Of Port Dickson and public beaches

Just got back from Port Dickson for a workshop-cum-brainstorming session.

Everybody knows PD. And I’m sure everyone in the Kelang Valley must have been there for a vacation or, at the very least, for a day outing and a picnic with the family. After all, it is just about 70km away from KL.

Me, of course I had heard a lot about PD before. However, my first experience in PD is fairly recent. For that, I had to wait until I was transferred to work in KL from Alor Setar in 1997.

I must say it was just a so, so, experience, though. The quality of its beaches pale in comparison with those in Terengganu, for example. Why, they don’t even measure up against Teluk Batik in Perak, or Batu Ferringhi in Penang if you ask me.

But what really bothers me is that – despite boasting beaches totaling 18km in length – PD does not really have that many beaches for the general public. By this, I mean beaches where your typical Pakcik and Makcik from the kampong can have free and direct access – with their children in tow – to lay open their tikar mengkuang for a decent family picnic.

Sure, there is the good old Teluk Kemang, complete with public amenities and ample parking space. There are also a few smaller ones, but these are less provided for in terms of supporting amenities.

So, when people go to PD for recreation nowadays, what they really mean is that they are going to check into one of the hotels. For then, and only then, would you have access to the beaches fronting your hotel.

Now, isn’t that ironic?

Beaches are state land. The belong to the state, and by that virtue, to the people, the general public. The hotels DO NOT have private entitlement over the beaches.

The late 1990s saw PD going through a boom of hotels and resorts. In fact, many Singaporeans invested in holiday homes in and around PD back then. That period saw more and more beaches being ‘taken away’ from the public as hotels are built right on the very edge of beaches, and hotel operators prevented the public from using the beaches fronting their premises.

The public have rights to these beaches for recreational purposes!

The State government must set out (and enforce) clear policies as regards the use of state land. But ultimately, the local planning authority should plan for the creation of physical access to beaches and support these with relevant amenities.

May be it's a bit too late for PD. But a deliberate and concerted effort could spring up with a few pleasant surprises. Surely, we don’t want our own public to be deprived of their basic rights, and restricted to a shabby few beaches, which, even then, will most likely be over-crowded, and in unkempt condition.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

School holiday projet No. 3:
Kacang buncis from our backyard garden

We are now into the second week of 2008. The new schooling year is well under way. And our household is now back to “normal situation”. Normal, in the sense that we are now back to three; the Mem Besar, Nadiah and myself.

Syafiq and Anas had been safely deposited at their boarding school last week. And our eldest, Sakinah, reported for her second semester at the Polytechnic yesterday.

As I write this, we have just finished dinner. This is usually the “peak hour” in our house as the kitchen area and living room turns into a hive of activity. Sakinah would be clearing the dinner table. Syafiq might be wiping the dinner table clean, and Anas would be asked to take the rubbish out.

Nadiah, as usual, would be busy with the remote control incessantly trying to search for Tom Tom Bak or something similar for her prime time viewing. The Mem Besar, ever so hard working, would plonk a bundle of washed clothes in front of the television for her to expertly fold, one by one, with her eyes transfixed on the screen!

As for me, I would be very busy lying on the sofa analysing the newspapers for news of grave importance to world peace and security, economic growth, national politics and (just a bit) on sports.

Things could get pretty noisy what with Syafiq trying to wrestle the remote control off Nadiah, or Anas (always the mischievous bully) tormenting Nadiah just for the fun of it.

But something is amiss tonight. It’s so quite.

Before the holidays started, I had worried about how to fill my children’s long school break with something useful (wrote about it here). When they duly returned home, things – as expected – went haywire. More dirty clothes to wash everyday, extra food to stock up and prepare. And I lost count of how many times the Mem Besar and I had to scream our heads off for them to tidy their rooms, to wake up and get out of bed, and so on.

All in all, it’s certainly not what the doctor would prescribe for someone diagnosed with hypertension.

But now that they have all left for schooling, I can’t help thinking about them – noisy antics, playful jibes and untidy bedrooms aside

I think I’m missing my kids!

"Absence make the heart grow fonder", the saying goes. How true.

To Sakinah, Syafiq and Anas I hope you guys had a fruitful school holiday. Study hard, and work smart. And all the best wishes from Abah and Ummi in your studies this year.

We love you all very much.

Happy Birthday Baby Nadiah

Last Friday, January the 4th, was the birthday of the baby of the family, Siti Nadiah. She is now 10.

Since big brothers Syafiq and Anas were due to go back to boarding school before that date, we celebrated the birthday a few days earlier.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NADIAH

MAY YOU GROW UP TO BE HARDWORKING

AND SMART

And many thanks also to Big Sis Sakinah, and brothers Syafiq and Anas for the presents. Nice of you guys to remember.

Perak's lack of identity: We need a Yeob Goneng

I am sure by now many of you would have heard, or read, about the book “Growing Up In Terengganu” (GUiT). It is written by Wan A. Hulaimi aka Awang Goneng.

I have not read the book yet. However, I have read and heard a lot about it from my Terengganu friends.

GUiT is a collection of tales on growing up in a Malaysian village in Terenganu and the sense of pride at being part of it. It is said to capture the very essence of life in Terengganu back in the 1960s and 70s.

My Terengganu friends – as expected – wax lyrical about the book. I can just see the glow in their eyes as they enthusiastically talk about it. Reading GUiT has undoubtedly managed to evoke a sense of nostalgia amongst them.

What’s more interesting is that GUiT has also rejuvenated and reinforced their sense of identity as Terengganu people. What with the book being sprinkled with Terengganu slang (or Terengganuspeak as Awang Goneng puts it), GUiT is a godsend for enhancing a sense of identity among the rakyat of the state.

Not surprisingly, the book is said to be something of a phenomenon, not least in Terengganu itself, where Awang Goneng was welcomed back for a book signing function at a bookshop.

I listened with a tinge of jealousy as my friend AO rattled on (bragged, actually) about his meeting with Awang Goneng at the bookshop. But it suddenly dawned on me: where is the Perak version of Awang Goneng? Or, if you don’t mind the pun, our very own “Yeob Goneng”.

Maybe it’s just me, but I for one think that there is a dearth of sense of identity and pride amongst us Perakian.

When we migrate to KL, for example, our character and identity will be ‘compromised’. And we’d easily drop the loghat Perak, so much so that we’d all be lost without a trace amongst the KL denizens. Unlike the Kelantanese, we do not much look out for, nor look after, each other either.

But then, even back home we do not have much to show to be proud of and bring us close together, is there? So, what’s new?

We don’t have a bustling city like George Town in the north and KL in down south. We don’t have mega projects that inject billions into the local economy. Nor do we have any major resorts, Taman Negara, international airshows or the monsoon cup to draw in the crowds.

*Yawn*…it’s all rather characterless and boring isn’t it? And to think that up until the 1970s Perak was still such a vibrant and bustling state.

That’s right, folks. Perak, at one time, was the world’s number one producer of tin ore in the whole wide world! In fact, the first people to own private cars in the country is said to be the super rich tin-miners from Perak. Yup! So, now you know why Perak cars are registered with the letter “A”.

As evidence of Perak being THE place to be back then, one could easily draw on the historical facts which reflect the level of development of the state in comparison to others in Malaya.

For example, the birth of the current-day Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (JUPEM) can be traced to Taiping where the first Trigonometrical Survey Section was created under the Perak Public Works Department.

The original batch of rubber seedlings brought into Malaya from London's Kew Gardens found its way to Kuala Kangsar, where till this day, the last surviving original rubber tree can still be seen at the district office.

The historical town of Taiping is famous for many firsts in the nation. This includes the first railway line (Taiping to Port Weld), museum, and hill resort (Bukit Larut).

The Taiping prison was the first purpose-built prison in Malaya. And of course, the Taiping Zoo, a fine zoo which runs till this day, was the first zoo in Malaya.

But when the tin mines started closing one by one, so went the great days. And, unfortunately, as other states re-fashion and rebrand themselves, Perak was stuck in a rut.

So, let’s bring back the glory days, shall we?

But, where art thou Yeob Goneng?

Interestingly, the answer to this question might be found on the cover of Awang Goneng’s book itself.

For on the cover of GUiT is a tag line by Dr. Annabel from the British Library which goes: “Awang Goneng does with words what Lat did with pictures.”

“Lat” here, of course, refers to our cartoonist Dato’ Lat who hails from Perak. Lat is now famous world wide for bringing to countless number of readers the joy of growing up and living in Malaysia.

In the Foreword to the book “Lat 30 Years Later”, Adibah Amin wrote of Lat: “ People from other lands have found in Lat a merry guide to Malaysian ways”. That being the case, in my reckoning, we will also find in Lat a merry guide to the Perak ways.

For one, Lat is adept at bringing to life the traditional and quirky ways of his home state. Browse through his record of the Perak Wedding, and you will know what I mean.

Lat also simply treasures the memory and nostalgia of his childhood days and living environment.

He has a deep attachment to his kampong roots. But his endearment towards live in the “big town” which opened him up to new experiences in life was equally strong. Two of his greatest works “The Kampong Boy” and “The Town Boy” are pure testimonies to this.

But what really convinces me that Lat is the Yeob Goneng is the fact that Lat can also write. His crime reporter days at the NST notwithstanding, one can sample his whimsical style of writing in his book-length cartoons.

Now, just imagine. Lat’s writing flair combined with his exquisite drawings of a rollicking world which is uniquely Perak in flavour. Boy, what a potent combination.

And it may not just be restricted to a full-length book or cartoons. Lat, with his creative imagination, can run riot and develop our very own theme park, theme resort and what have you.

Pesta durian and pesta tanglong ala Kota Lama Kanan will be featured strongly in the theme park. As for food, the park will be filled with the strong smell of gulai tempoyak and rendang tok all day long.

Now, how does that sound?

It’s a dream, yes. But I hope this dream could materialize.

How? I do not know yet.

Perhaps the Perak State government should sit up and take notice of the dire need to build up our character as a people. The need to create our sense of pride and identity as being Rakyat Perak.

For we should not leave Perak, for our future generations, devoid of history, culture, tradition as well as a strong sense of identity and character.

Happy New Year 2008: Lets go Japanese?

Nengajo: Japanese New Year Cards

Its end of December, and another New Year beckons.

On New Year’s night, thousands of Malaysians will throng the streets to party and celebrate the coming of the New Year.

Big corporate entities – and even a few government agencies – will be falling over each other to provide entertainment for the masses for the occasion (it’s CSR, lah*). Fireworks are a must. Concerts? Well…in Malaysia, it goes almost without saying.

Once the fireworks go quite, and after the last artist has belted out his last song, the entertained crowd will slowly head home. Tired and sleepy, no doubt. But hugely satisfied with the value-for-money (read: free) entertainment.

But after that, what?

I’m afraid, when it comes to welcoming the New Year, there is nothing much meaningful to it, for us Malaysians. It just comes and goes. Apart from the public holiday to look forward to on the day itself, it’s back to the usual daily grind after that. Nothing much will have changed.

But then, who am I to question these great celebratory events, which will be graced by no less than some of the top leaders of the nation and corporate big wigs?

So, let me just play safe. Let me take this opportunity to tell you something about Japanese New Year celebration instead.

The Japanese New Year is called oshogatsu in Japanese. Its date used to be determined based on the lunar year calendar. But the Japanese, being an adaptive lot, adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1873. So since then, the first day of January is the official New Year's Day.

The shogatsu is without a doubt the most important holiday in Japan. This is when the Japanese really take a break, rest and celebrate the holiday with the family. It is a day for eating and drinking together with the family, at home.

On the eve of New Year the Japanese will visit shrines to pray and pay respect to their ancestors. The New Year itself usually starts with whole family having traditional food, such as the ‘mochi’ (rice cake) for breakfast, in front of the television set which usually features traditional performing arts of Japan.

Then they would read the New Year greeting cards, or nengajō, that they have received. Before that, they will have sent cards to their own friends, relatives, work mates and bosses. The cards are sent so that they reach their recipients on 1st of January. And the ever-efficient Japan postal service duly oblige by taking extra special care during this time of the year to ensure all cards are delivered on January 1.

One thing I like about the Japanese New Year cards is that they are usually simple in design, and yet do the job just nicely. It’s a contrast to our normal greeting cards, which has a riot of colours and cluttered designs.

Some Japanese proudly make their own cards. But, being ever busy with university assignments (no sniggering, now!) I used to buy mine off the shelf at stationeries. Sometimes (well, most of the time actually), I would buy them at the post office where it’s much, much cheaper.

Like many other Asian New Year traditions, Japanese adults also give money to children on this auspices day. Akin to our ‘duit raya’ and ‘ang pow’, in Japan it is called ‘otoshi-dama’ which means ‘new year treasure’.

The New Year’s season lasts well over a week in Japan. Most of the shops will be closed. So if you do not do your shopping and stock up before the holidays, then you would find yourself in the unenviable situation of having nothing to cook for week! In Japan, for a family of five like mine, the costs would be enough to run me bankrupt.

But we take the cue from the highly-organised Japanese and take to the stores with a shopping list in hand a week before to buy enough items to last a week of cooking.

As for the New Year day itself, we’d stay at home eating mee-curry or spaghetti made by Mem Besar. To avoid the wintry cold outside, we’d be huddled in front of the television all day long, in the warmth of our small, but comfortable University family accommodation at Ichinoya Gakusei Shukusha.

But if it was snowing, then you won't find me at home. Instead, I would be frolicking in the snow with Sakinah, Syafiq and Anas somewhere in one of the parks in Tsukuba. Aahhh, such nice memories.

Wishing everybody lots of Happiness and Joy. Blessings for the New Year 2008.

And to all Japanese friends, Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!


Note: * CSR – corporate social responsibility

Longing for Makkatul Mukarramah

Jeddah King Abdul Aziz International Airport: Hajj Terminal

Last Friday, 21st December, was the last day of stoning of the jamrat in Mina for the Hajj pilgrims now in Makkah. With that, they will have completed most of the obligatory rituals. All that remains was for them to make the short 5 km trip to return to Makkah and perform the obligatory tawwaf and sae’i.

A short trip it may be. However, with three million pilgrims intent on getting back into Makkah almost at the same time, it is a huge challenge for the pilgrims, as well as, the Saudi Government officials who plan the logistics.

Just imagine thousands of buses ferrying three million passengers towards one point of destination within the space of a few hours. During this mass exodus, Makkah shall be choked full of traffic. A journey which would normally take not more than 15 minutes would now stretch to 3 or 4 hours, minimum, as the buses inch their way into the city.

Not surprisingly, many buses will fail to reach their final intended destinations in order to drop off passengers at their respective hotels.

What follows will be the sight of hundreds and thousands of pilgrims getting off their buses making the long trek to their hotels on foot. Each one will be lugging their bags behind them, forcing their tired limbs to the limit, mindful at the same time, that there is the obligatory tawaf and sae’i still to be performed.

Alas, once the tawaf and sae’i is completed, a huge sense of relief, joy and happiness breaks out.

The mood will now much more relaxed. Pilgrims congratulate each other with a huge smile and a sense of triumph reflected on their faces. They make jokes and tease each other as they call one another ‘hajji’ and ‘hajjah’, their new salutary, well-earned title.

But for those who had come to Makkah on the earlier flights, it is now time to start preparing for the trip back home.

And ‘preparation’ would include, of course, the customary last minute shopping. No doubt, the focus of the Hajj trip is to be close to God. However, spending and contributing to the economic and social well-being of the Makkah inhabitants is also said to be a sunnah. So, it would be a normal sight to see husbands and wives going out in pairs returning a few hours later, smiling sheepishly, with a handful of shopping begs in tow.

With just about everybody going on a shopping spree it was hard not to be infected by the shopping bug. Personally, I had to restrain the Mem Besar from over-spending. Alhamdulillah, she understood my reasoning - but, only just.

With the shopping over, suddenly a mixed feeling of happiness and sadness overcomes us.

Happy because we are now starting to think of our loved ones left in our homeland. The smiling faces of our children, parents, brothers and sisters even start to appear in our dreams as we sleep.

But yet, we will feel sad at having to leave this glorious city Makkah Al Mulkarramah, the blessed city, which has been our ‘home’ for the last one month. For the experience afforded by this sacred city – with virtues unparalleled by any other city on earth – is just overwhelming.

This is the place where our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW was born. Makkah is the city where the first house of worship for Allah, the Ka'abah, was built. The Masjidil Haram is Islam's most sacred mosque where prayers are rewarded 100,000 times more than prayers in other mosques. This is also where the Zam-Zam well and the Hajar Aswad are to be found. And the list goes on.

As one sits in the King Abdul Aziz International Airport, in Jeddah, waiting for the plane which will fly him or her back home, already he or she will have started to miss Makkah and Medinah the two holiest cities in Islam. Yes, the longing will already have started.

In fact, in a do'a recited by all pilgrims after performing the tawaf wida' (the final tawaf before a pilgrim leaves Makkah for home) he will have begged of ALlah in front of the Ka'abah:

"Oh ALlah, bring me back to the Baitullah, provide me with the sustenance to return to the Baitullah, and let not this day be my final day of appearance before the Baitullah".

As for me, even as we entered the Malaysian airspace, and as I looked down at the lights dotting the streets and the buildings in the far distant below, the fond and exceptional experiences in Makkah Al Mukarramah kept playing in my mind. I hope it will remain indelibly etched in my memories forever.

And may Allah give me the strength and the means to visit Makkah Al Mukarramah, again.

Amiin.

The Hajj: a true test in sacrifice

In just two days time, more than three million Muslims from all over the world would congregate at Arafah, a plain about 22km outside Makkah. This act, called the ‘wuquf’, represents the climax of the Hajj pilgrimage.

The Hajj is a test in sacrifice in the way of Allah. The sacrifices cover a completely wide spectrum from the time and money spent, to leaving behind loved ones and the comforts of one’s home. But more importantly, each and every of these sacrifices is aimed at seeking the pleasure of none but Allah subhanahu wa taala.

It is a totally different level of sacrifice compared to what one is used to when going through worldly challenges and experiences. It is an act of whole-hearted and total submission to God.

The Talbiyah, recited by pilgrims doing Hajj, perhaps encapsulates this very essence of act of submission and servitude to Allah:

Labbaik Allah hummalabbaik…“Here I am, O Allah, here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise and blessings are Yours, and all sovereignty, You have no partner”.

With just two days left to wuquf, all pilgrims will have arrived in this holy city. As a result, Makkah will be very, very crowded. The Masjidil Haram will be bursting at the seams, literally.

If you want to perform your five times daily obligatory prayers inside the mosque, you’d be well advised to be in the mosque at least one hour before the azan. Or else, you would most likely be praying on one of the streets of Makkah. And if you start leaving for the mosque only when the azan is being called then, for sure, you would find yourself praying at the very entrance doorstep of your hotel !

During these last few days before wuquf, pilgrims are advised to ‘take it easy’. What this means really is that they should rest and take care of their health and prepare for the big day of wuquf.

I remember how I spent this time sitting a lot on my small bed in our equally small, five-bedded hotel room. I would find myself looking up the do’a and zikir booklet given to all Malaysian pilgrims by Tabung Haji.

I would also make notes on additional do’a which I’d wanted to communicate to, and ask of, Allah during my wuquf. For wuquf is a big day in every sense of the word. It is the day when Allah would descend to be the closest to His servants, the pilgrims. It is, therefore, one of the best occasions to make self-reflection, ask for forgiveness and make do’a to Allah.

The day after wuquf is Aidil Adha, or what many Malaysians know as the Hari Raya Kurban. Muslims all over the country would slaughter cows or goats as a mark of sacrifice.

To many, this is the only sacrifice in the way of Allah that we have come to know. But for Hajj pilgrims the world over, the sacrifices had started a year or maybe even much earlier, as they prepare themselves financially, physically and spiritually for the journey of a lifetime. A journey to be the guests of Allah. A journey in answer to the call of Allah, …“Here I am, O Allah, here I am…”

May Allah reward all the pilgrims with Haji mabrur.