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.

It's already 9 years , since dad left us .

On 8th March 2000 at about 3.00 pm. our beloved dad passed away at my sister's house in Taman Sri Subang , Sunway, Petaling Jaya . All of us were on his bedside when he passed away. Although I was then working in Port Dickson , I had earlier rushed home on being informed of his deteriorating health .He was suffering from Parkinson disease for some time . He was brought back from the Hospital where he was warded for some time . I remember just before he died , he called me near to his bedside . He did not say anything . Perhaps he just wanted to be sure that I was around and perhaps be ready to take over the responsibilty of taking care of the family from him . However, I managed to ask him for his forgiveness . All along we recited the Quran especially the Surah Yassin .My cousin's( Ustaz Ahmad of Taman Abdul Razak , KL.) wife , a religious teacher recited the Surah Yassin and soon after my father passed away peacefully .

The same evening with the help of the committee of the Surau Polis IPD Shah Alam , where I once worked before my transfer to Port Dickson , the burial was performed the same evening .The burial had to be done on the same day because the next day was a working day and there would be no one to help us .I also managed to get permission from the Shah Alam religious authorities to have him buried at the burial ground in Section 21, Shah Alam .

My late father was suffering from Parkinson in silence . No one knew that he was suffering from the disease .Not even the local doctor who treated him . He got his medical treatment from the local Government Health Clinic . There was no specialist there . He was given some medicine but I believed that was not the right one . I suspected that he was suffering from Parkinson , when my friend told me the symptoms of his father who was also suffering from the same disease . As recommended by my friend one day I brought my father to a private specialist doctor at a Specialist Clinic in Jalan Ipoh , Kuala Lumpur . My father was also sent to a MRE to have his head x-rayed . A few weeks later the specialist doctor confirmed that he was suffering from Parkinson disease . For almost half a year my father travelled up and down from Sabak Bernam to Kuala Lumpur to have his regular medical examination and to get his supply of medicine . When I was transferred to Port Dickson, he was later referred to the University Kebangsaan Hospital in Cheras, KL . My illiterate mother listen too much from other people who did not believe in modern medicine and thus discouraged my father from taking his medicine .Infact there was a time when my mother hid his medicine away. Since then , his health began to deteriorate . He was then admitted to the UKM Hospital in Cheras . After a few weeks the doctor suggested that we take him back probably because he knew that he could not do anything more for him .

My only regret was , I did not take care my father's feelings when he was in that condition . I did not know that he was in need of company and some one to talk to . I did not know that Parkinson patients needed to be handled with care because they were sensitive people .They needed company and some one to talk to . Perhaps my father was feeling very lonely then . Due to my nature of job I could not go back home and visit him as often as I could . If only I could get back past time I would very much want to be close to my father and to give him whatever I can afford . That is of course impossible and ridiculous . I love him so much that I named my new house ' Sri Abak ' , a name he was popularly known among relatives . Now , I could only pray to Allah so that He would protect him and he would be among the faithfulls in Heaven . Amin .

The moral of the above story is for young people to take care the feelings of their parents because you might not know that he or she could be suffering from any disease and could be crying in silence . Obviously past time could not be brought back and thus make sure you will not regret it like I do .

Eileen Farhana when she was about 2 years old.

Eileen Farhana when she was about 2 years old at our quarters in the District Police HQ Banting ,Kuala Langat.

Looking forward to go on a Europe Tour

I have registered to be on a Europe Tour in May/June with Reliance Travels Sdn.Bhd. The three of us comprising of me , wife and daughter Farin are scheduled to be in Europe before we attend the convocation of our daughter Eileen at UCD Dublin on 4th.June 2009 . Although this trip is not a cheap one , I feel we deserve a break after all these years of the slogging days and nights to earn a decent living and to enjoy a bit during our retirement period . According to the itinerary we would be leaving KL on 27th May 2009 and our first stop over would be Paris . We would travel to Germany , Belgium , Switzerland and Holland . We would break away from the tour group in London on 3rd.June to enable us to fly to Dublin .

However the unfortunate has happened . The trip which is organised by Reliance Travels has to be cancelled due to lack of participants .We need at least 15 pax to make the trip go through but so far there are only 7 pax . Due to the present economic situation , it is very unlikely that there would be anymore participants .Reliance Travels told me to wait a little longer but I could not take any more risk . By hook or by crook we have to be in Dublin on 4th. June to attend our daughter's convocation .That is supposed to be a life time's event . We do not want to miss it and we do not want to disappoint our daughter Eileen. Since Reliance Travels could not give us an undertaking that the organised trip would go through as scheduled they finally agreed to refund our 10% deposits ( RM 2400.00 ).

Luckily we are just in time for the special offer by MAS . The MAS special offer fare to London is only RM 1400.00 per person inclusive of all the taxes . So I booked online and paid RM 9500.00 for the three of us plus insurance for the return tickets .It is much cheaper than Air Asia . With Air Asia I would have to pay RM 10,800.00 . With MAS the food is free while I would have to pay for our food if we travel by Air Asia . The Air Asia airport in London is at Standstead which is a little further away than Heathrow .We would be arriving in London on 2nd.June around 1618 hrs. From there at about 2110 hrs we would fly to Dublin by Air Lingus and arriving in Dublin at about 2220 hrs. We hope our daughter Eileen would wait for us at the airport .

As for the Europe Tour, we now depend on our daughter Eileen to organise for us, after her convocation . Our trip home would be on 14th.June . I hope there is enough time for us to be in some European countries .

Siti Nuralia Zahra struck with pneumonia .

This morning I visited our grand daughter Alia at the Selangor Medical Centre . She was soundly asleep when I arrived . Her mother told me that she had undergone an X-ray on her chest earlier in the morning because the doctor was not happy with the sound of her breathing . The result of the X-ray would be known in the evening .

In the evening I called my daughter in-law to inquire the outcome of the X-ray and she told me that Alia was suffering from pneumonia . Thus she would have to remain longer at the Medical Centre . My daughter in-law was a little worried because she had been away from office since Chinese New Year and who is to attend to Alia at the Medical Centre if she is to remain longer there . I told her to discuss the matter with her husband Aizad ( our son ) . If there is no choice I guess my wife and I would have to take turn to attend to our grand daughter Alia during the day. At night her parents would have to attend to her . Nevertheless ,I hope she would be cleared from the disease within the week end .

Grand daughter Alia admitted to the Selangor Medical Centre.

Our youngest grand daughter Siti Nuralia Zahra who was borned on 15th.November 2008 was having breathing difficulty since birth . Her nose were always filled with mucous .That made breathing difficult especially when lying down .The doctor at the Maternity Hospital ,Kajang where she was borned told her parents not to worry because according to him she was just allergic to dust and it would cure by itself. I have been telling my son and my daughter in-law to bring Siti Nuralia to a pediatrician for further medical treatment ,because I couldn't bear to see her breathe that way . On 27th January 2009 Siti Nuralia Zahra came to our house with her parents . I noticed her breathing problem did not subside and I was getting worried . Again , I reminded my son and daughter in-law to bring her to the specialist so that her breathing problem could be treated once and for all . I told them not to worry about the expenditure because money can always be earned but not Alia . Infact they waited 8 long years before she could be borned .I am very particular about the health of my family especially the young ones . I would normally insist for them to get early medical treatment at the slightest sickness to avoid further complications . I want them to enjoy good health so that they could go on with their lives without a hitch . Normally , I do not miss to pray for their good health after each of my daily prayers .

The next day around noon my son Aizad called my wife to inform her that our grand daughter Siti Nuralia Zahra had been admitted to the Selangor Medical Centre ,Seksyen 20,Shah Alam . In the evening we went to the Medical Centre to visit our grand daughter . The doctor informed my son that she would be admitted for 3-4 days for treatment and observation .

I hope and pray to Allah that she would be cured from her ailment .

' Abakjr's Blog ' -My new blog on political and current issues.

I have registered a new blog - ' Abakjr's Blog ' : http://abakjr.wordpress.com/ where I can express my feelings on political and current issues . My Jottings is where I write about my personal life . I do not want to mix the two different issues .

One would wonder why I have not written in Bahasa Malaysia -my mother tongue . It is not that I do not love my mother tongue but I feel more comfortable writing in English , although my English may not be that good . It is also a way for me to practice using my English so that with time I would be more proficient in it . Even if I were to write to my children I would normally use English . I also want my children to be able to master the language . My reading materials at home including the newspapers are all in English .

My love for reading and writing was nurtured since my school days . Infact my ambition at that time was to be a writer , journalist or an author . I had never dreamt to be a Police Officer .Infact I hated the Police . An incident that happened to me more than 40 years ago caused the turning point of my life . I was then in Form 5 , a school prefect and an outstanding student among my contemporaries . One night I went out to watch funfare in my small home town .At that time that was the only form of entertainment enjoyed by the kampong folks that came to town once in a blue moon . It was a week end and there was no home work to do . While at the town padang where the funfare was taking place , the Police launched the so called Crime Prevention operation and I was among those herded into the Police station for no obvious reasons .When I asked the officer who was of the rank of Inspector for what reason I was arrested he told me that I was wearing a tight pair of trousers and I was suspected of having a stolen bicycle .What a silly joke he was insinuating on me ? After much pleading finally at about 2.00 am. he allowed me to go home , but without my bicycle . I was told to bring along the bicycle's ' receipt of sale ' the next day if I were to get back my bicycle . Just imagine how I had to brave myself having to walk and run through the dark and rainy night to get home about 2 km. away . It was made worst when I had to pass by the village public cemetery in order to get to my home . I was running and walking and felt as if my feet did not touch the ground because of the tremendous fear of ghosts when I passed by the cemetery . The next morning I had to search for the bicycle's receipt of sale in order to get back my bicycle . Luckily , my late father had the habit of keeping all our important documents in a safe place and I did not find much difficulty retrieving it . However I did not tell any member of my family what had happened the previous night for fear that they would get mad at me and they might impose an extra punishment on me . Infact it still remain a secret till today .

After that incident I vowed to myself that one day I must be a Police officer even if it was only for a short stint in order for me to confront the officers who had caused the unnecessary ' inconvenience ' to me . True enough a few years later I became a Police Officer and I remained so till I retired . The strange thing that subsequently happened some years later was one day I bumped into that Officer who had caused the ' inconvenience ' to me . By then I was already holding a higher rank than him and he was about to retire . This is a true story and perhaps a miracle too which only God could explain . God is Great . Allahu akbar .

Syariah Laws could rid off negative culture from our youths.

Personally , nothing significant about the New Year ( 2009 ) and it's celeberation . I do not know why youths of today pay so much importance to the New Year celeberation . I noticed over the past decade this negative development have been hovering over their heads and thus easily influenced by it .The medias such as the newspapers and the TV stations too are to be blamed for highlighting on it . Intended celeberations of the New Year were made known to the public every other hours on TVs and radios . Our political leaders too were also the culprits for having a hand in them . Thus it is not surprising when youths , young and old came in droves to the venues . Those with a little bit extras in their pockets would continue their activities into the nights till morning in the hotels ,apartments etc. where bottles of liquor by the crates were consumed and then followed by sex parties . It is a shame for a Muslim country such as ours to have allowed or condoned such activities . Such activities are proned in this country , due to our political masters who the majority of them do not realize the that they are answerable to God for failure to abide by God's rule as stated in the Quran ( al-Maidah 5: 44 , 5: 45 , 5: 47 5: 48 ) and the Hadiths . They are too busy with worldly comforts that they have forgotten their obligation to the Creator . Many Muslims do not realize that it is the responsibility of each and every one of them to ensure that Syariah Laws be implemented . All of us are anwerable to Allah for failure to abide by the divine instruction as stated in the holy Quran ( al-Maidah 5: 49 ) . As leaders it is incumbent upon them to try their level best to implement it . I truly believe we will be able to rid our youths off the negative culture ,by implementing and enforcing the ' Syariah Laws' in this country .

I do not see any reason for non-Muslims to be wary of the ' Syariah Laws ' . First and foremost it does not affect them . The ' Syariah Laws ' would be enforced only on Muslims . It is like the requirements for all Muslims to pray 5 times daily or fasting during the month of Ramadhan .The non-Muslims are not required to do so . So why make fuss over the non issue .The non-Muslims should realize that the implementation of the Syariah is a divine instruction from God to all Muslims , failing which all of us ( Muslims ) would be committing sins and thus would face the wrath from God . Many people have a misconception about 'hudud' .Hudud is just the punishment on six or seven offences ( such as thefts , robbery ,sex offences, false accusation of sex offences, liquor consumption and apostacy ) which must be meted according to God's instruction , as stipulated in the Quran. But for hudud punishment to stand is not an easy task . The prosecution has to have 2 ' reliable' eye-witnesses to the offences and for sexual offences there must be 4 'reliable' witnesses . Now , where on earth a person commits theft or rape and etc. witnessed by 2 and 4 people respectively unless it is done in broad day-light ( which if it happens they should deserve the harshest punishment ). This however does not mean that the perpetrators would easily escape scott free . They would still be subjected to the existing laws and be punished accordingly . Only cases that have the 2 and 4 'reliable' eye-witnesses would be subjected to 'hudud' punishment or what has been wrongly termed by those opposed to it's implementation as 'capital' punishment which they also say as barbaric .

I hope the government especially , Muslim scholars and all Muslims in general would make all efforts to explain to Muslims and non-Muslims alike in order to update their knowledge on Syariah and what is 'hudud' punishment so that they would have a better understanding of Islam .

One day I may publish 'My Jottings' into a book .

My wife , son Azman and his wife and Adrina and even Alisya have gone to Johor Bahru on the 26th December 2008. They are expected to be back on the 28th.December 2008 .They were there to send Farin back to her campus after her one month semester holidays . This would be her final semester before she graduates from UTM. I am left alone in the house . I had earlier planned to be with them but because there is no one to look after the house I decided to remain behind .

Being left alone is nothing new to me because I was living alone for 3 years ( 1997 - 2000 ) in Port Dickson when I was the OCPD there . I am now quite used to be a lone ranger especially ever since I retired from my job . It is quite natural for a retiree to be so . Therefore he/she has to accept that fact . We must adapt ourselves fast to that new situation . Otherwise he/she would end up as some one with psychic problems . As for me , I am beginning to feel the joy and excitement being alone . I am free from disturbances and distractions and could concentrate on doing what I am interested in . I have finished reading a book on ' Growing Up in Trengganu ' or ' Guit ' by Wan A.Hulaimi or popularly known as Awang Goneng , who is based in London . Awang Goneng , a native of Trengganu have been living in London for more than 30 years .The book was actually a collection of his memories of Trengganu which was earlier written in his blog . His earlier intention was for the benefit of his children only who were borned and bred in London , to know of his early childhood in Trengganu . What I appreciate most about this book is the English language that he used. Being long in London and being involved in Journalism as a freelance journalist for so long there , his English is what I consider as superb . I have learned new words and his style of wrting . I hope one day I would publish my blog too into a book and would be informative not only to my children and grandchildren but also to the public as a whole .