Saturday And Stroke Bring Sad Memories

It was an unfortunate coincidence that deaths came a knocking on a Saturday due to a killer disease – stroke.

My younger brother died on Saturday, Oct 3 and so did Nasriah Darus’ husband, Nik Hasmi, who died at the general hospital last night after being in a coma for more than a month over a stroke.

Nasriah is Assistant Editor of the Malay Subs Desk of Bernama Economic Service. Her 44-year old husband, who was attached to Risda, was survived by a son. His remains were buried at the Muslim cemetery in Batu Caves before Zohor prayers today.

For Nasriah, Saturday was the saddest day of her life as Nik Hasmi left her with no parting words. During the last few weeks, she had been spending sleepless nights in the hospital, and during the days, she would be in the office.

In the early stages when he was struck by the killer disease, she took leave to be by his side. There were occasions when he would make some gestures, and was told by the doctor that he could hear people around him speak.

His conditions worsened lately as he had a fever. Nik Hasmi breathed his last at 7.45 pm.

At the Ar-Rahimah mosque, Nasriah was in between sobs when she reminisced the days she spent with her husband at the hospital. But there was also a wish from her husband before he had the stroke – that he didn’t want her to be at the resting place on the day that he dies.

Perhaps, that was a premonition for her. It was the last journey for him, and he didn’t want to her cry at the burial place as he was leaving for the next life. It was not easy for her, but she had to abide by his wish.

The most touching moment was when her 18-year old son led the prayers for his late father.

Najib, my late brother’s son, would have been in Nasriah’s son’s shoes, had my brother died when his son was much older. Najib was only 12 when my brother Yunus died of stroke. At a young age, a tearful Najib recited the Yasin prayers after his father succumbed to the killer disease at the General Hospital’s ICU. My brother died at 10 am.

Alfatihah. May Allah bless their souls.

A Case of ‘Ali Baba’ And the Forty Thieves

Remember the story ‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves’ from the ‘1001 Arabian Nights’, which takes place in Baghdad during the Abbasid era?

One day, Ali Baba overhears a group of forty thieves visiting their treasure store in the forest. The treasure is in a cave, the mouth of which is sealed by magic.

It opens on the words “Open, Simsim” (commonly written as ‘Open Sesame” in English) and seals itself of the words “Close, Simsim” (Close Sesame). When the thieves are gone, Ali Baba enters the cave himself, and takes some of the treasures home.

To cut the story short, Ali Baba becomes wealthy. But Kassim, his rich and greedy brother, who knows about the secret, goes to the cave to take more of the treasure, but in his greed and excitement over the treasures, forgets the magic words to get back out of the cave. The thieves found him there, and kills him.

Back in the present century, Ali Baba is not in the picture. The focus now is on the chief of the thieves, a Brigadier-General.

In the latest fiasco, a Brigadier-General and 40 other armed forces personnel were sacked late last year over their alleged involvement in the case of the missing RM50 million jet fighter engine belonging to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).

Local newspapers reported about the theft of the engine which took place reportedly last year. It was reportedly sold to a foreign buyer when the Brigadier-General was the department head.

Local media said he may also be one of the four men whom Federal Commercial Criminal Investigation Department identified as the main players in the case.

The case is a big blow to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who has placed corruption second among the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the civil service.

Blogger Muhammad Arshad Raji, a retired army officer says “on hindsight, I believe that the government was wrong in keeping silence from public knowledge, this security related issue that has serious national and international repercussions.”

He says, the government will now have to bear the brunt of public odium, and also possibly the loss of public confidence in the government's future handling of serious security related issues. “

“Whatever reasons and justifications that the government has given now has little impact on building and reassuring public confidence, and this does not augur well for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s leadership.

Had the government acted promptly upon the theft being known in 2007, I believe public confidence would not have been badly eroded.”

Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail has given his assurance that his chambers would go all-out to solve the disappearance of two F-5E fighter jet engines.

But Najib said there was no cover-up of the theft and sale of the RM50 million fighter jet engine last year.

He said the Defence Ministry and Royal Malaysia Air Force reported the theft to the police immediately after it was discovered and co-operated fully with the authorities to ensure that the matter was thoroughly investigated.

Najib said there would be a full investigation of the thefts, which happened in 2007 and 2008, when he was Defence Minister. However, opposition parties accused the government of covering up the incidents.

Lim Kit Siang, parliamentary leader of the opposition Democratic Action party, said the authorities had been “super slow” and claimed that the prime minister’s response had painted “a frightening picture of a government of thieves”.

In another development, Abdul Gani was quoted as saying that not one but two jet-fighter engines, each worth RM50 million, were stolen from the RMAF base in Sungai Besi.

Both engines served as power plants to the F-5E Tiger II fighter and RF-5E Tigereye reconnaissance jets.

The Attorney-General said the two engines were discovered stolen in May last year. RMAF had lodged a report with the police on Aug 4 last year.

The General Electric J85-21A engines, each worth about RM$50 million, were spares for the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s Northrop Grumman F-5E Tiger II fighters, which fly from the Butterworth air base near the country’s northern border with Thailand.

Defence Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the engines and associated equipment were “believed to have been sent to a South American country” after being moved to the Sungai Besi air force base in Kuala Lumpur for maintenance.

The defence ministry would not identify the company or the country involved or comment on claims in the Malaysian media that the engines may have ended up in the Middle East.

The F-5 went out of production in 1989 but is still flown as a trainer aircraft by US forces and is in frontline or reserve service with many foreign air forces.

The defence ministry said several senior officers were being investigated.

Gen. Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin, chief of the armed forces, said the engine thefts might have been “the tip of the iceberg”, raising the possibility that other military equipment might also have disappeared.

What next?

Tribute To My Dear Brother

Dear Blog,

It’s been ages since I last wrote a piece on my Getaran Jiwa.

I had wanted to pay tribute to my youngest brother, Mohd Yunus who died of stroke a week after Hari Raya Puasa. Things happened so fast for him.

My brother only spent two nights in hospital, but death knocked on him much too fast. The Almighty Allah loved him more and spared him the agony of becoming paralysed all his years.

I was shattered when I heard that he suffered a stroke. Our family rushed to the hospital when we heard the shocking news.

He managed to say a few words to us before he was put to sleep. All he could say was to ask for our forgiveness, sending signals that he was leaving us for the next life.

In the morning, he could no longer speak to any of us, but we were told by a doctor, that he could hear us. “Just think of Allah, “ my eldest sister whispered into his ears.

We could not be with him at the bedside then, as it was time for the doctor and nurses to attend to him. All we could do was to recite the Yasin for him outside the ward. When we returned, he was already unconscious.

We were told by the doctor that he had to undergo an operation, after which he would be transferred to the ICU.

It was the next morning that we received the news – that my brother has died.
I could not stop crying –at the ICU and the journey to the Muslim burial place.
He was the closest to me. I wished I could turn back the clock.

It took me some time to get over the sadness. I have had sleepless nights and memories of him – in the morgue and the ICU – were haunting me.

There were regrets on my side – there were limits to what I could do for him. Career-wise, he has not been successful, always in and out of jobs. Life has not been kind to him, but he was a loving father of two kids. They loved him dearly, and were closer to him than their mother, a teacher.

Now that he is gone, may Allah bless his soul. Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un.

Don’t Start Another War – Not Over Food La!

It was only like yesterday that Indonesians wanted to ‘ganyang’ (crush) Malaysians after accusing the latter of robbing them off their cultural and national heritage.

Malaysia has recently been accused by Indonesia of using the Balinese ‘pendet’ dance to promote itself in a television advertisement. Prior to this, Indonesians claimed that Malaysia’s national anthem was copied from the Indonesian song Terang Bulan.

After the tension between the people of Indonesia and Malaysia over the pendet dance has somewhat eased, another issue emerged. This time, the war is raging on over the internet between Malaysians and Singaporeans over food. Both claim that nasi kandar and pasembur are theirs.

This came about after Malaysian Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen’s statement that Malaysia would lay claim to dishes such as laksa, nasi lemak, bak kut teh, chilli crab and Hainanese chicken rice.

To our Singaporean friends, nasi kandar and pasembur definitely originate from Penang. Both words are pronounced in the Penang Malay dialect (nasi kanda’ and pasembo’). As long as I can remember, both have always been associated with Penang. Have you heard of Singapore nasi kandar or Singapore pasembur?

According to Wikipedia, nasi kandar is a popular northern Malaysian dish, which originates from Penang. The word nasi kandar, came about from a time when nasi (rice) hawkers or vendors would kandar (balance) a pole on the shoulder with two huge containers of rice meals. The name has remained and today the word nasi kandar is seen on most Malaysian mamak restaurants.

The most famous nasi kandar stalls are Kassim Restaurant and Line Clear in Penang and the Pelita chain. Pasembur is also listed in Wikipedia as peculiar to northern peninsular Malaysia and especially associated with Penang where the best pasembur can be found along Gurney Drive.

It is a Malaysian Indian salad consisting of shredded cucumber, turnip, potatoes, beancurd, bean sprouts, prawn fritters, spicy fried crab, fried octopus, etc served with a sweet and spicy nutty sauce. In other parts of Malaysia, the term Rojak Mamak is commonly used.

I agree with Malaysian celebrity chef Redzuawan Ismail, better known as Chef Wan, who felt that food lovers should not get too excited over the “ownership” of food as “we are all from the same roots.”

“Where are our roots? We are satu rumpun (from one creed),” said the Singapore-born chef, adding that everyone should just eat and let live.

Singapore is more aggressive at branding. Go to any Singapore food website, and see how it has branded a host of famous delicacies like Singapore fried bee hoon, Singapore rojak, Singapore murtabak, and even Singapore satay!

Satay, according to Wikipedia, may have originated in Java, Indonesia, but it is also popular in many other Southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as well as the Netherlands, which was influenced through its former colonies.

Satay was supposedly invented by Javanese street vendors, based on satay becoming popular after the influx of Arab immigrants in the early 19th century.

So, Malaysians and Singaporeans better watch out. Don’t claim satay as yours as the “food fight” on the internet may draw Indonesians to join in. Perhaps, Malaysia can start promoting Nasi Kandar and Pasembur as Penang Nasi Kandar or Penang Pasembur.
Or you can sell Malaysia by labelling it as Malaysian Nasi Kandar and Malaysian Pasembur.

In the spirit of Syawal, let’s have an Open House with food galore of Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian food (halal food of course), with Malaysia hosting the event. How about it Dr Ng?








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When Your Parents Are Dead and Gone

I used to look forward to the long holiday break for Hari Raya when my parents were still alive. It has been 15 to 20 years now and our family home in Seberang Jaya in Penang is still vacant as all members of the family are in Kuala Lumpur, with only my younger sister settling down in Melaka.

Me and my elder sister want to keep the house as we feel that we don’t have to worry about staying in a hotel when we go to Penang or Seberang Jaya for our holidays. At least we can get together in our family home during Hari Raya. The rest don't agree as they want the house sold.

My late parents are buried close to each other at the Muslim graveyard in Permatang Pasir. My eldest sister also lost her husband due to cancer more than five years ago. As she is a housewife with three school going children – all girls – I offered my home to her and the girls.

My eldest sister and her kids are now staying with me in Kuala Lumpur. After their recent graduation, the second sister of the siblings got a job as a reporter in a Malay tabloid, while the eldest finally was offered a bank job this week.

That leaves the youngest, who has a degree in graphic design, without a permanent job. She was working as a customer service assistant at a new petrol station during the fasting month for two weeks until it had to go for a temporary shutdown for reasons which she could not explain.

But Hari Raya has always been spent in Seberang Jaya, with or without our parents. As I have been single all these years, it was much easier for me to spend my Raya with my elder sister and the girls. The rest of my family – brothers and youngest sister – have their own life and family.

In Seberang Jaya, the first day is spent going to the nearest mosque for Aidilfitri prayers, and followed by visits to the graveyards of my parents in Permatang Pasir and my eldest sister’s late husband in Seberang Jaya.

As our Malay tradition, we would either exchange our salam and seek for forgiveness (Maaf Zahir Batin) from each other after prayers or at home after our visits.

I don’t really look forward to going back to Penang as most of my friends are in KL, unlike my sister and the kids, who still have friends in Seberang Jaya. After all, they have been residing in this new township for many years, while I have been away far too long, having spent studying in UiTM, Shah Alam and working in Kuala Lumpur all these years after graduation.

Hari Raya preparation then, that is, when your parents were still alive—was elaborate. It was not so much of the décor -- well, we made it a point to change our curtains every year -- but the furniture’s still the same. But food preparation was elaborate unlike today.

My late mother used to go through the tedious and hard way of preparing her food. It was worse 20 to 30 years ago when we had to use the ‘primitive way’ of ‘grinding’ chilly using the ‘batu tumbuk’ or ‘batu giling’ compared to the present blending machine. Coconuts are also grinded manually using the ‘kelapa parut’ or the so-called wooden horse machine.

The machine is no longer in production and has made way for an electric grinder which has a round cover. Still, this is done manually. All you need is to place half of the coconut on the grinder. You have to do it standing as there is no wooden platform for you to sit like the old wooden horse machine. These machines are available in kampongs and sundry shops.

Many housewives in the city have found the short cut to all these laborious jobs. Coconut milk are usually available in wet markets, but the bad news is you need to queue up and mind you, it’s a long long queue at these markets in the morning, that is one day before Raya.

Modern housewives have even resorted to packaged coconut milk which are equally good. My sister has resorted to this for her rendang and it tastes as good with or without fresh coconut milk.

My late mother used to make the best kuah kacang or peanut gravy on the eve of Raya. We usually eat this with nasi himpit (ketupat nasi) and kuah lodeh. This is our yearly Raya menu. Nasi himpit is usually done the traditional way by placing newly cooked rice into white cloth.

Batu giling (flat stone with a cylindrical stone) is placed on top of the white rice which has been properly tied and flattened. The batu giling adds pressure onto the white rice. Thus, the name nasi himpit. (himpit means pressed or crushed).The nasi himpit will be ready to be sliced the next morning.

Today,my late mother’s kuah kacang recipe has found its way into Matt’s corner, a Malay restaurant in Taman Melawati, which sells kuah kacang and rendang, which are its specialties. Of course at home, you need to pour the kuah kacang gravy in a pot mixed with water and stir it well. It will be ready for serving once you have blended the mixture thoroughly. You can rest assure it tastes home made, and my family and close friend Fatimah, are satisfied customers!

I have not gone back to my family home for Raya over the past few years. I don’t see why not when home is where my heart is – Kuala Lumpur. And Kuala Lumpur being the centre, is now the meeting point for my family members during Hari Raya.

Selamat Hari Raya maaf zahir batin to all Muslims.

Anti-Malaysia Sentiments in Indonesia – Why?

I don’t understand why Indonesians love to hate Malaysia. ‘Ganyang’ seems to be their favourite word when it comes to expressing their anger or dissatisfaction towards their neighbour, Malaysia.

And every time Indonesians cook up a storm in their homeland, their government would assure the Malaysian side that it has nothing to do with the protests, which among others would include burning Malaysian flags.

Malaysia-Indonesia ties have taken a very sharp turn recently. Malaysians would have recalled Sukarno’s ‘Ganyang Malaysia’ (crush Malaysia) declaration in the 60s. According to reports, this growing anti-Malaysian sentiment is spreading all over Indonesia like wildfire.

As far as I remember, Malaysians have not gone overboard as to burn Indonesian flags in Malaysia. Not that I heard of.

It appears that Indonesians are an emotionally-charged and disgruntled lot.

Recently, there was outpouring of anger, including a heated protest outside the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta, over Malaysia’s supposed theft of the Balinese ‘pendet’ dance to promote itself in a television advertisement. It was revealed that no Malaysian government agency had a role in the advertisement.

The Singapore office of cable television station, Discovery Channel, however, quickly acknowledged that it was responsible for mistakenly featuring the dance in a promotion for its documentary programme ‘Enigmatic Malaysia.’

Earlier, Indonesians also took to the streets venting their anger at Malaysia, with allegations that the Malaysian national anthem – Negara Ku – had been copied from the Indonesian song Terang Bulan.

According to Wikipedia, Negara Ku was selected as national anthem at the time of the Federation of Malaya’s independence from Britain in 1957. The tune was originally used as the state anthem of Perak, which was adopted from a popular French melody composed by the lyricist Pierre-Jean de Beranger.

Another controversy erupted in 2007 after the Malaysian Tourism Board suddenly released the Rasa Sayang commercial, an advertisement used to promote Malaysian tourism industry. Indonesians claim that Malaysia unfairly claimed ownership of the song.

Anti-Malaysia sentiments raged on, with cyber attacks on Malaysia on Sept 1 (Tuesday). According to reports, Indonesian hackers claimed they hit 120 websites in Malaysia on Tuesday.

The hackers said they were acting in revenge against what they perceived as Malaysia’s alleged theft of Indonesian cultural items and abuse of migrant workers, reported the Jakarta Globe.

A statement on a Blogspot blog titled “Terselubung” says that a number of Malaysian websites have been hacked and defaced to “celebrate” Malaysia’s Merdeka Day.

“Today, August 31, 2009, an uncreative country, a country who likes to steal Indonesian culture, a country whose citizen is the mastermind of bombings in Indonesia, a country who harassed Indonesia on the Internet... a country which received their independence from Britain, is celebrating its anniversary,” the website stated.

The site then listed in excess of 120 Internet addresses, including domains for Malaysian educational and tourism pages, reported the Jakarta Globe.

Each link, when clicked, opened to a page with flashing graphics of the Indonesian flag and a statement that the site has been “hacked by Indonesia”.

What next Indonesia?

Indonesia exports human capital in the form of maids. More than 300,000 Indonesian women work as maids in Malaysia. Around 3,000 new maids head for Malaysia every month, most of them placed through specialized employment agencies, according to the manpower ministry here.

Maids file up to 150 complaints every month with authorities in Indonesia alleging ill treatment, overwork, unpaid salaries and physical abuse in Malaysia.

With all these hate sentiments, will Malaysia look elsewhere for maids?

A Tribute To Tai Cheong

Who would have known Tai Cheong workshop before the tragic fire in Ampang on Aug 29 unless you are his satisfied customer?

Three groups of people would have been shocked by the pre dawn fire at the Tai Cheong Car Workshop in Jalan Hulu Kelang on Aug 29. Twenty five cars were destroyed in the blaze.

First, its owner Tai Cheong, his family and workers; second, the 25 car owners; and third, my family who are regular customers of the workshop.

According to news reports, firemen took about three hours to douse the flame in the incident which took place at about 6.15 am.

As in many other cases, tragedies occur when we are in dreamsville. The fire took place during Subuh prayers, about half an hour after Imsak. Some would have chosen to sleep after Subuh, especially on a Saturday.

Damages are estimated at RM950,000 but there were no casualties.

For me and family, Tai Cheong, a few minutes’ drive from my house in Bukit Antarabangsa, is one of the best workshops we have had. We have tried a few others before, but none can match Tai Cheong in many aspects.

It has first class service – The minute you take your car to the workshop, its mechanics, including its owner, will always be there to receive you. I don’t remember the names of the mechanics though, but they know me and family, especially my eldest sister, who loves to haggle for discounts.

Me and my family are Tai Cheong’s satisfied customers. The price’s affordable, and you can expect your car will be in tip-top condition after the service. Its mechanics never let you down. No charges for a small job.

Tai Cheong is no ordinary workshop. Unlike some workshops that I have been too, Tai Cheong will not make you pay for every “dent” in your car or “leak” in your engine!. Unless, your car is really in a bad shape, the mechanic will advise you accordingly, and that too, he will find ways to work within your budget.

Today, as I pass by the workshop, Tai Cheong is in a sorry state. It was only a week before the tragedy that I told my family that my car needed a service. And now, where shall I take my car for the next service?