Tukar alamat untuk mengundi

Ada banyak sebab anda mungkin nak tukar alamat pada kad pengenalan
atau tukar kad pengenalan sekarang. Mungkin sebab anda baru berpindah
rumah, ikut suami berpindah sebab baru kawin, atau saje nak tukar
sebab gambo kat IC dah tak valid (read: tak resemble keadaan fizikal
sekarang). Apa pentingnya tukar alamat kat IC? Paling penting sebab
nak mengundi untuk pilihan raya kot, kepentingan lain yet to figure
out.
Jadi itulah yang saya lakukan. Untuk pilihanraya sebelum ni saya tukar
alamat kat cip kad pengenalan untuk mengundi sebab masa tu tengah
belajar di kawasan Utara Semenanjung, so malas la balik rumah semata2
kan. Tukar kat cip jer, kat IC maintain alamat rumah parents. Pastu
selepas berumahtangga dan ada rumah di KL, sebagai pengundi
berdedikasi nak la tukar alamat ke kawasan rumah sekarang, namun tak
sangka niat yang suci murni menuntut kepayahan yang amat. Sebab
peristiwa ni bersifat kronologi jadi saya rumuskan dalam bentuk point
form ye :
1) Semua orang kata setakat nak tukar alamat boleh tukar kat pejabat
pos. Jadi saya telah ke pejabat pos berdekatan ofis dan nak tukar kat
cip jer la dan update daftar pengundi terus, sekali clerk tu cakap
diorang takder chip scanner so takleh tukar kat situ. Kalau nak tukar
ikut alamat yang tertera kat IC sekarang boleh. I rase cam nak belikan
jer chip scanner derma kat post office tu sebab bengang. Marah2 pun
masih noble kan.
2) Jadi langkah seterusnya, I kena ke JPN pulak.Tau je lah JPN ni kena
opis hour so satu hal nak cari masa gi sana, dah lah parking susah. I
dah isi borang tukar cip dan bayar RM2. Clerk menerima duit dengan
senang hati, dia cakap dia akan proses dan suruh I balik. I pun happy
sebagai pengundi berdedikasi I telah berusaha untuk menjayakan misi
sebagai pengundi. Tapi since they need time to process my application,
I plan to wait for them to finish then pastu baru gi SPR untuk update
alamat (langkah yang selepas itu I menyesal tak sudah. You should
never wait when dealing with government. Always FOLLOW UP!). Walaupun
ade versi mengatakan data kat JPN akan di sync dengan SPR every now
and then, ni wallahualam.
3) Setelah 5 bulan, I pun check la kat web SPR dengan harapan data kat
JPN dah di synchronize ngan SPR. Mereka kan berjanji daftar pengundi
akan update 3 bulan sekali. Tapi tidak pula berupdate. I pun telefon
SPR nak tanye status daftar pengundi I. Diorang cakap alamat I still
yg lama dan tak terima apa2 dari JPN pun, diorang suruh I contact JPN.
I contact JPN, clerk itu kebingungan kerana menurut mereka rekod I
takde dan suruh I datang opis. Cis bila pulak aku nak cuti semata2 nak
datang JPN yang opis hours tu.
4) Di satu hari yang hening I telah bercuti untuk ke JPN, pastu telah
dikejutkan dengan berita ` Permohonan puan takboleh diproses sebab cip
dalam IC dah rosak'. I was, whatt!! Pulangkan balik 2ringgit aku. Tapi
malas nak argue baik I sedekah je kat kerajaan pastu I pun kena wat IC
baru la kan, bayar RM10. gedebuk gedebak amik gambo semua dah setel,
sila amik IC anda dalam masa 2 minggu dari sekarang.
5) Good thing about JPN seremban ni SPR dia dekat building yang sama.
Jadi I terus ke pejabat SPR dan tukar alamat terus kat situ. Sonang
kojo den. Sonang apekah, benda yang patut setel 5 minit jadi 6 bulan
okeh. Sabar je untuk mendapat portion iman yang separuh itu.
6) Semestinya selepas 2 bulan baru I datang collect IC baru, takde cuti maa.
7) Sekarang I just have to wait and see serta membuka web SPR selalu2
untuk tengok status I. Setakat I check 30 saat yang lalu statusnyer
`Telah diterima dan sedang diproses'. Harap2 lancar la dan I dapat
mengundi dengan semangat yang tinggi pada PRU13 nanti insya Allah.
Kesimpulan:
Pergi daftar mengundi cepat! Undi lah~ Jangan tido, undilah~ Jangan
dok diam (refer video clip Namawee & Afdlin- owh I love this
clip.Paling comel part Datuk Rosnah nyanyi bahasa tamil depan sekolah
dengan cikgu2) . Apa2 alasan korang pun utk menegakkan pendirian takmo
mengundi, with all due respect, I think all your reasons are lame and
immature. Orang Zimbabwe pun pandai turun mengundi tau. Kalau perlu
tukar alamat, tukar je cepat takyah pikir2 sempat ke idok. Yang
penting youdo what youhavetodo.

Kenapa orang muda kena tahu pasal politik negara

Taken from the blog of A Kadir Jasin after he hits 1000 Followers. He especially note that most of his followers are `orang muda'.

"...Saya perhatikan ramai "followers" adalah orang muda. Tahniah. Justeru itu, saya galakkan pengikut muda blog ini agar memberani dan membiasakan diri dengan perbahasan dan penghujahan.

Masa depan negera ini adalah untuk anda. Jadi Saudara dan Saudari wajib mengambil tahu dan bertindak agar ia terjamin sejahtera.

Jangan serahkan bulat-bulat masa depan Saudara dan Saudari kepada orang lain.

You must learn to take charge of your future wisely and with sense of responsibility, humility and commitment.

Terima kasih."

Kids say the darndest thing

Kids do say the darndest thing.

Recently I joined a volunteery programme to entertain a bunch of school kids in conjunction of Deepavali. The main highlights are tour to Petrosains and Skybridge. Among the unforgettable moments were when..well, to set the actual scene, most of the kids were Indian and as you know, most Indians have long and complicated names. They tend to talked in Tamil most of the time so they are were neither fluent in English nor Malay. So when I tried to call a girl, unfortunately with a wrong name, she said `Kakak, AKU Proscilla, yang itu Abirami'.. I was surprised and tried to hold my laughter at the same time. I was too shocked dia cakap `aku' . Hehe pastu I always need to talk slowly and clearly, and without realising I was speaking alternately in English and Malay. I believe I was confusing them even more when I need to repeat my sentences every now and then. Guess I have to learn little bit of Tamil after this -_-

Another significant observation that came as quite a surprise for me, is I just realised that these kids are not so good in communicating using other languages besides their mother tongue. I mean, I have a mindset that all kids nowadays must be good in English, if not better compared to my days where we learn everything in Malay language. Boy I was wrong! During one of the quiz session, the speaker conveyed easy quizzes in English, hoping for the kids to participate for free chocolates. The first few rounds went without any response.At first I thought they were shy, until one kid from the other table called me and said `Kakak, dia cakap apa?' Hence, I played the role of a translator, I believe other chaperons did the same too. And then only the hall started to go chaotic with their screams and playful acts. This experience really makes me wonder, what happen to the previous education system that promotes English as the main language in school? I knew they've changed that already, but these kids are Year4-6 students. They suppose to be the living result of the English language usage in schools, no?

Besides that, I enjoyed their mischievous behaviour and innocent act. Once there were two boys, saw I was holding my handphone They made a gesture for me to take picture of them with a Kadazan girl from different school. As you may guessed already, this girl is so cute but a bit shy hence she roped her friend in for the photo. Adn eventually, when other kids saw that I was arranging their friends for a photo, they jumped from their seats and joined in! I was impressed that despite the language barrier, they managed to get what they want - th be photographed with a girl that they have a crush on :) That is so sweet and brave of them. Instantly I was reminded of the award-winning PETRONAS ad, Tan Hong Ming.. it was my all-time favourite!

Hence that wraps my Deepavali experience for this year... hope you enjoy yours :)

My Faithful Listener

Abah was always there to listen to my ridiculous and unexpected questions. Our best medium to converse is always in a car.

When I was a little girl, I was the one who seldom sleep in the car during long journey, and ask all sort of questions like,

"Abah, kenapa Pulau Pinang ni tengah2 negeri Kedah"
"Abah, macam mana kapal terbang terbang, dia takde jalan?"
"Abah, kenapa kereta mahal banyak kaler hitam?"

And lots of `kenapa' lagi along the way.

When I grew up, I still had this habit of asking all sort of questions to my dad. Surprisingly, he can answer almost 90% of them correctly. I asked general questions like insurance procedure, autopsies, how to place billboard beside the highway, court rules, bidding for special plate numbers, unit trust, stock exchange, basically anything that crossed my mind. And he will answer everything. I consider him as my walking dictionary. And I grew up very much interested in general knowledge and current issues.

And as I grew older, I tend to think on everything, critically and share with my dad.Eventually he has a neutral political views and also reads both mainstream newspapers and blogs, so okay, I guess he is not bias in that sense.

I wish to capture our conversation yesterday morning, when we went to work.

"Abah, one of Najib's gifts are to give 20% discounts untuk pengguna Touch and Go lebih dari 80 kali. Camana dia kira? Sekali touch dikira sekali ke, satu perjalanan dikira sekali?"
"Satu perjalanan la kot, pergi sekali, balik sekali.Satu hari dua kali"
"Kalau macam tu tak aci lah. Untuk pengguna tegar tol hari2 pun paling2 sehari 2 kali, darab 20 hari bekerja baru 40 kali. So pengguna lebuh raya hari2 pun takleh dapat diskaun unless dia pengguna tegar, satu hari naik 2-3 tol."
"Haah.."

Another one, kelmarin when he started a conversation (again, in a car).

"Nanti kalau kita drive pegi Penang, senang la.Tol kat Ipoh tu dia nak cabut, so bayar masa sampai kat destinasi je.Takyah berhenti bayar halfway kat Ipoh lagi."
"Oh yeke. Maksudnya kita kena bayar lagi banyak la.Sebab kita bayar tol ikut kilometer kan.Kiranya sekarang kita dah kena bayar untuk beberapa km yang dulunya free zone tu. Kira kita rugilah kan."
"Haah"

Agak2,if you were my dad, will you get piss off with my critical comments? Don't think so, cause he is my dad. Isn't it good to share everything with people without prejudice. And we learn, and we keep on seeking relevant information to support our facts and stands.

I hope to see our leaders from all political views share a stage and share their views with others, more often for the bettermen of the country.

Don't you think so?

Insecure

This newborn feels insecure when mummy went out to search for food.

It does't hurt to feel insecure, sometimes.
Infact, it is natural to feel insecure every now and then.
Insecurity makes us think, and strategically plan for the days to come.



But, there are rules, the do's and don'ts in reacting towards insecurity.
First, stay calm and connected to the source.
Second, never jump into conclusion easily.
Third, never make spontaneous decision that you may regret later.
Fourth, don't listen to one source, opt for others too.
Fifth, live with it and get the best out of it.

Or to think in different perspective, what if we don't live that long to feel the consequences? Thus, the worrying part did nothing but just a waste of time. Isn't it much better to worry on something else worth worrying than the uncertainties?

Ada hikmah sebalik setiap kejadian.

There is a rainbow after every heavy downpour.

There is a silver lining in every storm.

Allah takkan membebani hambaNya melainkan dengan kesanggupannya (Al Baqarah:286).

“Boleh jadi kamu membenci sesuatu, padahal ia amat baik bagimu, dan boleh jadi (pula) kamu menyukai sesuatu, padahal ia amat buruk bagimu; Allah mengetahui, sedangkan kamu tidak mengetahui.” (Al-Baqarah: 216)

The Almighty and wise men of the past had showed us the way.

P/S:If you're observant and bold enough, you will understand where I am heading to.

Logik Etika Estestika

Logik
Etika
Estestika.

Tiga elemen ini merupakan aras tanda sesebuah karya seni itu bermutu atau sebaliknya, menurut Faisal Tehrani (FT) dalam majalah Muslimah keluaran Mei 2008.

Sebagai orang yang memperjuangkan karya seni sastera, beliau membincangkan tentang tiga elemen yang sangat kurang diterapkan dalam karya seni di negara kita, sama ada filem, drama, penulisan dan sebagainya. Tapi kali ini mungkin saya nak fokus kepada karya drama televisyen dan filem, sebab kalau masuk penulisan makin panjang hujahya.

Nilai pertama, logik. Kalau kita lihat memang banyak cerita yang dipaparkan di televisyen mahupun layar perak adalah tak logik. Bak kata FT, Ayat-ayat Cinta itupun tak logik. Sebenarnya nilai logik yang ada dalam sesebuah cerita itu turut membantu penghayatan penonton sekaligus mengaitkan dengan kehidupan realiti.Bukan hanya terperangkap dalam dunia fantasi yang entah apa-apa. Watak utama yang terlalu sempurna, kehidupan yang terlalu banyak kebetulan (baca:terlalu banyak!!), dunia yang hanya dipenuhi angan-angan dan yang jelita mesti akan berkahwin dengan putera raja dan hidup mewah, yang miskin pasti akan terperangkap dalam gejala sosial seterusnya menjadi perosak masyarakat. Memanglah tiada yang mustahil di dunia ni, tapi yang lebih penting apakah nilai yang boleh diambil oleh penonton (aundience’s take-away) di akhir cerita nanti?

Nilai kedua,etika. Ni amat kurang didapati dalam drama tv kita akhir-akhir ini. Asyik-asyik cerita skandal, putus cinta, korporat terlibat rasuah, gelap duit, bohsia, rebut suami orang dan sewaktu dengannya.Logik? Memanglah logik. Macam cerita Yasmin Ahmad, memang logik dan berlaku dalam masyarakat kita. Tapi perlu ke sisi itu yang ditonjolkan dalam filem, secara jujur dan telus, tanpa sebarang tapisan? Macam mana dengan penonton bawah umur, yang tak faham double meaning dan cheeky body gesture? Mungkinkah mak ayah mereka akan dibom dengan macam-macam soalan selepas tengok cerita macam ni. Pada fikiran mereka, mungkin budaya Melayu kita memang macam ni agaknya.

Kebanyakan cerita memang ada selitkan unsur-unsur keinsafan dan pengajaran buat jahat dibalas jahat pada penghujung cerita.Itu saya tak nafikan, tapi mungkin sikit sangat.. kebanyakan isi cerita lebih kepada yang berbentuk skandal dan sensasi. Cubalah bayangkan, kalau budak-budak kecil asyik disajikan cerita-cerita macam ni,lama kelamaan akan terprogram dalam otak mereka dan besar nanti macam nilah corak pemikiran mereka.Cita-cita nak jadi model, nak kahwin dengan orang kaya, nak jadi artis..

Nilai ketiga, estestika. FT kata estestika ni keindahan,nilai yang jadikan subah cerita nampak menarik dan bagus. Saya sendiri, sangat suka filem yang memaparkan shot alam yang cantik, dari sudut yang menarik dan peralihan plot yang kemas.Pendek kata, perfect cinematography (he art or technique of movie photography, including both the shooting and development of the film). Saya tak nafikan filem Yasmin memang cantik.. tapi sayang estestikanya ada, etikanya kurang.

Memang banyak filem dan drama sekarang, tinggi nilai estestika dan kurang nilai etika. Kalau filem `cantik’, maka mudahlah diangkat di festival filem dan menang anugerah filem dan drama. Tapi mana nilai sebenar sesebuah filem itu, kalau akhirnya penonton tak dapat apa pun. Sedikit pun tak bertambah nilai kemanusiaan, ilmu mahupun intelektual. Saya merasakan, dan mengharapkan orang-orang seni perlu lebih kreatif dan berfikiran jauh untuk menjadikan filem dan drama mereka mengasuh masyarakat menjadi lebih baik, bukannya tanpa impak. Jauh sekali menjadikan mereka lebih hanyut dengan dunia rekaan mereka. Mungkin saya boleh lihat lebih banyak program tv dan filem yang menepati konsep yang tiga ini, insya Allah.

English ke Bahasa Melayu?

Sebenarnya ni isu tentang PPSMI. Tapi saja taknak letak tajuk PPSMI sebab bosan dan macam dah muak (tapi tulis juga kan). Dah berzaman orang berdemo pasal PPSMI ni baru saya nak komen kan? Itulah, pada mula lagi sejak PPSMI ni timbul, saya tak faham apa relevannya. Tapi kerajaan terus melaksanakannya. Rasanya saya mula perasan pun masa adik saya ambil subjek EST (English in Science and Technology) dan cakap ramai kawan-kawan dia tak dapat A subjek tu. Lepas tu 2 tahun kemudian, tanya pula sepupu dia ambil tak EST, katanya cikgu cakap ni subjek tak wajib ambil. Pulak. Besar kemungkinan sebab takut peratus lulus dan rekod semua A (straight A’s) sekolah jatuh sebab ramai orang tak lulus EST.

PPSMI diperkenalkan kononnya supaya nak budak-budak pandai Inggeris, jadi bila bekerja lebih kompeten dan senang diterima syarikat multinasional.Tapi betul ke PPSMI ni jalan terbaik?

Saya memang tak sokong PPSMI, tapi saya sokong budak-budak belajar cakap bahasa Inggeris paling kurang masa sekolah menengah. Waktu sekolah rendah, bagi saya budak-budak ni baru nak belajar benda-benda asas. Ikutlah lidah (mother tongue) masing-masing, apa yang dibelajar di rumah, yang diajar oleh mak ayah (dan atuk/nenek/bibik?). Sebab tu sebelum ni selain sekolah Melayu, ada sekolah Inggeris, sekolah rendah jenis kebangsaan Cina dan Tamil. Tapi kalau dah sendiri pilih, contohnya anak Melayu yang ibu bapanya masukkan ke sekolah Cina, memang kena ambil masa sikitlah untuk sesuaikan diri. Awalnya memang susah, tapi lama-lama dah biasa dan jadi senang. Budak-budaklah katakan, mudah sangat untuk terima pelajaran dan pengetahuan baru.

Fikir balik, bukankah konsep ni sama je dengan usaha kerajaan melaksanakan PPSMI? Supaya para pelajar sudah terbiasa dengan bahasa Inggeris sejak kecil dan penguasaan mereka semakin baik bila dah besar.

TETAPI, konsep orang Melayu masukkan anak ke sekolah Cina, atau orang Cina masukkan anak ke sekolah Melayu, mungkin relevan untuk yang di bandar. I would say orang di bandar tiada masalah untuk PPSMI, mereka yang memilih sendiri corak pembelajaran anak masing-masing, tak kisah bahasa pengantarnya Inggeris atau Melayu.

Tetapi macam mana dengan mereka yang tinggal di luar bandar? Anak-anak orang bandar mungkin dah biasa diajar oleh ibu bapa tentang terma-terma Sains, belajar asas Matematik, dan zaman sekarang, ramai ibu bapa dah melatih anak-anak kecil bercakap bahasa Inggeris (walaupun kadang-kadang bahasa Inggeris sendiri berterabur).

Anak-anak di luar bandar, bahasa pengantarnya majoriti masih lagi Melayu. Perkataan sains usah cakaplah, sangat jarang didengar. Matematik pun setakat kira pakai jari. Maksudnya asas sebelum masuk sekolah kurang kukuh, sebab tu la nak masuk sekolah darjah satu supaya cikgu boleh ajar. Tapi kalau dah cikgu ajar terus bahasa Inggeris, budak-budak ni kena mula dari kosong. Lebih teruk kalau cikgu tu pun bahasa Inggerisnya tunggang langgang. Ada sesetengah budak pula jenis malu bertanya pada cikgu, balik rumah tanya pada mak ayah. Sudah kalau mak ayah pun tak faham, macam mana tu?

Sebenarnya bagi saya, terpulang kepada cara ibu bapa mendidik anak-anak dan persekitaran anak-anak tu sendiri. Kalau dari kecil dah rancang nak didik anak cakap bahasa Inggeris, kita kenalah belajar juga supaya taklah ajar `home-made English' kepada anak-anak. Grammar kena betul, vocabulary kena banyak dan penggunaannya tepat.

Kita sering dengar ibu bapa sekarang ajar anak kecil kononnya nak cakap English, tapi Englishnya sepatah dua je. Contoh macam `Come, come. Eat,eat’ bila nak suruh anak makan. Ataupun `Amin good boy kan. Sit,sit. Mama nak eat kejap’ bila anak taknak duduk diam. Perkataan yang digunakan seharian ni yang akan diingat oleh budak-budak, takut nanti dah terbiasa dan bila besar nanti ujian English pun teruk, Melayu pun hancur!

Still, you all can argue on that. Baguslah daripada tak tahu langsung cakap Inggeris kan. Sepatah dua jadilah. Apa-apa pun, terpulang. Tapi saya sokong bahasa pengantar Inggeris diguna di universiti. Sebab secara umumnya asas pengetahuan tu dah ada, contoh fizik, matematik, kimia (kalau ambil kejuruteraan) jadi taklah susah sangat walaupun kena usaha lebih sikit untuk faham istilah dalam bahasa Inggeris dan buku-buku rujukan tebal tu. Eh, nanti isu bahasa kebangsaan pulak, perpaduan lagi. Hmm, the choice is yours. Asal rajin belajar, usaha, ikhtiar dan tawakkal, insya Allah berjaya. Tak kisah la pandai English ke tidak, kan?

(Memang isu lama dan well-known. Saja terasa nak kongsi)

Bukit Gantang

Its odd (or should i say co-incidence?), when I think about the result of the by elections that was announced last night, I came across this familiar phrase from the Holy Quran, which most of Muslims read every morning in the mathurat recitation with translation as below:

"Say, `O Allâh! the Lord of all power, You grant power to whomsoever You will and take away power from whomsoever You please, and confer honour and dignity on whomsoever You will and disgrace whomsoever You will. All good lies in Your hand. Verily, You are the Possessor of full power to do all You will" (3 : 26)

(translation in Malay)

Katakanlah, "Wahai Tuhan pemilik kekuasaan, engkau anugerahkan kekuasaan bagi siapa yang Engkau kehendaki dan mencabut kekuasaan dari siapa yang Engkau kehendaki. Engkau muliakan siapa yang Engkau kehendaki, dan Engkau hinakan siapa yang Engkau kehendaki, dalam tangan-Mu segala kebaikkan, sesungguhnya Engkau Mahakuasa atas segala sesuatu." (QS Ali Imran [3]: 26).

At Bukit Gantang, the rakyat has spoken.

Post Earth Hour

(pos tertangguh seminggu. Mintak maaf!)

Seronok dengar reaksi ramai orang tentang Earth Hour.

Ada yang kata takde impak, takyah sokong.
Ada yang kata kita tutup sejam setahun je, apalah sangat signifikannya kan.

Tapi kami tetap sokong.Ini buktinya.

Gelap woo..

Eh sempat pulak maih flash camera (haiya!)

MRR2 (haih, gelap earth hour ni pun, jem tetap jem..)

Bagi saya yang penting nak mulakan kesedaran di kalangan orang ramai, seterusnya jadikan tabiat menjimatkan elektrik dalam kehidupan kita.Bukannya susah kan.

P/S : Tahu tak kenapa 28 Mac dipilih sebagai earth hour? sebab bermulanya `light saving' time pada musim panas di Eropah. Maksudnya, kalau selalu mereka mula kerja pukul 8, waktu light saving mereka mula kerja pukul 7 pagi sebab waktu siang yang panjang..

Jom tutup lampu

Malam ni, 8.30 malam - 9.30 malam, sejam je.

Jangan lupa beli lilin siap-siap.

Dan jangan ramai-ramai keluar rumah pergi makan luar pulak, takut Earth hour jadi Thief Hour.. :P

Cuti Pra-Bersalin 5 Hari

Kelantan dah buat, negeri lain bila lagi

Salmah Mat Husain Wed Feb 25, 09 6:20:41 pm MYT

KOTA BHARU, 25 Feb (Hrkh) - Kelantan sekali lagi mencetus reformasi baru dalam pentadbiran kerajaan apabila hari ini meluluskan cuti pra bersalin selama lima hari sebelum tarikh melahirkan anak.

Keputusan yang menggembirakan kakitangan wanita itu dibuat pada mesyuarat Exco kerajaan negeri.
Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Perancangan Ekonomi, Kewangan dan Kebajikan Negeri, Dato' Husam Musa, berkata cuti bergaji itu akan dilaksanakan segera.
"Ia akan berjalan sebaik sahaja surat pekeliling dikeluarkan oleh Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mesyuarat terbabit di Kota Darulnaim.
Beliau berkata, walau pun cuti pra bersalin itu hanya lima hari, namun ia akan menjadi tujuh hari apabila dicampur dengan cuti mingguan dua hari.
Menurutnya, dengan penambahan cuti berkenaan kakitangan awam wanita yang melahirkan anak akan memperolehi cuti sebanyak 65 hari termasuk cuti selepas bersalin.
Beliau berkata, kemudahan cuti berkenaan diberikan kepada kakitangan wanita bagi memberi ruang secukupnya kepada mereka untuk berehat sebelum melahirkan anak.
"Semua orang tahu, setiap ibu yang mengandung akan mengalami masalah keletihan yang berpanjangan khususnya di saat-saat akhir ketika mahu melahirkan anak," katanya. - mj

Boycott Extended

These past few months show most Muslims' dedication on boycotting Israel-related products, especially a lot of American products. This is to show our true support for our brothers and sisters whom living over possibility of life or death everyday. But what most people did not aware, including me, is we forgot to boycott their other strong alliance whom is very dear to our heart, at least geographically, Singapore. I even have plans in mind to go to Singapore during summer sale or just to hang around in the many tourist attractions there, and now I felt bad. Many sources pointed Singapore as one of Israel's main sponsor in their deadly blown of innocent people in Gaza.Until it is proven otherwise, lets extend our boycott to the country.

In heart and mind

Too many things to write yet too little time. I consider January was a super busy month, and I even had a lot in mind to share with you guys, just wait for the right time.

At last I post pics of seorang yang bertakhta di hati sekarang. My mum even used him as her secret weapon bila I mengelat malas balik rumah di hujung minggu dengan berkata " Taknak balik ke? Tak rindu kat Hazim??" Eei..sabar je la.Dia ni baru je kena cukur jambul + aqiqah haritu dan menambah berat badan sekilo setiap bulan dengan jayanya. To date, dia adalah 6 kilos dengan umur 3 months and 9 days old. Erm, bleh tahan lenguh dukung..

On other note, congrats to Erdogan for his swift move in Davos. Two thumbs up!!

Also let us pray for the recovery of Gaza and may the Zions get the payback.

Never stop donating and boycotting!

Palestine : Kita Peduli

"By Friday midday the Israeli attack on Gaza has left 425 Palestinians killed and at least 2220 other injured including, 300 in critical condition"

Read full story here

Kalau anda merasai kesakitan saudara-saudara kita di sana dan kurang pasti nak buat apa, berikut merupakan saranan Dr. Mahmoud Ezzat,Setiausaha Agung,Jamaah Ikhwan Muslimin:

(Terjemahan : Maszlee Malik, Sumber: http://www.palestin/kini.info )

Dengan ini, saya menyeru setiap pihak agar:

1- Qunut Nazilah – Membaca qunut nazilah pada setiap kali solat dan ajarkan makna qunut dan cara melakukannya kepada orang-orang yang masih belum mengetahui hakikat qunut.

QUNUT NAZILAH

اللهم ﺇنانجعلك في نحورأعدائناونعوذبك من شرورهم اللهم بدد شملهم وفرق جمعهم وستت
كلمتهم وزلزل أقدامهموسلط عليهم كلبا من كلابك يا قهار يا جبار يا منتقمياالله ياالله يااللهاللهم يا منزل الكتاب ويا مجري السحاب ويا هازم الاحزابﺇهزمهم ﺇهزمهم ﺇهزمهوانصرنا عليهم

Maksudnya:
Ya Allah, kami letakkan Kamu dibatang leher musuh kami,
dan kami berlindung dengan Mu dari kejahatan mereka,
Ya Allah leburkan kumpulan mereka,
kacau-bilaukan persatuan mereka,
cerai-beraikan pakatan mereka,
goncangkan pendirian mereka,
hantarkan anjing2 kami ke atas mereka, wahai Tuhan Yang Gagah Perkasa,
wahai Tuhan Yang Tuhan Yang Bersifat Murka, Ya Allah 3x,
wahai Tuhan Yang Menurunkan Al-Quran,
wahai Tuhan Yang Mengarakkan Awan,
wahai Tuhan Yang Menewaskan Bala Tentera Ahzab,
kalahkan mereka, menangkanlah kami ke atas mereka…

2- Tinggalkan makanan, minuman dan kerehatan yang berlebihan dan salurkannya kepada saudara-saudara kita di Palestin. Salurkan wang anda kepada pertubuhan-pertubuh an kebajikan tempatan yang terlibat menguruskan sumbangan untuk membantu rakyat Palestin.

3- Mendermalah untuk pembelian ubat-ubatan yang diperlukan. Menyumbang secara terus sama ada sumbangan yang berbentuk material ataupun kewangan. Hospital-hospital dan klinik-klinik di Gaza sedang kehabisan ubat-ubatan untuk merawat para pesakit.

4- Bagi sesiapa yang mempunyai kemampuan dan kesempatan, sertailah misi-misi kemanusiaan untuk membantu rakyat Gaza (untuk menyalurkan kelengkapan pakaian, makanan dan bahan api)

5- Mobilisasi rakyat untuk bangkit melahirkan solidariti bersama rakyat Gaza yang dizalimi dan sedang menghadapi krisis kemanusiaan yang semakin meruncing. Demo, bantahan, memorandum dan juga segala wasilah yang sesuai mestilah digunakan untuk tujuan tersebut. ( Maka bolehlah join demo2 aman yang diadakan sekitar anda. Ingatlah bukan kita je buat demo tapi seluruh dunia pun buat demo kutuk Israel dan U.S)

6- Sebarkan maklumat kesengsaraan rakyat Gaza kepada seluruh rakyat dan penduduk dunia melalui teknologi yang ada seperti poster, banner, penulisan artikel di akhbar-akhbar, majalah-majalah, e-mail, laman web, sms, Ym dan lain-lain lagi. (bloggers, blog la pasal Palestin)

7- Wujudkan Tabung Palestin di setiap rumah (Didiklah anak-anak agar mula menabung dari duit perbelanjaan mereka untuk rakyat Palestin). Sikap ini akan mewujudkan perasaan kebersamaan mereka dengan rakyat Palestin yang ditindas.

(satu saluran menderma yang ada - Aman Palestin)

8- Bagi para pemudi dan wanita yang beriman, mereka hendaklah berderma dengan barang-barang perhiasan berharga yang mereka miliki.

9- Kepada seluruh warga yang bekerja, gunakanlah kedudukan kamu untuk menyelamatkan Palestin. Sebagai contoh :

a. Para Pendakwah : Bangunkan Ummah untuk membantu Palestin dan serulah pihak-pihak berkuasa dengan kebenaran. (note : bloggers, sebarkan di blog2 anda)

b. Ahli-ahli Parlimen : Gunakan segala jentera pemantauan supaya Kerajaan melaksanakan tanggungjawabnya secepat mungkin.

c. Para aktivis Politik dan Parti : Himpunkan rakyat untuk isu ini, berlumba-lumbalah sekarang untuk menyelamatkan ummah.

d. Para Pengamal Undang-undang : Berusahalah di peringkat nasional dan antarabangsa untuk mengutuk perang dan penyembelihan secara beramai-ramai ini.

e. Para Wartawan : Gunakan kedudukan anda untuk membentuk pendapat umum rakyat samada melalui media bercetak mahupun media audio visual. Sebarkan kesedaran mengenai usaha ummah untuk menyelamatkan Palestin. Dedahkan pekung musuh, berilah peringatan kepada mereka yang masih bersikap alpa dan leka, serulah ummah dan bangunkan orang-orang yang lalai.

10- ( Ni saje sendiri nak tambah) Setuju dengan saranan my friend here, hidupkan balik kegiatan boikot barang-barang Israel, selagi boleh apa yang terdaya. Takyah dah hang out kat Star bucks and kurangkan/hentikan makan kat Mc Donalds (sekadar menyebut beberapa nama, kerana diri ini pun kekadang terleka dihasut Ronald McDonald kasut gedabak ituh.Bela hantu kot? Tak guna betul) Lagi satu, cuba kita buang sikap defensif bila orang ajak boikot je pastu cakap " Ala, ko pun pakai henfon Nokia gak" As I said earlier, boikot selagi terdaya, tapi kalau dok mengadap Coke and McD setiap hari tu takde effort langsung namanya.

Untuk yang dah lupa apa keluaran kuncu-Kuncu Israel tuh

Dan.... jangan lupa kita berdoa dan terus berdoa.Semoga Allah bersama saudara-saudara kita, sama ada hidup menang atau mati syahid. Allahuakbar!

Matter of choice

Situasi 1

Baru-baru ni kita digegarkan dengan tragedi tanah runtuh. Baru beberapa hari selepas kejadian banglo ranap di Ulu Yam, tragedi Bukit Antarabangsa pula berlaku. Maka ramailah yang menuding jari menyalahkan pelbagai pihak. Tapi saya rasa semua maklum, hujung-hujung tahun ni memang musim monsun mengganas. Banjir dan tanah runtuh memang selalu terjadi terutama bila dekat musim tengkujuh macam sekarang ni. Kadang-kadang teruk, kadang-kadang tidak, kadang-kadang meragut nyawa. Kalau di Kedah (mungkin negeri lain pun begitu, saya hanya ambil contoh di kampung ayah saya) terutama daerah Pendang, banyak rumah-rumah lama bertiang tinggi supaya kalau banjir taklah hanyut semua benda. Paling tidak tak perlu berpindah kalau setakat air naik satu-dua meter. Dan kalau ikut dahululah, mana ada orang buat rumah di lereng bukit, itu cari pasal namanya. Kita kan tahu kawasan bukit biasanya ada `jalan air' dan pasak bumi ni tak boleh diganggu sewenang-wenangnya, alamat ekologi alam akan terganggu.

Situasi 2

Ramai orang meluahkan rasa tak puas hati, siap buat perbandingan tentang tandas di sesetengah pusat membeli belah, pejabat atau kompleks moden zaman sekarang. Kebaratan, katanya sebab tiada hos pancuran dan paip air. Biasanya hanya ada paip pencuci (dari dalam mangkuk tu) dan kertas tisu. Menyusahkan orang, tak Melayu- friendly. Tapi pernahkah orang yang complaint tu melihat tandas-tandas di luar negara, semuanya memang tiada hos pancuran. Sebab apa? nak menjamin kebersihan tandas. Jadi kalau orang Melayu macam kita ni ke luar negara dan nak ke tandas, apa kita lakukan? Kita bawa botol kosong untuk isi air dalam hand bag kemana je kita pergi, supaya senang ke tandas. Tisu memang wajib ada di tandas mereka jadi kita tak payah risau untuk beristinjak dengan sempurna.

Situasi 3

Di pusat bandaraya, ramai orang mengeluh perkhidmatan tren yang lambat, tak menepati masaa, dah lah penuh sesak dengan manusia. Walaupun sampai di stesen on time di Masjid Jamek (sebagai contoh, orang yang kena tukar tren macam saya) tapi tak bermakna boleh sampai ofis on time. Mungkin tren yang ke lima baru kita dapat naik sejak masa kita menunggu di stesen itu. Tak kondusif langsung dan menghilangkan mood nak pergi kerja. Apatah lagi bila sampai ofis lambat dan dimarahi bos. Tapi, sebenarnya kita tahu kalau kita keluar awal, sampai di stesen awal, naik tren awal yang takkan sesak macam sardin. Kita boleh je nak pergi ofis dengan selesa.

Quote dari whoever diambil dari Truth or Fiction tiba-tiba menjelma di minda saya;

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

Sangat lah benar.

On Bankcrupcies and Economic Meltdown

I was in a quest to find simpler elaboration on the U.S economic meltdown detail. In fact, we've heard about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but do we realise that those are just nicknames? I just discovered that Tun had helped to explained this issue in simpler and understandable way.

Taken from www.chedet.com :

22. Fortunately for us we succeeded in stopping the trade in Ringgit and restoring its value. But the system is still in place. And now it is the US Dollar which is devalued.

23. But trading in currencies is only one of the abuses. The banks are lending more money than they have. They actually go to the people to persuade them to borrow.

24. Their clients can borrow 100 per cent of the money to buy a house for example.

25. They need not worry about paying or servicing the loan. The price of the house would appreciate. You may even have a second mortgage. You may even sell at a profit.

26. In the meantime the bank would register the loan and add the projected earnings from interest maybe over 20 years. That done the bank can put all the loans together and sell it to the hedge funds at a discount after adding potential interest.

27. The more risky the loan the higher would be the interest and the higher would be the profit. The hedge funds which buy the loans can basically sell the mortgages to investors in the fund or to the huge Government financed Federal National Mortgage Association, nicknamed Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Mortgage Corporation, nicknamed Freddie Mac.

28. Now the hedge funds and the banks would feel safe and enjoy the huge profits that they have made.

29. But when hundreds of thousands of house buyers find themselves unable to pay simply because they have no money, and could not sell the houses and could not borrow from banks, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would not be able to pay the hedge funds. Then the hedge funds would collapse and drag down the banks with them.

I guess the explaination worth.

Stop Daydreaming

Intro:
It's been a while since I posted a real (lengthy so called article) post.. been tight with work and stuff. Hence the `sebaris dua' and sole photos in my previous three entries. Believe it or not, usually I spent hours just to write a single post, and I to have the peace of mind and relax condition. Thus whenever I wrote a lengthy one, it is best to assume that I was at home (my parents' home) during weekend, as my rent house do not have internet connection.Just wait until I got myself a PDA and a broadband subcription (entah bila la tu kan...huhu) .Curi-curi blogging during office hours just don't work for me (anymore, with this current job workload). Ok, here goes.

The latest scenario of the world observes the critical economic downfall, some said the worst in American history ever. This is so serious, that forced US government bails out several banks and two multi-billion mortgage companies, for fear that the ban of these insititution would trigger economic collapse. Quoted from a report on the two mortgage companies, in Telegraph.co.uk ,

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranteed about half of all of the home loans sold in the United States, but had run into severe difficulties as a result of the plunging American housing market which had seen hundreds of thousands of American home owners default on their mortgages.

Shares in both companies had fallen by more than 80 per cent in the last six months. The US government announced it would take control of the two companies, wiping out the value any shares that shareholders owned in the company."

To make everything worse, the same scenario also experienced by UK.

And it is just plain understood that when something this big hit the gigantic US and UK government so badly, this surely will affect the whole world, sooner or later.

With this alarming progress, how can we assure that we won't be affected at all?

Recently we've heard talks from the big players of various industries, they have started expressing worries in foreseeing the future to come. Natural resources are critically declining, investors are more attracted to invest in China than South East Asia, considering better benefits being offered by respective government and cheaper labors. The government-owned or privatised R & D companies are generally, not doing so well in acquiring and developing new technologies for betterment of our lives. Also, the senior management started commenting on the lack of quality in the younger talent pool. They complained that some of the youngsters are not capable enough, too materialistic and money-oriented, and might go the extend of egoistic and demanded too much. Well, deliberating on the young talent pool issue only might require for another new post altogether, thus I shall stop here.

Bottom line is, we are having major problems, tremendous ones, but did we realise it?

I won't touch about the local political issues, as they are always boiling and burning ever since the March Election. Political parties collided, people getting arrested and sentenced to ISA (yes, sentenced, it serves as a punishment already as the victims had been judged blindly), the hot by-election and a handsome comeback of a PKR de-facto leader to the parliament, and many more sensational political walks and talks. Out of everything, the rakyat still does not see any major changes or enhancements done by our appointed leaders. Even if there were a few, they are still considered very little.

Thus apparently, the perfect life we perceive is, unfortunately not so perfect anymore. Despite our daily shopping spree, joyous vacation, work routine and everything enjoyable in between, we shall spend time to sit down and think on the serious change of climate that we experience recently.

And stop daydreaming.

Down with fever -_-

First and second day of Ramadhan, I was down with fever. A whole complete package with bad flu/cough/sore throat. Tapi puasa tetap puasa ok. Never thought having fever during Ramadhan was quite a challenge, since you could not take the medicine during the day hence you're expected to recover much later than usual. And was quite irritated with the medicine package that said `makan empat kali sehari'.How can I actually do that?? Well, the nurses were just doing their job anyway.

So besides lied down covered with warm blanket and slept until my head spinning (well, you could not do much activities anyway), I surfed and bloghopped everywhere, looking for delicious pieces of news that I've missed every now and then (due to piling work and lack of internet connection after office hours).

So do click on the followings to read my favourites:

1. Another shocking reason why Iskandar Development Region (IDR) is so wanted by our neighbour!

2. Oon's observation during final laps in the Mother of all by Elections

(if you can't access MalaysiaKini, do click here and read the excerpt on the August 27 post)

3. Umat Islam perlu ubah sikap untuk maju

(this one is very good, an eye-opener)

If you find other interesting blogs, don't forget to share with me :)

Salam Ramadhan~

HUJAH

Salam and good day.

Semalam sempat tengok HUJAH di tv9, antara Nik Nazmi (PKR, ADUN Seri Setia) dengan Datuk Ahmad Fuad Zarkashi (BN, ADUN Batu Pahat).

Impresi pertama

My first impression adalah eh, kenapa ADUN paling muda lawan hujah dengan pembesar BN yang berpengalaman. Tengok je dah rasa macam tak adillah kan, habislah budak muda ni kena dengan orang yang dah dekat nak baya ayah dia. Tapi haritu pernah juga tengok forum terbuka yang salah seorang panelnya Nik Nazmi, boleh tahan jugak dia ni. Di samping tu berharap la jugak nak dengar hujah-hujah yang ada fakta, facts and figures (macam tajuk blog ni la jugak kan) dari wakil kerajaan BN ni sebab sebelum ni Shabery Cheek dah fail dah. Asyik tengok pemimpin PR je fully equipped dengan research dan fakta sebelum berhujah, takkan la pemimpin BN ni lekeh sangat kot.. (saya ni memang dah mindset untuk sentiasa mengambil positive and negative side at once, jadi tak salah saya berharapan macam tu kan?).

Seterusnya

Then throughout the session, alamak apakah ini.. tengok yang muda relax, tenang dan keluar macam-macam fakta. Yang berumur ni pulak emosi, gelabah dan asyik ulang benda yang sama. Ok mungkin ada yang tak tengok kan slot HUJAH tu, tajuk dia lebih kurang menjurus untuk pilihan raya Permatang Pauh 29 Ogos ni, antara Prestasi dan Simpati lebih kurang macam tu la.

Nik Nazmi supply info pasal kerja-kerja kerajaan PR di Selangor, yang Datuk Fuad pulak asyik hentam.. kata kerajaan Selangor supply air untuk 3 bulan pertama je, caruman untuk warga emas, manifesto tak dapat laksanakan semua, dsb. Yang hairannya dia dok hentam kerajaan Selangor, kerajaan Johor bagi apa kat rakyat? Dari dulu sampai sekarang Johor tu kan kubu kuat BN, jadi dia bagi apa kat rakyat? Soalan ni kerajaan Johor la yang boleh jawab. Dah la tu, tak perlulah beriya nak hentam kerajaan Selangor padahal rumah sendiri tak berjaga. Dah la topik hujah ni untuk bincangkan overall senario politik negara, antara Prestasi dan Simpati, yang dia dok hentam kerajaan PR Selangor tu terus dua-dua lari topik dan debat pasal manifesto Selangor pulak.

Dan dalam slot tu jugak, Datuk banyak kali tekankan yang PR menang sebab faktor emosi, mengambil contoh Parlimen Permatang Pauh. Rentetan Anwar dipenjara jadi PKR menang tahun 1999 sebab emosi, orang bersimpati kat Wan Azizah. Tahun 2004, sebab emosi jugak PKR menang. Juga tahun 2008, rakyat beremosi maka jadilah tsunami politik. PR menang bukan stakat di Permatang Pauh, tapi siap ambil alih beberapa kerajaan negeri. Bila dengar statement dia ni la rasa nak marah ni, ingat rakyat ni bodoh sangat ke undi hanya sebab emosi. Banyak lagi faktor lain yang menyebabkan rakyat bertindak macam tu (dah tak tahan dengan kerajaan sekarang, kebebasan media disekat, kemudahan infrastruktur kurang, rasuah dan korup) di samping faktor undi simpati yang memanglah ada impak sikit sebanyak. Come on la, kami rakyat ni taklah bodoh sangat kan.. pilih kerajaan hanya sebab simpati dan beremosi.

Kesimpulan

Apa-apa pun baguslah dah banyak program macam ni, debat perdana, hujah, forum.. at least kita (rakyat) boleh tengok macam mana pemimpin ni berhujah. Pandai ke tidak ke.. bersedia ke tidak ke. So jangan lupa la bukak tv dan tengok dan nilai sendiri dengan mata kita, macam mana pemimpin kita sebenarnya.

p/s: chis.. dah lama tak tulis pasal politik ni.. tunggang terbalik dah bahasa.. isi dan ayat pun berterabur.Minta maaf ye semua.

Changes in Life

Yesterday marked the 100th day from the general election which showed the greatest political tsunami ever in Malaysia’s history. Since then, we experience many changes, be it done by the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)-led states or the government that caused by various reasons, internally and globally. We see that both government and oppositions being strongly criticized, even the humble rakyat now know their roles and voice out their rights. The parliament had never been very important and full of excitement, as there is almost equal strength from the ruled government as well as the oppositions. People can’t wait to get the hansard of the latest parliament debate, to know who says what, and who behaves such. Also, we can see programmes for rakyat and ceramah being held openly and actively, as what previously only some political parties would do, which I thought obviously resulted from the sea-changing previous election.

Besides the judiciary system are seen as being more vocal than ever, revealing one dirty secrets after another. Those dated as long as 20 years ago, as can be read here. I guess the judges now feel more secured than before, starting from the ex-gratia paid to Tun Salleh Abas as a token of apology by the government and the controversial V.K Lingam clip. Nowadays the current and political issues are the most talked issues by everybody, from coffee shop to education institutions. Overall, I see this as a positive change as clearly explained by Wong Chin Huat in his article in yesterday’s the Sun newspaper, entitled `Malaysia’s Journey To Political Adulthood’. I am very much interested with the `Mental de-Mahathirisation’ concept that he introduced, which described most Malaysian’s mentality nowadays.

The latest hit in town is none other than the fuel price hikes. People blamed Petronas just because it is the nation’s oil company and make tough demands i.e to deserve full disclosure of its annual report, to approve the bonus paid to its employees and etc because their lives are at stake. May I correct the statement; the fuel crisis is not involving everyone’s life, just the lowly income ones. The pembesar and the rich ones are barely affected. And the para Menteri dare to claim they also sacrifice, as much as the others, by allowing ten percent cut of their elaun keraian, which the math is done by my friend here. For me, the real sacrifice would be only when they allow 50% cut of their overall earnings that are ultimately paid by the taxpayers. The simple calculation behind my not-so-ridiculous suggestion is just like this : Can an approximately RM30 000 per month worth of income (half the amount of a Menteri’s earning per month) afford a living of a family? Of course, that is more than enough.At least for laymen like you and me.

However being a positive Malaysian, I always look at the bright side. I admit, I was among the furious ones when the government announced the 40% fuel price that was enforced immediately on midnight, which caused massive traffic jams and extra long queues at petrol stations nationwide. But after a week, I started to absorb the impact and tried to adjust to the situation. Our lifestyle changed, slowly but surely. We are more aware to use the money to avoid unnecessary spending. A lot had started to use public transport instead of driving to work, including the managers and big bosses. Carpool becoming popular again. I see this is a good start to make a good impact, not only to our pockets but also to the environment. Less vehicles on the road, less traffic jams, less pollutions, and perhaps less road accidents. Although some economic experts predicted that this change of life will only occur for a while, before the people get adjusted thus resume their old habits of excessive spending, wasting money and resources.

I always hope that we, Malaysians will adopt the good habits of the other people of other countries, which are to conserve energy, reuse and recycle whenever possible and avoid pollutions. I love to imagine us using paper bags and card boxes to carry our groceries, and eat nasi bungkus that is wrapped with paper instead of polystyrene. And we might organize car boot sales in order to reuse things that we no longer want. They even start to use hybrid and electric cars to reduce dependency to natural resources and opt to alternative energy instead. These are among the good practice of the Westerners that are yet to adopt by us. Maybe, with the global economic crisis would open our eyes so that we will appreciate our life and our world better.

If all these changes make us become better human beings, well I don’t really mind.