , when I received a sms from our daughter Eileen in Dublin, Ireland informing us that she had passed her final medical exams . We were so happy and thanked God for He has answered our prayers for our daughter's success in her final exams . We were so worried about her because from what we knew she was not very consistent in her studies and was in the habit of doing things in the last minute . That was why I have been grumbling to my wife about her redezvous trips to Europe etc. during her varsity holidays . I would have prefered her to concentrate on her studies rather than waste the precious time unnecessarily . Infact till prior to receiving this good news ,we were not very sure , the planned trip to Dublin would be a happy one . We have been performing ' hajat prayers ' for our two daughters almost every other days especially when it was very near to their exams . Incidentally , our youngest daughter Farin , is also in her final year of Electrical Engineering studies at UTM Skudai .We were less worried about Farin because she was quite consistent in her studies .

With Eileen's success , this means she would return to Malaysia soon to serve the government who has been sponsoring her studies in Ireland . I am glad I have fulfilled my late father's wish to ensure that one of his grandchildren become a doctor . Although my late father did not tell me literally of his wish , from his conversation ( because he often talked highly of a doctor and was of the opinion that a doctor was a noble profession ) I knew that he would be very happy if one of his grand children could become one .I am sure if he is alive today he would be very happy to know of this news . Our daughter Eileen would be the first in the family on my side to be a doctor although she has a cousin sister on my wife's side 5 years her senior already a doctor . Now , we can look forward for an enjoyable and memorable trip to Dublin and Europe next month .

I reckoned I have performed my responsiblity as a father in ensuring that our daughter Eileen achieved success in her studies . Next , would be her own to chart her future . As parents we could only advise and give our opinion but we would not want to interfere on her future decisions . I am sure she knows what to expect as a doctor in Malaysia especially during the housemanship period . I can only say that it would be very challenging , requiring a lot of patience , diligence , tactness and hard work in order to be a successful doctor . What more today , the public demand a high quality service and they would not hesitate to make complaints if the services redered are not up to their expectations .

Our youngest daughter Farin's last paper would be on 5th.May 2009 and we hope she would score high marks in order to achieve the target set by the University of Sheffield for her to do her Masters programme in September . I also hope she would proceed to do her PhD. later on . That would also mean , it would give us the opportunity to be in Sheffield on her convocation in the years to come . Insyallah .

We would be going to JB on 9th.May 2009 to help her drive her car back to Klang .

Finally I would like to thank God again for answering our prayers and hope He would continue to bestow us with goodness . Amin .

Young people's attitude sickened me .

Sometimes I get angry with young people of today .They do not have any sense of preparedness on facing any eventualities in the future . To them what they earn today are all to be spent at the end of the month. They do not care what comes in the future . They think that the future would always be smooth sailing without any hitches . They think that there would always be some one to hold on to , their parents .

When I was a young man , although I had a steady job and a steady income I was almost living in fear , fear of how I was going to face any eventualities in my future . I was so afraid of any untoward incidents that could befall on me . That was perhaps because I did not have any one to depend on . Although my parents were still around then , I could not fall on them for any assistance because they were also living in pathetic conditions . As such I had to be prepared in case of any eventualities .Worst still I was the sole bread winner of my family . I had to set aside at least 20% of my income for savings every month . I made sure that I had at least RM 10,000 ready cash in my bank . I was very frugal in my spending . Very seldom that I would spent outside the house . Whatever extra income from the increments of my pay and as a result of my promotions I would keep them all into my savings . I also had a strong desire to buy a house before the age of 30 so that if anything happened to me there would be a place to shelter my family . Eventually , my dream came true when I bought my first house in Shah Alam at the age of 29 .It was bought from a brother in-law who had lost interest in it .That time a double storey terrace house cost only RM 37,000.

At the age of 40 I began to plan for my retirement . I knew that I could not depend on my pension to live comfortably . There would be recessions and the pension would not be enough .I was determined to maintain the living standard I enjoyed even after retirement .I always reminded my wife that we should not expect anything from our children after our retirement . They would have their own commitments and we should not burden them. It is our responsiblity to educate them but our responsiblity ended the day they completed their education and have themselves employed . If they have any desire to contribute to the family that must be done with sincerity . As such I have to have other incomes to survive . What choice did I have then ? As a government servant I could not get myself involved into business . One day I thought that the few thousand ringgits that I had in my savings account would have given me better returns if I were to invest in property . It all began by buying low cost houses and selling them with a some profit .The profit derived , was invested into other properties including land and shophouses . I also made some fortune in shares during the bull run boom in the share market in the 1990s .From then on there was no turning back for me . Of course there were risks but I made the calculated risks . As a result I live quite confortably today .

Contrary to others perceptions , I made it through the hard way . There is no such thing that success would come easy . One has to work very hard both physically and mentally and be smart . I hope my children would follow in my footsteps on having a planned future . More so if their jobs are not pensionable . They should not expect anything from me as long as I am alive .

Getting prepared for the Europe trip.

I am quite excited to wait for our trip to Dublin and later perhaps also to Europe in early June . My last visit to London was about 15 years ago when we attended our eldest son's convocation at Leicester .This time we would be attending our daughter's (Eileen) convocation at UCD Dublin . I believe there has been alot of development and changes there . However from my readings and observations on TV , it seems that there is'nt much development as compared to Kuala Lumpur . Unlike Kuala Lumpur London is an old preserved city and perhaps Londoners are proud to retain the old city of London .

My wife and daughter Farin who will be accompanying me on the trip are already busy preparing themselves . They have started buying new clothes especially thick clothings in anticipation of the cold weather . Any way I told my daughter Farin not to bring much clothes as she could always use her sister's clothes . Since Farin has been offered to do her MSc (Electrical Engineering ) at Sheffield University this September 2009 , I hope this would be a warming up for her to get ready to acclamatize herself to the situation in the United Kingdom .

My Onyang.

I got this photograph from an old passport Haji which I found among old documents .Her name was Hajjah Maimunah bt. Ahmad . She was my great grand-mother . She died in 1968 . She was more than 100 years old when she died .I was not at home when she passed away because I was then studying at the College of Agriculture , ( later named UPM )Serdang . My family did not inform me of her death for fear that it would affect my studies .

My great grand-mother hailed from South Kalimantan , Indonesia . She was from the Banjar clan and she could speak only in her mother tongue . She came to then Malaya in the 1800s with a group of people to escape the Dutch atrocities who then colonized Indonesia . She came with her son ( my maternal grand-father ) and some relatives . They landed in Bagan Datok , Perak and settled down there . They planted and cultivated coconuts ,fruit trees and some vegetables . Her son , my grand-father married my grand-mother , a local and they had a daughter ( my mother ) and a son ( my uncle ) . My maternal grandfather passed away long before I was borned .

When I was a kid I used to hear stories from my great grand-mother of her early life in Kalimantan .She told me that her neighbours were the Ibans and she used to see human heads hanging on poles infront of their long-houses . But they never disturb her and her families . She also told me of the atrocities of the Dutch and how they used to raid and ransacked her house looking for those who were against them . She told me her family came to Malaya on a tongkang ( a ship using wind as their power to move ) . During the Japanese occupation of Malaya she was also not spared from having to face great hardships .There was not enough food and she had to plant and depend on tapioca,sweet potato and yam for food which she planted . She was almost in a state of phobia because each time she heard the sound of aeroplane she would hid herself under the ' mengkuang ' mat . Those days being a naughty boy , I too used to scare her by telling her that the Japanese had landed again.She would then told us to be quiet and insisted that we too hid ourselves . She also told me that she performed her Haj twice . The first was on a tongkang which took 4-5 months to get to Mecca.The second was on a steam ship from Penang which took only about 2 weeks .

My great grand-mother was a very hard working woman . She never kept herself idle for she was always busy in her plantation . There were all sorts of fruit trees and vegetables that she planted . Practically we did not have to buy anything for our food . She was also a shrewd business woman . I remember I used to follow her to the pasar minggu where she sold her goods like tapioca , sweet potatoes , yams ,chillies ,vegetables and fruits like jack fruit ,mangoes ,rambutans and jambus which she collected from her plantaion . She was also a great cook . I used to have my second meal from her kitchen . ( She had her own kitchen even though my grand mother stayed in the same house ) . One incident that I cannot forget till today was when I ran away from home to follow my great grand-mother on a bus to her home a few kilo meters away . I was then only clad in an old sarong seated in the bus with her . I just smiled when the rest of the passengers laughed at me . Since she could only spoke in the Banjarese dialect to me , I then became quite proficient in the language . Today , I could hardly utter a word of it .

Those were the great years with my great grand-mother . I pray to Allah so that He protect her and she be among the faithfulls in Heaven .

Opah's younger days .

The photo could have been taken in 1970s . On the extreme right was my Opah . On the extreme left is my mother .Besides her was a relative , a mute ( deceased ), a relative and a neighbour . The rest were my grandmother's relatives from Kampar who came to visit her in my mother's house in Sabak Bernam .

Opah with Syazirul Azman at our house in Segamat

Remembering my ' Opah ' . (Behind her was my sister Narimah.)

We used to call her ' opah ' ( now deceased ) and she was some one whom I loved ,cherished and respect so much . She was a caring and loving grand mother . I was closed to her even when I was still a kid . Infact I was told I was practically brought up by her . I remember during the school holidays I would spent my time in her house . I also used to follow her wherever she went . I followed her to the pasar minggus , kenduris , suraus to listen to the religious preachings and to relatives houses .

When I started work in Muar , Johor she came and stayed with me in my room in the Officers Mess. She cooked and washed clothes for me . And when I was to get married to my wife , she was the one who handled everything for me . Otherwise I would not know whether I could get married or not because I did not get the support of my parents to marry some one not of their choice . Infact opah was always around when I was in need and she was ever willing to help me in whatever ways .

Most of the time opah would stay with me no matter where I was transferred to . She stayed with me when in Segamat , Banting, , Shah Alam and even Port Dickson .

In 1997 Opah had a fall at my brother's house in Subang Jaya when she was there for a few days . She did not tell us why she felt but later I found out that she was accidentally pushed by my naughty nephew who was playing around near her . She was admitted to the University Hospital ,Petaling Jaya for about a week . She had a broken hip and had to be operated . Since then she could not walk properly and always complain of having pain in the hip . Since then too her health began to deteriorate . Inspite of that she still stayed in my house in Shah Alam .

In 1998 I was transferred to Port Dickson . She did come and stayed a few weeks with me in Port Dickson although I was then staying a bachelor there . My family was still in Shah Alam due to school going children . She then stayed back with my family in Shah Alam for a few months before she asked to be sent to my mother's house in Sabak Bernam. Perhaps she was feeling lonely because I was not around . Normally I was the one who would talked and joked with her . My wife just could find the topic to talk to her ,because she being a quiet lady too .

On 23rd.October 1999 my beloved Opah passed away at my mother's house . I was told she died slone in her room . I rushed home from Port Dickson to see only her dead body . This was the most distressing moment I ever encountered in my life . I could not help but cried aloud all the way while driving from Port Dickson to Sabak Bernam . My only regret was why I allowed her to stay with my mother in the kampong .I believed she died feeling unhappy and dejected . She was not happy there and I knew she wanted to be with me .Apparently she was not that good with my mother .I just could not do anything because I was staying alone in Port Dickson and she refused to stay with my family in Shah Alam . Perhaps she could have lived longer if she were to stay with me . As many of us know , pscychology plays an important factor to one's life .

My late father with Eileen Farhana.