Allah

The Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur wants to use the word "Allah"for the Catholic weekly "The Herald" Let him go ahead with it. Jesus used the world "Allah" when he was going around spreading the message of God. So did Moses. It is unthinkable that these two prophets used other words when referring to God. The words "Lord" and "Father" were of later development when Christianity reached the shores of Europe. Jesus himself never used these two words. In fact he never even heard of them. So followers of Christianity today should use the word that Jesus used when referring to God and that is "Allah".

Muslims should not be offended by Christians who have made Allah a part of Trinity. That is their business. Allah's status as God does not change by this. He is never a part of anything. Let the Christians believe what they choose to believe.

On the other hand I would object to it strongly if for example the Hindus and the Buddhists decide to call their god "Allah" because they are not "ahl-kitab" - people of the book.

Majlis Dearah

I went to Pasar Malam the other day and I noticed much of the food sold there were tainted by coloring substance to make them look nice. My favorite nasi kerabu has been colored light blue and the budu that goes with it, dark brown. If you buy ABC, chances are the green color of the cendol does not come from pandan leaves, as it was in the past but from something closer to water color. The list is endless. Some of the coloring substance has been known to cause cancer.

Majlis Dearah is supposed to monitor the safety of food put on sale to the public. But they are not interested in such mundane routine. That is why I said so many times before, we should have professionals in Majlis Dearah, who are elected by the people, not political appointees who are responsible to their political boss.

So UMNO please be warned

A Message For UMNO

You have grandiose vision of Kuala Terengganu befitting the place a water-front city of renown.
The imposing complex of miniaturized mosques at Pulau Wan Man is one such vision. We are not impressed. How could you spend RM200 million of our money to perpetuate your name and to line up the pockets of your cronies.

We could have used the money to build RM2 million mosque in our kampung and we figure out we could get 100 such mosques in kampung throughout the state.

Both PAS and UMNO speak out against this wasteful projects. PAS spells it out loud and clear whereas UMNO protests in hushed silence. UMNO can no longer afford not listening to the rakyat as the results of the recent election clearly show.

Monsoon Cup

Some time ago, Doto Idris told us he would hold a sail boat competition in the Terengganu River - the Monsoon Cup. He thinks that the rakyat would agree with every thing he says. This is the problem with UMNO. The leaders think they know best. The rakyat should just follow.

After the first Monsoon Cup, he gave reasons to justify the holding of the competition. Firstly to popularize sailing as a sports among the locals. Next to make Duyung a tourist destination.

I disagree

- one week competition without local participation would not do much to arouse interest in sailing
- sailing up and down the river is boring

I suggest

- competition between all the seven districts in Terengganu and anybody else who cares to join
-use locally made boats
-the sailing route should be in the open sea lets say from Kuala Terengganu to Pulau Kapas
-competition needs not be held at the peak of the Monsson. It could be held during the school holidays
- spectators can watch the race from the shore or from TV cameras hooked on helicopters

So Dato' don't be a father figure when you make decision for the rakyat. The rakyat too want to get involved in decision making

Ailing Planet, Sick Super Power

I was watching 'National Geographic Earth Report". Our ailing Planet Earth was more sick than I thought. After that I surfed the net to see what was going on, on this ailing planet. The bastard George W.Bush said he was keeping the option of striking Iran on the table. His reason: Iran made arms used by insurgents in Iraq were responsible for the death of many Americans - Unbelievable
reasoning - such twisted logic of a mad man

So today, first we have an ailing planet and next a mentally sick super power probably ailing too. If that is the case, its good news. We wouldn't have any more of those yankee bastards throwing their weight around.

A Letter to Chuck Flagg

Dear Mr.Flagg:

I am a retired teacher with a passion for Abrahamic religions. I find your article on the Koraan interesting. I am writing to tell you that I find all the monotheist religions, Islam, Christianity and Judaism intriguing because I believe all these great religions come from the same source - God the Almighty through His messengers Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. For us Muslims, it is an article of faith that we believe in all the revealed books, the Koraan, the Bible and the Torah - in their original forms. They share many things in common. For instance both the Koraan and the Old Testament go into great length describing the misdemeanor of the children of Israel. Both described Abraham's eldest son, Ishmael, who dwelt in the valley of Bakkah (Mecca) to found the tribe that later produced Muhammad - the last messenger. I wonder whether you realized it that Muslims, Christians and Jews were once brethern but unfortunately today they are no longer so. This is the cause of all the ills in the world today. I am saddened by anti-Islam statements made by some church leaders in America. It only proves their ignorance of Islam. I salute America's commitment to knowledge. For example they know so much about the atom but know very little about the Koraan.

I am a bible-reading Muslim and I hope there will be Koraan-reading Christians in the future. The world is splitting apart by religious ignorance. Lets try to stop the split.

Looking forward to hearing from you

Yours sincerely


Ahmad Sirajudin

PAS, show us how you would do it

Last month you put up Kain Rentang in my kampung screaming at the government for not bringing down the price of food as well as the price of petrol. Now that you are controlling Kelantan and Kedah we want to see how you do it. Then I will join PAS

Monsoon Cup Terengganu

I do not understand the rationale for holding the Monsoon Cup in Terengganu every year in November. Is it to promote sailing as a sports or is it to promote Pulau Duyung as a tourist destination.

I don't think the holding of this sport once a year could do much in promoting the sport among the locals. I also do not see how Pulau Duyung could be promoted as a tourist spot by one week of sailing competition in the Terengganu River.

I would like to suggest that we hold this competition between the seven districts of the state i.e. each district sends a team. Competition should be held when the monsoon is at its worst way out in the open sea, lets say from Kuala Terengganu to Pulau Kapas. This kind of competition is more challenging where every crew member learns how to face the elements. Spectators can watch their favorite team from the shore or from TV beamed from helicopters

As there are many fishermen in Terengganu, we should also hold fishing boat race also done at inter-district level. If we look at other countries, we find occupational sports such as sheep shearing in Australia, lumber jack in Canada and so on. So why not have an occupational; sport in our country too.

As for making Pulau Duyung a tourist spot, we cannot depend on the Monsoon Cup for publicity.
Develop the island - build pools - provide packages to the off shore islands - scuba and what have you.

They say Monsoon Cup cost and awful lot. Idris Jusuh never told us. We want to know where is the money coming from, how it is spent. Has there ever been a report made on whether or the note the competition reaches its objective

Mencemarkan Duli

Apabila sultan berangkat ke satu tempat untuk menyempurnakan satu acara kita kata "Baginda berkenan mencemarkan duli...." Adakah tempat itu kotor sangat ke hinggakan boleh mencemarkan duli? Rakyat cukup jaga dengan kebersihan tempat yang dikunjung oleh sultan. Satu masa dulu almarhum Sultan Mahmod hendak melawat empangan Kenyir. Orang kampung dengan kerjasama Jabatan Bomba telah basuh jalan raya yang akan dilalui oleh sultan kerana jalan itu banyak najis lembu. Yang menyedihkan lagi bila sultan berangkat buka masjid pun dikatakan "Mencemar Duli" Bukankah masjid itu tempat suci?

Masa Sultan Mizan balik ke Terengganu untuk main kuda dalam hutan, tidak ada pun orang kata"Mencemar duli" pada hal kuda dan juga sultan munkin tercemar dengan keadaan dalam hutan.

Kita patut meninggalkan ungkapan ini kerana ia tidak lagi sesuai dengan zaman.

The Door Panel

I have a door panel with floral design beautifully carved on it from a single piece of cengal wood 36 in x 18in. It used to be placed above the door to my mother's bedroom. I began to take notice of the panel, as I lie flat on the floor the whole day while recovering from the ordeal of circumcision. The room and the door panel was a witness to many events in my life It was the place where mother spent the last few days of her life. She was taken ill the result of untreatred miscarriage. It was also the room where she was cleansed for burial.

The old house has been demolished. I manage to salvage the door panel from the broken down timber and have it restored to its former glory. Now it is hanging on the wall of my study and it functions as a bridge from the past.

A Touching Moment

In 1961, a student in Form 5 had to pay RM60-00 for exam fees. I went back to the kampung twice to get the money but nobody seemed able to raise that amount in so short a notice.

One afternoon, at lunch time, I saw grand father at the enterance of the dining hall of the hostel. He had cycled all the way from the kampung under blazing mid day sun. The fisherman's terendak he was wearing was not of much help. As I approached him, he took out a piece of cloth with RM60-00 neatly folded inside

"For your exam", he said as he handed me the money. I asked him where he got it from
"From the pawn shop" he answered hasitently. He was a man of few words. He asked me to join the others in the dining hall. Then left on his over sized bicycle with a large carrier at the back

The scene remains permanently etched in my memory

Malaysia Malaysia

When I see that Malays have started voting for non Mala parties, I began to wonder whether we are moving to a new trend where race and religion do not really matter. This, in theory, would lead to the formation of a Malaysia race.

It would not be a bad idea if BN would consider dissolving its component parties and be united again but this time under one flag. Lets call it "Parti Negara". The founder of UMNO, Dato Onn saw the weakness of of a party based on racial lines. So he founded a new party "Parti Negara" which opened its door to all races. But 50 years ago the country was not ready for it yet. There was a lot of racial mistrust then.

A two party system in Malaysia would be great - "Parti Negra" and "Pakatan Rakyat". However we should not go for a republican type of government. Monarchy stays. Its good as a unifying force

Spoon Made In Sheffield

I have a stainless steel spoon, milled in Sheffield England. It was given to me on the day I got admitted into the Sultan Sulaiman School Hostel way back in 1957. I was using it until I left school in December 1961. Amazing. For 5 long years I had been scooping food into my mouth with that spoon - food that transformed me from a boy to a young adult ready to face the world. Today I keep the spoon in my drawer. Sometimes I take it out to look at it. Then I could hear noises of long ago coming from the hostel dining room as boys were scooping food from their enameled plates...

The Most Powerful Country

Israel is the most powerful country in the world. Tun Dr.Mahathir once said "The Jews control the world. And Ariel Sharoon, one time Israeli PM, assured the Knesset "Don't worry.We control America".

Israel controls America. The irony is Israel, a country of hardly 7 million people controls mighty USA that has a population of 300 million. The Jews are probably the shrewdest of God's critters that ever walk the earth. They have ways with money. Remember Shakespear's Merchant of Venice? And Forbes Magazine says 30% of America's 100 rich folks, are Jews. They use the money to buy power and alligence from the ruling elites in Washington. They provide the funding to those who want to run for congress or the presidency.

Look at that American foreign policies in the Arab world. They are policies cooked up by the bloody Jews. What can we do to the Jews at bay? Nothing as long as the get the undivided support of the Americans.

The Jews are such horrible people because they defied the prophets Their behaviour today is as bad as described in the Koraan. Even in the Bible, Moses said to the children of Israel something like "I don't know what you will be like after I am gone"

I am a millionaire

I have lots of reasons to be grateful to God

1. I wake up in the morning. Some of my friends don't do that any more. They have been dead
2. Then I go to the bath room. I urinate normally. A friend can only do it with great pain.
3. I can read the newspaper. A friend has difficulty reading the prints
4. My daughter has graduated and is looking for a job. My friend's daughter didn't make it.
An illness has left her with a permanent brain damage.
5. I am always short of cash. But money keeps coming in every week. Some of my friends
cannot make ends meet.
6. I can cycle 15 - 20 km. But my friend who has a heart problem can't even cover half a
kilometer.
7. My hearing is bad. But some people can't hear anything at all

The list is endless. The privilages I am getting is worth more than a million ringgit. I am a millionaire. And so is everybody who care to look at the privilages he's getting

Proud Of Her

I got a call from Aida as she was boarding the flight to Australia. The once-upon-a-time little girl has become an adult capable of carrying out her company's assignment overseas. I am writing to record the resulting emotional surge I experienced

Colour in Different Cultures

I am upset when they translate "Yellow Culture" as "Budaya Kuning". Yellow is a degrading colour in English synonymous with cowardice. But in Malay yellow symbolizes royalty. So a more appropriate translation should be "Budaya Kelabu Asap"

However I am glad that they have translated "Blu Film" as "Filem Lucah" instead of "Filem Biru"

How would one translate "Once in a blue moon"

Outdated Custom

Once I attended an UMNO gathering in a kampung. Pak Menteri was there and so were a dozen local dignitaries comprising of heads of governments departments community leaders and penghulu.

There were altogether 13 VIPs of varying importance and six people were scheduled to make speeches. What irk me was that every speaker began his speech with the ritual of reciting the names of all the VIPs in attendance, their station in life etc. It would be alright for the first speaker to do so as a matter of introduction to the audience. But for the other speakers to repeat the same thing over and over again is bad.

Should we maintain a tradition if it proves cumbersome with changing time?

Heir to the "Promised Land"

"Promised Land" is mentioned in all the holy books of monotheist religions - Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

How big is this promised land? It's big. It includes all the lands where the Israelite prophets (Bani Israil) ever left their foot prints according to the Old Testament. That includes present day Iraq because Abraham (Nabi Ibrahim) was born there. It also includes Egypt because it was the birth place of Moses (Nabi Musa) . And Jordan too, because John the Baptist (Nabi Yahya) used to baptize folks in the Jordan River. Hebron and Palestine are alos included because Moses lays buried there. So no wonder, Jews are building homes on Palestine territory while the American look on with one eye closed.

The Jews and the American are serious about claiming ownership of the promised land. The Jews let know their intention by depicting their claim on their flags.The two parallel blue lines on the flags represent rivers. The one on the top, the Tigris and the one at the bottom, the Nile. In between is the star of David. Promised land is anything in between these two rivers. The present boundary of the Jewish state is temporary because their claimed boundary of Greater Israel is bigger. Israel is the only country in the world that has not registered its state boundary at the United Nation.

I was in United States from 1979 - 1981 when that country was not on good term with Iran - the hostage crisis. As a result of that the price of oil at the pump shot up 100%. I used to hear jokes going around "How come our oil is under their sand?" That speaks volumes about the American attitude. I also read in the American press about a congressman who said that "If we can't get them oil, let's invade their country" Unbelievable. That is the earlier version of George W.Bush

Who is the legal heir of the Promised Land? I say the Muslims because all the Israelite prophets
Moses, David, Jesus etc. were messengers of Islam. It's difficult to resolve this claim at ICJ. Nevertheless, its worth a try because there a precedance where a religious issue was settled in court 300 years after Christianity arrived in Rome. The contention was about the son ship of Jesus. Some Christians believed it some did not. That worried the emperor. He did not the Christians to split. So he set up a tribunal at Nicea and it was there that they agreed that Jesus was the son of God. (Allah was raving mad over this) And so it remains to this day.

If a religoius could be resolved at a tribunal in the past why can't we resolve the present claim at a tribubal too?This is urgent because all the troubles in the world are caused by the American and the Jews over this conflicting claim

Tafsiran Cara Literal

Ada ulamak diTerengganu yang tak mahu angkat sembah pada Sultan. Hram katanya kerana hanya Allah yang berhak disembah. Betul, tapi....

Kekeliruan ini terjadi kena jahil ilmu linguistik dimana kadang kadang perkataan yang sama membawa makna yang berlainan. "Sembah" apabila diguna kepada sultan bermakna "to pay respect dan bila diguna kepada Tuhan bermakna "to worship". Jadi mana haramnya?

Tafsiran hukum ugama tidak boleh dibuat cara literal. Pernah terjadi di Terengganu dulu dimana seorang ulamak berkata sunat berbuka puasa dengan duduk atas buah tamar. Ini berpandukan kepada hadis "Berbukalah kamu diatas buah tamar...."

Nik Aziz hina Islam

Sesetengah fatwa yang dikeluarkan oleh Nik Aziz boleh dipersoalkan. Dia pernah berkata Allah mencarut, Allah samseng. Samseng dan mencarut adalah sifat keji yang terdapat pada maanusia, Bagaimana Allah yang yang penuh dengan sifat kesumpurnaan mempunyai sifat keji ini?

Kalau penghinaan ini dibuat oleh orang Denmark atau Belanda PAS yang akan mula mula sekali berdemonstrasi. Adakah orang Islam boleh menghina Islam tetapi orang ugama lain tak boleh?

Double standard

Patriarch

Ever tried to view Malaysia from the distance? Not from outer space but from another continent.

I was in United States 25 years ago. From that vantage point, I saw that Malaysia had a government headed by benevolent patriarch. I can't think of simpler words. What it all means a patriarch is an elderly head of a tribe and benevolent means good intention. The patriarch thinks he knows best what is good for members of the tribe.

The system works fine for fifty years. But today people are calling for a change. Malaysia is no longer an adolescent but a fully grown adult

The Rakyat look on in awe..

I notice that many UMNO leaders - YBs and Excos - live in stately homes and drive equally stately cars. After one or two terms, they are awarded datukship and that emplaces them in an exclusive social grouping.

When ever ther is a fuction in the kampong, such as prize giving, UMNO people would swoop-in in a convoy of Mercedes, MPVs, and 4WDs. The kampong folks look on in awe and they give the visitors a grand welcome. Red carpet is rolled out. Kompang, Bunga Mangar, and Sireh Junjung accompany the VIPs to the place of honour on stage specially made for the occasion.

On the other hand oppostion politicians come to the village without any fun fair. They bring their humility and a couple of Koranic verses and they manage to give ther message to the simple kampong folks