A Perfect End.

 I watched a Korean series for the past weeks, The Crowned Clown. Spoiler alert, the ending is not as usual as other korean series. Typically when a hero became King, living happily ever after with the Queen is considered as a perfect end. But this is otherwise. Once the country is at a state of peace, the King, decided to step down with the Queen, to live as a commoner for the rest of their lives. To him, its the ultimate happiness of a perfect end. Ok. But wait, this is not a post for a review on the TV series.

Some of us must be wonding... why must a King stepped down and lived as a commoner? We were taught to spend the rest of the lives being on top, being in power, in full greatness and go further in life with even more achievements. But at this stage of life, I would understand why such actions, leaving everything behind and be happy with loved ones are the best possible way to be the end. 

I joined the public service, in a so-called elite post a decade ago. To many people, this job is the Crème de la crème. and has the potential to go further, even to the peak possible. I believed so too. I wanted to do so many changes, to lead and do so many greater things. But as years gone by, my priority changed. Meeting a lot of 'different' people changed my perception and my dream. 

What I want to do now is being grounded, and at peace. I know now that life is short to be wasted. 

As I still love my office life and career, I do wanna go back on time, pick up my kids at school, go home before Maghrib and perform solat together. My wife will get the dinner ready while I watch the kids doing their homework, we will then have dinner together while chatting on what's going on at work and school.

We will go back to our kampung or hometown during weekend to visit our parents, to instill that family always stick together. Hanging out with the rest of their cousins, my nephews and nieces, my sisters and brothers, and of course our beloved mother is all we do during Saturdays and Sundays. We'll go to the kubur in the morning, do a little bit of cleaning and gardening, then go to the market so that my mother will cook our favorite dish.

Once in a while, I wanna take my family for a holiday. Do sight-seeing like typical tourists do. It doesn't necessarily to be far away with all those fancy hotels and places, we could do it locally, go to the waterfall, or drive along the mountains, go for a swim at the beach, it doesn't matter, as long as the kids are having the time that they will remember and cherish for the rest of their lives.

The kids will grow up, be someone who is kind to people. A good Muslim. While my wife and I will grow old, enjoying our older life, travelling maybe. Doing some gardening, and orchard maybe? I would like to resume reading and writing till the end of my life.

That's a perfect end. To me...

After 13 years in the real life, I'm not even close to that end. But you'll see... The point I am making now is, sometimes what people need in life is now what others think it should be. 

Life is short. Be happy. Make your loved ones too.

Tenggelamnya Kapal Van Der Wijck, hasil penulisan Hamka bukanlah satu nukilan pilihan untuk aku baca, lagi-lagi time waktu balik kerja, dengan otak dan badan keletihan. Dan dengan genre cinta yang jarang sangat aku baca, tapi kenapa tah satu hati aku beli jugak buku ni.

Saat membaca ni, bila tangan kanan dan kiri mula memegang sisi buku, dunia ni biasa gelap, bayangan dan imaginasi akan mula terbentuk hasil dari gambaran yang ditulis. Tapi buku ni, beberapa mula muka surat pertama... hampeh. Aku takleh bayang apa 😂 tak paham wei. Mula-mula give up. Tapi last sekali aku gagahkan jugak, dan lama-lama terbentuk la dunia seorang pemuda bernama Zainudin yang jatuh cinta pada seorang wanita Minang, namanya Hayati.

Bagi aku, Hayati yang digambarkan dalam buku ni sebagai heroin, sebenarnya hanyalah watak antagonis yang membunuh jiwa Zainudin. Hayati seorang hamba kepada adat lapuk yang membataskan perilaku agama dan budaya, yang meletakkan kasta dan keturunan kepada tingginya darjat seseorang. 

“Demikianlah perempuan, ia hanya ingat kekejaman orang kepada dirinya walau pun kecil dan ia lupa kekejamannya sendiri pada orang lain padahal begitu besarnya.” 

Buku ni berat, berat dengan bahasa yang tinggi dan kaya, penuh dengan mesej yang bukan saja cinta, tapi juga kehidupan dan nasionalisme. 

Itu la dia Hamka, penulis lagenda Indonesia. Boleh dibaca untuk yang rajin dan minat kepada bahasa. Yang bahasa melayu teruk macam aku ni, ambil masa sikit. Tapi berbaloi. Aku appreciate.

Mama

I remember back when I was small,  and teenager as well, whenever its mama's birthday, she will took and and myself with her big white bicycle to a shop where she bought all those cross stitch items. Earlier it was located it Wisma Ganda, Sitiawan, then they moved to a shophouse in Sitiawan as well.

It's not that mama was buying herself some threads or whatsoever, but on her birthday, she will bought us toys, or games. I remember we got a huge replica of Megazord, Power Rangers,  Saga game, Playstation etc.  Even the playstation, she got us extra accessories like the steering for racing game, the steps console, joystick.

There was one time when my friends were at home playing playstation, and our 'big' tv was changing into a black and white of the 60s tv. I guess she heard he slapping hard the tv to get back the missing colors. Then the next day, she bought us new tv. 😂

Well, mama is not that kind of parent who spoiled her children that much. She was strict, especially on our studies. We were not that rich too at that time. But she managed to keep and save some, for our future, and also for our entertainment. Hehe. Thanks mama.

I saw one aunty just now pulling a small bike, maybe for her child, under the hot sun next to the street. Tu yang teringat tu....

My Baba. The Last Days...

It's been a month since baba left us... 

No words can described how sad and crushed I was, even at this moment, it felt so surreal. The moment of his last breathe, the world suddenly turned into a stranger.

We got him to Sunway Hospital, Subang on the 14th of November 2016, after weeks of illness, which we didn't really know the exact cause was. We went to hospitals, and did couples of checkups before, and there were many hypothesis, from kidney stones to clog in the heart. But on that day, after being rejected by the dialysis centre due to low blood pressure, we decided to go to Sunway Hospital, Subang instead, it was his favorite hospital. It was after Dr. Tan successfully did a vascular surgery back in April. 

We knew the trip to Subang which took us 4 hours were suffering for him. But he didn't complain much. We only stopped once and change his seat to back so he could have a little more space to stretch. By the time we arrived, the nurses got him on a stretcher, and got him straight to the emergency, which soon after he was warded in the ICU. Baba said to Kak Ita, we were at the right place now. We were so glad, seriously I thought at that time, everything was going to be alright. Baba survived all the odds, this won't be any different. We even went to supper at a mamak nearby, which was so called a celebration.

But the thought of celebration was too early to be true. On Monday, Baba was fully awake. He even managed to joke here and there, and we were so confident at that time, everything was really gonna be alright. Baba did his dialysis the next day, but the blood pressure was still too low, which the doctor put in drugs to maintain his BP. The same day, I decided to go for a meeting in KL, so that I don't need to apply for a leave. In that very meeting, I received a text from Kak Ita, telling us that the doctor met her and mama, saying that baba actually critical, which there was a huge blood clog in his heart that at anytime could move to his brain or lungs. There was no way to remove the clog as it was impossible to perform any kind of surgery at his condition. And we were now against time...

It was heart breaking. 

I cried all my way back to the hospital...

I stayed at the hospital that night, knowing that he would restlessly asked for us sometimes in the middle of the night, just to accompany him for a little time. 

The next day, Wednesday, the doctor asked for the family at noon. At this time around, some of baba's sibling from Singapore were already here. All I remember was... "Cancer Stage 4". The doctor advice us the family to stop his dialysis gradually and went home. We thought it was the best too, as the doctor said the drugs he used for dialysis will eventually killed him, so it was best to go home, and spend the last 2 weeks the best we could. He was well awake, and I was so down that we have to tell him that he was actually dying. He was well awake! He was even cheerful sometimes, with his typical jokes. How could we tell him that... I remember him telling us, "let me fight this...". He wanted to fight...

The next morning, we asked the doctor to tell him, with us right at his side. We all cried, but he didn't much. He looked at me, "Jaff, jangan...". Yeah, I knew, anak lelaki kena la kuat kan. At that very time jugak, segala jenis hingus aku sedut balik, lap air mata, and stand next to him and said, "Don't worry, we are going to go through this". As we were expected, he decided to go through with dialysis. Going home and wait for the end of life was never an option for him. He was a fighter, definitely a great spirit he had. The doctor was amazed himself. He thought he would be defensive and denying the fact, but he accepted the news very well, and straight asked for all the options that he  to get more days to live. But deep inside, I knew that he knew, his days are near the end. He apologised a lot, to his sibling as if it was his last time. He called me many times too, to plan ahead how to take care of Mama and the rest of us. What need to be paid, what need to be claimed when he is gone, almost everything. Yerp, he planned all that. 

During dialysis, I stood next to him and hold his hand. This is the hand which hold me dearly when I was small, the hand which I felt safe and secured. I knew this could be my last time holding his hand, so I stood there for hours, just to hold his hand. I cried. I cried many times, the most in my life I guess.

On Friday, there were so many guests, even from Perak. He was cheerful. Laughing and making jokes. But we didn't want him to get exhausted, but seeing him that happy, we let everyone in, two at a time. It's been the fifth day, I didn't go home, even bath, or eat well. Tak rasa nak buat apa pun, I just want to be there all the time. Later that day, a specialist came for a visit, then he called the family and said, we didn't have much time. Going home was really a good option now. I don't know. We didn't know what to do, really. If he wanted to fight, then we will stay by his side, and fight with him all the way. Baba even asked us to find a condominium nearby so that he could be discharged soon and go for treatment on daily basis. 

On Saturday, he was still strong. His blood pressure was stable without any medication. Today he went for dialysis again, and we decided to go for another dialysis on Tuesday, and then go home. We would come back again later for dialysis. That was why Baba really wanted to stay nearby so that it is near to come over. The normal dialysis centre won't take him anymore with his condition. Baba was OK with the plan. As long as he got the treatment needed. No to giving up. But as before, he kept on calling from time to time to remind me on what needs to be done if he is gone. "Yang pergi, mesti pergi Jaff...". And I replied, "Jaff redho ba, but don't you worry, I will take care of the family as good as u did, just don't you worry about us anymore", and then he nod, and sleeps.

The last days, baba kept on hugging and kissing us. Maybe he felt already that the day was coming. I slept with him the last night. I was so thankful I was allowed to, because in the ICU, no guest or family was allowed to stay overnight inside. That very last night, he didn't sleep. We talked. I know, he was mumbling all the time, he couldn't think straight I guess, maybe the effect of the cancer was too much now. He made joke too, but I couldn't understand, but he laughed, so I laughed too. Haha. Then we searched for a house on mudah.my. Some comments that he make macam lif rumah kecik la, cat tak cantik la.. haha. Then he did get some food to eat, and the nurse managed to get him a good coffee too. He kept on giving compliments to the good coffee. The last coffee that he had...

At 5.00 am, I got so tired and tertidur. Then baba kejut, and asked me for his phone. Then baba called zali and asked him to come in. When zali got in, I went out and slept outside as we are not allowed to stay more than 1 family member.

In the morning, I decided to go Kak Ita's home and took a bath. I didn't bath since monday! After shower, while I was lying on the bed, Kak Anna called, her voice was trembling, but still calm, and asked me to come over. So Zali and I, together with Nisa drove back to the hospital. We didn't worry that much, as I really thought that he was well the day before...

I was so wrong. Baba was half awake. His heartbeat is slowing down quickly. Mama was already crying, Kak Anna and Kak Ita too. Quickly, I went to his side, and starts the syahadah together with him. I try my best to be calm, but my tears was flowing out fast. But I kept on repeating the syahadah, slowly so that it would be as clear as possible for him to listen. Then mama took my hand, and put it on baba's hand. His fistula used for dialysis had stopped. Mama was looking at me with tears in her eyes. I nodded. I knew, there were no chance at all for dialysis now... I quickly went downstairs straight to the ATM and got all the cash I could. I wanted baba to be discharged the soonest I could, so I needed to settle the bill. We wanted baba's last moment to be at his home. I even transferred some money to Kak Anna, Kak Ita, Zali and Nisa since there was a limit in the ATM machine. When I was back in the ICU, we asked for an ambulance to get him home today... then Kak Anna, Kak Ita and Zali went downstairs and took the money out. I stayed with baba. I cried again and whisper to his ear, "Baba jangan risau lagi pasal kitorang, jangan risau langsung because we are gonna be alright. We will meet you nanti when our time comes". He nodded.... he nodded... I know taking care of us, was what that kept him going. But now, I just wanted him to go peacefully...

Baba's heartbeat kept on dropping... Kak Anna, Kak Ita and Zali managed to get back to the room. We were all there, together with mama, when he finally took his last breathe....

During the funeral later that night, there were so many people at the mosque, and we were so grateful for the love that people had given him throughout his life...

We were thankful for the 17 years that he lived after diagnosed with kidney failure. Not many people survived that long. We were thankful, syukur for the time that we had together.

It was difficult for me to write this post and remember back the week of sadness that we had. But I just want to make a point here, to myself, to everyone else, don't give up. Selagi Allah kata tak, selagi tu kita berusaha. 

Baba was the best man I've ever known. Looking in the mirror everyday, I really wished that I could be as good as you. The best father, husband, grandfather, we could asked for.

I don't know what to write anymore.

Rindu baba... rindu sangat.
Al-fatihah...

---
Kepada keluarga dan kenalan, saya mewakili keluarga ingin berterima kasih atas doa dan semangat yang telah diberikan kepada Arwah dan kami di sepanjang waktu-waktu sukar. Saya juga memohon maaf andai Arwah ada melakukan kesilapan di sepanjang hayatnya dan jika ada hutang-hutang yang masih belum dituntut, boleh dibuat terus melalui saya atau adik beradik saya yang lain.

Terima kasih semua...

Semoga Allah menempatkan beliau di kalangan orang-orang yang beriman. Ameen..

Kami pun busy juge.

Cuba tengok tarikh post hari ni dan post yang sebelum ni. Ni bulan 10, nak hujung tahun dah. Kalau baby pon dah pandai jalan ni. Konon nak buat post tiap-tiap bulan, hattt tui. Apatah lagi cita-cita ko yang nak menulis buku. 

Anyhow, aku takde idea sebenarnya apa nak tulis. At the moment aku tengah dalam kelas, tengah break Zohor sebelum kelas mula balik pukul 2 karang. Hidup sekarang ni macam tak cukup nafas, hal kerja, hal takraw, hal belajar, urusan keluarga. Tatau dah mana nak buat dulu, mana kemudian. Aku lebih utamakan mana yang ada due date je, dan memandangkan belajar aku ni pun kena bayar sendiri, ni pun terpaksa la aku pulun. Tapi ada baiknya, kalau tak entah aku nak pergi kelas ke idak. 

Gambar hiasan yang menunjukkan ke-busy-an

Aku segan sebenarnya nak cakap orang aku busy. Pasal busy aku ni, entah-entah untuk orang lain mudah je, and banyak lagi orang kat keliling yang busy, tapi takde nak kecoh mana. So try my best la untuk manage time, kalau perlu extra time, then reserve that extra time. 

Tapi aku ada kenal seorang hamba Allah ni. Asyik nak cakap ko busy. Mau setiap perjumpaan lah ko nak cakap ko busy, banyak sangat keje ko, sampai keje ko kene laa bahagi-bahagi kat orang lain. Apa ko ingat orang lain tak busy ke? Kadang-kadang rasa tak adil pulak dunia ni. Yang kecoh ni, nampak laa ke-busy-an dia yang tak seberapa tu, and orang yang senyap dan akur, buat je la keje banyak memanjang. Tapi bos aku selalu cakap, looking at the positive side, at least kita belajar lebih dari orang tu. So sabar je...

Citer ni sebenarnya nak melibatkan aku pun. Takde laa aku yang kene buat keje dia ke apa, cuma bile melihat kejadian di depan mata, aku rasa macam nak tarik pipi ko kuat-kuat sambil bisik kat telinga, "Keje ko tu biasaaaa je la." Jadi aku nak cakap, jangan la komplen banyak sangat. Bila kerja tu dah jadi tanggungjawab kita, buat je la. Kalau rasa tak competent nak buat tu, buat je la keje lain.

Ah.Puas hati aku dapat settlekan satu post dalam masa 5 minit. 

Kena buat post macam ni lebih kerap, cuma rasa post macam gini kosong dan hambar je. Kbai.

Hello 2016!

Happy New Year guys!

Gosh, time is moving so fast and it seems like there's nothing much happening last year. 

So what happened last year...

1. So I went to Cambodia with my wife, yes, I wrote a post about it but never posted it. Pemalas tahap gaban super saiya untuk menulis. Cambodia was super cool, full of historical monuments, friendly people and great food. My wife wanted to go there again someday.

2. My brother got engaged! And he will marry the woman of his life next month. 

3. Joined the Takraw Management Team. Never had the chance to play nor learn the game, but managing is good enough. As I posted in the previous post, it was a surreal experience I had last year and am looking forward managing and forming the team again this year! 

4. Went to South Korea! This was suppose to be a low key trip, ehem. Anyhow, it was a once in a lifetime experience I guess, and appreciate the rezeki that comes. Seoul was super advanced, in a country which I think we have many lesson to learn and be a model to us. I think the right word for South Korea is the 'innovation' culture that are within them.

Well, nothing much eh.

So what do I look forward to this year?

1. Will be a busy month! Family from Singapore, Philippines and Wales are coming and I need to get a loooong leave to entertain and help my parents preparing my brother's wedding. This will be the last wedding in the family, so make it big and happening!

2. Travel travel travel. I read an article today on travelling, 'Make it happen'. Looking at 2 countries at the moment, two neighboring countries.

3. I need to look at the smaller thing too. This year, I wanted to read at least 20 book. Yerp, 20 books guys!

4. In term of blogging, 7 posts last year, and 5 posts in the previous year. Bapaak pemalas kau sekarang! So I need to top that. Ok, this year, at least 20 posts! Ok, gile tinggi cita-cita kau...

5. Move to our first home! I am currently renting, hopefully will be able to our own home this year! 

6. Baba's transplant! Oh, this is big! I hope rezeki is on our side this year after 16 years of dialysis, hoping that the kidney transplant will happen this year. Aaaameen.

So 2016, here I come!

How Do You Look?

Tadaa, how do I look?

So I saw this program last week on Diva, hosted by Sazzy Falak. I heard that this was an adaptation of a similar program by the Americans. 

Well, I never like to be so negative on anything that is not related to me or anything, but this kind of show, to me, is insulting and "syok sendiri". Looking at the so-called fashion forward by the producer, the host, is funny, because the host was not dressing well either. In fact, the person whom they called with fashion disaster, dressed better. 

To me, dressing is subjective. There is no right or wrong. If he or she feels comfortable in it, he or she feels good in it, why not? Don't expect others to feel the same as what you think is beautiful. Beauty does not necessarily defined when you show more skins and figures. 

Plus, when you are a Muslim, that is wrong. We have aurat for us to think about.

So Sazzy Falak, stop showing your 'Eewww' face to what others think is beautiful, because what you wear in the show, is 'Ewww' to me.

Takraw For Dum'me'

Being close to Syam brought to me to somewhere I never thought I would ever, ever be. 

First, he made me play Clash of Clans, which at first I thought, was a waste of time, but it turned out to be good distraction from work.

Then, he made me helped him with his Takraw Team, which is a game of sport I never knew a single rule of, but later I found it very technically interesting.

Now, he made me wear three quarter pants, when managing the Takraw Team during Sukan PBT, which was totally againts my unwritten rules of clothing. "NO THREE QUARTER PANTS!" but it turned out to be comfortable.

Syamsul Istar...

Sepak Takraw. If I turned into a TV Channel with that on it, I would spend not even a single second, before I turned into another channel. I never knew the game. When I was in school, there was no one playing that game, even during Pendidikan Jasmani, no takraw. The first time I watched Takraw was 2 years back during DPA, and that is simply because I felt that I need to cheer for our team, and still, I never tried to understand the game.

So now, with Syam managing our Ministry's Takraw Team, which we called Libas SUK Perak, and myself, co-managing, I feel obligated to get to know the game well. Takkan nak terkebil-kebil tengok game tak paham mende when you are the manager of the team. So not cool. 

Ok, let's learn a little bit about the game.

1. What is the meaning of 'Takraw' and where does it came from? 

Takraw in Thai, is a woven ball. So with it's name of Sepak Takraw, I believe the game, obviously is from Southeast Asia, either in Malaysia, Thailand or Indonesia.

2. How many players in the court at a time?

There are 3 players per team. They are called Tekong, Feeder and Killer, depends on their position. 

Tekong is the one who will serve the ball to the opponent, either sending the ball straight to the opponent with high speed or serving a drop ball. 

Killer is the striker of the team, executing the ball to the opponents. Killer is also responsible to block any incoming ball from the opponent. 

Feeder is one who controls the ball, if the team manage to get the first ball right from the opponent. Feeder will then set the ball to the killer to strike back to the opponent, and that makes him important so that the Killer could perform a clean strike.

3. The attire of the players?

I never knew attire is so important until Sukan PBT. Well, according to the international rules, the number on the jersey of each player must only be between 1 to 15. Players must wear the same number on each game to avoid confusion of actual players. The captain of the team must also wear an armband.

4. Warming Up. 

Each team will be given 2 minutes before the game starts for warming up.

5. Explain the service?

I only got to know this after watching a couple of training sessions. Players of the serving regu will alternate as Tekong each time it has won a point from the previous serve until the receiving team manages to get a point. 

6. How many points needed to win the game?

21 points are required for a team to win a set, and there will be 2 sets, minimum. If it comes to a tie after 2 sets, then the third set will be the deciding set. Like badminton, the winning team needs 2 extra point to win.

7. How many time break given per team?

Well, time break will be requested by the manager of the team, and one time off is given to each team per set. Only 5 persons, max, is allowed at the back of the court during time off. But in the international rule, only 4 persons are allowed, and that is after the 8th points.

8. How many substitution allowed?

For each set, a team is allowed to nominated 1 reserved player, and make 2 substitutions per set.

So now, you are ready to co-manage!

I will post something on our journey to Sukan PBT next....

#libassukperak

Big Hero 6

(Cuci sawang, cuci sawang, cuci sawang)

Lama gedabak aku tak tulis menulis. Erm, sebenarnya ada tulis, cuma button publish tu agak berat untuk ditekan berbanding tanda X kat hujung chrome ni. Melihatkan kawan-kawan pun semakin kurang aktif, semangat untuk mempublish post pon sangatlah ketara berkurangan.

This is a movie I've watched the latest, Big Hero 6. Yer yer, aku tau, cite ni dah lama, aku tengok pun bukan kat wayang, tengok kat rumah je. Tu pun adik aku paksa tengok, rasa macam tak cool je tajuknye, teringat cerite Fantastic 4 yang mengecewakan. 

This movie is an animation obviously, about Hiro and his brother's robot companion, Baymax. Like his brother, Hiro is a robot inventor genius, some sort la. But something unfortunate happened when his brother was killed in a fire, and from there it all started, the action and friendship. Baymax was initially created to take care of people's health, but having Hiro the genius himself, he manipulated the program of Baymax and add him as an action hero instead to find the killer of his brother.

I don't need to explain much, you can read the plot on Wikipedia.

From all the previous posts on movies review, boleh aku conclude di sini, aku suka cerita yang ada jiwa, yang ada perasaan, yang hidup. And Big Hero 6 is definitely one of them. Even one of the main character is only a robot without any emotion, yet the way the story line was arranged seems otherwise. It's brilliant.

Rate: 9.5/10

Defining You.

I remember when I had this little argument with a childhood friend of mine, and she told me "You've changed...". And then, being that hot temper guy that I was, I told her "What? I never changed, and never will!" Well, that was what I thought at that time. 

People change. Every year, every week, every day, every minute, maybe not every second. Hehe. But, we change. Everyone does. There is a saying that we will eventually become the person whom we are closed with. It's like when the group of people we always hang out with change, then we will change as well. Maybe it won't be so notable at that moment, but as time goes by, maybe we ourselves will notice it, or maybe the people whom we were closed with will. 

We are influenced by the people around us. The person I am today is because of the people I met along the way. And believe me, in 10 years to come, I may not be the person I am today. I hope I am a better person compare to previous years, and hopefully better than today in the future. And I am lucky enough, my path always crossed with friends who are kind with good hearts, and that I should be so grateful of.

Bak di dalam Riwayat Ahmad, "Seseorang itu dikenali berdasarkan sahabatnya, maka berwaspadalah dalam memilih sahabat".

So to my friends, thank you. I hope I define you good too.

Wallahua'lam...

The Two Brothers

Another book on the shelf. Yes. Two Brothers, by Ben Elton.

From chapter to chapter, this book managed to bring me back to the early years of World War 2. It never fails to touch, and sometime breaks my heart on how this family of four was treated and separated back then during the Nazis. It would be impossible for us to know on how Jews were treated back then. And this family, who are jews were never exempted. 

It happens to be that one of the twin, actually was adopted, and he was never a jew. 

And when it comes to the end of the line, the parents have no other choice but to let the non-jew son go, by telling all the truths. From there, they were separated, but it didn't hold the brothers to meet up at some points. To make it even more complicated, the 'twins' love the same girl, a jew girl where they both put their life in danger for her. To me personally, the girl was the evil plot in the book. She used the boys for her own survival interest. Never in my mind thought that she loved either one of the boys.

As a whole, this book never fails to play with emotions. And that is what I looked in a book. A book that convince me. Reading how family go through with life, how the non-jew brother survive and how he tried so hard to protect his family by all means. It's all about family, relationship, love and trusts. 

I hope that I will come across a book of how the Palestinians were treated, written with such emotions that will show the world, how same the Zionists are with the Nazis.

Peace.

Happy Teacher's Day.

Fuh, gila berhabuk aku punya blog.

 It feels like forever since my last post.

So yesterday was Teacher's Day. I might as well post something related.

When I was in Form 4, there was this 1 teacher whom I particularly remember. She taught me Modern Mathematics, but I took her tuition class on Add Maths in the evening. Her way of teaching was unique I guess, she made me remember all the methods, easily. 

But it is not the way she taught me that make her stick on my head, but it's the confidence she had in me. Modern Maths, was ok I guess. But I always thought Add Maths will be horrible. 

There was 1 day though, when we were doing add maths exercises during the tuition class, she told me personally, "Jaff, I know you will score at least A2 for Add Maths, I only want you to study hard now to score A1."  In my head, it's just WOW. She had this belief which I even don't have on myself. But knowing someone does believe in me, I eventually put in my mind, I am good in maths. I am good in maths. Yeah. I can do it, can't I? 

And yeah, I did it. I scored A1 in Add Maths. 

But sadly, as far as I remember, I never had this chance to meet her in person after school to thank her for the belief she had in me. 

I received a gift from her during my wedding, but still, didn't have the chance to meet her.

So, Puan Ding,

Selamat Hari Guru.

Thank you so much for believing in me.

Sabar.

Everyone has their highs and lows, especially at work. Well, syukur at the moment the life I went through at work is all well. But I remember last time with the previous work I had, it was tough I must say. Although I was happy with all the friends and colleagues, but the process, the tense, was very difficult.

Sometimes when we lost our mind, we tend to do things which is beyond limit. Like for instance, shouting, blaming, cursing, with all the dramas and that. But think for a second, where will it get you? Will you be happy for doing that? Puas hati? Nah. You won't, believe me. All that actions will only give you guilts and regrets.

So what I would suggest, to you and myself, stay calm, sabar. If you have to defend yourself, do it in a good way. When someone do bad things to you, it is not a ticket for you to the same to him, or her. Diamkan aje, pasal biasanya orang yang diam tu adalah orang yang menang.

Life is short. So be happy. Be wise.

Where is that 'Hot Milo'?

Whoa, It's been like forever since my last post eh? I've been writing if you must know, but I kept them all as drafts, waiting for my lazy finger to click that publish button. Duh. I wanted to post something actually, but I really don't know which post to start with. So now I decided to write a new one. 

This post is about how I was back then, and how I am today.

I remember almost 15 years ago, a girl in school labelled me as the 'Hot Milo'. I have this bad temper which was widely known among my close friends. That comes the term 'hot'. But that 'Milo' comes maybe because, as temper as I could be, I guess somehow I was still likable to some people. :-)

That 'Hot Milo' remained in me for years, until there was one event in school where I really had lost the sense of logic, I yelled to one of my close friend in front of a crowd. And the reason was stupid. I don't remember it though, but I am for sure, it was stupid. After that seconds of yelling, my friend startled. Everyone around us was too, they were shocked. That was the peak of my stupidity and inconsiderate anger. I realized that was too much. I left the place at once and sat somewhere far alone. I heard later that my friend was so upset that she cried. As much as it hurt her, it hurt me more I guess. I never like seeing my friend cries, especially because of me.

Yes, I did apologized later. But that was the event that set me back.

I decided, this 'Hot Milo' had to be gone. Far away that no one could ever called it back. From day to day, the 'Hot Milo' had somehow become the 'Ice Milo'. There was not much emotion that I could show. My heart was numb I guess. I kept it all inside. Far inside my heart. The good thing is though, the bad temper I had, it was gone. It became hard and difficult for me even to get upset. The fire of anger that crossed me was all kept inside my heart, until it was forgiven, and the flame was put to rest. The worst I could do is only to keep quite, diam seribu bahasa. My friends would call that merajuk. But to me, being quite helps to just forget everything, and forgive. And as time goes by, I will be back to normal. Just the cheerful self that I am. 

This 'Ice Milo' apologized more. This 'Ice Milo' smiles to everything. 

After many years, I really like 'Ice Milo'. 

This past few weeks however, I was wondering. What happen to 'Hot Milo'? Could I ask him to come for a visit sometime and help me release all the anger and tension that I have been keeping. I know, there was no flame. But the ashes remained. Could he come and clean it all? It's just that, if he ever make a come back, will he stay? Because I don't want him to...

As much as I wish that 'Hot Milo' could make a return, 'Ice Milo' has turned me into a better man, I guess. I really like 'Ice Milo' now. But as cool as it could be, please don't take him for granted. Because that could be the exact chance that it will turned into that 'Hot Milo' once again, and stay in me forever. 

klia2.

I remember the time I went to Ho Chi Minh with Pakciks when our tour guide, Hung said to Nazul and I how modern and big their airport is. I was looking at Nazul, he looked back at me. Is this guy serious? How could he compare our KLIA with Ho Chi Minh Airport? But seconds after that we realized that he was talking about our LCCT. Ok. Angkat tangan. Surrender. Our LCCT is seriously out of the league with Vietnamese Airport kan. 

There is one article I read on the internet that listed LCCT as one of the worst airport in Asia. But on the good side, we're not that bad compared to some countries' main airports. (Source: http://www.sleepinginairports.net/2012/worst-airports-asia.htm) 

Contrarily, in 2014 the World Airport Awards ranked LCCT at the 5th position behind Stansted, Berlin, Luton and Brussels for Best Low Cost Airport Category. Somehow, being there couples of times, LCCT is very much basic terminal and overly crowded. But I do understand that LCCT was initially built to cater about 10 million passengers, whereby today the total passengers using it are about 25 million.

On the other hand, KLIA was listed one of the best airport in the world, ranked 2nd for World's Best Airport serving 40-50 million passengers per year, that is behind South Korean's. However, there are a lot of improvements which could be done in KLIA, such as 24-hours dining restaurants and limousine services. Located about half an hour drive to Kuala Lumpur, logistic is very much important to passengers. With poor management in limousine and taxi, I am afraid that our tourists' satisfaction will be affected, especially at this year's Visit Malaysia Year 2014. However, I still have the feeling everytime I reach home in KLIA, the proud moment seeing our premium facilities that welcome everyone to Malaysian's gate.

This post is however not about KLIA. It's about klia2. I got the chance to visit klia2 last week. klia2 is our new low cost airport, replacing LCCT since May 1st. 5 airlines are operating here, of course, our AirAsia and Malindo Air, Cebu Pacific, Lion Air and Tiger Air. This airport is designed to cater 45 millions passengers per year with 250,000 sqm, 60 gates, 80 aerobridges, which is absolutely MASSIVE, compared to LCCT.

Being there the first time, I honestly have to say that I was impressed. It still have a 'little' look being the lost cost airport, but klia2 is clean, spacious space and there are many 'Ask Me' people around the huge airport to help passengers or visitors the get around. I could still see crowds, but I guess they must be the visitors to look around the new airport.

I was informed klia2 has the biggest shopping mall in the world, with 70,000 sqm of retail space, with 225 outlets. klia2 has its own shopping complex, deng! With 4 levels of retails space, there are relaxation zone, transportation stores, dining restaurants and retail stores. This building that consists them all is called the Gateway. 

Located next to KLIA, there are many ways for you to get here. Just like KLIA, there are KLIA express, KLIA transit where you can get here directly from Kuala Lumpur Sentral. Besides, there are many busses, shuttles, KL Monorail and taxis for you to get around. But unfortunately I have not got the opportunity to try one, hopefully one day. As this is the low cost terminal, I hope that the transportation services available here would not cost as much as KLIA, especially the rate of limousine or taxis. At the moment, there are 6 hotels located in the airport, or maybe just right next to it. So, being the advantage here that can overcome the cons of LCCT which is the transportation services.

Having the new lost cost terminal with world class facilities is great for the image of the country. One day, I believe that the airport will overcome our main premium airport in term of passengers as there are many tourists who now prefer to travel cheap, and that is low cost airlines. Hopefully one day when I return home from overseas, in klia2, I will feel as proud as I was when I touched down in KLIA. 

A letter to myself.

20/6/2013

To my dear self,

I was asked to write this letter to myself which the letter will be posted back to me in 6 months. It's like a time capsule, only with a short period of time. Eh, kejap. Why should I explain this to you? You were here. Cet ptuih. I am so sorry my handwriting is as bad as Amirul's but as you know, I have no proper equipment and stationery here.

I think you have not been blogging for a period of time, so I guess you should put this letter on your blogs as one your post.

I am now in the middle of the jungle, camping here, alone for 1 night. This is part of the course that I am going through at the moment, which is at the Outward Bound School (OBS). I've spent 5 nights at OBS, and I will be going to the next course the day after tomorrow.

OBS is one in a lifetime experience which I will never forget. It was tough I must say, and you're pushed to your limit to complete the task that was given. The last 2 days, me and my teammates, Watch Ledang went for a hiking in Pangkor. I think that should not be a problem as I was quite used to it. But I was wrong! We were asked to carry a heavy bag, filled with our stuffs, food and belongings which be used later for camping.

On the 1st day, we spent about 6 hours, hiking. As that is a group task, we need to help each other, sharing all the weight and burden. The biggest challenge for us was not the distance, but it was the weight of the bag. We tried to exchange stuffs along the way though when some of us could not 'tahan' already.

As time goes by, when many of us were already exhausted, some of us were falling into the negative valley. But fortunately, the other half pulled them back on track and carry on. the next day was the same. Oh, it was worse! We got lost! :-( We spend about 6 hours when actually we were only suppose to spend about half of that time. We were going up and down the hill many times, and it was for sure tough especially to the ladies. But we managed to get ourselves out.

I was proud of myself for completing the task. Seriously, it was super duper tough when you're going in a group, but these people are the one who actually keep me going. And I am so proud too with my teammates who keep on going, even some of them think they could not go on, but they did. We did it guys!

As I said previously, OBS is one of the experience that I won't forget. Even some of us said that they won't ever repeat the OBS, but I am sure that each and everyone of us will remember this week as one of the most memorable ones that we will laugh together years upfront. No handphone, no connection with the outside world, television, family and friends, for 1 week. I don't know if I could do that I am forced to. However, being back to basic taught me more about the value of talking instead of typing or texting, and OBS definitely push my limit to a new upper level, my confidence and of course my patience. Thank you everyone!

p.s. Jaffrey, you are awesome. Keep it up! :-)

Jaffrey

Gift.

People always asked and complained that it is difficult to get someone a gift, especially when it comes to the opposite sex as we might not know what would actually they like. My friends, Calypsorous were discussing about it just now on WhatsApp. 

Well, as for guys, I think the most obvious and common gifts that someone could get are, tie, tie clip, grooming stuffs maybe, pemetik gitar if he plays guitar, books if he loves to read, pen if it is official, wallet if his was sad to watch, belts, t-shirts (but you have to the size and style), shaver, cufflinks, handkerchief.  If you have more budget, then a perfume, watch, gadgets like iphone, ipad or something, games would be cool.

But on the final day, I got something even more valuable than all the stuffs I mentioned above. It was not new, nor fancy... but it is genuinely valuable. It was a pen, the pen of a very very very good friend of mine, my bro. It's the pen which he used during his first lecture in service. So from here, I've learnt that, to me, it doesn't necessarily be expensive, useful, fancy or anything, instead, having something which is meaningful and valuable to you, is enough to make the gift as one of the best you ever gave. Giving something which is close to your heart, makes it even better for the person you are giving, to show them how much he or she is meaningful to you as well.

So, Aiman, thank you very much my bro.
I'll keep you close for the rest of my life.

Hey ya!

We are already in 2014, and it is Visit Malaysia Year 2014!

Yes people, we are the host this year to welcome our neighbors, guests from all over the world to our beloved Malaysia. The last time when we host Visit Malaysia Year was back in 2007 when we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the country.

So, as the host, we as Malaysians must do our part to make sure our guests have a great time coming here and make every single visit worth it, and of course, to make sure they come back again next time or recommend the visit to others would even be better.

1. First thing first, we must at least learn how to speak basic English. Yerp, English. I am so so so sure that most Malaysians understand and know how to speak English, it is just a matter of confidence to speak it out. But, how to improve your English is to start with a broken one. Come on, we are not British, nor Americans... we are Malaysians. We have our own way in speaking English. So guys, be confident, no matter how broken your English is, just be confident.

2. Smile. Many of us especially those in the service sector, shops, restaurant, are seems so reluctant to smile. What we must often do is to smile. Make it a sincere one. It shows warmth. Show our guest that they are welcomed and we are beyond happy to receive them. What is even better is to say Hi and make a simple conversation, "How are you, Sir?", "Have a great day, mam", would be nice.

3. Show you gratitude. Say "thank you". No matter if you're the one who is lending a hand, or showing direction, doing a favor, just say thank you, or terima kasih, and not to forget #2, with a smile. 

4. Stress on cleanliness. Everywhere, on the streets, in the toilets, shopping malls, everywhere. Do not litter. Flush the toilet after used. Cleanliness is one of the most important element in tourism, so do your part.

5. Your courtesy and morality. Show the world how good the Malaysians are. Be nice on the road, talk politely  

And lastly, 6. Be proud of who we are, our multiracial and diversity. Whoever we are, Malays, Chinese, Sabahans, Sarawakians, Indians, we are Malaysians, and we should be proud of each other. 

So guys, here we go. 

Be the best host.

It's Visit Malaysia Year 2014!

www.vmy2014.com

A Little Advice on Changing Flight.

So here is the thing.

I have a  return flight, instead, for some reasons I didn't take the flight going to Jakarta. Instead, I took another different flight. But when I wanted to use my return ticket back to Malaysia using the previous ticket, somehow my name was gone in the system. Luckily the Malaysia Airline counter there did managed to get my name back in the list, and here I am, back home.

So, next time, when any of you changed your flight, using a different airline, then I would strongly suggest you to check back with the airline whether your previous ticket is still valid or not, because system wise, your name will be removed from the list.

Let's travel!!!