Chocs that no longer Halal

I've got this from a friend (thanks!), originally posted in PPIM's website. You guys might want to check this out.

All the below Masterfood Company Chocolate Products (Mars) are no longer Halal. They started using Animal product rennet(pork) in it for products that have expiry date after 1 ^st of October 2007.

Check this article from BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/ 6653175.stm
And this from the Vegetarian Society
http://www.vegsoc.org/news/2007/ mars.html


Bounty
· Celebrations
· Dove Chocolate
· Flyte
· Galaxy
· Kudos (North America)
· Lockets
· M-Azing (North America)
· Maltesers
· M&M's
· Mars Bar
· Mars Delight
· Milky Way
· Minstrels (UK only)
· Mars Planets (newly inroduced in UK)
· Skittles
· Snickers (The top-selling candy bar in the United States. Known in the UK as Marathon until 1990.)
· Starburst (Originally Opal Fruits in the UK.)
· 3 Musketeers (North America)
· Topic
· Twix
· Snicker's Marathon Energy Bar
· AquaDrops

Well, looks like we have to look for another chocolate products, I guess.

9 Siti

Telah lama saya cari artikel ini, baru sekarang jumpa. Sebab saya pernah dengar sekali dulu, tapi tak sempat catat jadi terus hilang dari ingatan. Jadi saya kongsi di sini untuk tatapan semua,semoga dapat jadi inspirasi untuk kita semua, Insya Allah.

(cewah, sempat lagi blog beberapa jam sebelum pergi camping hehe)

Antara 9 Siti yang patut dicontohi:

1) Siti Khadijah
- Beliau merupakan isteri Rasulullah s.a.w yg melahirkan anak2 Rasulullah, setia dan menyokong Rasulullah walaupun ditentang hebat oleh org2 kafir dan musyrik, menghantarkan makanan kpd Baginda ketika Baginda beribadat di Gua Hira’.

2) Siti Fatimah
- Anak Rasulullah yg tinggi budi pekertinya.
Sangat kasih dan setia kpd suaminya Ali karamallahu wajhah walaupun Ali miskin.
Tidur berkongsikan 1 bantal dan kdg2 berbantalkan lengan Ali.
Rasulullah pernah b’kata aku takkan maafkan kamu wahai Fatimah sehinggalah Ali maafkan kamu.

3) Siti A’ishah
- Beliau isteri Rasulullah yg paling romantik.
Sanggup berkongsi bekas makanan dan minuman dgn Rasulullah.
Di mana Nabi s.a.w minum di situ beliau akan minum menggunakan bekas yg sama

4) Siti Hajar
- Isteri Nabi Ibrahim yg patuh kpd suami dan suruhan Allah.
Sanggup ditinggalkan oleh Nabi Ibrahim atas suruhan Allah demi kebaikan.
Berjuang mencari air utk anaknya Nabi Ismail (Pengorbanan seorg ibu mithali).

5) Siti Mariam
- Wanita suci yg mmg pandai menjaga kehormatan diri
dan mempunyai maruah yg tinggi sehingga rahimnya dipilih oleh Allah s.w.t
utk mengandungkan Nabi Isa.

6) Siti Asiah
- Isteri Firaun yg tinggi imannya
dan tidak gentar dgn ujian yg dihadapinya
drpd Firaun Laknatullah.

7) Siti Aminah
- Wanita mulia yg menjadi ibu kandung Rasullullah.
Mendidik baginda menjadi insan mulia.

8) Siti Muti’ah
- Isteri yg patut dicontohi dan dijanjikan Allah syurga untuknya
kerana setianya kpd suami, menjaga makan minum, menyediakan tongkat utk
dipukul oleh suaminya sekiranya layanannya tidak memuaskan hati,
berhias dgn cantik utk tatapan suaminya sahaja.

9 ) Siti Zubaidah
- Wanita kaya dermawan yg menjadi isteri Khalifah Harun Al-Rashid.
Sanggup membelanjakan semua hartanya utk membina terusan utk
kegunaan org ramai hanya niat kerana Allah s.w.t.

Web bagus

How many times you face a situation where you want to drive to a place, but you don't know how?

I always face this kind of situation, but luckily I have a father who is crazy about maps and roads (which explains his profession la kan). Recently he always promoting this website to the whole family,which he finds very helpful and convenient; the Wikimapia.
And I love it too!! Very interesting and convenient as well.
(Eh by the way, who says women can't read maps?? It's only the men who won't listen. Haha)

Yup, I know Wikipedia is very popular to us but Wikimapia, maybe only certain people have heard about this web.Come on, try it!Especially for ladies, well we need to know these kind of things too you know.

Oh sangat-sangat la membantu web ni, macam Google Earth la jugak kan! Bagus bagus
OK tu je nak share, nak pergi bercuti sambil bercamping sekejap okay.. see ya!

Mencantikkan SHOPPING?

Assalamualaikum dan salam sejahtera.

Pagi Krismas ni saya bangun awal, kebetulan pula berpeluang tengok program motivasi Dato Dr Fadzilah Kamsah di TV. Ada pula soalan yang sangat menarik dari penonton dan saya pun sangat-sangat teringin nak dengar jawapannya, iaitu Apakah cara-cara untuk mencantikkan shopping?

Kelakar jugak dengar, tapi betullah majoriti orang perempuan terutamanya memang suka shopping. Siap ramai dengan bangganya mengaku shopaholic lagi. Yang ni saya tak faham sangat, apa la hebatnya menjadi shopaholic ni?? Membazir lagi adalah..(no offense, personal opinion ye;) Tapi apapun, tak ramai wanita yang tak suka shopping tapi tak semua lelaki pun yang tak suka shopping kan. Kat sini saya nak kongsi antara petua Dato yang boleh kita praktikkan semasa shopping.

1. Buat list
Ni benda basic tapi ramai orang tak buat..tak tau la kenapa. Malas kot? Kalau selalu tak buat list ni, nanti beriya pergi shopping complex last-last beli benda yang kita tak perlu pun, dan benda yang kita nak terus terlupa nak beli..(alamak sendiri pun terasa jugak..huhu)

2. Makan dulu baru shopping
Yang ni saya baru tau! Tapi Dato cakap ni memang benar sebab ikut kajian, kalau orang yang lapar tengok apa pun cantik, semua dia nak beli. Kalau orang kenyang ni dah penat makan, jalan pun slow, mata pun ngantuk sikit-sikit jadi takla bernafsu sangat nak beli. Sangat la bagus petua ni. Ingat-ingat balik, kalau shopping ngan kawan-kawan pun selalunya kita jalan dan shopping dulu baru makan kan, sebab lepas makan dah malas nak gerak dan rasa nak balik je. Jadi kena la makan dulu lepas ni! Haha

3. Tuju kat kedai tempat kita nak beli barang dulu
Contoh la kalau nak beli handbag la kan, dah target dulu beg apa nak beli, brand apa, kat mana semua baru pergi terus kat kedai tu. Jangan tengok tempat-tempat lain lagi.

4. Bawa peralatan solat
Bawa sekali telekung ke atau apa-apa yang berkenaan. Boleh juga kalau tak bawa dan nak pakai telekung awam kat surau tu, tapi setengah orang mungkin rasa tak selesa dan setengah surau pula mungkin takde telekung awam. Jadi lagi selamat kalau bawa sendiri, tak pun memang pakaian kita dah bersih dan menutup aurat, pakai je pakaian kita untuk solat, kan senang. Jangan tak solat sudah la.

5. Singgah kedai buku
Setiap kali keluar shopping jangan lupa singgah kedai buku. Macam saya pernah cakap dulu `book is a lifetime investment'.. jangan pernah menyesal kalau kita beli apa-apa buku pun. Insya Allah berguna sampai bila-bila.

Jadi, bersempena dengan Year End Sale sekarang ni marilah kita mempraktikkan petua-petua menarik di atas okay. Nak beli barang ke baju ke kasut ke boleh tapi berpada-pada, jangan sampai membazir pulak. Nak-nak orang cam saya sekarang yang menganggur takde income sekarang ni..haha:)

Pity, an enemy

Assalamualaikum and good day.

Days at home gave me opportunity to do some reflections and observations on people around me. One of the thing that I realized is, some people always avoided other people during their weakest moments, maybe during depressions, when sick, suffering from diseases or others that made them think they are more vulnerable and fragile compared to others. These people refused to talk about their condition and always pretend that everything is perfectly fine, and try to live a normal life as before, like nothing had ever happened. But later I observed that it is not the pain that they suffered bothers them, it was actually the strange glances and pitiful eyes of others that they can't stand.

For me, I suggest that we try to treat them as we threat other normal people, and avoid shooting discriminating glances that can make them feel uncomfortable. It's a good thought to approach and ask about their condition, but these kind of people probably preferred it to be in a private way, let say a face-to-face talk rather than in front of a crowd.Or rather, they will seek for people that they are comfortable with and shared their feelings, problems and concerns that bothered them much.

Yes, some people could not tolerate pity at all. These are strong people that stand on their own feet and like to do things independently, without the help of others. Thus during hard time, I guess it's not hard to support them in the way that they prefer most.

Why I'm writing this is, I personally think that I would behave like these people when I face hard times.

My Bro's Big Day

Yeay, finally I've got myself a sister (in-law)!

Well, as most of my close friends are awared of, I was busy helping my family preparing for my bro's big day the whole last week. I even went back home as soon as I finished my FYP presentation! Alhamdulillah, praised to the Almighty that the wedding went well and my parents sleepless nights are paid off. This wedding is a pretty huge deal since it was the first in the family, and my parents being a total perfectionists did helped to complicate the whole proceeding (hehe). Nevertheless, the days were over and now we are almost finished transforming back our home into normal condition.

Here I would like to share some sneak peek of my bro's wedding, I just love to post wedding experience because it was full of joy and very beautiful too ;)

My bro sengih2 bagi mas kawin kat wife dia

At Kak Lin's. Her house theme was gold..a perfect colour for a wedding

The pelamin at my house.Notice the rare lilac pink colour chosen by my brother? He had a hard time finding the pelamin and the canopy and the baju pengantin that match the colour.. but afterall it worth every effort. The colour is wonderful! (Or so said by the guests ;)

The newly wed posed for me! As usual I'm being an amateur unofficial photographer at (almost) all weddings I attended.. hehe

The female cousins ;)

The eightyfivers small reunion. Thanks guys for made it! (my wedding nanti jgn tak dtg plak!hehe)

To all of my UTP and STJ friends, thanks fo coming :)

Congratulations too to my big bro and his wife, finally married happily until ever after, insya Allah.And the lucky bridegroom was also turning 26 yesterday, so I guess he'd got the best birthday present ever this year, A WIFE :)

Happy birthday big bro !

Beginning of the End

notice board yang sarat..masa third year

Assalamualaikum and good day.

Someone might be expecting this kind of post, the reflection of a recent unofficially graduated student.So this is my version of story.It may be brief yet meaningful and I dedicated this to all my friends and faithful readers out there.

Well, where to start actually?

Eventually I started as an EE student but ironically, this is the least course that I like. At that time, I don't even want to be an engineering student but as I always learnt as time goes by, I'm destined to be here and will be graduated here on time, Insya Allah. I also considered the experience I gained here are priceless and was the most important decision of a lifetime.

Here, in this university, I faced my ups and downs in life.

BEST AND WORST

I'd experience the best- I studied smartly and played hard and managed my time as good as I can. My grades are neither too good nor to bad, but enough to pleased my parents (I suppose). Luckily I started with quite good grades, thus it balanced out my CGPA until the last semester I was here. I joined lots of events and made lots of friends, and many became good friends and sisters whom helped me through thick and thin. These people helped me doing assignments and projects when I finished my meetings until 3 a.m everyday for weeks. They also made my day and the ones I share my rantings, ramblings and problems with. Some of my friends lost their loved ones while in university days, and many faced difficult situations with smiles and the spirit of fighters. I was inspired by them, I always be amazed with their abilities and strengths to face tough life, and commitments towards living a better life and never give up. The lecturers were wonderful too, really.

There were times when I got sick of too much meetings and commitments to fulfil, but eventually I just think about the impact of my in appropriate decision to others. And sometimes the meetings really cheered me up for the various attitudes of the members and heated discussions. The busy seasons were during my second year until the semester before I went for my internship program, and I survived with helps of people around me and of course, The Almighty. After internship, it was quite awkward for me for not being as busy as I used to be previously and surprisingly, I did missed those days. Thus, I filled my time by knowing and helping the juniors, and spending quality times with them. During my last semester I also had the opportunity to became a facilitator for the freshies that was quite rare for final semester students, but I decided to give it a shot. I tried to give my best and share my experience with them so they can learn and be prepared to lead campus life.

MAS 2007 July Intake memories..students and facees of Platoon F

The worse got me too, although I think I'm a positive person who always tried to change bad times into valuable ones. I always being misunderstood, and I know I do misunderstand others sometimes. In my earlier days, I might be very stern, serious and bad-tempered. Sometimes I snapped back when people are criticising me. I expects other people works professionally and seek fo perfections in everyone, while not awaring that perfections are somewhat impossible. I got used of people commenting I've a slight bossy attitude, however I hope I'd portrayed it in a positive way. In my studies, sometimes I did get bad results for my tests and coursework marks. I 'd obtained `see me' scribbled on my papers a few times, even sometimes I did not show up at the lecturer's office for consultation hour. However Allah's still loves me, Alhamdulillah. Normally my end results were not as bad as I always imagine, thus I was and always convinced that my prayers and tremendous efforts are answered by the AlMighty. If it is not in the forms of what you desire, maybe in other means. It works for everyone, not only me. REALLY.

When I faced hard times, normally I would hold back and never show my weaknesses to everybody, but when it stayed in the heart way too long I did burst out. A few of my good friends had witnessed these, and I thanked you guys big time for being there for me. Really, you guys are my strength. By saying friends I don't only mean my immediate friends, but also my lovely seniors and juniors here. You all means so much to me. Sometimes I was hurt by the people that I knew too well, and many times I'd cried because of them. But at last I always convinced that they were never did those on purpose. Maybe they think its normal, maybe they think I deserved it. Or maybe they were too stressed up with personal problems that they found me to be their punching bag. Whatever the reason, I never hold any grunge against anybody. The best part is I do forgive and forget, and just live a new, a better life. That's it.I'm thankful for everything that happened, for better or worse. Allah gave me precious, invaluable friends around me all the time, what else could I wish for?

sempat bela kura-kura masa third year..tu pun 2 minggu je

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I might be cranky and annoying at times, but I did try to improve myself day by day. If you know me from day one I stepped my foot in the university, I think you would notice the difference as I leave the university for good, perhaps.

For my graduating friends, I hope we'll meet again sooner and frequent, and not just at each other's weddings. Haha. Do keep in touch, okay? Email pun jadilaa.. blog ke YM ke gtalk ke hehe. And for those who may concern, we have a very important mission to accomplish. Never let our family, high salaries, huge cars and big house fool us and later become our ultimate aim in life (Nauzubillah). Let strive all out and keep the high spirit!!

For my seniors, as you all had live your real life now, its time for me and the rest to follow your path. Thanks for the invaluable guidance and advice ( and many chocolates from Kak Shikin ;P), you guys rock big time! I think the tradition in my old school where the seniors and juniors as so closely bounded made me fully utilised my seniors in the university.Hehe and do pray for the best for us as we always pray for you.

For my remaining friends and juniors, jaga kampus baik-baik ye. Keep up the good work and strength and passion in living life, and NEVER GIVE UP! The tides of life will always come and go, just `hadapi dengan senyuman' (credit to Amie for mentioning this song to me sometimes ago, it was very nice ;). To those who will start their internship soon, best wishes for you guys. Spend time wisely since you'll have plenty of time compared to you being in campus, believe me. And whoever have blogs, do update frequently ya;) By the way, thanks Hani for your sweet thoughts..until we meet again :)

I'd also received a few gifts from my juniors and friends as a token of remembrance which I'll treasure for life.The spongebob keychain, the beautiful Labu Sayong,the hard covered 50 Wasiat Rasulullah saw untuk Wanita, the various video clips and many others. Thanks so much, I do love all of you.

And for those who will suddenly find yourself missing me, you know where to find me right?(mane lagi, this blog laa). Insya Allah I will try my best to constantly updating this blog and will never keep it dormant, at least not for a very long time.

This is just the beginning of the end, people!

ALL THE BEST!

Sincerely,

Shahira

29 November 2007, 1.40 am.

Travelogue : Osterreich

Beautiful places in Osterreich.
Namely in Vienna-Salzburg-Innsbruck.

Schonbrunn Palace

Belvedere

Shopping Alley

Crystal Lights

Golden Roof House

Kristelwalten

Mountain View

Slightly Snowy mountain in Summer

Pictures taken last summer.

Breathtaking.

One paper to go before unofficial graduation...

Oh and one presentation (how could I forget?)

Guess this is the way I get a peace of mind after a paper `yang mencemaskan' (hehe)

So long, farewell ! ;)

Of Exams and Weds

Assalamualaikum and hye to all.


In the mids of hectic final exams and everything , I managed to squeezed myself out for a while to attend my dear cousin's wedding. This is the first wedding among my Wan's grandchildren thus it was considered very important to all of us, also it became the benchmark and good reference for the coming wedding very soon (my Mum really take advantage of this event ;P).


Also the interesting part was no caterer included in this wedding ceremony, all dishes were made, cooked, served and washed by ourselves, including the neighbours and the great belia group whom helped in serving and washing. Thanks boys, you guys helped a lot! The end result was everyone fell unconscious due to fatigueness that night, and myself had to rushed early the next day to catch my 9.30 am bus back to Ipoh.

As usual, here are some of the pics taken by myself during the wedding. Of course my favourite are always candid pictures, thus enjoy yourselves ;) And Selamat Pengantin Baru too, to my lovely cousin Hidayah and her husband Salmizal.

the newly weds

the feast

the cousins (I asked Syamim to sit with the girls but he preferred to be the pengapit instead!)

this is aiman, our bounzer (pics taken seconds before the chair broke! bounzer btul ko ni aiman)

si syamim berangan jadi pengantin

.......and often cute faces caught my heart and lens.

Ok enough of the quick getaway, I'm off to finish my 3 remaining papers and an FYP presentation. Wish me luck, dear readers as I always wish for yours.

Warm wishes for all ;)

Masih lagi

(argh! Saya tak boleh siapkan report selagi tak tulis entri ini)




Rally BERSIH semalam! Sumber : Malaysiakini

Masih lagi mood BERSIH.

Peristiwa ini terlalu besar untuk diabaikan, walaupun sibuk dengan peperiksaan akhir sekarang. Gambar-gambar menarik boleh didapati di

1. http://minaq-jinggo.fotopages.com/?entry=1340101
2. http://kickdefella.wordpress.com/
3. http://sagaladoola.blogspot.com/2007/11/bersih-yellow-wave-pics-part-1.html
4. http://sagaladoola.blogspot.com/2007/11/bersih-yellow-wave-pics-part-2.html
5. http://sagaladoola.blogspot.com/2007/11/bersih-yellow-wave-pics-part-3.html
6. http://rockybru.blogspot.com/
7. http://shanghaistephen.blogspot.com/2007/11/daulat-tuanku-10-11-07.html

dan lain-lain blog popular dan laman-laman berkaitan.

Cuma JANGAN PERCAYA 100% dengan hampir semua media massa tempatan (cth: kebanyakan saluran berita utama dan surat khabar tempatan, kecuali surat khabar cina yang paparkan laporan sebenar, saya pun dah lupa apa namanya). They are not being sincere. Sebarkan kepada adik beradik/ibu bapa/rakan/jiran/saudara-mara/orang kampung kita. Ada yang tiada atau tak pernah akses internet, jadi mereka tak tahu hal sebenarnya.

Selain itu, saya setuju dengan mamat akubetul ni. Meminjam faktor kelapan dalam blognya:

8. Walaupun puluhan ribu hadir, ratusan ribu tersangkut dan jutaan visitor cari info pasal perhimpunan ini. Hakikatnya puluhan juta lagi rakyat Malaysia yang tidak mengendahkan perkara ini. Semuanya malas nak ambil tahu apatah lagi nak terlibat. Bangun la oi…! Jangan dok tidor lama-lama nanti jadi gila.

Tepat sekali katanya.
Maka ambillah tahu.

TInggalkanlah segala trend fesyen terkini/kereta paling hebat/ kelab mana mendahului EPL/ nak pakai baju apa keluar esok/apa brand mekap paling laris sekarang/nak buat reunion hujung minggu ni/nak pi shopping/nak pi picnic dan dan seribu satu macam lagi perkara, dan bangkitlah untuk fikirkan permasalahan negara, permasalahan manusia.

Percayalah, kita mampu mengubahnya.

Syabas rakyat Malaysia!

(Sebarang percanggahan informasi dalam pos sebelum ini adalah sangat dikesali sebab terus update daripada laporan terkini pelbagai sumber semasa perhimpunan berjalan. For now, please stick to the most reliable sources. Terima kasih.)

Sumber gambar : Harakahdaily.net

Alhamdulillah, memo menuntut SPR yang bersih dan adil telah selamat diserahkan kepada DYMM Yang diPertuan Agong sekitar jam 4.00 petang tadi. Justeru saya merasakan peserta dan penganjur gelombang kuning hari ini wajar diberi `two thumbs up' atau tabik hormat kerana keberanian dan kegigihan anda semua meredah hujan lebat, water cannon dan gas pemedih mata dalam menyampaikan mesej kepada kerajaan. Juga saya optimis DYMM Agong kita yang bijak laksana tidak akan membakulsampahkan memo penting sebegini seperti yang telah dilakukan oleh barisan pemimpin negara.

DAULAT TUANKU!

Ulasan lanjut boleh didapati di laman:

1. Al-JAzeera

2. Malaysia Today

3. Datuk Ruhanie Ahmad

selain laman-laman NGO, parti politik atau orang persendirian yang meyertai himpunan mega ini.

SYABAS RAKYAT MALAYSIA!

Updates on THE DAY

Salam.

I'm down in confinement period due to bad skin allergies. Thus I missed the most important event that I was ought and determined to participate since weeks ago. Nevertheless, kita merancang dan Allah merancang, tapi Dialah yang sebaik-baik perancang. I believe there's always concrete reason behind all this.

From morning I digged the latest news about the day, unfortunately too many websites are down (or is it the campus server???). I think both.

BERSIH website was down form morning, THIS also inaccessible since afternoon, let alone this and this. Even Malaysiakini live webcast pun tak dapat. Neither way, I tried to gather what I found for interested and alert readers.

Friday

1- From aku betul

Kalau kebebasan dan keadilan dianggap sebahagian dari maruah diri kita, sememangnya hari ini kita seumpama dirogol. Pertama kali dalam hidup aku melihat roadblock ditengah-tengah highway. Baru sebentar tadi aku lalu 2 roadblock di federal highway. Satu selepas toll Batu Tiga, Shah Alam dan satu lagi di Petaling Jaya. Member-member office aku kata di Damansara, Puchong, Sungai Buluh semunya ada roadblock dari tengah malam tadi. Kemungkinan besar di Selayang, Gombak dan kesemuanya pintu masuk ke KL juga ada sekatan jalan raya. Ini semua angkara kerajaan nak halang berlansungnya perhimpunan 100 ribu rakyat anjuran BERSIH.
Kenapa Pak Lah, UMNO, Polis, Kerajaan Barisan Nasional paranoid sangat?

Kenapa parti komponen BN tidak sertai BERSIH? Mereka tidak mahu pilihanraya yang tulus dan bersih ke? Bukankah itu motif perjuangan BERSIH?

2. From Screenshots : Bar Council Makes a Point

Saturday

1. From Screenshots

SMS ALERTS FROM READERS:
11:40hr: Federal Highway road block at PJ. Complete check by police. They check 100%.
11:41hr: As at 11.30am, buses & trains still reaching Dayabumi
11:54hr: Can't get into KL. All roads closed.
12:04hr: Road blocks along Old Klang Road

2. From kimberlycun

noon :They’re using water cannon and tear gasses already!
Closing up the city so that they can batter people up with no one watching?

3. From akubetul

noon : Confirm, KL dah kelam kabut. Roadblock semua tempat. Helicopter terbang macam burung. Website BERSIH down...

4. From the STAR

Motorists caught in traffic jams around KL

KUALA LUMPUR: Motorists in the Klang Valley found themselves caught in traffic jams on Saturday because of roadblocks and traffic diversions.
Motorists going to work, running their usual weekend errands or returning home from the Deepavali holidays, found themselves crawling on highways and roads in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding areas like Petaling Jaya.
According to PLUS Highway, traffic from the north along the North-South Expressway has been diverted to the Kota Damansara and Damansara exits as the Sungai Buloh-Jalan Duta stretch has been closed. At press time, no reason was given for the closure.
Meanwhile, police confirm that roadblocks have been set up at various major roads leading to Kuala Lumpur for security checks.

4. From other reliable sources

1445 hr : Authorities guna mercun, air dan gas pemedih mata untuk provoke di Dataran Merdeka
1530 hr : Team SMM (solidariti Mahasiswa) dan lain-lain dari Sogo dah berjaya sampai Istana Negara, yang dari Dt Merdeka ramai stranded
1615 hr : Kat masjid jamek ade lebih krg 30000 org.Still fru n polis tahan.Takleh bergerak.Polis dah lepaskan gas pemedih mata n water cannon.
1620 hr : Ramai lagi yang tengah bergerak.Di Istana Negara dah lebih kurang 50000 orang
1630 hr : 20 orang dah ditangkap oleh polis di Dataran Merdeka

Saya dengan rendah hati memohon agar Allah menyelamatkan dan memberkati para peserta himpunan aman kali ini. Sesungguhnya keadilan perlu ditegakkan. Amin ya Rabbal alamin.

UPDATE

1645 hr : Memo BERSIH telah diserahkan kepada Yang diPertuan Agong
P/S : Akhirnya saya berjaya akses laman ini dan laman ini.Sila click untuk info terbaru.

Jom BERSIH!

Ini bukan isu kepartian, ini soal keadilan.

Sudahlah nak mengajak rakyat Malaysia mendaftar mengundi pun payah, yang dah daftar pula tiada hak untuk mengundi calon yang mereka rasakan betul-betul layak kerana karenah dan manipulasi pihak yang berkepentingan. Jadi bukankah wajar kita menyokong perhimpunan aman untuk menuntut pilihanraya bersih dan adil ini?

Bukannya kita cuba melobi untuk pilihanraya ke apa, cuma menuntut SPR yang telus dan adil! Kalau di kebanyakan negara lain rasanya tidak perlu perhimpunan aman sebegini pun, kerajaan telah maklum tentang konsep demokrasi. Yang mana rakyat berhak memilih pemimpin mereka melalui proses pilihanraya. Negara kita negara demokrasi, bukan komunis/autokratik kan?? (err kan?although it doesn't seems like it nowadays..)

Teringat komen seorang pembaca dalam sebuah laman web tu. Kalau di England, perhimpunan aman macam ni siap dapat sokongan penuh dari pihak berkuasa. Polis yang tolong aturkan perarakan nak ikut jalan mana, nak belok jalan mana untuk memudahkan kawalan lalu lintas dan jaga keselamatan orang awam yang menyertai perhimpunan. Jadi saya rasa kita sebagai rakyat Malaysia, yang berpegang pada kepercayaan kepada Tuhan, kesetiaan kepada raja dan Negara, keluhuran perlembagaan, kedaulatan undang-undangdan adab sopan dan kesusilaan yang tinggi (rujuk Rukun Negara) lagilah wajar mendapat sokongan lebih lagi daripada mereka di England tu.

Meminjam peringatan dari laman Screenshots :

BERSIH is a congregation of 26 NGOs and 5 Opposition political parties from Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak.
People must know that.
Wrong perception may allow the authorities to justify their actions later.

Jadi, anda berani? Jom BERSIH!

How My Brother Became Fluent In English

This is a tale of my younger brother, who is very good in English language, say it written or spoken. I know a lot of people is much more better especially those who use it as their primary language everday, but I just want to share my version of story.

Many people thought we came from an English speaking family background, I just could not figure out why. In our family, we seldom speak in English, we just use plain Bahasa Melayu. However although both my parents came from two different state with heavy local dialect each, they never speak those kind of language at home. Just standard Malaylanguage, and that's the language that we use as we grown up. Plus a lot of technical English of course, sinch both my parents work in technical field.

My friends consider my English usage is quite good, I even once selected as a junior batch of debater in my old school during my tender age but I refused to join. As I consider my English was bad, and still not very good now. You see, I'm so particular with grammar and pronounciation, and I usually make sure I know how to spell each word that I use. Thus that makes it hard for me to randomly use the language to improve my English. This is also one of the reason I blog, by the way. To improve.

Oops, I'm sorry I forgot that the limelight of this post is my brother, not me.Hehe :)

When he was just a little boy, he loves to read. And still do until now. If I'm not mistaken, he starts reading at the age of three, and he was a very fast learner.He never talk in baby language ever since he can talk. He just read all reading materials in the house, luckily there were a lot. One of his favourite series of books I still remember were the series of `Beritahu Saya Tentang..'. I'm not sure those books still exist or not nowadays, but they were very very good. Even I enjoyed those books until now. It tells the young readers about almost everything and how they functioned scientifically, from rockets, cars, mechanics, dynamics until plants and animals. Another added value is this is another common interest of the whole family (reading), so my little bro always had enough supply of books in the house.

When he reach the age of 6, he digested almost everything that he found. In house I still remember, we have the complete series of Doraemon, Dragonball, Slamdunk, Kawan (local children magazine, it was quite good back then), Anak-anak Sidek, Mastika and only God knows what else.He kept on begging my Dad to buy more reading materials, and of course my Dad could not refuse. He also had developed the habit of reading during meal time, which was quite annoying at the first place but later on, we just have to respect his passion. Daripada makan sambil tengok tv baik makan sambil membaca kan..

When he reach 8, he starts reading atlas books. Yes you get me right, atlas that shows maps and locations and places.I do not know it was the surveyor blood (of my Dad, he is a land surveyor) or what, but he enjoyed every page of it. Everytime he sees me he would say something like this:

"Kakya, ape nama ibu negara Belgium? Apakah sungai terpanjang di Amerika? Apakah dataran ais terbesar di dunia? Apakah ibu negara Mongolia?"

Of course I could not answer back then la kan, even the names of places are not familiar to me. Then he would proudly tell me the correct answers of his questions. He's so informative, and I was so beaten up as a big sister. I felt jealous and proud of him at the same time. And I though his inquiry attitude is kind of cute. And again, of course those atlasses came in English so he was improving day by day.

Later on when he knew about games and gadgets and everything, there was no turning back. From PS1, PS2, Gameboy pelbagai kaler apetah itu and the list goes on and on, he never missed even once the latest technology of games. Typical boy. Until the extent he use his own money to buy those gadgets. The original one might be expensive, so he went for second hands. Gila tak gila my brother ni, but he is the type that if he wants something, no one can stop him. He learnt a lot from the games that he played too, like all the names of football players in EPF, car racers and the cars' details and such.He learnt English indirectly with his passion.

When he entered secondary school, I noticed he started English novels, the one that I use to read at that time. Being a natural reader, my drawback at that time was I'm quite `stingy' to spend my own money to buy those kind of novels that normally cost RM40 and above. So as my brother then had the same interest as me, I just read his books everytime I went home. Jimat jimat, hehe. And he did not hesitate to spend for books, and this attitude I later learnt from him. As books are life-long investment, no matter what type of books. I emphasized books okay, not magazines or comics. Hehe. Later on he surprised the whole family as he was involve in debate team of his school, first speaker plak tu. Gempar abis la the whole family, since he never shows his interest to the field even once at home. And when I just developed my interest in Grisham's and King's (err Sheldon not in the list, I even regretted I 'd read most of his books :( ) he already digested Albom's and Coelho's. Segannya saya.

He might flunk the science courses but always did well in English and EST subjects in school, he even obtained A1 in 1119 examination.(erm I pun dapat berapa je 1119..:P)

When he followed my parents to London few years back, he even tell my Dad :

"Abah takyah la cakap (English), biar Afiq je cakap. Nanti diorang tak faham plak sebab grammar tak btul"

Busuk sungguh ayat adikku itu but then we could not disagree more. He is really good then. And still is.

So the moral of story is, if you want your sisters,brothers or even future children to become good in English, developed reading interest in them ever since their tender age. Expose them with good english materials, and be selective of course so they won't digest the wrong knowledge. Do not disapprove their interest, but try to find way utilize their interest in a positive way (in my brother's case, his interests helped him to master English language). Also do practice to write and speak English, regardless your grammar, vocabulary or pronounciation because that skill can be developed later. As once my teacher said, "If you want to master English, you must think in English and even dream in English."

Believe me, my brother were from the same Malay background as most of you and me yet still he managed his way successfully in conquering the language. I learnt a lot too from him. I still do :)

Travelogue : Sungai Manik

Itu adalah telur siput gondang yang banyak terdapat di sawah-sawah

A huge and fascinating paddy field area in Teluk Intan, Perak.

Portrays the unspoken beauty of nature.

Peaceful and relaxing.

A perfect gateway for dizziness, headaches and hectics of daily life..or the upcoming exams.

All the best in the final exams ;)

Travelogue : Hannover - Amsterdam

check out the miniature town !

I love beautiful sceneries.

I just do.

source : Dad's private collection

Surprise surprise

Last Wednesday I had a trip to PFK, Gurun when I bumped into my ex-school ex-university senior. I haven't hear from her for quite some time, so this little meeting is quite a pleasant surprise. After all she's just a year older than me. As usual I playfully teased her with my favourite question :

"Ehem akak, bila nak buat kenduri..hehe"

And then she casually replied :

"Haa tula..nak jemput ni, datang la umah akak 1 haribulan 12 nie"

"Eh, ye ke kak? Ada kenduri ke? "

"Haah ada kenduri sikit.."

"Oo open house ke?" (erm me being blur la pulak)

"Kenduri kawin akak la..huhu" (ok, now I'm speechless.Huhu)

Ok so there it goes, when some people brought back urea fertilizer as a gift, I brought a beautiful wedding invitation card as a souvenir.. :)

Congrates and Selamat Pengantin Baru, Kak Citi!

On my personal note, I really thing this is a very cute way to announce a wedding!;)

Biar bagi gempak sikit. Hehehe dan-dan je bagi kad kawin kat orang. Huhu nak buat camni gak la nanti.Haha~

Sorry ye

Sorry for the long silence..I'm erm, up to something lately. A lot of things to be exact.
By the way, Raya holiday was great!

Makin lama cuti makin tak cukup..biasalah kan. Best sempat beraya especially di Seremban/Tampin/Aloq Staq.. huhu sampai demam-demam.

Thanks to the hosts and all tuan rumah..thanks also to those who came to my house :) Get togethers and updating latest gossips with the VGlances are also sangat fun...hehe thanks korang!)

Selamat Hari Raya and warmest regards.. :)

Will be back soon..I promise ;)

Salam Aidilfitri

Featured pic is the customize raya greetings from me this year. It was actually a raya pic collection from the previous hari raya, one of my most favourite pic!

The girls and a guy in the photo were all my cousins, taken during our first raya tour to wan's neighbourhood. Cheeky Syamim is the centre of attraction, as always. He loves camera and always ready to pose whenever he sees one. But this year he will not join us on the first hari raya since he will beraya in Beseri,Perlis. This pic featured the girls all enjoying a piece of kuih raya each while Syamim totally ignored them and pose for me. I love it..REALLY CUTE!!

On different note, this raya would be a busy one for me. I'll be celebrating raya at both of my parents' hometown, which means more travelling hours! Also I made a mental note to visit my long-lost friends and a gathering ritual with the VGlance is a must. Also, Ci's rumah baru! Not to forget, last minute preparation for Dayah's and Ame's wedding in less than two months time will definitely be included in my agenda..can't wait :)

For my fellow blogger friends and faithful readers, this entry is specially for you! May you have the best Syawal and never forget the blessful Ramadhan that will be leaving us soon.. oh ye, puasa enam di bulan Syawal jangan lupa!!

Salam Aidilfitri dan jemputla datang rumah raya ni ;)

26th day :Ramadhan review

di suatu tempat di suatu masa, di suatu ketika.........

Dah 26 Ramadhan.

Sikit hari lagi, akan balik raya, dan best part adalah cuti raya kali ni seminggu! Tapi tolonglah semua jangan tertipu dengan cuti ini kerana banyak reports, tests, presentations dan projects due dates yang menanti kita semua selepas raya. Huhu

OK, agak ironi sebab ayat cliche dok kat atas, pastu baru elaboration yang sebenar :P

Lagi 4 hari Ramadhan berbaki, sempurnakah Ramadhan kita? Sudahkah kita menemui Laila itu? Ataupun letaknya pada 4 malam yang berbaki ini? Wallahua'lam. Sesungguhnya Laila itu termasuk antara perkara-perkara yang Allah rahsiakan dari makhluknya, hanya yang betul-betul bertuah dan diizinkan-Nya berpeluang menemuinya. Selongkar punya selongkar Archive blog ini, saya jumpa entri tentang Laila itu pada masa lebih kurang sama seperti sekarang, tahun lepas. Maklumlah zaman intern, 8-5 depan kom dan semestinya lebih masa untuk berblog :) OK ni bukan dikira cyberslacking ye (bagi saya la), sebab polisi syarikat masa tu mereka tak kisah kita nak surf apa, untuk apa dan bila, asalkan kerja siap ;) Internet memang laju melampau takyah cakap la kan. So much about work flexibility in U.S owned company..

Ramadhan saya kali ini, saya boleh gambarkan sebagai pro-active Ramadhan. Sebabnya kali ni semua aktiviti saya sekali ganda lebih dari bulan biasa, pelik kan? Sebelum ini walau sebanyak mana kerja saya, biasanya bulan Ramadhan selepas berbuka saya akan lebih relax dan focus untuk ibadah lazim, macam solat terawih di masjid, qiam, iftar etc. Namun kali ni lain.. meetings, perjumpaan, gathering, (adakah mereka semua ni sinonim? Haha dalam maksudnya tu) projects, assigments, tests semuanya berjalan konsisten dalam jadual saya walaupun selepas waktu berbuka! Tapi saya gembira sebab perkara ni tak menjejaskan ibadah fardhi walaupun timing semua dah lari sikit dari biasa. Bagi saya, spending quality time is the most important thing..and the one that worth the most :)

Mungkin juga ni satu pendidikan buat diri saya, dan saya mungkin diuji dengan kata-kata sendiri. Sebab awal-awal Ramadhan, saya sering menekankan dan bercerita dengan sahabat serta adik-adik tentang Perang Badar yang berlaku di bulan Ramadhan, betapa Rasulullah dan sahabat dahulu gigih berperang dalam bulan Ramadhan. 313 tentera versus 1000 orang musyrikin. Menang pula tu!

Ramadhan bukan satu faktor untuk kita memperlahankan aktiviti seharian kita dengan alasan letih berpuasa, tapi sebaliknya. Betul! Ramadhan memang menjana lebih kekuatan untuk orang mukmin, tambahan pula syaitan jahat tiada untuk kacau kita dan nafsu pun lemah sebab lapar. Padan muka mereka. Sebab tu Ramadhan kali ni memang pro-aktif bagi saya tapi biasa la, bila lepas pukul 6 petang onwards tu muka seposen tak boleh nak elak la kan..hehe

Satu lagi, saya sangat yakin dengan keberkatan bulan mulia ini sendiri. Bagi saya, Allah limpahkan banyak rahmat dan rezeki, yang hanya mungkin mampu dihayati oleh golongan yang berfikir. Memang banyak sangat. Lihat saja, Perang Badar, contoh yang sama lagi. Allah turunkan seribu malaikat untuk bantu tentera Islam, juga hujan lebat yang memadatkan tanah di kem orang Islam untuk memudahkan pergerakan dan hujan terlebih lebat di kem musyrikin sehingga lecah dan menyukarkan mereka..dan banyak lagi sebenarnya.Sila baca sirah tentang ini selanjutnya ok :)

Jangan terkejut kalau bulan ini Allah memberikan kita banyak rezeki dari sumber yang tidak terduga, yang kita tak pernah expect pun, sebab Dia Maha Mengetahui. Tak mustahil jika tests dan exams kita dalam bulan ni kita berjaya score dengan `warna-warna terbang' , assignments completed dan dapat urus masa dengan baik untuk aktiviti lain. Personal experience saya, highest GPA saya pernah dapat adalah sewaktu peperiksaan akhir yang berlangsung pada bulan Ramadhan. Syukur alhamdulillah, Allah tu Maha Pemurah.

Ramadhan kali juga telah menyaksikan ramai sahabat saya diuji dengan musibah. Ada yang kehilangan ahli keluarga, ujian fizikal,mental dan material. Saya tabik spring pada mereka yang menempuh dugaan ini dengan tenang dan mencari hikmah di sebaliknya, kerana itu adalah yang SEBAIK-BAIKNYA. Allah telah merancang hidup kita dari A sampai Z, Dialah yang lebih mengetahui apa yang terbaik untuk kita.

Namun ada yang sudah tak bersemangat meneruskan perjuangan hidup yang berbaki sedikit saja lagi di kampus ni, ada yang dah tak sanggup bagi komitmen dalam kerja, menurut perasaan, nafsi-nafsi (err walaupun syaitan tiada tapi kadang-kadang nafsu ni lebih kuat mengalahkan godaan syaitan!! Sengal betul~). Juga saya lihat banyak maksiat yang berlaku, macam couple, bukak pose berdua-duaan, tak menutup aurat dan sebagainya. Maaf dari hati kerana saya tidak mampu menegur semuanya, maaf sekali lagi. Mungkin ada yang tidak faham, tak sedar, tak mahu faham atau sedar, wallahua'lam.Semoga Allah buka pintu hati kita untuk menerima dan mengekalkan hidayah, insya Allah.

Harapan saya, semoga kita dapat muhasabah diri di sisa Ramadhan ini dan renung balik apa yang terjadi. Siapa kita untuk mempersoalkan takdir, atau mengaku kalah sebelum berjuang, atau tidak puas hati dengan ketentuan-Nya? Siapa kita yang boleh senang-senang ingkar dengan pencipta kita?Kalau setiap hari kita berdoa untuk masuk syurga Allah, tapi pada masa sama kita tak mahu buat apa yang Dia suruh, apa maknanya? Peringatan untuk diri juga yang sering lupa..insya Allah.

Pos kali ini saya terus tulis tanpa outline dulu seperti selalu, macam biasa tak sangka akan jadi panjang. Hehe express thoughts from heart lah kata kan..Akhir kata jaga diri hiasi peribadi, Selamat Hari Raye, pandu cermat jiwa selamat, ingatlah orang yang tersayang..hehe

Travelogue : Venice

Assalamualaikum and good day.

These are the result of many deadlines + assignments + pre-Edx preparation...and new installation of Adobe Photoshop in my pc!

I just realized I haven't installed Photoshop in this pc yet, so there you go, enjoy these pics while I refreshed myself with my Photoshop skills that has been abandoned for years.. (erk bunyi cam skillful je, nah I'm still learning ;)

Abah

Building beside the ocean

Father and son

The dock

The grand canal

Grand canal featuring ancient buildings

Oh yes, now we are entering the last 10 days of Ramadhan. Do adjust your schedule a bit to fill your nights with extra hours of ibadah, to search for THE HOLY NIGHT.. may you and me be the chosen one to embrace the blessings of that night, and the whole Ramadhan month itself.

THE SEARCH HAS BEGUN...LET'S WORK IT OUT!