SAHABAT SEJATI DAN BERMUSAFIRAN

 

“Tidakkah mereka berjalan di muka bumi, lalu mereka mempunyai hati yang dengannya mereka dapat memahami…” (Surah Al-Hajj : ayat 46)

Sahabat sejati bukan sekadar teman ketika senang. Dia tetap bersama ketika kita susah, malah ketika apa jua keadaan sekalipun.

Dalam Islam, sahabat yang baik ialah yang membawa kita lebih dekat kepada Allah.

Dalam kaitan ini, ada satu kata hikmah daripada Umar ibn al-Khattab RA tentang sahabat berbunyi: “Jangan kamu tertipu dengan solat dan puasanya. Tetapi perhatikan dia ketika berkata, ketika diberi amanah, dan ketika bermusafir.”

Musafir menguji akhlak. Bila letih. Bila tertekan. Bila di luar zon selesa. Di situlah terserlah siapa diri sahabat itu yang sebenar. 

Adakah dia sabar atau mudah marah? Adakah dia bertimbang rasa atau pentingkan diri? Atau adakah dia menjaga amanah ataupun cuai? Sebab itu, penting untuk memilih dengan siapa kita bermusafir.

Pada Jun 2025, ketika menikmati bayu laut di Bagan Lalang bersama Yeop, Azudin dan isteri masing-masing, lahir satu idea. Untuk bermusafir ke Istanbul dan UK bersama-sama.

Saya dan Azudin memang pernah belajar bersama di kolej di Blackpool dulu. Rasa “nak balik kampung Blackpool” itu masih kuat. Ingin mengimbau kenangan lama.

Yeop pula belum pernah benar-benar menjelajah UK. Hanya singgah seketika di London. Jadi, dia juga ingin turut serta. Dan isterinya, Kak Jed pula "nak tengok tulips". 

Di Istanbul!

Dari situlah perancangan bermula.

Siri “bengkel” diatur. Semua perkara dibentang dan diteliti secara bersama. "Collective decision-making". "Consensus-building" and what have you. Tapi sebenarnya, lebih banyak gelak ketawa dan makan-makan daripada perbincangan serius.

Namun bagi saya, itulah sebenarnya yang diinginkan.

Bila kita bermusafir, it is not just the destination that matters, but it is also about the journey itself. Sebenarnya, perjalanan kami sudah pun bermula… even sebelum kami menjejak kaki ke dalam kapal terbang lagi.

Perbincangan di bengkel tersebut menjadi kenangannya tersendiri. Dan melaluinya kami semakin mengenali antara satu sama lain. Ukhuwah terasa semakin erat. Dengan itu, semoga ia menjadi bekalan yang baik untuk perjalanan dua minggu yang bakal kami tempuhi bersama nanti, insya-Allah.

Yang lebih penting, semoga perjalanan bersahabat ini diredhai Allah SWT. Bukan perjalanan yang melalaikan, tetapi perjalanan yang mendekatkan hati kami kepada-Nya. Aamiin.

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Raya in America

The Hollywood Walk of Fame on the Hollywood Boulevard. This is Bruce Lee's star. Not surprisingly, it was always surrounded by groups Chinese tourists eager to record their visit here on photo

As one travel on the highways, or freeways as they would call it in US, one would be able to appreciate the vastness of this country. This picture is taken an hour's drive outside of San Francisco.

The famous clam chowder at the Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. This is served in a carved out bread. Nice..

Unlike Los Angeles, San Francisco is a hilly city and this adds to the charm of its streets. There are more than 40 hills within the city. Famous ones include the Telegraph Hill and Russian Hill

Room with a view.  This is the view of a  Hollywood neighbourhood from my hotel room

Lombard Street, claimed to be the crookedest (and very steep) street in the world because of
its eight tight hairpin turns

Homes of the rich and famous of Hollywood have well-landscaped gardens and manicured lawn

The San Antonio Riverwalk after which our very own River of Life project in KL will be modelled after

The iconic San Francisco cable car is the world's last manually operated cable car system. Unfortunately, we did not have the time to hop on one. May be next time

People cycling on the Bay Trail. The San Francisco Bay Trail is a more than 500km interconnected trail system which links parks, open spaces and places of attractions located on the bay shoreline. I would love to ride my mountain bike here. Miles and miles of continuous integrated track, beautiful and varied sceneries, nice San Francisco weather. What else could a cyclist ask for.

There is this nice little tune called "Breakfast in America" by the British group Supertramp. Catchy and melodic,  Roger Hodgson's distinctive singing makes you want to "take the jumbo across the water" and fly to America.

But then if you had to leave for America during the festive season of Hari Raya,I bet no amount of serenading by Roger Hodgson would be enough to make you jump on a plane for the USA.

But then, work is work.

And that is how I found myself flying to the USA on the second day of Hari Raya last month.

Our destination: Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Antonio. Oh, and you can add to that one un-scheduled overnight stay in Narita, Japan.

So how did I find America?

Well, one thing which strikes me is that America is not just a big country in terms of its geographical size - driving from one city to another for six or seven hours is considered normal - it also has almost everything in super big sizes! The trucks and cars are bigger, and so are the highways, food servings and shopping malls.

The cities - at least from what I saw in LA and San Francisco - are also much more glitzier and glamorous.

But still, those were not enough to take my mind off my family and the Raya  celebrations back home.

Sorry, guys. I'll make up for it.

Stranded in Narita: Soaking up a Slice of Japan

The ubiquitous jidouhambaiki (vending machine). Japanese streets are littered with these machines
which sell almost anything that you might want

Japanese streets are clean and beautiful as it is simple in design

The sign reads "Narita-shi jdousha" (Narita City Car Park)

Urban street on the left, local residential street on the right

Off to school, no big bags to carry...?

The morning rush hour was just about to begin

We got stranded at Narita on our way back home from the USA. Our plane developed a technical problem, and the captain was not about to take the risk of continuing the journey to KLIA.

Replacement parts had to be flown out of KLIA, and it is a good seven hours flight to Narita. So we had  to put up for the night at a small hotel a few minutes away from the airport.

As someone who had studied and stayed in Japan before, the very idea of spending a night in Japan again was enough to get me a little excited.

It being summer, the sun had risen very early over Japan in the morning. Subuh was at 3.41 am! After a hurriedly taken breakfast, I told myself that I just had to go out and take a stroll to soak in bit of Japanese urban ambiance and breath in some fresh Japanese summer air.

The familiar scenes of nice clean streets, narrow neighbourhood roads, colourful vending machines and children walking to school instantly  brought back sweet memories of our three year stay in the Land of The Rising Sun.

Alas, it was not to be a long stroll. The weather was hot and temperature quickly rising even in the early morning. And my onward flight to KLIA was just three hours away. So I swiftly returned back to the hotel and reached my room sweating. But not after taking a few shots with the hand phone.

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Lyon Light Festival 2011

The City of Lyon by the River Rhone, all lighted up

Lyon is the second biggest city in France located 470km south-east of Paris. The Lyon Light Festival is one of the most famous lighting festivals in Europe. 

The festival has been held every year since medieval France. It has its roots in a religious-related event. But nowadays it has been re-branded into a modern, high-tech lighting festival much anticipated by many in France and near-by neighbouring countries. It attracts some of the best minds and most creative lighting experts in Europe who come to display their flair and hardware.

We were there at the festival to soak in the atmosphere and to see first-hand how a lighting festival is run.

Come 2013, we will have our very own full-fledged world-class lighting festival: The Putrajaya Light Festival.

Watch this space.

Town Planning lessons in Paris

Avenue de La Grande Armee, one of the many boulevards put in place by Haussmann, viewed from  the Arc de Triomphe

I was in Paris two weeks ago. Yes, France, land of the guillotines and home to Zinedine Zidane.

We landed at Charles de Gaulle at 6.20 am and was received by a cold Paris weather with temperature hovering at 5 Celsius. Charles de Gaulle is an old airport. But it is very functional in its design minus all the frills of a so called "modern" airport. For example,  it has proper, separate prayer rooms for all the major religions. Even fancy, modern Changi can't beat that.

The airport is only about 20km away from downtown Paris. But due to the notorious Paris traffic jam, we were forewarned by Thomas, our guide, that the journey would take us a good one hour plus.

We were also told by Thomas that Paris is a city of more than 12 million inhabitants. That's big. But still, that's no excuse for gridlock traffic jams.

Nevertheless, I cannot help but notice that the Paris traffic is a tad more chaotic as compared to say, London or Tokyo. The French drivers also seem a bit more, well, should I say, more of a dare-devil? They'd just weave in and out of their lanes almost without a care for others. And then there are the scooters and motorcycles. Their numbers are noticeably much higher then in other major cities I've been. And their riders are just "super crazy" according to Thomas.

Surprisingly, over the course of one week I was there, I didn't notice any accident. Not even a single one!

Paris is a city of many long straight boulevards lined by trees like the one above. Now this is mainly the work of one fine gentleman by the name of Baron Georges Haussmann. Haussmann was civic planner commissioned by Napoleon III in 1852 to re-plan Paris. 

I had studied Haussmann when I was learning to be a town planner at university. Only now do I see his work with my very own eyes. Quite spectacular and very visionary.

Another feature of Paris town planning are the courtyard building typologies.

The buildings which line the boulevards always seem like they are surrounded on all sides by long, unbroken street walls. Whereas one know very well that many of the buildings are mixed-use buildings accommodating commercial as well as residential elements. So, where are the back-of-house facilities and car parks then?

The answer is that they are right there in the centre of the buildings themselves, within the courtyards.

Now I know better what the planners in Putrajaya are trying to achieve through their urban planning exercise, especially for the Core Island.

Cold Paris!

View from my room at Hotel Pullman Montparnasse, Paris. The sun just coming out but the temperature is actually around 5 Celcius.

In Labuan

I’m in Labuan for a working trip.

Labuan, sometimes called the Pearl of Borneo, is an island with a population of nearly 100,000 people. The main town is simply known as  Labuan Town. It was formerly known as Victoria during colonial era.

Labuan used to be part of Brunei rule until the early 1900s. It was briefly under Japanese occupation during World War II before being recaptured by Australian Forces in 1945. It was declared as a Federal Territory in 1984.

My first impression of Labuan is that it is a very clean and tidy little town. Rain trees line the major roads. Although they are not as big as ones you would find in KL or George Town in Penang, I am sure, once they are fully grown, the shades that they would bring would be a boon for pedestrians.  It is already a walkable city. The pedestrian pathways are well maintained and clean. And being a small town where traffic is still manageable, vehicles are slow and do not intimidate pedestrians.

For tourists, the island boasts a Bird Park and some attractive beaches. But the big draw it seems is the Duty Free shopping. Clothes, chocolates and liquors and cigarettes are cheap. During weekends the town would be full of visitors from Brunei which is just an hour’s boat ride away.

But for fishing enthusiasts, Labuan is better known as a world class sport fishing destination. Being surrounded by six smaller islands, the blue

clear water around these islands is said to be home to one of the world's richest coral and fishing grounds which offers unlimited deep-sea tackling catches.

Delightful Lumut

Last week I headed to Damai Laut, near Lumut, for a workshop on Structure Plan preparation. Yeah, it's work related...nothing much to do with recreation, unfortunately.

But a short trip to downtown Lumut allowed me to enjoy the delightful little town and helped to clear my mind of work for a bit.

Lumut is a coastal town with a population 31,000 located in the District of Manjung, Perak.

It is fairly famous in its own right, Lumut. It is the home base of the Tentera Laut DiRaja Malaysia and houses the  Naval Dockyard. And of course, it is the gateway to the well-known Pangkor Island.

It is not that big a town. The main shopping area comprises two streets both running parallel to the beachfront. But it oozes some class and has a dignified air about it. It is not only clean and pleasant, but its waterfront is a surprising attraction that one would not normally associate with a small seaside towns in Malaysia (think Kuala Kedah, or Kuala Perlis).

The Lumut Waterfront is a great place to have a walkabout. It is not as big and elaborate as the Kuching Waterfront, but yet it is simple, functional and very presentable as in being aesthetically-pleasing. A plus point is that it was cleverly designed to capitalize on the views towards the water. Supporting facilities are great, too. The toilet is clean and airy - definitely an A+ !

I remember when I was small, Apak would regularly take us to Lumut for its annual Pesta Laut Lumut. Thousands of visitors would throng this small town during this festival. In the days well before Jom Heboh! was created, I guess that was the only means for ordinary folks to have a dose of entertainment and recreation.

The District of Manjung in those days was still called Dindings District. Even much earlier, I mean like in the 1870s, Dindings was part of the Federated Malays States of Penang.

How come! you might ask?

Well it is a result of the infamous Pangkor Declaration in 1874. The Declaration had widespread impact on the history of the Malay Peninsula. It marked the beginning of British intervention in administration of Malay States.

But that is another story for another day.

For now, enjoy some pics of the Lumut waterfront.

Clean, pleasant walkway

Cleverly-designed public toilet complete with a small retail outlet where the shopkeeper doubles as the "gatekeeper" who collects 50 sen form each person who uses the toilet

Plenty of shades and seating areas along the walkway

Korean urbanscape

The Land of the Morning Calm. That's what they call Korea. 

It is a name befitting a nation with a history and culture dating back thousands of years. And when one visits this proud nation, one is sure to be reminded of the rich history and culture of Korea.

I was told by a senior Malaysian Embassy official that the Koreans are on a deliberate campaign to promote all things Korea: from food to music, and from fashion to sports. It is a way of making Korea forever relevant and on the world  map of major international events. Yes, now you know why the K-pop groups and Korean dramas are seemingly invading the local entertainment scenes?

My few visits to Korea has afforded me to observe another aspect of Korean culture - the town planning and its urbanscapes.

An arerial view of a Korean city would not offer much in terms of a feast for the eyes of the architects and planners. The buildings look boxy and whitish all around as far as the eyes can see. It is only when one walks the streets that a Korean city like Seoul would reveal its gems.

Urban pocket parks, city-centre streams, miles and miles of cycling and walking tracks along river banks, and trees lining the steets which would turn all red or yellow when the autumn season comes. These are some of the offerings of the Korean urbanscape that you can expect.

Potted plants in front of a convention centre near Incheon

Man-made water body complements a park in Songdo City

Public art sculputre in front pf convention centre in Sonngdo City

Pavement directional signage in Nam Daemun, a traditional shopping area in Seoul

A new park in Songdo City near Incheon

A city centre urban park in Seoul. This one is located in between two three-laned highways. It has lawns, flower plants, and water features

The same urban park in Seoul. You can see how popular it is with visitors

Cycle path and shrubs bordering a four-laned urban highway in New Songdo City near Incheon

Quaint little Behrang

Pekan Behrang? Behrang Stesen? I'm not quite sure what's the official name of this little  town. But you can't really blame me for not knowing. This town is located off the way main transport routes.

My experience with Behrang is by way of the fact that Sakinah used to study at the Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah which is located close by. Even then I didn't get to discover the town until she was well into her second year of her three year stay at the polytechnic. And that was also only after being alerted to its existance by Pak Non.

Behrang is a rustic, quaint little town located about 2km off the Federal Highway Route 1. As a general reference, it is somewhere in between Tanjung Malim and Slim River. If you pass by it, you'd hardly notice anything special about it really. But once you decide to take the right-turn and drive into it, Behrang will turn its charm on you.

For one, Behrang has a cute little rail station serving the trains of Keretapi Tanah Melayu. Thus, the name Behrang Stesen, I guess. But what really strikes me is the atmosphere and its general ambiance which harks back to the little towns of the 1960s and 70s.

The shops are all of wooden structures. And they all have bamboo blinds on their front exteriors. The pace of life and activities are decidedly S-L-O-W and steady. Old gentlemen while their time away in kopitiams and there are definitely no traffic jams, of course.

Some attractions include the fishing shop which is well-stocked with fishing paraphernalia, the apam balik stall, and the Orang Asli-owned stall which sells petai and durian.

Discovering Kirkby

The word "Kirkby" may not ring a bell amongst most Malaysians. But in my family, everybody knows that this is where Atok, went to school at the Malayan Teachers' Training College (MTTC).

Kirkby is a small town with a current population of around 40,000 located just 10km away from downtown Liverpool. It is also about one-and-a-half hour's train ride away from Blackpool, where I used to do my A-Levels. But out of sheer ignorance and being "too busy" perhaps with studies, I did not make it to Kirkby until very recently, last December.

I set off from Blackpool by train via Wigan. The journey is not that long, but with it being winter, it does have its fair share of challenges. Firstly, fending off the sub-zero temperature. Secondly, I had to rush it as the daylight hours is very short. Even so, and although I've never set foot  in Kirkby, looking for the former MTTC ground itself was quite easy.

You see,  I've had tip-offs from Apak's former college mates, and especially Frank Moorhead, a son of one of the former lecturers at MTTC. I had also looked up maps and figured out the exact boundaries of the MTTC. I guess all those training as a town planner is quite useful after all.

As soon as I stepped off the train at Kirkby Station, I set about getting my bearings. And as I walked towards the South Park Road, I soaked in the atmosphere of this quaint  little town and started imagining the ways of the Kirkbyites all those years ago. How they'd descent upon the station as they set off for their Teaching Practices. How they'd walk in groups, passing by the Railway pub as they visit the Kirkby Stores  to buy the papers, and so on.  

I had heard so much about Kirkby. I had seen old photos and even paintings of it by Uncle Jeff, a close friend of Apak from the Kirkby days. And of course, I had read so much about it too: form the Kirkby Website by Low Sau San, and the coffeetable book, Kirkby College-A Heritage. But today, I was finally discovering it for myself.

The MTTC campus is  actually located just on the outskirt of Kirkby town centre. The local commercial centre comprises a short row of small shops along the main street which is Glover's Brow. Today, some of the services found here include a newsagent, convenient stores, a betting shop, a Chinese take away and an estate agent.

But, the key to finding the former site of the MTTC is to get to the South Park Road. The South Park Road is a narrow road with little traffic nowadays. But it was just off this road that the main entrance gates to the MTTC was located. My guess is that, back in the 1950s, this road would have been the main thoroughfare and gateway for all Kirkbyites to get to the shops, the railway station, and beyond.

As I walked along the main street and the former MTTC campus ground, I had the good fortune of meeting and talking to a few people who did have some knowledge about the former college. This includes Sally-Ann Davies who stays in the residential area which has been built over the MTTC ground. Another is a gentleman who pointed out to me the exact location of the former MTTC entrance gates, and that the College border fencings was located just behind the Waverly House.

Unfortunately, nothing much of the old college is left to be seen now. As time passes by, not even any of the locals would be able to recall that Kirkby used to be the proud home to the Malayan Teachers' Training College.

That is why I hope that the idea of putting up a commemorative plaque on the campus site would become a reality soon. Kirkbyites would welcome it, I'm sure. And the locals too could be proud to know of the historical significance of their little town.

I left Kirkby that evening feeling very cold, hungry and tired. But deep down, I was very happy and contented.


I have been to Kirkby, Apak. I now have new pictures to show, and stories to tell, my brothers and sister, as well as my children. Hopefully, with these, the memory and legacy of Kirkby lives on among your children and grandchildren.



At the Kirkby station. The station building is on the left just after the railway crossing bridge. The bridge carries the road Glover's Brow and a pedestrian way which leads directly onto the South Park Road to the right of this photo



The South Park Road which would lead one directly to the former MTTC campus. The Railway pub seen here is a landmark at the junction between the South Park Road and Glover's Brow. From here, the MTTC campus is just about 150m away to the left

The view along South Park Rd looking directly towards the College ground

The junction between South Park Rd and Glover's Brow (looking in the opposite direction from the photo above)

The far end of the South Park Rd before it swerves to the right and continue on from here. But you can see that it also branches off at this point and the road actually continues straight on. From this point, there used to be a lane which continues a little (about 75m) before coming to a halt. THIS is where the College gates used to be!



Just for comparison, here's an old pic of Apak (r) and Uncle Jeff (Jaafar Saidin) in front of the College gates back then




The friendly Sally-Ann Davies. She stays on the housing estate which has been built over the College grounds. She was on her way to post her Christmas cards when I stopped her to ask about the MTTC. Her mother used to stay around here, she said,  so she knows about the College




Green open space within the residential area which is built over the College site. View looking towards where dormitory  Blocks 3, 4 and 5 used to be 



Another view of the residential development. This one is in the direction towards where dorm Blocks 8 and 9 once used to stand

The Waverly House which used to be the landmark right at the entrance to the College. It is now a protected building and still standing proud

The Carters Arms pub on Glover's Brow

The blue-fronted  shop is called Village News. When the Kirkbyites were here, it was known as the Kirkby Stores and much frequented by Kirkbyites for their supply of newspapers, sweets and stationary

The new Kirkby station building. Its just a small station, but serves its purpose to link Kirkby to the bigger cities of Liverpool and Manchester in the North West of England