A Picnic at Taman Tasik Ampang Hilir

On the 11th October 2009, we had a wonderful picnic with dad’s old friends from his university days at the Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (click here to see their blog).Their special guest was Uncle Osman from Khartoum, Sudan who was on a two weeks trip to Malaysia with his wife, Aunty Yaman and daughter, Sister Arwa. The picnic was held at the Taman Tasik Ampang Hilir, a beautiful lake park which was newly opened to the public two months ago.

We arrived there at 8:00 a.m. It was still early so mum allowed my siblings and I to run to the nearby playground. I spent a long time on the swing (which I love best). I made a huge improvement on the ‘monkey-bars’. Now I could amazingly swing to the fourth bar without falling down the moment I reached out to grab the second bar. I also had a nice chat with Sister Arwa.

After an hour or two at the playground, mum sent Uncle Moslim’s daughter, Hadibah, to inform me that it is time to eat. And through that quick conversation, I knew I had made a new friend. After calling for my brother and sisters, we raced back to the picnic area. Over there I saw Pak Cik Borhan, Uncle Megat, Uncle Moslim, Uncle Raof, Uncle Fauzan and some of those whose names I don’t know. I also met Arif again (refer to ‘Going To Melaka’) who introduced me to his sister Hafsah.

The food was great. Mum cooked (what she called) ‘Italian Styled Pasta’ and Uncle Borhan brought ‘Nasi Lemak’ bought from ‘On The Run’ (which happens to be my favourite). There were also some Malaysian special layered cakes but after a heap plate of pasta and a pack of ‘Nasi Lemak’, I was just too full to eat anything else.

After we were done, I quietly rushed back to the playground to play with my new friends; Uncle Moslims kids, Hadibah (14), Aliah (12) and Ibrahim and Uncle Fauzan’s kids, Arif (9) and Hafsah (5). You couldn’t imagine how packed the small playground was with 10 of us plus a lot more of other kids.

Then, our parents called us back and we snapped photos as a remembrance of our lovely gathering. We all had a great time and I hope that we could meet again some other time. After… (To Be Continued )

Eid Mubarak!

…to all muslims and may Allah bless us always.

Bubur Lambuk Kampung Baru – is finally back!

Ramadhan Mubarak to all muslim readers worldwide. Last year, I wrote a post entitled ‘Bubur Lambuk Kampung Baru’ (please click here to read more). Bubur lambuk is the tastiest food for iftar and the bubur lambuk given away by the Kampung Baru Mosque/Masjid Jamek is the best amongst all. People from all over KL came for the bubur lambuk. And what makes bubur lambuk more special is that bubur lambuk is only available in the holy month of Ramadhan.

This afternoon, my family and I went to Kampung Baru to buy some of Aunty Sham’s tasty bubur lambuk. When dad called Aunty Sham, she said that she was not at her stall but at the back of the mosque. Mum and I went to meet her at the tent number 8. She voluntered herself as one of the bubur lambuk cooks at the Kampung Baru Mosque for the ‘Majlis Perasmian Bazar Ramadhan’ this evening. There were abundant of bags of bubur lambuk. I guess there would be around a  thousand containers of bubur lambuk to be given away.

So if you are living somewhere near KL, hurry up and get yourself some of the tasty bubur lambuk now!

Say “NO” to the plan to demolish a heritage row in Kuala Terengganu

Over a hundred years ago, my great, great grandfather, Abdullah Al-Yunani came to Kuala Terengganu from China and decided to stay there. He opened a bookstore named Abdullah Al-Yunani or better known to the locals as ‘Keda Buku Pok Loh Yunang’. Ask a person who was brought up in Kuala Terengganu, most of them would know the bookstore and they might even tell you that the shop was where they bought their schoolbooks long, long time ago. [Read what Awang Goneng wrote about it here]

Over a century, the business grew from a simple bookstore selling newspapers, a few kitabs (religious books) and some other books to a fully air-conditioned modern bookstore offering WiFi service. In the 1970s the bookstore was renamed Kedai Buku Ahmad Omar and later to Alam Akademik Sdn Bhd.

My grandfather, Ahmad Omar bought the shophouse more than 30 years ago but was forced to surrender the  land to the state government for only RM200, 000 (because of land acquisition)! Did we agree to such a low price for the freehold prime land right by the very main street of the town? Of course we did not; in fact my grandfather had never ever wanted to sell the shophouse for what ever price for the shophouse means so much to him. But what choice did he has when it came to land acquisition by the state government?

My grandparents complained the matter to the Terengganu Chief Minister (at the time), Tan Sri Wan Mokhtar Ahmad and he promised that the shophouses’ owners will be offered to buy new shophouses at a very special price (as part of the deal) to compensate our lost, as the RM200,000 paid to us was far below the market price at the time. He also promised us that the government will let us stay in the building until they provide us a new place in the area. Trusting that Tan Sri Wan Mokhtar’s words as official promises by the Terengganu state government, my grandfather did not make any further official complain. Furthermore as a strong UMNO supporter, my grandfather trusted the Barisan Nasional state government fully and never ever imagine that UMNO will disown their promises even though it was not made on paper!

My grandfather used to work overseas for the first Malaysian Prime Minister YM Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj as a diplomat with minister’s status and later joined the politics as a state assemblyman and also as the political secretary to the (then) Chief Minister, Tan Sri Ibrahim Fikri. And for the sake of UMNO my grandfather had no choice but to accept the offer without making a legal complain.

On the 19th July, 2009, 34 shopkeepers in Jalan Bandar and Jalan Banggol, Kuala Terengganu (including Alam Akademik) received a notice from the Lembaga Tabung Amanah Warisan Negari Terengganu to vacate the shophouses before 13th August, 2009. [Read about it in my previous posting here] When we questioned the notice and the promises made by the state government years ago at the time we were forced to surrender our land to the state government for a mere RM200,000; they said that they are not responsible of providing us a place to move to and have the right to force us out since the land is now theirs. What happened to all of the sweet promises they made before?

The sad news was that the LTAWNT or the ’supposedly’  heritage board of the state of Terengganu  is planning to demolish the heritage row to widen the road and to build new building in the name of modernisation. Isn’t it odd that the heritage board do not seems to understand the value of heritage? When the other states of Malaysia such as Melaka, Pulau Pinang (Penang) and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur are proud to restore their heritage buildings, the Terengganu heritage board looked at the heritage building as an eye sore. How sad…..Who can we trust to protect our heritage then? The heritage row is still standing strong and beautiful; and still fit for business. And what about the historical value of the building?

As Uncle Awang Goneng wrote in his blog ‘Kecek Kecek‘, ‘Now they are planning to pull down a row of shophouses in Kedai Payang, buildings that are more than a hundred years old that are still fit for purpose and need, at most, a tender loving touch and a coat of colour. Thus our history can be saved.’

The Terengganu state government had already destroyed lots of heritage  historical buildings to make way for new buildings. They claimed that they are building a modern ‘city’ and they do not want ‘old and shabby’ buildings in the city of Terengganu. If they are trying to say that the shophouses looked old and shabby, think again. It does NOT look shabby at all, in fact its quality is even better than the new ‘modern’ buildings which are facing problems (including those that collapsed) as we can see day after day. The state government should instead use the fund to restore and beautify the heritage row and protect the heritage historical building for its invaluable historical value to the people of Terengganu.

The reason why the government cannot see all these is because they are all money-driven. They are greedy and materialistic, all they think of is money, money, money. [see various comments on Kecek-kecek's Mabuk Kepayang]  And not even one assemblyman nor their representatives (except one from the opposition party) came to visit us. It was reported in the newspaper that the Chief Minister Y.A.B. Dato’ Ahmad bin Said visited some villages and helped them to fix roofs and did all kinds of other things. But why can’t he meet us even once? asked CikguFauzi of MAMPAT (view here on Youtube as reported by http://buletinonline.net/ or as reported by NTV7)

“He is a coward” said one of the shopowners during the many protests held. “Is he afraid of what people may think of him? He knew it was wrong of him to do what he is doing but who cares? He’ll get the money and it’s not him who will suffer… it’s us“. To all those out there who care enough for the heritage and history, please help us to preserve the place. You could ask help from organisations, NGOs or perhaps inform this to a person you know. The least you can do is perhaps to write about it and spread the message. You’ll never know how powerful words can be.

Read news and articles on “Selamatkan Warisan Sejarah Trengganu – Save Our Historical Heritage“

Awang Goneng Is In Town!

Today, I met Uncle Awang Goneng at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Awang Goneng (a.k.a. Wan A. Hulaimi) grew up in Terengganu but later on moved to London, a place so far away from his homeland. His beautiful book ‘Growing Up In Trengganu’ (originated from his blog -http://kecek-kecek.blogspot.com) was written to share with everyone about the life in Terengganu in the 60’s.

I attended ‘The Writing Mind’ workshop where Uncle Awang Goneng taught us some tips on writing. One of them which sticks in my mind was to increase your vocabulary skills – or in other words, never be afraid of using a dictionary. It reminds me of Prof. Muhammad Al-Mahdi’s ‘favourite assignment’. He would tell my classmates and I to make a list of 20 hard words and remember all 60 words, it’s spelling and definitions. To make sure we memorised each of them, we shall have to take a test at the end of the week.

Uncle Awang Goneng also taught us  to read aloud what we have written after finishing a piece of work. It helps us to correct unnoticeable small mistakes. This was also taught by Prof. Muhammad and since then, I made a huge improvement in my writing class.

But Uncle Awang Goneng was really sad to hear about the unacceptable act of the government to demolish a more than a century old shophouses row in our hometown, Kuala Terengganu. Such historic building should be kept and preserved such as those in

Penang and Malacca. But we were even shocked to know that Uncle Awang Goneng’s house in Terengganu was going to be demolished

too. I guess one day, Terengganu would be the only state in Malaysia to lose all of it’s history and heritage clue to the cruel act of the state government.

Before leaving, I took the opportunity to ask Awang Goneng to autograph in my diary. Thank you Uncle Awang Goneng (Uncle Wan).

Stargazer gets a shot at moment in history

KUALA LUMPUR (The Star – page 3): Amateur stargazer Bobby Chiam was so excited over the longest total solar eclipse of the century that he set up two telescopes on his balcony early in the morning to catch the rising sun.

Chiam, 66, did not seem to mind that he could not get a good view of the full eclipse from his Bukit Jalil condominium.

Checking it out: Six-year-old Ahmad Ali Karim from Kuala Terengganu looking through a telescope to catch the solar eclipse at Kuala Ibai in Terengganu as (from right) his mother Asmahan Ahmad and siblings, 14-year-old Aiman Amani, Aesha Adlina, 11, and Anisas Afifah, eight, look on.

The eclipse in Malaysia was only a partial one with only 8% visibility in the Klang Valley.

“I feel like this is a moment in history and I am able to be part of it,” he said yesterday.

Despite the pouring rain that clouded the skies around 6am to 7am, Chiam and his five friends remained optimistic.

They were finally rewarded with good images of the partial eclipse as it was ending.

The group also recorded the historic event as it was being shown ‘live’ on television.

The eclipse as seen from Terengganu at 9.45am.

Chiam’s 15-year love affair with astronomy has seen him start two astronomy societies, Starhunter and Starfinder, besides starting up a business, Stargazer Scientific Sdn Bhd, which distributes astronomy equipment like telescopes, binoculars and lenses.

“This is my very first eclipse viewing,” said David Chan, 36, an IT director, as he looked at the sky while wearing eclipse shades for safety.

“Stargazing is a good way of releasing stress and improving my knowledge.”

The first contact in the Klang Valley occurred at 8.28am while the third ended at 9.48am.

Meanwhile, National Planetarium science officer Fazilah Mohammad Hanafiah reported minute viewings of the partial eclipse due to the bad weather and haze that clouded the skies in the Klang Valley.

In Kuala Terengganu, the solar eclipse viewing at Pantai Kuala Ibai had a turnout of around 1,500 people, including about 800 Universiti Darul Iman Malaysia students.

“Although we missed the maximum contact viewing, we managed to capture some images around 9.40am when the skies cleared up,” said Pusat Sains dan Kreatif Terengganu science executive Misbah Imran Mohammad.

Longest Total Solar Eclipse in the 21st Century

The longest total solar eclipse in the 21st century happened today (22nd July, 2009/ July 22nd, 2009)! The path of the Moon’s umbral shadow begins in India and crosses through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China and left the Asia mainland before passing through Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and curves southeast through the Pacific Ocean where the maximum duration of totality reaches 6 min 39 s. And the broader path of the Moon’s penumbral shadow covers most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean (including Malaysia!).

An animation of the eclipse

I attended the Solar Eclipse viewing program in Kuala Ibai, Terengganu at Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque (Masjid terapung) organised by the Jabatan Mufti Terengganu, Jabatan Ukur dan Pemetaan Terengganu and Universiti Darul Iman Malaysia. The details were as written below:

In Kuala Terengganu,
First Contact – 8:24 am (when the Moon first “touches” the Sun’s limb)
Maximum Eclipse – 9:08 am (when the Moon covers the Sun’s disk the most; 13%)
Last Contact – 9:56 am (when the Moon “leaves” the Sun)

While in Kuala Lumpur, the details differ slightly:

First Contact – 8:29 am (when the Moon first “touches” the Sun’s limb)
Maximum Eclipse – 9:07 am (when the Moon covers the Sun’s disk the most; 8%)
Last Contact – 9:48 am (when the Moon “leaves” the Sun)

Another animation of the solar eclipse.

We arrived at the program around 8:40 am but were unable to get a view of the eclipse as the sky was too cloudy. Luckily, at about 9:40 am, the clouds cleared away giving us a view of the eclipse before the clouds covered the sun again. There were six telescopes set for the program and 1500 people attended the program too.

The reason for this long eclipse is simply because now is July; a time when the Sun is farthest away from Earth (aphelion), thus is smallest in size. And the Moon also just passes it nearest point to Earth (perigee), thus it looks big in our sky. When a small Sun is blocked by a big Moon, the Moon will have more time to block the Sun.

The next total solar eclipse shall occur in 2132! That’s 123 more years to come (what a beautiful number!). That’s why I feel so lucky to be able to experience this eclipse. It shall be an unforgettable memory which I shall treasure in my heart forever and ever…

HELP!!! HELP!!! HELP!!! HELP!!! HELP!!! HELP!!! HELP!!!

!!!PLEASE HELP MY GRANDMOTHER’S BOOKSTORE!!!

!!!SAVE IT FROM BEING DEMOLISHED BY THE TRENGGANU GOVERNMENT!!!

!!!PLEASE HELP ALAM AKADEMIK SDN BHD (THE OLDEST BOOKSHOP IN TERENGGANU – ALMOST A HUNDRED YEARS OLD)!!!

Yesterday, we received a letter telling us to move away in 30 days from 13th July 2009. Later, we’ve found out that our neighbours received the letter too. Not only they forced to leave within such a short time but it is a historical building. They had already demolished a lot of old historical building and they are increasing the number.

“]

Those buildings with X had already been demoliished. The arrow shows the building to be demolished. [old photo in 1960s showing flooding in the area

They should protect these buildings and promote them as tourists attraction. I am disappointed  with the Terengganu Government. If they wanted to create modernised buildings, there are lots more empty lots they could use. If this is how the government handle situations… no wonder Terengganu is no longer a peaceful place. No wonder the buildings collapse and the number of problems are overwhelming as they never think before they do anyting.

!!!SEND IN YOUR THOUGHTS (via comment)!!!

!!!DON’T LET TERENGGANU’S HISTORIES BECOME TERENGGANU MYSTERIES!!!

Major Quake Strikes Off New Zealand

(CNN) — A major earthquake struck off the coast of New Zealand’s South Island Wednesday night, rattling residents and prompting a tsunami warning that was later canceled.

The 7.8-magnitude quake generated a small, 6-inch tsunami in Jackson Bay, on the west coast of South Island and a 2-inch tsunami reported in the Tasman Sea to the north of the epicenter, according to the the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Twenty minutes after the tremor, a 5.8-magnitude aftershock struck the same region, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which measures earthquakes around the world.

Australia has warned residents on an island between its east coast and New Zealand to head to higher ground in case of a tsunami.

The initial quake struck around 8:22 p.m. local time (9:22 a.m. UTC/5:22 a.m. ET) and its epicenter was located 150 km (95 miles) west-northwest of Invercargill, according to the USGS. It is a sparsely populated area of New Zealand.

The aftershock struck in about the same area, according to the USGS.

A tsunami warning was issued for New Zealand as a precaution shortly after the initial quake, but was canceled about an hour and a half later.

The warning center said the tsunamis that were generated “may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter.”

But, it added, local authorities can assume the threat has passed “for those areas when no major waves are observed for two hours after the estimated time of arrival or damaging waves have not occurred for at least two hours.”

Australia’s Lord Howe Island — located more than 600 km (350 miles ) off its east coast — is under a land and marine tsunami warning, the Australian government’s meteorological bureau said. People living in low-lying areas are advised to head to higher ground, while those on the coast should travel inland as a precaution.

So far, there have been no reports of major damage.

The temblor shook buildings in Queenstown — located about 110 miles northwest of the epicenter — and scared residents who ran into the streets, according to the New Zealand Herald.

The quake, which was felt across South Island, downed power and phone lines, the newspaper reported.

“It wasn’t very violent, more of a rolling feel,” Simon Darby, a resident of the inland town of Wanaka, told the Herald. “But it had a power about it — I ran straight outside into the carpark.”

A resident of Invercargill told Television New Zealand that the quake lasted about a minute.

“Things just started to rattle a bit, then the house started to sway,” the man told TVNZ. He said he and his wife got their three young children out of bed and huddled under a table during the quake, according to the network.

The quake cracked part of his house around the door frames.

Michael Jackson Reportedly Will Be Buried in Muslim Traditions

Michael Jackson’s family reportedly is considering to have a traditional Muslim burial for the late music performer. ( This news article was taken from the following link: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00025411.html)

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A source close to the Jacksons has exclusively revealed to X17 Online that family will likely have a traditional Muslim burial for late Michael Jackson. “The family is considering following the Muslim burial traditions because they believe Michael would have wanted to be laid to rest in keeping with his new-found religious beliefs,” says the source.

“Michael’s brother Jermaine is educating the family as to the special rites because he feels it’s important to bury his brother according to the Muslim way,” adds the source. Despite earlier reports that both public and private memorial services for the late music performer have been set to be held this week, there has been no official confirmation just yet from Michael’s family on the location where his body will be laid to rest.

Michael Jackson was reported converting to Islam in late 2008, years after expressing his interest to join the faith. He later on changed his name into “Mikaeel”, which was meant as a reference to the name of one of Allah’s angels.

In Muslim burial, per X17 Online, someone’s body “has to be cleaned, but ideally not embalmed, and wrapped in a white sheet, and it must be buried facing Mecca. The Koran also dictates that the body be buried as close to the place of death and as soon after death as possible. There should be no tombstone near the grave.”

Michael Jackson Was Muslim

This post was taken from http://islamicarticles.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/michael-jackson-was-muslim/

Asalamu Alaikum

Only Allah knows our end. All sins are forgiven except shirk, fear Allah’s punishment while hoping for His mercy. Always thank Allah, beg His forgiveness and ask Him for janat al-firdaws, safety from the hellfire and punishment of the grave. In the evening, don’t expect to arrive to the morning and in the morning don’t expect to make it to the evening. May Allah forgive us and grant us a good end while He is pleased with us, we die with the kalimah on our lips and the angels of mercy take our souls ameen.

June 28, 2009: I have taken down the article on Michael Jackson’s reversion to Islam by the Sun because it was inaccurate. I hope the Jackson family, especially Jermaine, will release a statement that Michael was indeed a Muslim. I also hope that he gets a proper Muslim burial insha’Allah.

FiAmanAllah, Tara Umm Omar

Imam Zaid Shakir has now amended his original article: An earlier version of this article mentioned that Dawud Warnsby had assisted in Michael Jackson’s conversion to Islam. He has denied that. This article has been amended to exclude that claim. In writing this essay, I was given information from sources I considered reliable that Michael had indeed become Muslim. Obviously, the part about Dawud Warnsby is not true. However, there have been many reports throughout the media concerning Michael becoming Muslim. Allah knows best as to their veracity. (Taken from Muslim Matters)

Imam Johari Abdul Malik: Imam Visits Michael Jackson’s Family to Discuss Funeral Arrangements

UPDATE: Many have asked concerning the below. I heard the report on CNN’s Wolf Blitzer’s show “The Situation Room”. He briefly mentioned it during the coverage of Michael Jackson.

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Al-Hamdulillah, CNN reported that the Jackson family is meeting with an imam to make the funeral arrangements for the janazah (Muslim funeral prayer) for Michael Jackson. I pray that Allah will have mercy on his soul and grant the family some privacy as they make the plans for a Muslim funeral. I ask Muslims to reserve their judgement and pray for him and his family. Please send your condolences: http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=5875644172354 .

I pray that Muslims will respond to this loss our brother in every loving way possible. I do not know when and were the prayers will be. I trust that the masjid that Jermaine Jackson attends will handle the prayers and preparation. The West Coast Muslims in LA and Imam Zaid Shaker or Sheikh Hamza are hopefully in the loop? May Allah help them. We have not had a major figure in the pop world pass away before Micheal Jackson. I pray that we will do our best and that Allah will have mercy.show

Michael Jackson’s Family Planning Islamic Funeral

Michael Jackson reportedly has converted to Islam in late 2008 and adopted the name Mikaeel, which is the name of one of Allah’s angels. Now, when there is still question of where the late superstar will be laid to rest, a new report has just emerged that he will be buried in a traditional Muslim funeral.

“The family is considering following the Muslim burial traditions because they believe Michael would have wanted to be laid to rest in keeping with his new-found religious beliefs,” a source close to the family stated. The insider continued telling X17 Online, “Michael’s brother Jermaine is educating the family as to the special rites because he feels it’s important to bury his brother according to the Muslim way.”