Nang Bo Ti Nang Kui Bo Ti Kui

Me husben baru balik dari Yan dan membawa salam dari keluarga di Yan iaitu Kak Yah, Kak Idah, Kak Com, Abang Put, Nah, Oh, Et.......dan lain-lain lagi kecil besar tua muda. Saya bertanya tentang kak-kak ipar dan abang ipar, alhamdulillah semuanya sihat-sihat belaka. Tapi ada satu cerita paling lawak tentang Abang Put. Cerita lawak ? awat abang Put kawin lain ka? ( at the age of 79 )..... bukan...... bukan.....dan... bukan.......Ceritanya begini......

Pada suatu malam dua orang anggota polis mengetuk pintu rumah abang Put. Assalamualaikum, Pakku..... alaikum salam.. sapa tu?
Kami mai ni nak tanya sikit, kereta pakku adaka?
Ada kat luak la tu!
Tang mana?
Tang bawah pokok tu!
Mana , takdak pun!
Isy, awat tah takdak, aku dok letak kat situ tiap hari
Cuba Pakku mai tengok sendighi , ada ka takdak

Bila abang Put keluar nak tunjuk kereta dia, terkejut bukan main kereta dah tak ada!

Abang Put memang tak pernah ambil kisah fasal kereta dia, sebab dia selalu naik basikal. kalau pegi pasar atau ke masjid, selalunya dia tinggal kunci dalam kereta. Kereta dah tua ( Toyota 1000 cc yang lama ), tapi kereta ni tak banyak kerenah, tak tau pernah servis ke tak!

Eh, pi mana kereta ni, sapa nak ambik kereta cabuk macam tu?
Ha, la ni kereta Pakku ada di Guak ( Guar Cempedak ) aksiden! mai Pakku kita pegi balai buat report!

Alkisahnya, kereta abang Put telah di curi oleh sekumpulan remaja berumur 13 - 17 tahun. Mereka terdiri dari anak2 orang2 yang tinggal agak berdekatan dengan rumah abang Put. Jadi pada hari esoknya, remaja- remaja itu bersama dengan ibu bapa masing-masing, mari nak minta maaf dengan abang Put dan minta tarik balik repot kehilangan kereta yang telah dibuat tu. Mereka sanggup bayar ganti rugi asalkan anak-anak mereka tak kena caj.

Abang Put pun tanya, sapa yang dok bawak kereta tu?

Saya!!! serentak remaja itu mengaku, siap angkat tangan sekali, seramai 8 orang semuanya.

Bila hangpa belajak bawak kereta ? ( ibubapa mereka takde kereta )

Kami pakat belajak dengan kereta nilah!

Mengkala hangpa belajak?

Malam-malam dalam pukui 12 ke atas, kami tolak kereta ni naik atas jalan, peh tu kami stat.
Bila dah pandai kami bawak kot jauh2 sikit, pi Guak, Gurun ......

Abang Put pun baru perasan , setiap 3 hari dia bubuh minyak kereta sebanyak 50 ringgit, sampai etandan pam minyak komen, awat Pakku banyak pakai minyak !

Kereta ni dah cabuk, banyak pakai minyak ( pada hal dia guna kereta untuk pegi pasar dan pergi masjid aje!)

Bila di tanya budak-budak tu, berapa lama dah hangpa buat kerja ni

Mereka kata dah lebih setahun!!!

Akhirnya Abang Put minta gantirugi sebanyak5 ribu ringgit, kemudian dia tambah 3 ribu lagi, beli a good second hand Kancil for 8,000 ringgit! kali ini dia tak tinggal kunci dalam kereta dah!

Remaja2 ini sudah tidak lagi pergi sekolah ( asyik ponteng memanjang -ye le balik pagi teruih tidoq mana ada masa nak ke sekolah), dan disyaki berkait dengan kecurian beberapa motosikal di sekitar Yan(ini ceghita lain pulak!).

So folks, kita kena jugak cek anak-anak selepas pukul 1 malam hingga 5 pagi, kalau siang depa kena kontrol dengan mak bapak, depa selinap keluar waktu selepas tengah malam pulak!

Women outlive their spouses?

One of our family friend told us that his father died at the age of 55. He said the male members of his family mostly die young, like his late father. Recently he was diagnosed with high cholesterol and told us jokingly, maybe his time is near because he's already 53 right now. But he told us his mother and all his aunts outlive their husbands by more than 30 years!

He said his father died of self inflicted. We were shocked to hear that, I mean..self inflicted? How? Cut himself or..what? he said his father consumed too much coffee ( with a lot of sugar about almost half the cup, to match the very thick coffee ). He eventually suffered from diabetes and it got worst and died of complications about 30 years ago. But now govt is providing good medical care to all rakyat and people enjoy good and healthy living.

Now, the question is, how come ladies outlive the men? In a household for example, both husband and wife eat the same food, so how come one is healthier that the other?

To this our friend told us, even though her husband eats the same food as hers, but he goes a step further by eating sweet cakes after every meals ( or some will take a puff or two or many puffs before and after meals ). But what has sweet things got to do with high cholesterol?

I think most men die earlier because when their wives reach menopause, they have no chance to remarry, so they give up on life and just die ........defeated........

Do not blame the ladies if..................

Once my colleage told me the story of someone she knew. This someone's neighbours knew that she was unhappily married, so when her husband suddenly died , she was relieved. So all the makcik-makcik were happy for her and encouraged her to start a new life. Those days ( even now ) some wives don't really know their rights as wives. They are often abused by their husbands.

This friend of mine went a step further by telling me that those makcik said.....suka dia bila laki dah kojol!

Don't be offended by those words, maybe they were telling the truth, being her neighbours, they saw how she suffered, and there was not much they could do to help her. So don't blame the ladies for saying the harsh words.

Wa, my cleaning lady that comes once a week, told me another story. This particular lady got fed up with her husband's attitude, that is mata keranjang! She is really heart broken and asked Wa to get some jampi or potions or anything to tame her husband the next time she goes back to Indon. So Wa told her she can get all those for her, but Wa said if it works , you are the one who lose. Why, she asked. Yalah kalau suami dah jadi bodoh, nak buat ape. You might not need him already!

So ladies, don't simply mandram your husbands........he might be so.. emm emm... you might have to teach them to write A, B, C..................

Duit banyak, boleh tala cukup-cukup!

Sibuk benar orang Malaysia cerita fasal rasuah, dari dulu sampai sekarang. Tapi orang yang dikatakan makan rasuah tetap hidup mewah, dan ada pula disanjung tinggi sebab mereka kaya raya. Asyik kata orang rasuah, tapi takde yang berani nak ambil tindakan. Kalau ambil tindakan dan bawa ke mahkamah, tak cukup bukti, buang kes, malu dapat sakit( hati ) pun dapat.

Paling bodoh dan paling kelakar rasuah ialah yang sekecil-kecilnya, contoh, anak nak pergi temuduga, bapa bawa durian satu but kereta untuk dihadiahkan pada sesiapa yang berkenaan. Anak nak masuk sekolah asrama penuh yang berjenama, pakai kabel lebih besar dari tali sauh kapal selam. Sebelum lulus tanda halal, satu pejabat datang makan di restoran/foodcourt berkenaan. Dll, dll, dll,dll,dll.......................

Awas-awas rakyat Malaysia,sekali sekala kena cek geran tanah Negara Malaysia, bukan apa, takut landing di kedai pajak! Nanti semua kita kena berumah dalam Laut China Selatan atau dalam Selat Melaka.

Soalan cepu perak: yang tukang bagi rasuah tu, bagaimana pula?

Lain Hulu Lain Parang

Saya teringat pada akhir tahun 60an dulu periuk nasi letrik diperkenalkan di Malaysia. Ramai juga orang-orang kita yang tidak dapat menerima pembaharuan itu. Ramai yang kata masak nasi dalam periuk letrik kurang sedap, sebab tiada api, hanya panas karan. Dengan kata lain masak tak natural, tanpa api.

Kemudian datang pula blender, menggantikan lesung batu dan batu giling, mereka kata cili atau rempah tak menjadi sehalus yang digiling. Sambal tumis jadi kurang sedap sebab somehow or rather, blender tak dapat menggantikan batu giling.

Pendek kata, setiap pembaharuan yang datang tidak akan diterima sepenuhnya oleh semua orang. Mereka was-was dan tak mahu terima sesuatu yang baru dengan secara yang lebih positif!

Kemudian sedikit mesin basuh baju diperkenalkan. Ramai suri rumah rasa lega dan mengambil peluang dengan kemudahan yang disediakan. Tapi ada pula seorang dua ustaz kata, kalau isteri basuh baju pakai mesin basuh, mesin tu yang dapat pahala bukan si isteri, sebab dia tak buat apa, tak keluar keringat pun. Pulak!!

Masa dulu, ramai yang tak ada kenderaan sendiri. Kalau nak ke mana-mana, ramai yang naik bas, teksi atau beca. Dulu tunggu bas macam nak pitam pun tak apa sebab tiada pilihan. Naik teksi tak berapa berani, sebab selain dari tambang mahal, dikatakan drebar teksi memandu laju dan kurang selamat, takut eksiden. Naik bas lagi selamat. Kalau dari Rompin nak ke Kuantan sekerat hari baru sampai, sebab bas berhenti dimerata tempat. Masa tu bas Mara sangat popular sebab ada dua servis, satu bas runcit-runcit ( berhenti ambik penumpang sepanjang jalan ) yang satu lagi jenis express.

Kini ramai yang takut naik bas, sebab kurang selamat, selalu eksiden. Jika saya memandu di lebuhraya, nampak ada bas ekspress di belakang, saya terus menjadi cemas dan mengenepi, sebab bas tu meluru dengan begitu laju!

Nok kelih sete!

Semasa di Kota Baru pada tahun 80an dulu, kami tinggal berhampiran dengan masjid Telipot. Masjid ini sungguh istimewa, terutamanya kerana Tok Bilal mempunyai suara yang sedap. Bila tiba bulan Ramadan jemaah sembahyang terawih penuh masjid hingga melimpah sampai ke pagar. Setiap kali habis dua rakaat terawih, Tok Bilal, dengan suara yang merdu berselawat dengan penuh semangat memuliakan malam-malam Ramadan.

Satu lagi keistimewaan masjid Telipot ialah di sebelahnya terdapat menara telekom. Setiap tazkirah antara maghrib dengan isya' di masjid, dapat didengar oleh penduduk-penduduk yang berdekatan melalui siaran radio. Saya tak tau bagaimana menara telekom menangkap suara dari corong mikrofon dan dapat didengar melalui radio. Jadi orang yang malas seperti saya dengar tazkirah melalui radio saja!

Suatu malam Tok Imam masjid bertazkirah fasal solat Jumaat. Kata beliau lepas saja tok imam beri salam solat fardu Jumaat yang keluar dulu ialah setan. Jadi makmum pun pakat-pakat nak tengok sapa yang keluar dulu lepas solat Jumaat pada minggu yang berikutnya.

Pada hari Jumaat yang ditunggu-tunggu, masing-masing memerhati siapa yang keluar dulu tanpa solat sunat. Mereka nak kenal siapakah setan tu. Tiba-tiba mereka terkejut bila Tok Imam bergegas bangun selepas saja beri salam dan terus keluar masjid.

Jadi apabila sampai giliran Tok Imam tersebut memberi tazkirah pada malam yang berikutnya, jemaah pun mula menyindir, guano tok ime,lepah bui sale nye unnga tubik tok de tok de doh!

Tok imam pun tersenyum lebar......doh, tok ungga lagu mano, sakit perut weh, tok tahe doh!

Nama Sebenar, Nama Samaran

Ramai di antara kita yang mempunyai nama timang-timangan dan nama gelaran. Nama-nama ini samada diberi oleh ahli keluarga atau rakan-rakan sekolah atau rakan sepejabat. Kadang-kadang nama gelaran yang diberi itu comel aje, tapi ada kalanya jadi bahan ketawa dan ada pula yang menyakitkan hati.

Di kampung saya dulu ( tahun 60an ) boleh dikatakan kebanyakan orang yang saya kenal mempunyai nama tambahan. Ada seorang kampung yang baru berhijrah, tak tahu dari mana, solo, dan berpakainan yang tak keruan, seluar baju berlapis-lapis dan agak comot. Orang kampung menggelar dia Pak Awang Kelepeh. Ibu-ibu sentiasa menakut-nakutkan anak mereka dengan menyebut-nyebut nama Pak Awang Kelepeh. Justeru, kanak-kanak akan lari bersembunyi bila nampak Pak Awang.

Seorang muda di kampung saya,sentiasa berpakaian smart, saya masih ingat, berbaju puteh lengan pendek, dan seluar biru kelabu. Setiap hari dia akan pergi ke pekan waktu pagi dan pulang waktu tengahari ( dulu tak ada gerai, waktu makan balik rumah ). Tapi sepupu saya menggelarnya Robert Kiook, bila saya tanya kenapa panggil nama macam tu, dia kata si polan tu pernah tertangkap red handed tengah nak mencuri ayamnya dalam reban pada suatu subuh.

Ada juga nama gelaran yang diberi mengikut fizikal seseorang , misalnya Mek Teh Patah, sebab masa anak dara dulu dia pernah patah kaki. Atau Panjang, panggilan pada pekedai Cina yang sangat tinggi orangnya. Atau Pok Su We Gagap sebab dia cakap tergagap-gagap atau Bakar Juling sebab mata dia juling. How about Kasim Beruang, because he is so huge and dark with curly hair!

Nama gelaran juga diberi pada seseorang sebab kerjaya dia. Haji Seman Tok Imam, sebab dia imam masjid. Tok Siak, nama bagi orang yang mengurus hal masjid, sampai sekarang saya tak tau nama sebenarnya,( sudah meninggal lebih 30 tahun dulu). Begitu juga, Tok Penyadap, bagi orang yang mengambil nira kelapa untuk buat gula kerek. Sampai kini saya tak tahu nama sebenarnya dan beliau telah lama meninggal dunia.

Itu zaman everybody knows everybody. Mulai tahun 80an, bila kampung dah ramai orang, peluang pekerjaan bertambah, sudah tiada lagi nama-nama gelaran .

Anak-anak menyaman bapak

Bila sebut fasal rumah orang-orang tua, kita rasa bagai sangat jauh dan tak pernah terlintas untuk memenghantar ibu atau bapa kita ke situ. Bagi keluarga Islam ibubapa yang sudah tidak berdaya menjadi tanggungjawab anak-anak untuk menjaga kebajikan mereka.

Ada seseorang memberitahu saya dia telah menghantar bapanya ke rumah orang-orang tua. Saya terkejut besar, kenapa sampai begitu. Memang sejak ibunya meninggal hampir lebih dari sepuluh tahun yang lepas, dialah yang menjaga bapanya, makan, minum dan segala perbelanjaan perubatan dan lain-lain. Sejak beberapa tahun yang kebelakangan ini, dia mengambil bapanya tinggal bersamanya. Adik beradiknya yang lain tak mahu bapanya tinggal di rumah keluarga, sebab sejak ibunya meninggal, harta ibu belum di bahagi lagi. Walaupun rumah besar dibina oleh bapanya, tanah tapak rumah adalah kepunyaan arwah ibu.

Adik beradik yang lain-lain hendak menjual tanah, supaya mereka dapat menfaat harta pusaka ibunya. Masalah timbul bila bapanya menghalang niat mereka. Kabarnya, anak-anaknya telah memfailkan kes ke mahkamah, dan mereka sedang dalam perbicaraan.

Menurut seseorang ini, dia terpaksa hantar ayahnya ke rumah orang-orang tua sebab dia sudah pun berumur lebih 60 tahun, mengidap sakit tulang belakang dan suaminya pula sakit jantung. Dua anak lelakinya sudah berkahwin dan tak lagi tinggal bersamanya, hanya tinggal anak perempuan yang belum berumah tangga. Adik beradiknya yang lelaki dan seorang perempuan telah berpatah arang dengan dia dan bapanya. Pernah ayahnya sakit , dia terpaksa memapah bapanya ke tandas sehingga kedua beranak itu jatuh.

Bapanya menyarankan biar dia tinggal di rumah orang tua, sekurang-kurangnya ada penjaga dan ada kemudahan perubatan. Jadi setiap minggu dia akan menziarahi bapanya di sana, dan katanya bapanya agak ceria kerana dapat berkawan-kawan dengan penghuni rumah orang-orang tua itu. Dan dia pula telah menjadi volunteer di situ.

That was a year ago.

Musim Kenduri Kahwin!

Saya dan beberapa rakan telah pergi ke majlis kenduri kahwin di Tanjung Karang ( dalam tahun1983 ) . Kami tiba pada pukul 1 tengahari . Oleh kerana waktu itu betul-betul waktu makan tengahari, kami pun makan dengan sedapnya nasi kenduri , siap bertambah lagi. Tapi saya sempat juga memerhatikan tetamu-tetamu yang lain datang dan pergi dengan cepatnya, mereka seolah-olah menjamah saja nasi dan lauk pauk yang terhidang di meja, bukan macam kami , buat macam rumah sendiri, makan tak berinsuran.

Lepas tu saya pun bertanya pada kawan yang memang dah tinggal lama di TK, kenapa kebanyakan tetamu makan sikit aje . Barulah saya tahu rupanya mereka dah siap makan di rumah sebelum pergi kenduri, jadi mereka makan syarat aje ( macam mengalas perut ). Bila kami hendak pulang kami diberi nasi ambeng sebungkus seorang sebagai ' door gift '. Nasi ambeng ini untuk di bawa balik untuk keluarga di rumah ( nasi dan lauk kenduri ).

Teringat pula pada Mak Tam ( ibu saudara me husben ) yang kami kasihi, pernah memberitahu , kalau kenduri kahwin tak nak makan sehidang dengan royalti. Beliau kenal dengan seorang Tengku ni, dan pernah makan sehidang di majlis kenduri kahwin. Mak Tam kata dia tak dapat makan betul-betul, depa tu makan sikit, jadi malu kami nak menambah nasi dan lauk sebab depa dah berhenti makan.

Kita nampak kenduri kahwin tu macam senang aje nak dikendalikan, tapi sebenarnya sangat berat, maklumlah buat kenduri besar. Semasa menngendalikan majlis kahwin anak, darah tinggi melambung naik, walhal sebelum ini tekanan darah normal aje. Macam-macam datang fikiran dalam kepala, bagaimana kalau katerer tak datang pada hari itu atau bagaimana kalau tetamu tak datang, apa jadi pada nasi dan lauk-lauk yang berkawah-kawah tu. Atau kalau orang datang melebihi yang dijangkakan, nasi dan lauk tak cukup, mana nak letak muka.

Punya risau, Tuhan aje yang tahu, takut majlis tak sempurna. Itu, ini ada aje yang terlintas di hati. Sehinggalah lihat semua tetamu datang dan makanan lebih pada cukup untuk semua orang, barulah lega . Tapi pada masa tu kepala dah berdenyut-denyut tak terkira. Darah dah naik ke kepala, leher dan bahu dah tegang. Kalau boleh nak telan panadol 4 biji sekali! Stress bukan main!

Makin lama makin seram.........

Ada sebuah kampung yang terdapat banyak hantu, yang sentiasa berkeliaran, mengusik orang-orang kampung apabila senja menjelang. Antoo yang paling gempak sekali ialah yang kurus dan memakai baju sepasang hitam, suka suka hati dia aje nak menjelma kat mana dan bila-bila aje ( pada waktu malam ). Pada waktu siang kampung ini aman damai, tiada kelibat seekor antoo pun, yang ada hanyalah nang bo ti nang, kui bo ti kui. Tapi orang -orang yang jahat tahap orang bukan orang dan hantu bukan hantu ni pulak, tak berani jugak nak buat sesuka hati kat orang kampung, nanti polis cekup, balaiii pergi!

Orang kampung sudah bosan hidup dalam ketakutan, lalu ketua kampung memanggil anak buahnya datang bermesyuarat di balai raya selepas waktu Asar. Berduyun-duyun orang kampung datang bawak anak bini, semuanya nakkan penyelesaian segera. Mesyuarat punya mesyuarat, tak sedar hari dah gelap, hampir senja. Mereka berbincang cara untuk menghalau hantu.

Tuk....tuk....tuk.... bunyi seperti orang berjalan memakai tongkat.

Semua orang terdiam ketakutan, pucat muka sampai ke gigi.

Samar-samar nampak sebuah lembaga yang kurus, berbaju hitam, bertongkat, mengatur langkah lambat-lambat, senyap sunyi satu kampung. Tiba-tiba..........

Ta...ta....pi........lembaga itu bersuara. Anak-anak ketakutan terus memeluk ibu mereka.

Itu cala, tatak moleh halau itu hantu...........sambungnya. Habis gempar semua orang, tok ketua menepuk-nepuk dahi.

Rupa-rupanya apek jual sayur yang datang untuk beri pendapatnya!

Itulah cerita bengong yang adik ku cerita masa kami kecil dulu.

Harum Pandan Memenuhi Kamar

One afternoon a dear friend of mine called, since I was busy cooking I promised to call her later. About 2.30 I got another call, she sounded quite urgent and I was a bit worried. She was never like this before.

She told me her daughter's room smelled pandan leaves. She thought maybe some pandan essence spilled on the floor, so she was looking for the bottle high and low. She couldn't find any. According to her daughter, the smell was already there for a few nights , and some of the nights she had horror dreams.

I was so kecut perut when she told me what happenned, but syukur alhamdullillah I remembered telling her to recite the Surah al Baqarah . Before she recited the surah herself , she had recitation of Surah al Baqarah on her cd player played in her daughter's room. She then recited the said surah in her room. Sometime later her maid came running to her room yelling ....Ibu..k , itu pandan sudah keluar dari bilik, buk, itu bau sudah ada dekat tangga.

When she told me what happened, I got really scared. She told me she wanted to read the Quran at the staircase, and she wanted to confront whatever it was that smells like daun pandan. Spontaneously she became very brave and told the uninvited invincible guest to get out from her house, go to a place where there's nobody there. This is my house and you can't stay here.

She then prayed zohor in the hall and recited Al Baqarah there. I offered to go to her house to recite Al Baqarah with her, but she said she could manage . After reading for sometime the smell faded away and she carried on reading until the smell was really gone. Surah al Baqarah is really really long, it is more than 2 juzuk.

When I call her later that night, she was relieved the 'thing' was gone. She could afford to laugh..... saying that it was like a tv drama, chasing.. a..a..a.n.t..o..o..o..!! And we were wondering, what was it, it must be something good because the smell is so organic. But, with the horror dream, it couldn't be a nice thing. ...... What thing?!!

Drama Swasta - Babak 2

Sepuluh tahun kemudian, saya bertanya sahabat saya ,sudahkah dia memberitahu anaknya keadaan sebenar. Dia agak jengkel dengan saya. Sedangkan dia tahu anaknya tengah keliru, maklumlah sudah bersekolah, surat beranak bin lain, ayah yang ada sekarang nama lain. Masa kecik bolehlah tipu, nama ayah dalam surat beranak tu masa ayah susah, toreh getah, bila ayah dapat kerja, tukar nama baru.

Berkali-kali beritahu dia, cakaplah yang betul, sebab masa kecik terkejut kecik, bila dah besar nanti dia akan terkejut besar. Akhirnya dia akur, nekad nak beritahu anaknya itu di satu masa yang sesuai.

Tiba masa yang sesuai, terjadilah satu drama yang menyayat hati, bila ibu memberitahu anaknya bahawa dia bukan ibu sebenar. Anak terkejut , tak berapa faham -- mak tipu ni, ek, mesti mak tipu.

Betul sayang, mak cakap yang betul

Tapi sapa mak sebenar saya?

O, dia orang jauh, bapa sayang pun dah tak ada.

Kenapa dia bagi pada mak?

Sebab dia susah, takde suami,

Alah, kalau kita, biarlah susah sama susah, makan pasir pun tak apa.

Eh, jangan macam tu, dia nak sayang hidup senang, cukup makan, cukup pakai, boleh pergi sekolah, belajar pandai-pandai.

Memalingkan muka ke tempat lain, lalu keluar dari bilik. Ibu mengikut dari belakang dan ambil album semasa anaknya masih bayi.

Mak ni sama juga, macam mak yang lahirkan sayang. Sayanglah satu-satunya anak mak, takde yang lagi di dunia ini. Tengok gambar masa sayang baby lagi, mak peluk, mak cium, mak bela dari kecil sampai besar macam ni.

Anak melihat album denga sebelah mata aje, lalu masuk ke bilik semula, diikuti oleh ibu.

Sapa dia mak saya

Dia ada di negeri...............Kalau sayang nak jumpa dia kita boleh cari

Tak apalah.... tak nak.....

Adegan drama berlarutan hingga pukul 12 malam dipenuhi dengan dialog-dialog yang menyayat hati. Air mata kedua-dua beranak tumpah macam hujan di musim tengkujuh. Tapi Alhamdulillah pada keesokan harinya keadaan sudah pulih seperti sedia kala, cuma ada sedikit perubahan pada sianak, sangat bersopan pada ibunya. Tapi setelah beberapa hari kemudian keadaan pulih seperti sedia kala, buat degil dengan mak, campak tuala merata atas lantai, mak berleter......

Pada hari ini sianak tak kesah dah fasal siapa dia. Terkejut kecik aja pada mulanya dan keadaan sudah balik seperti sedia kala. Alhamdulillah.

Drama Swasta - Babak 1

Dalam tahun 80an, ibu saya pernah berkata, sesetengah drama tv sebenarnya nak beri pegajaran pada kita semua, sebab ada cerita yang ditampilkan merupakan cerita benar. Saya pun jawab balik, mak, jangan percaya drama-drama tu, mengarut aje, rekaan manusia ! Ada ke menasabah, cerita dengki kat orang , nak pegi bakar rumah orang tu, gila ape, tak pernah-pernah terjadi kat kampung kita, dan pelbagai lagi contoh yang saya beri.

20 tahun kemudian cerita yang tak munasabah itu pun berlaku pada diri sendiri atau terjadi pada kawan-kawan , atau orang yang kita kenal dan tak kenal. Masa tu mak dah tak ada nak beri tahu apa yang mak kata itu ada betulnya.

Saya pernah ditawarkan seorang anak , yang masih dalam kandungan. Seorang kenalan lama, Z yang mempunyai seorang ahli keluarga yang sedang mengandung 7 bulan, suami menghilang entah ke mana. Memang selalu dia menghilangkan diri, bila dia balik, duduk sebulan dua dengan isteri dan anak-anak, dia menghilang lagi, tinggal isteri yang telah pun mengandung. Oleh kerana tak mampu menyara anak yang akan lahir, dia sanggup berpisah dengan anak yang bakal dilahirkan.

Oleh kerana saya tak sanggup nak terima tanggungjawab yang besar, kebetulan pada masa yang sama, seorang sahabat yang kematian anak ingin mengambil anak angkat, jadi saya sampaikan hajat sahabat itu pada Z. Setelah berpuas hati tentang budi pekerti dan kedudukan kewangan sahabat saya tadi, siibu rela menyerahkan anak itu pada sahabat saya. Mereka berjanji bila lahir saja anak itu akan diserahkan terus pada sahabat saya.

Kebetulan masa bayi itu lahir, sahabat saya sedang berada di Mekah, dan dalam masa seminggu lagi akan balik. Jadi saya pergi ke hospital ( seperti yang dijanjikan ) untuk mengambil bayi itu untuk dibawa balik ke rumah saya dahulu. Tiba di hospital, Z beritahu ibu bayi itu nak tidur semalam dua dengan anaknya.

Dua hari kemudian , saya menerima panggilan telefon dari Z minta datang ke rumahnya untuk mengambil bayi. Semasa saya sampai, Z dan sepupunya sedang menangis, berpeluk-pelukan bertiga beranak, bayi kecil dipeluk erat, dikucup, seolah-olah tak mahu dilepaskan.

Pada masa itu saya tak tertahan air mata, sayu dan sedih melihat bagaimana hibanya seseorang ibu nak melepaskan anaknya . Masa itu saya rasa diri sebagai monster yang datang nak merampas anak orang. Saya rasa begitu zalim kerana nak memisah dan memutuskan kasih sayang antara anak dan ibu. Peristiwa itu masih terpahat diingatan saya hingga kini.

Masa belum lahir macam mudah aje nak beri anak, lahir aje terus ambik bawak balik. Rupanya kita terlupa bahawa kita adalah manusia yang ada perasaan, kasih sayang, kasihan belas, jadi ianya tidak semudah yang disangkakan!!

Nak Senang Usaha Lebih!

Fuh, begitu rumit untuk jadi blogger yang bergaya! Kalau setakat ada pengetahuan asas menaip, buka dan tutup komputer saja sudah tentu amat tidak memadai. Ia akan menjadi juru belog yang agak pincang seperti saya. TTT ( teringin tapi takut ) pada mulanya nak menulis di alam siber , maklumlah dah lama tak kerja dan tak ada kemahiran berkomputer, spt cut and paste, memasukkan gambar dalam komputer dan lain-lain.

Nak bukak blog kena tunggu anak, nak tukar template tunggu anak. Nak pos blog bergambar tunggu anak. Kadang-kadang kesian anak balik kerja lewat dan penat, mak main terjah aje minta tolong check blog mak, tolong itu , tolong ini. Alahai....

Agaknya mak ni sedikit ketinggalan zaman, kureng kemahuan nak belajar benda-benda yang teknikal dan dah takde daya saing. Atau mungkin dah sedap duduk relaks, malas susah payah belajar sebab ada orang tolong buatkan?!

Bila Agaknya Manusia Boleh Hidup Aman

Sejak beberapa tahun yang lepas ini kawasan perumahan kami sentiasa dikunjungi tetamu yang tidak dijemput, tidak kira siang atau malam. Sebagaimana kawasan perumahan yang lain-lain di sekitar KL , waktu siang sunyi senyap, ada rumah yang kosong, ada rumah yang dihuni oleh pembantu rumah dengan anak-anak kecil, sedang tuan rumah keluar bekerja dan anak-anak yang besar keluar bersekolah. Jadi tak hairanlah kejadian pecah rumah menjadi-jadi tak kira siang atau malam.

Lebih menggerunkan pencuri-pencuri ini akan bertindak pada waktu-waktu orang sedang sibuk, atau sedang leka atau sedang kepenatan. Pada waktu pagi, pencuri yang bermotosikal akan menunggu di tepi-tepi jalan untuk meragut. Di waktu tengahari pula iaitu di sekitar pukul 3- 4 sebelum orang balik kerja mereka masuk mana-mana rumah yang tiada berpenghuni. Lebih hebat lagi ada yang masuk ke rumah mangsa waktu penghuni sedang leka misalnya menonton tv, mereka masuk ikut pintu belakang. Ada juga ' strike' pada waktu hampir subuh iaitu pada pukul 5- 6 pagi.

Paling hebat, kejadian berlaku disalah sebuah rumah di kejiranan kami pada waktu tengah malam. Mereka mengikat tuan rumah anak beranak dan menggelidah rumah dan melarikan diri dengan wang serta barang kemas.

Kejadian lain berlaku pada pukul 6 petang apabila tuan rumah keluar dan apabila mereka balik ke rumah 2 jam kemudian, rumah telah dimasuki dan sejumlah wang yang agak banyak beserta barang kemas telah hilang, wayar alarm telah terpotong. Jiran sebelah rumah pun tak sedar.

Walau pun kini kawasan kami telah menjadi 'gated area' tetapi masih ada lagi yang bolos masuk ke beberapa buah rumah pada waktu siang dan malam. Jadi, camno tu?? Bilakah pencuri-pencuri ni nak pencen agaknya!!

Kuala Lumpur Dihiasi Khazanah Alam!!

Palma yang tersusun rapi di bahu jalan

Setiap hari penghuni keluar masuk Kuala Lumpur mungkin tidak menyedari bahawa bandaraya kita bukanlah sebuah kotaraya yang hanya dipenuhi dengan bangunan berkerangka besi, macam robot, tiada nilai estatika. KL bandaraya yang segar berteraskan Sungai Kelang dan Sungai Gombak sebagai degupan jantungnya. Urat-urat sarafnya pula ialah segala kehijauan pokok-pokok yang menghiasi seluruh ceruk bandaraya ini.

Mahligai bagi burung-burung yang menghuni KL

Amat menarik sekali di setiap bahu jalan dibariskan pokok-pokok rendang, yang memberi teduhan. Pada masa yang sama menjadi tempat persinggahan burung-burung di waktu pagi dan lewat petang. Mungkin suatu hari nanti seseorang akan membuat kajian tentang burung-burung yang menjadi penghuni Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur ini.

Pohon rendang yang melembutkan pandangan

Tempat letak kereta berbumbung hijau!

Bangunan-bangunan tinggi yang hebat, gagah, akan jadi kaku kerana bertulangkan besi dan berdindingkan batu tetapi apabila di kelilingi oleh pokok-pokok teduhan dan pokok-pokok hiasan yang diatur rapi , ia seolah-olah telah mendapat rohnya yang tersendiri. Bahan batu diadun dengan alam semula jadi menghasilkan seni yang unik. Bandaraya KL yang menghijau!

Persimpangan antara Sungai Gombak dan Sungai Kelang

Sungai Gombak yang mengalir setia membelah Bandaraya ini menjadi nadi yang menghidupkan seluruh Kuala Lumpur. Elemen air, batu dan kehijauan memberi KL satu kelainan dari kotaraya yang ada di dunia ini. KL mempunyai keindahan dan identiti yang tersendiri yang menyejukkan mata memandang.

Laluan ke taman rahsia ?

Seluruh dunia memperkatakan tentang pemanasan global, kepupusan hutan..... tapi .....hei... ada hutan comel di sekitar KL ini!!

Tak nak gemuk.........

Kebanyakan wanita sangat perihatin tentang makan minum, takut gemuk. Selalu gemuk dikaitkan dengan - tak cantik ( walhal gemuk dikaitkan dengan tak sihat ). Bak kata sesetengah orang ' Give a lady an inch the whole house go on diet '.

Ada orang masa muda bukan main diet lagi, bila dah naik 50 th ke atas, dah tak peduli dah. Ada orang maintain body sampai ke tua. Pengalaman saya semasa berumur lingkungan 30an dulu , sungguh berbeza dari sekarang. Makanan yang manis dan bergula memang menjadi ' taboo', minum air kosong, kuih manis tak makan langsung. Bila orang sibuk berdiet dan mengambil ubat kurus , kita pun ikut juga.

Pernah sekali seorang teman rapat memberitau , dia ambil pil menurunkan berat badan, katanya sangat berkesan dan memberitahu nama pil itu. Saya pun tidak membuang masa, pergi jumpa doktor, yang juga seorang kawan, mintak ubat kurus. Doktor pun menasihat, tak elok makan pil kurus, nanti you binge, lagi teruk badan naik berganda. Lagi pulak you need tools and hammers to lose weight, exercice and eat the right food ( right proportion), bukan setakat dengan makan pil aje.

I was so adamant, nak jugak, start threatening her ,saying, I nak gi beli sendiri pil tu dengan .......I'm sure he'll give me. Lama-lama bose' weh, tak nak dengar nasihat, nah ambillah ni, cuba dulu sikit. Suka hati bukan main, maklumlah nak lawa lebih pada orang. Pagi esoknya selepas breakfast, telan sebiji. Bagus ubat ni, tak rasa lapar. Sampai tengahari, kepala sakit, letih, nak tidur tak dapat pusing kiri, pusing kanan, tak dapat lelap. Bila petang, kepala bertambah pening, rasa nak muntah, seperti orang mabuk. Makan pun sikit aja.

Takpe, takpe mungkin hari pertama , belum sesuai. Esok, lusa makan lagi,tak sedar rupanya diri bertukar jadi........c...c....c....cam singa, cepat naik angin, macam nak makan orang , sampai suami kata, kalau dah jadi tak tentu arah macam ni tak payah dietlah, mudarat diri!

Beberapa hari kemudian, pergi jumpa doktor, mengaku kalah, tobat nasuha tak akan ambil pil tu lagi!

Tragedi di Sungai Kampar : Boleh dielakkan atau....

Sedih tiada terkata, rasa tak sanggup nak dengar berita mengenai trajedi di Kg Kuala Dipang tu. Bayangkan jika kita berada dalam situasi En Nathan bapa Dina Devi, bagaimana? Duit berjuta pun tak dapat menggantikan nyawa yang hilang.

Menjaga pelajar yang kecil-kecil seramai itu bukanlah satu kerja yang mudah. Lagi pulak kanak-kanak sekolah rendah, fikiran belum matang, mereka tak nampak bahaya di bawah jambatan itu, yang airnya mengalir deras dan menggerunkan bagi sesiapa yang tak pandai berenang. Kalau pandai berenang pun, badan sekecil itu dengan mudah dibawa arus seperti sehelai daun .

Sebagai seorang ibu saya mengucapkan takziah kepada keluarga mangsa trajedi yang kehilangan anak/adik/kakak/cucu/yang tersayang. Sebagai bekas seorang guru, saya dapat merasakan betapa tersiksanya guru-guru pengiring pelajar-pelajar itu.
Sudah tentu ada tangan-tangan yang menunjuk ke arah mereka!

Ini bukan bencana alam, ini adalah tragedi yang mungkin boleh dielakkan d imasa-masa akan datang. Wallahu aklam!

Are we...........hoarders?

There's a monster hiding somewhere in a dark corner of our house, his name is Mr Hoard. He will strike anytime or rather encourage anybody who keeps unused things in the house. I remember those days, some of my relatives kept empty tins of powdered milk. They thought the tins will be useful for other things, like to store biscuits, sugar, flour and countless others. Over the years it accumulated and most of them become rusty. Try to throw them, the next day they come back to the house........ uuu.....e..ee..rie....!

Some hoard newspapers, at first they want to keep certain articles for later reading. The papers keep mounting as years go by and their houses are filled with sulat kabar lama. They won't part with the newspapers even the sulat kabar lama man come a begging.

Me husben is a potential hoarder. After retirement, he is very free, thus everyday he surfs the internet. His interests are politics and history. He will print all the things he reads, at first ( as a good wife ) I just leave him alone , but later his printings became more and more. So one day when there was something wrong with the printer ( it ran out of ink ) I told my son to leave the printer alone, nanti kertas penuh rumah kita semua kena tidur kat luar rumah.

Doa panjang satu kilometer

Pernah kena sepit ketam? I dah banyak pengalaman kena sepit ketam. Masa kecil mak selalu bawa pergi majlis, katam Quran, kenduri kahwin dan lain-lain yang kesemuanya duduk atas tikar. Duduk tak diam , selalu tukar simpuh ( duduk bersimpuh atas tikar ), mak hulur tangan senyap-senyap, cubit peha , gelenyar tak boleh duduk diam! Yang tak tahan tu, ada sepit besar, ada sepit kecil! yang kecil tu, cubit sikit , halus tapi sakit bukan main.

Walau pun begitu, perangai dok tak diam lekat sampai ke tua. I tak tau kenapa, duduk bersimpuh lama sikit, kaki jadi semut-semut, sebab darah tak jalan. I kena tukar simpuh setiap 15 minit. Tapi, alhamdulillah ke dua-dua anak perempuan begitu memahami masalah I yang tak tahan bersimpuh lama-lama.

Masalah akan jadi lebih besar bila pergi majlis baca surah Yasin dan tahlil. Majlis akan jadi tersangat panjang, sebab lepas baca surah, tahlil panjang diikuti doa yang dekat satu kilometer panjangnya. Kalau kita duduk jauh sikit doa tak dengar pun, lama-lama baca doa untuk diri sendiri walau pun pergi majlis orang!

I ingat I bermasalah besar , sebab orang lain tak nampak pun keluh kesah , depa tu calm and compose aje! mengaminkan doa dengan penuh kusyuk. Tapi, pada suatu hari I rasa paling gembira sebab selama ini rasa diri begitu bersalah, apabila ada seorang yang duduk di sebelah membisikkan sesuatu ke telinga, ish, panjang betul majlis ni, tak larat dah! Dan setelah selesai majlis dia dan kawan-kawan dia menyambung komen, dah berumur-berumur ni, tak larat nak dok lama-lama. Baca doa sesikit dahlah!

Cursed by the ancestors for 7 generations.

Minggu lepas, R datang membawa kad jemputan kahwin anak lelaki sulungnya yang akan melangsungkan perkahwinannya tidak lama lagi. Dia menceritakan anaknya telah menguruskan segala-galanya ,spt katerer, kemah, baju pengantin dan pelamin. Anak lelakinya tak mau menyusahkannya, yang penat bekerja siang hari sebagai tukang rumah.

Ini telah menimbulkan kemarahan dari keluarga isterinya. Mereka kata, mengapa panggil katerer, sepatutnya masak sendiri, sudah menjadi tradisi keluarga dan kampung , masak beramai-ramai, bergotong royong.

R seterusnya mencurahkan perasaanya yang terpendam selama ini........ dia orang tu asyik nak kira dengan adat. Biar mati anak jangan mati adat, gila apa, nak biarkan anak mati sebab nak jaga adat. Dia bagi contoh masa dia kecil pernah mencuri basikal, orang kampung datang berjumpa bapa saudaranya ( ketua adat ) untuk membuat perhitungan. Lalu dia di suruh masuk dalam bilik, bapa saudaranya pun menumbuk dan menendang dinding berdentum dentam, hingga orang di bawah riuh rendah --- sudahlah tu, sudahlah, jangan di bunuh anak itu.

Jadi dia pun mengajukan soalan pada kami, tengoklah anak buah sendiri tak sanggup nak diambil tindakan. Sampai sekarang dia tak percaya dengan orang yg begitu mempertahankan adat. Sebenarnya ia boleh diubah. Walau pun orang lain begitu menyanjung pakciknya, bagi dia pakciknya hanya orang biasa sahaja. Jadi dia tak takut melanggar adat, takdenya terkena sumpah......by the ancestors for seven generations!

I inherited 7 tempayan budu

Di rumah kami di kampung ada 7 biji tempayan budu yang separa antik, seingat saya sudah berumur lebih dari 50 tahun. Semasa th 50an hingga 70an arwah mak membuat budu dengan ikan bilis. Rompin merupakan kampung nelayan ( kini sudah membangun ), dulu-dulu banyak terdapat ikan bilis. Ikan bilis itu dapat secara barter trade, iaitu, dengan menyewakan rumah ( rumah kampung ) kepada orang kelaut ( nelayan). Th 50an dan 60an bukan macam sekarang, tiada sumber pendapatan yang banyak. Bayar sewa rumah ala kadar yang lain sap sap sui dengan hasil tangkapan laut.

Tak tau rupanya mak banyak side income dengan buat budu. Bila kepala hampir beruban, barulah bertanya itu, ini dengan mak. Rupanya budu itu di tolak secara wholesale kepada peraih dan harganya 80 rm setempayan those days. Peraih budu akan botolkan dan jual di kampung seperti Bukit Ibam, Kampung Aur dan lain-lain yang berhampiran, buat bekalan musim tengkujuh. Masa dulu tiada ikan impot, musim tengkujuh kita selalu makan sadin dan telur. Bila kata tengkujuh , ia benar-benar tengkujuh, hujan lebat siang malam. Bekalan ikan segar sangat berkurangan.

I didn't really ambil pot fasal budu mak, sebab kami ingatkan budu ialah makanan utk orang tua-tua. Tapi masih ingat cara mak buat budu. Mula-mula basuh ikan bilis yang segar bersih- bersih dan kemudian tos, lepas tu, masukkan dalam tempayan berselang seli dengan garam kasar. Tutup mulut tempayan rapat- rapat, to be opened once in a while to let out the gas. Mun sik nya meletup bah!

Tetapi bila sampai th 70an, Malaysia makin maju, aktiviti ekonomi sudah meningkat, orang lain pulak yang sewa rumah dengan bayaran penuh, maka tempayan budu pun tergolek bawah rumah.................

Orang satu dunia sibuk dengan nam pla made in Siam, kita pun ada budu yang boleh di promote sbg nam pla ( cuma bagi comel sikit rupa budu tuh, pack molek-molek , baru bawak masuk pasaran antara bangsa !)

Sebelum ajal berpantang maut

Pada petang 6hb Okt, saya sedang berada di tepi pagar menyiram pokok, tiba-tiba.....kak..o..kak.. terpacul di depan pagar,

War, bila sampai? Terkejut bercampur gembira melihat War.

Semalam kak ( 5 Okt )

Alhamdulillah, kita kat sini semua risau fasal War. Macam mana keluarga, orang kampung semua, selamat?

Selamat kak, alhamdulillah, tapi rumah War rosak sikit di bahagian dapur dan bahagian anjung

Kuat ke gempa kampung War?

Kuat juga, tapi tak de rumah yang ranap.

War menceritakan kisah yang berlaku pada 30 September, pukul 5 petang, bunyi menderum kuat disertai dengan gegaran, tanah beralun. Semua orang lari keluar rumah, terhoyong hayang, berpegang pada apa yang patut, pokok kayu yang mana berdekatan. Katanya tiada yang menjerit, malah mereka begitu pasrah pada qada' Allah, masing-masing berzikir Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar! laa ilaha illallah, laa ilaha illalah! dengan penuh takut. Anak-anak kecil tak menangis, semuanya diam ketakutan. Selepas habis gempa, barulah kanak-kanak menangis, masing-masing tersendu, berkumpul beramai-ramai tak berani masuk rumah. Anak-anak muda pula terus bermotorsikal pergi memantau kawasan-kawasan sekitar kampung. Mobile phone sahut menyahut, sanak saudara sekitar daerah Padang , menanya kabar dan menceritakan keadaan yang telah menimpa di tempat masing-masing.

Macam mana War boleh lepas balik ke sini, jalan tak rosak ke?

War menceritakan, mereka anak beranak ambil tambang murah Kl- Padang tiket pergi balik. Sebab itu mereka balik juga ke Malaysia pada 5hb, kalau tidak mereka tunggu lagi. Sebelum subuh 5hb itu, mereka bertolak dari kampung Pesisir iaitu Provinsi Padang, Kabupaten Painan, Kacamatan Batang Kapas, menuju ke airport di padang Pariaman. Masa itu jalan sudah agak terputus-putus, tapi masih boleh dilalui lagi oleh kenderaan ringan, tapi kenderaan berat spt bas sudah tersangkut. Katanya, selepas mereka sampai ke lapangan terbang, dengar kabar perhubungan dari kampungnya telah terputus.

Mengikut War kampung-kampung yang tertimbus semuanya di sebabkan runtuhan tanah tinggi. Kebanyakan kampung di daerah Padang berada di kawasan lurah yang di kelilingi bukit-bukau. Mereka di kampung sedang takut kerana ada berita-berita yang mengatakan gegaran akan berulang lagi, kali ini akan lebih kuat. I cuba mententeramkan War , kalau ada berita rasmi dari jabatan meteoroloji baru boleh percaya, kalau tak mungkin itu kabar angin. War terkenangkan nasib anak- anaknya yang seorang di sekolah menengah, yang bongsu berumur berumur 5 tahun ,dan seorang cucunya yang kesemuanya berada di bawah jagaan suaminya yang pada masa yang sama mengerjakan tanah sawah mereka.

Bagi kita yang sihat walafiat,segar megar, senang lenang, MAKA YANG MANA SATU ANTARA NIKMAT-NIKMAT TUHAN KAMU, YANG KAMU HENDAK DUSTAKAN ( WAHAI UMAT MANUSIA DAN JIN )

Ar-Rahman : Ayat 13, 16, 18, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53, 55, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75 dan 77.

Al-Mulk : Ayat 16 dan 17

I'm darat habih meter......

My daughter told me she would like to try escargot, but is sceptical about it. I told her ( from my limited knowledge ) that escargot is garden snail, reared specially as a delicacy. In Malaysia, garden snail is siput babi, so I told her to get more info elsewhere. But I told her, when you're in doubt, leave it. I really fail as a mother this time around.

As for me, if that escargot resembles the ones in my garden, I 'll say --- next dish please!!

Tiada khabar dari Padang

Today, the 5th of Oct Mawarni said she'll come back from Padang and on the 6th she'll start working. When we heard about the quake, at first we still have hope that War will be safe,because her kampung is in the outskirt of Padang. But when the news came many of the kampungs around Padang were effected and about 400 people were entombed in one kampung we didn't know what to think. We prayed she and her family will be safe, amin!

Me, Siti Razmah, Ani and Sarah hired War to do cleaning and ironing on once a week basis. Apart from us there are other people that War works with.She worked 7 days a week ,3 shifts a day -- morning, afternoon and at night too. She is very hard working and she needs to bring money home as much as she can. Her husband works on the small strip of land that they bought , plus he has to look after their 5 year old daughter and 8 year old grandson. All the other children are in Malaysia, working. But on the 15th day of puasa all of them went back to Padang.

I tried to call War on her mobile on Thursday and Friday, but there was no response. If she and her family are safe(which we pray they are safe) , she still might not be able to come back immediately, because of the highly likely possibility that communications has been cut off from her village to Padang

Didoakan semoga Mawarni dan semua ahli keluarganya berada di bawah lindungan Allah!

Thank you Beautiful Life

My daughter , Beautiful Life spent the whole afternoon with me today. I've been pestering her to decorate my blog, I can only write but couldn't do anything more than that ( too old, or too lazy to learn new things knowing that someone else will do it for you ). She knew she's going to have hard time pleasing me, so she tackled the one subject that can make me agree with her --- my plants.

She took pictures of the plants in various angle and paste them on my blog. I was so pleased with the posting and she was proud of herself for snapping nice pictures. Tapi tuan-tuan dan puan-puan jangan tertipu dengan gambar-gambar tu, gambar lebih gempak dari yang sebenar.Things always look nicer in pictures.

Up, Up and away..!

The picnic box is very presentable and the food was good

When Mas offered cheap fares to certain destinatons ,I grabbed the chance to travel ( the xtra money can be used for more shopping ). Mas is our national carrier and I'm very proud if it. Only when I travelled long haul,I tend to stray to other airlines.Our neighbour across Selat Teberau always offer cheaper fare which was about 500 - 700 ringgit difference, (in 1990's and early 2000's ).

I didn't hesitate to choose Mas cheap fare, even though it is about 30-40 ringgit more than the other airlines. We don't mind paying extra because, we can travel in style, ie by KLIA , the food served just like we paid in full, the new sets of stewards and stewardess are very friendly, peramah and cheerful . And I was fascinated by the new style of serving the meals, in a kotak yang comel dan kemas! And good food too!

But I noticed after the meal, the wine is flowing from head to tail of the plane. I remembered those days wine only flows in the first/business class.

Win, lose.. or draw.

Selamat Hari Raya!!! Ramadan is gone, Hari Raya is a joy for everybody, especially the children. All the thirst and hunger are rewarded with the arrival of Shawal.

After the subuh prayer I already felt hungry because for the past 29 days I've been eating at 5 in the morning. So 7 o'clock is already 2 hours way past the regular sahur. I served the ketupat, lemang and rendang and daging dendeng as an extra dish. Waited for my husband and daughter to breakfast together before going for hari Raya prayer. Of course I went from one ketupat to another without even blinking my eyes.

Many of us will eat non stop, because we can't refrain ourselves to see all the good food being laid on the table.After eating at home, we'll eat again at every house we visit. It won't be a surprise if we eat 7 or 8 times a day before we retire to bed. The main event of hari raya is eating,eating and eating!

At the end of the 3rd raya we can muhasabah diri either we really follow the spirit of hari raya ( eating wise ). If after the 3rd raya day we can still maintain the normal eating habit , then we win the battle of nafsu ammakan. If our loose sarong or trousers tightened , it is a draw, that means we are back to our normal weight ( watch out for another 27 days to come! ). But if we go to le john more than 3 times a day, that means we lost the battle!

EID MUBARAK!

Anda ikut mazhab mana.............................

Setiap Ramadan akan berlaku perselisihan faham tentang mazhab. Sama ada mazhab 8 atau mazhab 20. Masing-masing kondem mengondem, ada kata sembahyang terawih 8 rakaat mengikut sunnah nabi, nabi tak pernah buat lebih dari 8 di masjid ( di rumah sembahyang sampai bengkak kaki mereka tak ambil kira sebab nak menegakkan hujjah mereka ).

Begitu juga dengan yang sembahyang 20 rakaat, berhujah dengan amalan yang dilakukan oleh Saidina Umar, siapakah Saidina Umar itu yang nak diketepikan ijtihadnya. Maka berlarutanlah perselisihan pendapat ini hingga tiada penghujungnya.

Pernah sekali seorang kawan yang bekerja di Pulau Pinang tapi bermastautin di Kedah, kerap lambat balik kerja jadi dia akan berbuka puasa di tengah jalan dan bersembahyang di mana-mana mesjid atau surau yang berdekatan. Selepas selesai 8 rakaat terawih, beliau bergegas hendak pulang, tiba-tiba tok imam melalui pembesar suara menegurnya, ia perlu menghabiskan 20 rakaatnya!

Setiap kali puasa saya kena berjihad dengan diri sendiri bila sampai masa terawih.I really envy people sembahyang terawih 20 rakaat dengan bergayanya. Bila I sembahyang selepas lapan I jadi tak tentu arah, mengantuk, tak kusyuk dan kadang-kadang bercelaru, tok imam berdiri I duduk, tok imam duduk I berdiri. jadi kenalah berhenti sembahyang. Berjuang disaf dari muda sampai tua, bila tua barulah pandai sikit bagaimana nak habiskan 20 rakaat. Caranya mudah saja, selepas 8 rakaat tukar tempat, lepas 16 tukar tempat.....barulah dapat melawan nafsu ammalaaass....

Woii hangpa........taun ni tak jadi raya!

Membeli belah untuk raya semakin rancak, pakaian anak-anak ( selain dari pakaian sendiri ), kuih muih,pelbagai jenis. Ada yang buat sendiri, ada yang tunjuk dengan jari.Tidak lupa juga tukar kereta baru, sofa baru, langsir baru dan segala-galaya baru. Maklumlah raya setahun sekali!

Buatnya tak jadi raya....pucat muka, who's going to foot all the bills ( yang semua tukar baru tu...)

Masa-masa begini tokeh kedai senyum manis pada pelanggan,layanan istimewa diberi. Kalau kita lalu dekat kedai furniture Ah Hong,mesti ditegur dengan penuh sopan dan mesra. kedai Ah Hong ni pulak,begitu mengikut peredaran zaman dan tahu citarasa orang-orang yang menyambut hari raya. Kalau tahun ini trend kerusi kerawang berada di pasaran, kedai mereka pun ada kerusi kerawang. Pendek kata semua ada.

Kami anak beranak pernah balik Yan pada hari raya pertama, sebab tak mau terperangkap dengan kesesakan jalan raya. Lagi pula ibubapa mertua sudah tiada,jadi balik lambat sikit pun tak ada orang yang tertunggu-tunggu. Selepas sembahyang raya, kami semua tukar pakaian, pakai baju yang selesa untuk perjalanan jauh. Seperti biasa kami berhenti di R&R, alangkah terperanjatnya bila kawasan rihat itu jem dengan kereta orang balik raya..Kami rasa malu pulak nak turun kereta, sebab semua orang pakai baju raya!

Kebelakangan ini orang Malaysia raya serentak di seluruh negara. 15 - 20 tahun dulu, raya ikut tempat ada raya ikut rukyah sendiri ada ikut tarikh yang ditetapkan pihak pemerintah. Pernah juga dulu nak balik Yan sehari sebelum raya ,sampai atas sikit pada pekan Tapah, nampak orang pakai baju Melayu. Kami ingat semua orang dah raya, bila sampai di Yan depa masih puasa. Nasib baik maintain puasa, kalau tak ,kena qada.

Masa kecil-kecil dulu pulak ,ada trend raya terkejut.Bila sampai 29 hari puasa suri rumah sudah siap dengan daging, ayam, ketupat, buluh lemang. Bila beduk berbunyi hebah kata esok raya, kelam kabut masak rendang,bakar lemang, rebus ketupat,sampai tak tidur malam. Besok orang raya depa dah lembik, sekerat hari dok kampoi tidok!

Lain hulu lain parang..............

Ramai orang Malaysia kini yang bersaiz dugong. Kebanyakannya menyalahkan makanan segera dan air bergas. Ramai jugak yang tak makan fried chicken atau burger atau fries dan tak minum coke, tapi masih bersaiz XXXL.

Generasi muda kini terhidang dengan makanan yang berlemak dan yang berminyak yang melampau, contoh , nasi lemak ( kalau tak lemak, condemn pulak, apa nasi lemak ni tak lemak! nak untung lebih ). Makanan berminyak pula boleh dimakan tiap-tiap hari seperti keropok goreng, goreng pisang,karipap dan lain-lain dijadikan snek tak kira masa. Dan ia menjadi penyelesaian mudah bagi pelbagai masalah -------- tetamu datang tiba-tiba, untuk minum petang ( anak ramai dok lapak petang-petang )atau ketika menonton tv.

Dulu nasi lemak dijual dalam bungkusan kecil ( kira-kira secawan nasi spt yang di rekomen oleh dietician ) dengan sedikit ikan bilis, kacang goreng, timun atau kangkung dan sedikit telur berharga 50 sen sebungkus. Kini sudah berharga dari 80 sen hingga 1.50 sen. Nasi lemak yang tak dibungkus pula selagi tak penuh pinggan, lauk pauk bermacam ada --- hati,paru,limpa,perut ,rendang daging,rendang ayam , sambal sotong kering , sambal udang dan lain-lain.

Yours truly pun 20 tahun dulu beli nasi lemak L size berlaukkan daging rendang seketul besar, paru 3 keping, ada kerang lagi, sambal mesti kaw.Makan lambat sikit minyak pun meleleh keluar boleh buat minyak rambut. Alhamdulillah dah taubat nasuha kinek tok. Mun sik dah lama naik bas pakai 2 tempat duduk!

Sedikit, sedikit ,lama-lama jadi bukit

Pernah lihat kuah mi kari membanjiri jalan? Atau nasi briyani bersepah di luar tong sampah sebab telah diselongkar oleh kucing atau anjing.

Dikatakan 50% daripada sampah yang dilupuskan setiap hari adalah dari sisa makanan. Begitu banyak makanan yang dibuang atau dibazirkan tanpa disedari oleh kita semua. Kalau setiap kita berjimat cermat mungkin timbunan sampah boleh berkurangan beberapa puluh persen.

Pernah di suatu majlis jamuan buffet, ada yang memenuhi pinggannya macam nak rak. Selepas makan tak sampai separuh pinggan this particular person announced that she couldn't finish the food because it is too much. One of the guess was quite angry with her and told her in Singapore your excess food would be weighed and you'll have to pay for it.

Tapi di Malaysia tak dengar lagi orang makan tak habis kena timbang dan kena caj.Sebab tulah banyak makanan yang dibazirkan. Saya mengaku saya juga guilty as charged dalam pembaziran bahan makanan ini. Contohnya pergi pasar beli beberapa jenis sayur termasuk sayur yang berdaun,bila tidak dimasak beberapa hari ia menjadi rosak.Seikat sayur bayam atau sawi terpaksa ditong sampahkan.

Jiran saya Kak Mah sangat bijak merancang makanannya setiap hari, dia pandai mengagak sebanyak mana hendak dimasak untuk sekali atau dua kali makan.Apabila dia berniat hendak hantar pada jiran, dia akan masak lebih sikit pada hari itu. Dan jirannya yang bertuah itu ialah saya. Masakannya memang sedap sampaikan anak-anak kata --- makcik Mah memang terer masak, cok kodok pun sedap!

Aji no moto or no Aji no moto

Recently my friend commented that her mother used aji no moto rampantly. My mother used aji no moto in her cooking too. There was one time people were talking about the side effect of aji no moto, like it can cause cancer, people can get grey hair at young age or you can go bald. My late mum would say that she had been using seasonings since she was young, of course when you are old you'll have grey hair, it had nothing to do with aji no moto.

My sister in law was sceptical about the haram halal of aji no moto. So none of them use the aji in their cooking. One day,When I was alone with my late mother in law, we cooked some kuah pindang. She told me to put some aji in the pindang. I was quite surprised because the aji is a taboo in all my in laws cooking. She told me masak pindang kena boh sikit aji , kalau dak rasa macam ayak paip ( without msg). She hid her msg in a very dark corner of her kitchen cabinet. Mak kena sorok ni, depa tu bukan buleh....

I used to tease my sister, when she was baking some cakes
--- ada lagi yang belum cukup resepi ni,
eh..h..dah ada semua,...
aji no moto tak bubuh lagi....
haa.? aji no moto??eh.... eh.. alaa Long ni buat terkejut orang aje!
Alah engkau ni tu pun nak terkejut.

Recently I was with my sister cooking opor ayam for a very small kenduri,we couldn't get the accurate taste for the opor. It tasted sort of lack of salt, ok add in some salt. Then it was as if it needed some sugar -
right....add in some sugar, then as if it lacked of asam - ok add in some asam jawa ....and still it was not right.Then both of us smile at each other .... kalau tambah tu tak kena, tambah ni tak kena...nampak gayanya kena renjisss sedikit aaji...nooo...motoooo......

Adakah anda suami mithali?

Apbila seseorang gadis berkahwin, segala tatacara dan kehidupannya akan berubah.Kadang-kadang kita dapati seseorang itu berubah, jauh berbeza dari zaman gadisnya. Ini bergantung pada cara suami-suami mereka mendidik mereka.

Watak suami pula ada berbagai, ada yang tak pernah beri muka langsung kat bini.Apa bini kata atau nasihat tak akan di terima, malah herdik pulak bini tu, awak apa tau? Wah,wah, depa ingat orang perempuan ni semuanya sengal-sengal, depa aje yang bijak laksana. Kadang -kadang bini tak kuasa nak bergaduh, biar aje laki tu ingat dia terer habis!

Ada pula suami yang buak tok caro ko bini, ikut panda mulah nak buat gapo pong, asal jangan buat serabut kat dia sudahlah. Bini nak duit, bagi aje .( yang kedekut tu, bila bini mintak duit buat-buat tak dengar, bini pun fed up ahh pakailah duit sendirilah, malas nak bertekak ). Akhirnya bini boleh buat apa dia suka dan tak perlukan nasihat atau pandangan suami.

Yang paling baik ialah suami yang gentlemen, yang hormat pada isteri, mendengar pandangan dan teguran isteri.Selalunya isteri yang sebegini sentiasa mendapat perhatian suami. Juga sentiasa menempatkan isteri di sisinya di mana saja dia berada.

Bawak bersabar akak oiii.......................

Pernah tengok orang membeli belah di pasar Ramadan? atau pernah mengalami sendiri?Apabila ke pasar Ramadan memang berniat nak beli sikit saja, itu pun kalau ada yang berkenan, kat rumah lauk dah ada serba sikit. Tapi bila dah lihat gerai-gerai yang dipenuhi makanan, mula kemamor mata.Mula-mula beli ikan bakar,mesti best ,exotic , untuk bukak puasa. Jalan lagi ,nampak gulai kawah, belilah sebungkus buat spare, nampak pulak murtabak...oi, sedap ni , beli 3 keping ( satu tak cukup, dua ngam -ngam sui, tiga baru selesa ).

Lalu dekat gerai kueh mueh, nampak agar-agar,amboi,sejuk tekak bukak puasa nanti-- beli agar-agar merah. Sebelah agar-agar ada pulak puding karamel, ahh, ini balik terawih boleh makan.Nampak pulak tepung pelita,ish simpan dalam peti ais, makan sejuk-sejuk lagi best. Nampak pulak pulut hitam.... eh, dah lama tak makan pulut hitam,belilah satu kot-kot tak cukup kuih ada jugak pulut hitam ni.

Ada pulak gerai bahan-bahan mentah berbagai-bagai ulam-ulaman di hujung jalan,singgahlah saja nak tengok-tengok. Nampak tempoyak,belilah satu paket, bila-bila nak buat sambal tempoyak, senanglah, barang dah ada.Eh ada petai? boleh match dengan sambal tempoyak.........................akhirnya tak cukup tangan dah nak bawa,suruh suami hantar kat kereta dulu, jalan lagi....nampak pulak pelbagai minuman sejuk, air kelapa, air mata kucing , cendol, lengkong........
Bawak bersabor akak oiiiiii.....

Di sinilah peranan suami supaya hembuskan sikit jampi serapah kat mem dia yang tengah kemamor mata tu, biar dia sedor dari panahan nafsu laparnya. Kalau suaminya pulak yang terkena panahan itu isterilah pula yang kena bomohkan suaminya.

Gajah pun boleh pengsan

Muslims all over the world are waiting for the arrival of Ramadhan in this month of August. In Kelantan the favourite puasa delicacies are among others daging kering ( fried and mix with fried onions )that's a must for sahur. Saghe or seaweeds will arrive in Pasar Siti Khadijah by the sackfuls.Kerabu saghe is favourite for buka puasa beside nasi kerabu and ayam percik.That was twenty years ago, I do not know whether it is still the same now.

Back in KL,theres no daging kering but we'll settle for telur masin,ikan bilis,papodom for the sahur appetizer. As for buka puasa we don't have any problem, when one is hungry anything goes. But for my family bubur lambok is a must ( which is being modified many times over, so much so other people might think it is not even a bubur lambok version ).

In Sarawak, bubur pedas is the speciality of Ramadhan. Bubur pedas is very unique,the ingredients include meat or chicken, special spices and kulit kerbau ( the inside of kulit kerbau, roasted )sliced thinly , very crunchy.The other speciality is umai ie prawn, sotong or fish mix with a lot of fresh lime, onion,chillies , sugar and salt,just like sushi, eaten raw.

Once my non Muslim colleage used to ask me how much weight I lost during fasting month. I told him it was about 5kg. Wah.... so good..... But... yes, but..I gain 10 after the first week of raya! Can't help it, with the ketupat and rendang, not to mention all the cookies and the open houses! Gajah pun boleh pengsan.Luckily there's puasa 6, dapatlah sikit bermuhasabah diri dari ancaman lemang dan rendang.

To all Muslims I wish Selamat menunaikan ibadah puasa, semoga ibadah puasa tahun ini lebih baik dari tahun-tahun yang lepas.

All of us and our tailor

Dah dekat-dekat raya ni, mesti nak cerita fasal tailor kita orang semua May Yin.She was introduced to me by my friend Yat ( who knew her by words of mouth),then I introduced May Yin to Cikgu Siti and her daughter and a few others.Then my daughter introduced her to some of her friends ( dah jadi macam sekim piramid ).

May Yin sewa sebuah flat sebagai premis perniagaannya. Di situlah dia mengambil tempahan, memotong baju (dia outsource jahitan baju pada orang lain )dan baju yang sudah dijahit di hantar ke premisnya untuk di fine tuning ie jahit butang , tambah span dsb barulah pelanggan datang ambil.

Mula-mula pergi tailor ni, agak terkejut badak jugak,sebab baju yang dah siap dilambak atas lantai.Bila I pergi nak ambil baju I menjerit sekuat-kuat hati, May Yinnn! You campak baju I atas lantai ..... tataklah..terus ambil baju I letak atas kerusi panjang. Bila nak kira upah jahit dan lipat baju-baju tu ,dia lambak balik atas lantai kemudian masukkan dalam beg plastik / supik ghokghak/ supik gelenyar hok wat bukuh ikae denge sayo tu lah!

Walau bagaimana pun semua pelanggan berpuas hati sebab May Yin ni pandai potong baju. Dia memang tailor untuk butik sekitar KL.Baju butik yang glamor tu pun landing atas lantai jugak,tapi tokeh butik akan fine tuningkan lagi dengan jahit manik dll dan dijual sepasang baju kurung dengan harga antara RM 600-100o setiap satu.

May Yin sangat sibuk, sepanjang tahun tempahan tak putus-putus, kalau hendak siap cepat, kena bohong sikit.Selalu I kata , itu kakak mau pergi Singapore ,kasi cepat boleh ka? oklah..Atau itu adik mau pergi dinner, boleh kasi cepat sikit...boleh..boleh. Atau I nak pergi Siam...boleh,boleh!

Ada masa bohong pun tak terima, wah..sikalang tukang jahit manyak susah, semua tak mau jahit, mau jaga anak, satu olang anak jaga dapat satu libu! Maka kita yang ramai-ramai ni pun menggelabah!

Warm colours, cool colours, mamba je.......

Yes mamba, not mumbo jumbo or samba or rumba. One of my students commented on my dress ( in KB wayyy back in 1980's )...guano cikgu napok mamba jah ari ni....( I wore very light colour baju kurung, the colour made me looked pale and sickly ). The one who commented was the naughtiest boy in the class, so naughty he was sampai tahap nang bo ti nang kui bo ti kui. But nevertheless I love that baju, I love the colour even though it didn't suit me.

I belong to warm colour category that is orange,earthy tones, yellow and red ( after coulour test ). But in reality I love the cool colours esp purple...also brown and grey ( I don't remember which category they are in , I lost the colour chart ).
Whenever I wear orange baju I always felt uncomfortable, like my face become so big and I felt like having hot flushes. So orange is a real no-no for me.

I used to go to textile shops with my two daughters, whenever I saw maroon colour materials, I will fall in love with it . But both of them will say , mak jangan mak, that colour is not for you, so I tak jadi beli.But I love maroon, it looks so beautiful esp on silk.

Even though I used to buy materials for my daughters, but they do not follow my colour scheme. Each one of them has their own favourite colours, the elder sister likes peach shades and the younger one goes for orange.If they were to follow my taste, kena beli kain sekayu share tiga orang!

Raya dah dekat,tailor tak terima tempahan lagi.Yesterday me and cikgu Siti went to our tailor May Yin , upon arrival she said ,waaa...tatak boleh siap hali laya, lepas laya boleh angkat. May Yin I nak pegi Paka bulan puasa ni. Mana tempat itu Paka..itu Mediterranean dekatlah May Yin.Belapa hali lu mau pigi? 2 malam aje...ooh lua malam ka? pakai lain bajulah,lu ada manyak baju....But in the end she gave in ( without charging me extra )

Rumours can kill

As of today the death toll of H1N1 victims shot up to 38 people.It is really very scary, especially when one has got to go out working and going on unavoidable trips outside the country. As for me all my children are working and I pray hard, may Allah save them and their friends from coming even nearer to the H....And I pray to Allah let Malaysia be rid of the pandemic as fast as possible. Amin.

Last two days my classmate told me that the real death toll was 38 but in tv they only announced as 18. I was shaken but at the same time I consoled myself over and over that it was only rumour.When I went to solat in the mosque someone came to salam with me and during solat she sat near me. Suddenly I realised she had running nose !!! I was scared and angry and I wanted to confront her..but of course you can't buat gangster dalam masjid!

That night I too had a slight running nose and about 4 in the morning I woke up because I couldn't breath. I thought I wanted to die and many things came to my mind, like if I die...this and that... until the wee hour of the morning and I was exhausted then only I came to term with my fear, and redha akan qada' Allah.I then fell asleep again until 7.30 in the morning!

When my youngest daughter had a running nose I was quite panic and shoved her off to the clinic.The doctor gave her anti-biotic and something to lightened the plegm and she got one day mc.That night she couldn't sleep well, she woke up every 1 hour, thus the next morning she told us her knee became week. We became so frightened and immediately my husband called his doctor friend but couldn't get through. He then rushed to his clinic to consult him.

In the meantime I asked my daughter to sleep in the hall so I can monitor her.I cooked chicken broth and forced her to eat . Alhamdulillah when she ate she became stronger. When my husband came back he said Doctor Im had gone to Kelang. By then I was quite relieved to see my daughter getting better, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, alhamdulllah! And at this point I realised how important the tv announcement is,such as the death toll, what is the tanda-tanda flu dan cara-cara menjauhinya. I think all of us should take those announcement seriously.

I was quite sad when I went to IGN recently, visitors can come in to the hospital without screening.The previous week there was the screening at the main entrance, and I don't understand why they stopped. I was quite worry because my cousin was one of the patients recuperating from the heart surgeries. And one of his daughter had running nose!

Belated opinion

I'm quite sad when PPSMI is withdrawn but I hope the govt will come up with better ways of teaching English as a second language. The old syllabus didn't seem to be effective because it is concentrated on grammar...I am, you are, he/she/it is/was etc,followed by grammar excercise like fill in the blanks, choose the right answers,do corrections on sentences and short passages. It is so regimented and boring, in the end the students lost interest in learning English.

I like the idea of introducing English literature to Malaysian students.First and foremost story books are used as textbooks.While reading and understanding the story , at the same time they learn the pronunciations, grammar,dialogues and they will be able to analyse like the theme of the story,the characters,the moral of the story and so on.By the time they finish the first book, they will be familiar and (well verse ) with English language.

To me PPSMI is an indirect way of learning English. Science and mathematics are taught in class for 200 minutes each per week.So every week they learn English through maths and science subject about 400 minutes not including the learning of English Language for another 200 minutes.We might say some of the teachers might not be well verse teaching science and maths in English,but the little English used in class will benefit the students. The most important thing is that the students will be able to use the mathematics and scientific terms in English!

Adakah akan mati sesuatu bahasa itu jika kita tidak menggunakanya dalam pengajaran sains dan mathematik?
Atau kita patut gunakan bahasa Melayu dalam pengajaran sains dan matematik supaya menjadikan bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa ilmu.
Bagaimana dengan ilmu-ilmu lain,adakah terhalang mejadikan BM sebagai bahasa ilmu kerana matematik dan sains diajar dalam bahasa Inggeris.
Entahlah....

But when I went back to my kampung ,I found out many parents enrolled their children in Englidh tuition classes. At least they tried....
For those who could,t afford the extra classes, PIBG can hire teachers to give English lessons in school for free or minimum payment.

When I go back to my kampung the next time,I want to know whether the parents have abandoned the extra English class!

Keropok Leko the all time favourite

I'm sure many Malaysians love kerpok goreng ,be it kerpok leko atau kerpok kering.I heard this story about keropok being sent to KL by the contena load every week and it is a multi million business,these days.

As a person hailed from pantai timur, I sort of cannot live without stocks of dried keropok in my cabinet and keropok leko filled half of my freezer. To me you can never go wrong if you serve keropok goreng when guest come to your house unexpectedly. Plus keropok is the main kudapan in my house ( with me the no one muncher ).

But lately when I was referred to the dietician in HKL, I was surprised that keropok is in the list of a no-no for people who suffer high cholesterol. Keropok should be taken sparingly, not rampantly as I did the last more than 50 years.

For those who like to buy keropok goreng at stalls, do check up on the oil in the kuali. If it has turned black, refrain yourselves from buying. Wait until the day they change the oil in the kuali then it is safe to buy the keropok or the goreng pisang or all the goreng-gorengan things.

Anyway, if you are the self conscious person, and you want to make keropok leko, here's the recipe:

1 kg ikan tamban, or kembung or tenggiri or parang or tongkol or prawns or squids
1 kg tepung sagu
Salt to taste
Serbuk perasa (optional)

Methods:

- debone the fish
- pound or blend the fish in food processor with salt to taste
- in a bowl, mix the pounded/minced fish with tepung sagu bit by bit until it becomes a dough. Make small doughs as big as tennis balls
- roll each small dough.
- boil some water in a fairly big pot, when it boils put in keropok leko
- When it surfaces take it out from the pot and let it cool.

Have you eaten....rice?

Too much watching channel 703 is good, you'll get a lot of ideas when you cook. You can even memorise the recipes from all over the world. So when it is time to prepare lunch or dinner you already have something in mind.

I have no difficulty in preparing those dashing dishes.For lunch I usually cook gulai ikan ( my husben's all time favourite ), vegetable and one other side dish.If I don't cook curry I will replace it with asam tumis which I have to match with masak toyu ( to lessen the heat from the chillies ).

So one might ask, where are the dishes you learn by heart from channel 707? The answer is, oh, today and forever I cook my regular dish first, later ( indifinitely ) I will prepare medium rare steak,kidney and beans pie or lasagna covered with mozarella cheese.As for now and forever , there's dalca, masak lemak cili api, kerutuk daging,sambal tumis udang atau sotong kering,ayam masak merah...and the list goes on...to be taken care first.

In Malaysia rice is staple food, we have to eat rice at least once a day.As mothers we can train our children to take less of rice and to accept other type of carb as our meal such as bread,mee, mihun, laksa, capati etc. But as for husbands, it is a bit difficult to change because they are so used to their old eating habit.

A friend of mine told me about a man who was sick and couldn't eat rice ( in Makkah during Hajj time ).His mother was very sad,she said her son did't eat at all. He only ate bread about 4 to 5 peices! To her that was not right, he won't be strong enough to do ibadah!

Cakap siang pandang-pandang............................

I ada baca blog Husin Lempoyang, bertajuk Bahasa Melayu Bahasa Antarabangsa. Cerita ini ada beberapa siri, ada juga yang menggelikan hati. Ia mengingatkan saya tentang penggunaan Bahasa Melayu di peringkat antarabangsa, bila cakap siang pandang-pandang, cakap malam dengar-dengar, kalu tidak bulih malu.

In 1990 me and Habibti were at The Karachi Airport ( transit from Cairo ), at about 4 o'clock in the morning. Suddenly she told me someone was staring at us, so when I looked towards that person I realised he was really staring at us. We were very angry with him, we started firing him with all the £#*@?words in the vocab ( of course he couldn't hear because he sat quite far from us ) until we ran out of ammunations.

Suddenly, one guy from behind me said --Lu Mulayu ka? Surprised, I said yes and I'm from Malaysia ( forever proud to be Malaysian even though my face turned multi coloured, first white, then red ,then blue ,then black! I felt embarrassed sebab baru aje lepas cakap tak berinsuran..)

So I asked him, you boleh cakap Melayu ke? Ya, saya duduk Brunei sudah sapluh taun , sudah balik cuti Karachi 10 hari( he told me the other 3 guys beside him were his uncle and cousins ) ooo..... I turned to Habibti telling that those 4 guys behind us can speak MULAYU! I panic the manic they might understand what we were saying. Habibti tried to console me ,saying that since we kecek Kelate, they might not understand.

Jadi bila dah buleh malu lagu tu, we had to shift place, and felt quite relieved because we didn't have to see them again. When we boarded the plane we were very happy to lose them. As we sat comfortably we saw those 4 boarded the same plane as us.And they sat next to our seats. Kena buat muka selambe sambil mengenang-ngenangkan kelancangan mulut memaki orang macam tak hengat punye!

Like a fish out of water

I was caught in a catch 22 situation when the person who was walking in the same line as me ( at a wedding reception ) gave a nasty comment loudly saying the person in front of us was like a tree ( because she wore baju kurung and tudung from the same material,of green in colour with flowers and leaves prints).The said person turned towards me! But I'm not guilty as charged!

In another majlis akad nikah one lady was giving a running commentary about the majlis without ever realising that family members of the host would be there during the ceremony. This made some of us red faced and we didn't know how to stop her. So it made us feeling bad throughout the ocassion.

Have you ever felt like a fish out of water? Well, for example you are invited to a majlis where you don't know anybody except for the host, and the host was nowhere to be seen because she was busy.I tried to be pleasant to the person sitting next to me ,but apparently they are busy chatting with their common friends sitting next to them!

How about in a majlis when everybody wears baju Melayu and you are the only one who's wearing baju batik. Or in a majlis which is not so glamourous like penyampaian hadiah sukan or melawat anak yatim, you turn up in a fully beaded dress?

Once I got angry with a person I knew for quite a short while,we attended the same seminar, stayed in the same room for a few days,but when we met again the next year she didn't remember me.I couldn't forgive her and I couldn't except it when she said she couldn't remember me. I even boasted I will remember anybody I know and there's no way I could forget anyone.

In 1995 when I was at the Kuantan Airport with my daughter ,there came a lady of my age who smiled and talked to me, I couldn't remember her at all and I asked for her name. I couldn't recall her or the name until she repeated many times . At this point she gave up on me and turned away, at that moment I suddenly remembered her. I called her but she just ignored me. Limah, wherever you are or if you happened to stumble on my blog, PLEASE FORGIVE ME, I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT YOU, I JUST WENT BLANK!!! ( we were 4th collegian way back in 1973,74 and did our dip ed the same year! ).

Me and My Habibti

I came from pantai timur, but I don't quite like beaches because it is very hot and sticky during daytime . Since I am very familiar with the beach my visit to the beach was always short and fleeting.So when Habibti Dr Fatma invited us for a picnic ( way back in 1980's )I was not so enthusiastic.And she suggested that it would be after 5. Well, it must be interesting!And definitely it is not hot and sticky.

So I brought something to eat ,she did too, plus her famous muhalabayya and gahwa.It was about 6.30 in the evening and people started leaving the beach batch by batch. We laid out our mat and spread our bekal and started eating bit by bit .As the day grew darker the wind became stronger.By seven the sky at the other end of the sea was getting red and and later it disappeared. And the stars started twinkling.This whole scenery has changed me about picnic at the beach.

The guys went for maghrib prayer in the mosque nearby, both of us prayed at the beach. She taught me how to use cador for praying. And she taught me how to perform ibadah without hassle.She taught me by example, like she is always with wudhu' and cukup time terus sembahyang , be it in the place of her tafsir Quran or anywhere else .Of course those days we Malays were very strict about pakaian dan tempat sembahyang,must be at proper places like masjid or surau and properly attired ( if we not in our own houses ).

Alhamdulillah these days suraus are everywhere,in shoppping complexes, hotels , along the highways, petrol stations and others. So you can shop( window shopping ) until you drop in KLCC for example without worrying about dah masuk waktu dah.........

Clogged arteries.

Just came back from IJN, visiting my cousin who is 72 yrs old.Last year he fainted after mowing his lawn. After the angiogram the doctor found out he has 3 blocked arteries, so he is waiting to be operated upon anytime now.

He told us the angio is a simple process and he can even see his arteries on the screen. And he's very confident about the bypass, not like before ,he was scared out of his wit when he knew there's something wrong with his jantung.

When the nurse sent him milo without sugar ( tea time ) he complained to me , bakpe takdak gula ni, tawar semacam. I told him --minum aje, lama-lama biasalah tu! And he told me morning they give sugar, evening they don't.

I brought mee rebus for Ros who takes turn to look after the father.And one extra in case Abang Husin wants to taste.He said he prefers mee kari ( which is real thick like he used to eat ).Ros said his father loves super lemak food.And he couldn't live without cigarettes, but since he was suspected with sakit jantung,his wife and his children banned him from smoking ( they tried many times before but fell on deaf ears or worst, got scolded by him ).

When I commented he looked healthy, he said he is not in pain,no chest pain, no fever, he can eat normally.He said maybe his arteries are not hardened yet,maybe it is just like the clog in the sink, the water can still pass through.Otherwise he would be fainting all the time.He said his bypass will be like building new highways beside the old road.

I'm happy to see him with high spirit , may his bypass be successful and he can leave happily many more years to come.
Amin.Ros, you are really anak yang solehah, semoga mendapat kebaikan di dunia dan akhirat.Amin!

3 in 1 The Sequel

After being diagnosed as 3 in 1, I was so menggelabah and followed the dietician's advice on my food intake. I have to accept the fact that I'm stucked with hypertension, high cholesterol and DM and so determined to keep the reading as low as possible.

Finally after one year of taking coversil 4 mg once a day, lovastatin 20 mg once at night and (sadly )metformin 500 mg twice a day, my recent blood test showed a very positive reading. I was very happy when the doctor told me my sugar level is 5.6 ,cholesterol level 5.8 and bp 138/75.

She encouraged me to keep on doing what I do ie, take my medicine religiously, change my eating habit and do some exercise. She further encouraged me by saying there are people who got off the medicine hook when they can really look after themselves.She gave one good advice that really opened my eyes ---- you put 10 ringgit petrol in your tank, you should spend the 10 ringgit. Go for exercises or if you are not the outdoor type , just place your stationary bicycle in front of your tv and cycle while you are watching your favourite programme.

I think doctors should explain to patients properly so they can get the message clearly.Not just write the prescriptions and dismiss you. A few years back I did went for blood test and my cholesterol reading was quite high.The doctor just told me to watch my diet. Even though I was 50 at that time, I was so ignorant of the effect of high chol.Until one day my classmate Dr Omar told me ' Kak, you sekarang tengah duduk atas pucuk kelapa , you kena jaga makan betul-betul kalau tak nanti dapat stroke! '( he explained to me about the good food and bad food , I just took it easy.. elehh,dah tau dah fasal makanan tu!)

Many years later when I really got pening-pening and the doctor at Tangling Clinic put me on blood test only then I face the truth. Don't play-play, you are on medications now!.. Untuk memanjangkan jangka hayat ( Ya, Allah nak mati dah ke? Ampunkan dosaku ya Allah, ya Rabbi,ya Karim, ya..... )

Ramai juga antara kita yang makan tak pantang dan tak makan saman,buang ubat hospital dan makan ubat ramuan sendiri!

Siblings Rivalry continues......

After Tanjung Karang we moved to KB. In KB my last two children enrolled in tadika Kemas which was near our house.When the elder brother went to school ( std 1 ),we sent our youngest daughter to kelas hafazan Quran.But later we had to pull her out from the class,when one day she came home shivering and terrified.She told me, she was very frightened when one of the boys was scolded by the ustazah and made him stand outside the class.

So, we got another ustazah to teach al Quran at home and this was when the rivalry continued. After a while the sister excelled in reciting of the Quran thus she moved to the next surah, ahead of the brother. After a while the brother got jealous,so every time she moved to a new surah , he would be angry with her , pushed her, hid her muqaddam and so on until Ida our helper told me about the incident.So I had to tell the ustazah to let the two read the same surah and move to the next surah together.

Later when we moved to Alor Setar,they were enrolled in the same school, both of them went to Sekolah Rendah Taman Uda.For extra knowledge I registered them in a drawing class. When they finished the first drawing and the colouring, they brought their work home. The sister proudly showed me her work while the brother stashed his drawing somewhere. When I praised the sister he got jealous and quickly showed me his half coloured drawing, but I praised him all the same. But he knew the sister did better than him, that made him really geram.

When they were bigger they started to have friends of their own. The brother had many friends and they were very active. He was never at home during weekends.Early morning he went to school to play tennis with his friends, about 11 o'clock all of them would cycle to town to swim in the public pool. He came back for lunch and then went to Kedah Kelab ( Just behind our house )to play tennis for the second session, after that all of them jumped in the pool until very late in the evening. During the school holidays he would be in sawah padi somewhere, tangkap ikan sepat.His skin became very dark as compared to the others in the family.

Every evening( weekdays ) the brother played football with the Indian boys team in Alor Semadom which is in front our house in Jalan Sultanah.One day I saw one of the Indian boys on the football field who wore the same t-shirt as my son , so I told the two sisters about it and they laughed at me saying..... mak..tu Hishamlah mak..bukan anak India!

As a girl the sister was homely. She joined the school choir and was busy with the practice and ocassionally performed in school functions. She had one close friend ( classmate )who would come to the house and they spent a lot of time together,playing games and practicing their flutes.Sometimes the brother would butt in just to annoy the two girls.

When we were in Kuching both of them were already in lower secondary and 3 years later we moved to KL. At this stage they did not quarrel much,but ocassionally he would tell me that her sister was a bit ' gelenya' . One day when they were in the car with me I asked my daughter....your brother told me you are gelenya,is it true? And then I turned to the brother,....now you tell me betul-betul how gelenya is your sister? Both of them didn't say anything.

The brother went to SM Sains Muar for one month and when he came back,he had changed a lot. Maybe when he was away he missed home so much especially the little sister. By then, my first daughter was already in college and the eldest brother was away, that made both of them became very close.Apparently they forgot why they were quarelling all these while.....

Salah terjah!

Have you ever been mistreated by the sales person in departments store? I was once in Alor Setar some 15 years ago.I bought a few things costed about 150 ringgit, and was queing up to pay.The guy in front of me got a nice paper bag with the store's logo but when come my turn she just stuffed my things in a plastic bag . I was quite furious so I asked her how come that man got a nice bag I don't? Because he bought a lot....so how much is a lot? ...more than 80 ringgit. Please check my bill, how much it is? She then pulled a long face and shoved the pretty bag to me.

Some shop assistant are clever to say like this product is expensive, if you want there's the cheaper version ( tipu version? ).Some really look at you up and down when you visit certain outlets. Another friend who went to buy a designer handbag but being scoffed at and belittled by the assistant until she got so mad and insisted on seeing the store manager.( Agaknya dia pakai selipar Jepun hari tu! )



There was this instance, I accompanied my friend to a high class jewellery shop, I was dressed up in full baju kurung and my friend came from outstation wearing something like seluar apek . The assistant was following me until I jadi lemas and told her right away ,don't follow me, I'm not buying, she is! Instantly she went hand and foot after my friend. ( ini kes sudah salah terjah! )

Sometimes you can really become exasperated when shopping in the hypermarket,like if you are looking for something in certain departments and asked for assistance, you will get a blank stare.In hypermarkets the assistants can get away with it because their superiors are nowhere to be seen!

Pelbagai jenis bacaan AlQuran!

Tahun 70an dulu ramai qari dari Afrika dan negara-negara Arab lainnya datang ke Malaysia untuk mengambil bahagian dalam musabaqah al Quran setiap bulan puasa. Mereka datang dengan bacaan yang berbagai dan tidak sama dengan bacaan orang Malaysia. Ramai yang kehairanan, ada yang mentertawakan mereka dan ada yang mengatakan bacaan mereka itu salah.Setelah tahun 80an barulah bacaan semua qari diselaraskan iaitu mengikut bacaan qiraat Hafs an 'Asim.


Sesungguhnya ramai daripada kita tidak terdedah dengan ilmu qiraat. Ilmu qiraat telah pun berkembang luas di zaman Rasulullah s.a.w. dan di zaman selepasnya.Yang lain dari bacaan Rasulullah hukumnya haram membacanya walaupun betul dan tepat qiraat tersebut dalam kaedah bahasa Arab.Hukum mempelajari ilmu qiraat ini adalah fardu kifayah.



Terdapat 10 imam qiraat atau dikenali sebagai Qiraat Asyara.Setiap imam ini ada 2 orang perawi yang diakui dengan ini ada dua puluh jenis bacaan yang berbeza-beza mengikut tempat masing-masing. Antara imam -imam itu ialah Imam Nafi' dan dua orang perawinya iaitu Qolun dan Warsy, Imam A'sim dan perawinya ialah ialah Syu'bah dan Hafs ( qiraat riwayat Hafs ialah yang dibaca orang Malaysia ).Orang-orang Islam di Sudan membacaQuran qiraat riwayat Abu Amru, sementara negara Morocco dan Libya pula membaca dengan Qiraat riwayat Warsy.

Ustaz Mohd Rahim Jusoh ( pengarang buku Pengenalan Ilmu Qiraat, kitab Usul Qiraat Nafi' Al Madani serta Usul Qiraat Ibnu Kathir dan Abu Amru ) adalah pensyarah bahagian Qiraat dan Tajwid di UIA , dan kelas-kelas qiraat ini telah dibuka untuk orang awam. Pada awalnya kelas ini tidak dapat diteruskan kerana ramai yang syahid di tengah jalan, tetapi kini kelas telah pun bertambah apabila ramai yang telah terdedah dengan ilmu qiraat.



Sesungguh begitu luas ilmu Allah, bersyukurlah mendapat ilmu yang bermanfaat walaupun sedikit.

An addict who never repents.

At 78 he is still puffing like a chimney. Reads Quran and newspaper without glasses and drinks super kaw ( super candu ) coffee with only a teaspoon sugar.And cycles to masjid and nearby areas almost everyday.He is a good reciter of the Quran ( he was a qari during his younger days ) and his jawi writing is emaculate.

He is our beloved Abang Put. His handsome name is Ku Mahfuz and surat beranak name is Ku Shuib and he is my husband's eldest brother.And I'm not qualified to bancuh kopi for him,because my kopi will be cayak roi,he can't swallow it!

During school holidays he will be very busy, besides being jurunikah he also attends kenduri in his area. Sometimes he has to attend 10 to 12 kenduri in a day. So when I asked -- macam mana abang makan, banyak sangat kenduri , he then will say, abang makan di rumah pertama sahaja yang lain-lain abang mintak kopi. That means he drinks more than 10 cups of coffee a day, not including the ones he takes at home early morning and at night.

Everytime his children got married , he will invite between 2000 - 3000 guests. When we asked why so many, he said I know almost everybody in the kampung and they know me, if I invite this person the next person will be slighted. When our daughter got married we planned to have a small kenduri in Yan for those relatives who couldn't come to KL.They didn't allow him to do the invitation,for fear he might invite the whole kampung!

Recently he had a slight cough, so all the sisters insisted he went for check up. They said , abang kuat rokok pi jumpa doktor cepat-cepat.He was quite scared and he didn't waste any time to go for check up. When we went back to Yan late last year, he told us, abang dah pi check doktor,x-ray - doktor kata takdak apa.
And he continues smoking happily! He said pada orang bagi duit 5 ringgit kat aku baik bagi sekotak rokok. My daughter said , raya ni tak payah bagi hadiah lain kat Pak Cak, bagi hamper rokok ajelah.Dia tergelak besar, and continued puffing his rokok cigeret ( sometimes he smokes rokok daun ) in between sipping the super black kopi.