"Aku"

Wahai muslim yang mempunyai mata,

Tidakkah kamu lihat kanak-kanak kecil itu,

Tidak tahu apa-apa tentang dirinya sendiri,

Telinganya tidak mengerti maksud lagu yang diperdengarkan kepadanya,

Dia hanya bisa merengek dan meronta-ronta,

Alam ini menolong manusia untuk melihat segala sesuatu,

Tetapi mereka tidak dapat melihat dirinya sendiri,

Setelah bersusah-payah menarik tali, barulah nyata kepadanya,

Setelah kedua tangannya membuka ikatan,

Lalu matanya melihat dirinya berpekik,

Sambil menepuk dadanya dan dia berkata: "Inilah aku!"

'Aku' itu bermulanya hidup,

Inilah bahasa kebangkitan untuk kembalinya hidup ini.

-Muhammad Iqbal-

'Aku' itu tanda adanya kehidupan. Tanpa 'aku', siapakah itu mahkluk yang dinamakan manusia. 'Aku' itu ertinya beribu. Ada 'aku' yang ingin duduk sempit di dalam sebuah kotak kecil. Ada 'aku' yang ingin hidup tanpa ikatan. Ada 'aku' yang ingin memakan 'aku' yang lain. Ada 'aku' yang ingin menjadi pembawa obor kebebasan. Ada 'aku' yang ingin hidup sebagai pengembara, ada yang lain ingin hidup sebagai orang asing, ada yang ingin hidup kekal di tempat persinggahan.

Tanpa 'aku', manusia menjadi bangkai hidup. Anak singa menjadi kijang. Kijang dibaham tok rimau buas. Ngauman rimau bermaharajalela di hutan belantara.

Kanak-kanak kecil itu kini yatim piatu,

Tanpa 'aku' yang jitu memberi didik,

'Aku' ingin mencari nilai-nilai itu,

Tercari-cari cermin yang hilang,

Ternanti-nanti sinar mentari terang,

Tertunggu-tunggu bulan dan bintang,

Pintu hati diketuk sang soalan,

Tingkap minda dibuka melayan angin kecewa,

Bumbung jasad dihujani embun kaku,

'Aku'......

Siapakah 'aku' yang sebenar ini?

Ten words of wisdom

The Most Selfish One-Letter Word "I". Avoid It.

وَكَانَ لَهُ ثَمَرٌ فَقَالَ لِصَاحِبِهِ وَهُوَ يُحَاوِرُهُ أَنَا أَكْثَرُ مِنْكَ مَالا وَأَعَزُّ نَفَرًا
(Abundant) was the produce this man had : he said to his companion, in the course of a mutual argument: "more wealth have I than you, and more honour and power in (my following of) men."

(Al-Kahf [The Cave: 34])

The Most Satisfying Two-Letter Word"WE". Use It.

قُلْ أَنَدْعُو مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لا يَنْفَعُنَا وَلا يَضُرُّنَا وَنُرَدُّ عَلَى أَعْقَابِنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ كَالَّذِي اسْتَهْوَتْهُ الشَّيَاطِينُ فِي الأرْضِ حَيْرَانَ لَهُ أَصْحَابٌ يَدْعُونَهُ إِلَى الْهُدَى ائْتِنَا قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى اللَّهِ هُوَ الْهُدَى وَأُمِرْنَا لِنُسْلِمَ لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

وَأَنْ أَقِيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَاتَّقُوهُ وَهُوَ الَّذِي إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
Say: "Shall we indeed call on others besides Allah,- things that can do us neither good nor harm,- and turn on our heels after receiving guidance from Allah? - like one whom the evil ones have made into a fool, wandering bewildered through the earth, his friends calling, come to us', (vainly) guiding him to the path." Say: "Allah's guidance is the (only) guidance, and we have been directed to submit ourselves to the Lord of the worlds;

"To establish regular prayers and to fear Allah: for it is to Him that we shall be gathered together."

(Al-Anaam [Cattle, Livestock: 71-72])

The Most Poisonous Three-Letter Word"EGO". Kill It.

قَالَ إِنَّمَا أُوتِيتُهُ عَلَى عِلْمٍ عِنْدِي أَوَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَهْلَكَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مَنْ هُوَ أَشَدُّ مِنْهُ قُوَّةً وَأَكْثَرُ جَمْعًا وَلا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذُنُوبِهِمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ

He said: "This has been given to me because of a certain knowledge which I have." Did he not know that Allah had destroyed, before him, (whole) generations,- which were superior to him in strength and greater in the amount (of riches) they had collected? but the wicked are not called (immediately) to account for their sins.

(Al-Qasas [The Story, Stories: 78])

The Most Used Four-Letter Word"LOVE". Value It.

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُمْ مَوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.

(Ar-Room [The Romans, The Byzantines: 21])

The Most Pleasing Five Letter Word"SMILE". Keep It.

وَأَنَّهُ هُوَ أَضْحَكَ وَأَبْكَى
That it is He Who granteth Laughter and Tears;

(An-Najm [The Star: 43])

The Fastest Spreading Six-Letter Word"RUMOUR". Ignore It.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيرًا مِنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلا يَغْتَبْ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَحِيمٌ
O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it...But fear Allah: For Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.

(Al-Hujraat [The Private Apartments, The Inner Apartments: 12])

The Hardest Working Seven Letter Word"SUCCESS". Achieve It.

رِجَالٌ لا تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَلا بَيْعٌ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ الصَّلاةِ وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ يَخَافُونَ يَوْمًا تَتَقَلَّبُ فِيهِ الْقُلُوبُ وَالأبْصَارُ

لِيَجْزِيَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنَ مَا عَمِلُوا وَيَزِيدَهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَاللَّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ
By men whom neither traffic nor merchandise can divert from the Remembrance of Allah, nor from regular Prayer, nor from the practice of regular Charity: Their (only) fear is for the Day when hearts and eyes will be transformed (in a world wholly new),

That Allah may reward them according to the best of their deeds, and add even more for them out of His Grace: for Allah doth provide for those whom He will, without measure.

(An-Noor [The Light: 37-38])

The Most Enviable Eight-Letter Word"JEALOUSY". Distance It.

إِذْ قَالُوا لَيُوسُفُ وَأَخُوهُ أَحَبُّ إِلَى أَبِينَا مِنَّا وَنَحْنُ عُصْبَةٌ إِنَّ أَبَانَا لَفِي ضَلالٍ مُبِينٍ

اقْتُلُوا يُوسُفَ أَوِ اطْرَحُوهُ أَرْضًا يَخْلُ لَكُمْ وَجْهُ أَبِيكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا مِنْ بَعْدِهِ قَوْمًا صَالِحِينَ
They said: "Truly Joseph and his brother are loved more by our father than we: But we are a goodly body! really our father is obviously wandering (in his mind)!

"Slay ye Joseph or cast him out to some (unknown) land, that so the favour of your father may be given to you alone: (there will be time enough) for you to be righteous after that!"

(Yusuf [Joseph: 8-9])

The Most Powerful Nine-Letter Word"KNOWLEDGE". Acquire It (of Allah & the Holy Qu'ran).

وَالْقُرْآنِ الْحَكِيمِ
By the Qur'an, full of Wisdom

(Ya-Seen [Ya-Seen: 2])

إِنَّا أَنْزَلْنَاهُ قُرْآنًا عَرَبِيًّا لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ
We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an, in order that ye may learn wisdom.

(Yusuf [Joseph: 2])

The Most Essential Ten-Letter Word"CONFIDENCE". Trust It (Trust in Allah's Guidance).

قُلْ لَنْ يُصِيبَنَا إِلا مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلانَا وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector": and on Allah let the Believers put their trust.

(At-Tawba [Repentance, Dispensation: 51])

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ يَهْدِيهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِإِيمَانِهِمْ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهِمُ الأنْهَارُ فِي جَنَّاتِ النَّعِيمِ
Those who believe, and work righteousness,- their Lord will guide them because of their faith: beneath them will flow rivers in gardens of bliss.

(Yunus [Jonah: 9])

fragmented neurons

I was memorising nmemonics of this week...

TLC, FRC, IC, RV, VC, FVC, FEV1 when suddenly these words popped out of nowhere... MCV, DRE, IVC, SVC...

Certainly something wrong have happened to my neurons. To those non-medical readers, the former list of nmemonics were all related to respiratory physiology. TLC - total lung capacity, FRC - functional residual capacity, IC - inspiratory capacity, RV - residual volume, VC - vital capacity, FVC - forced vital capacity, FEV 1 - forced expired capacity in 1 second...

but the latter list were not all related to the respiratory physiology. MCV - mean corpuscular volume, one type of blood test; DRE - digital rectal examination, physical examination on the rectum; IVC - inferior vena cava, main vein in the body; SVC - superior vena cava, another important vein in the body;

Seemingly my neurons are fragmented. It is not surprising that I got little headache in learning all those jargons. Those abbreviations I couldn't delete it forever since I will used it the clinical years and when I treat the patients later. As the computer need to be maintained frequently by defragmentation and partition...hmm, I guess I need to do a little bit of 'defragmentation' of those neurons this very weekend. Too much info being trapped into my precious neurons. Need to sort it out before I lose control of the massive information of the world of medicine....

Too many abbreviations in this world of medicine. Every letter mean something in everything....I really need to fix my neurons now...

1 down, 13 more to go....

One week passed already, another 13 strenuous hectic weeks to go before I sit for the semester 3 exam. And then, it will be one month winter holiday. Can't wait for the holiday though :D

Talking about exams, 'unfortunately' we have four mid-semesters exams in the coming 13 weeks. I guess this blog will see lots of emptiness since I will be extremely busy with the study and PBL cases.

Since Aliya asked my academic report for the first week...here it goes.

On Monday, we have PBL case to be solved by Friday. Luckily, it was not that hard to be crack with. The most interesting happened in this week is the anatomy lectures. For about a year, we had very very lousy anantomy lectures, not to mention the practical seminars. They expect us to know detailed anatomy concepts and facts prior to the lectures. It wasn't that I don't read enough but mind you that one anatomy books is as thick as 400 pages. To read those thick pages and comprehending the 3D visual of human body....that takes time.

But this time, we have different lecturer to teach us anatomy. She was good in delivering all those weird anatomy jargons to us and expect that we know nothing about anatomy, which was quite good for my friends and I. Crystal clear it was such that I don't need to read a lot in the anatomy book later.

For countless time again, we visited our cadaevers. This time there are more dead bodies to be dissect and more opportunity to handle those cadaver in youe own hand. Speaking of my own hand, I get the opportunity to show my skills in dissecting cadaever chest layer by layer. I managed to show them (read: my fellow friends) the correct way to peel off those skin and the subcutaneous fascia. Pouring out my pasttime skill in 'melapah lembu' on those cadaever, my friends were amazed. Hehe...one advantage of being a Muslim ;)

Okay, thats for now....wassalam

anyone for Gmail?

I have been using Gmail for a couple of weeks now. One advantage of using Gmail is that the storage size is too big. 1 GB! I bet it will take an eon for me to used up all those spaces.

Now, I have several invitations offered by Google. I don't know to whom I should invite to use Gmail for....so, I cordially invited any of my friends who are interested to create Gmail, one of the latest news in email technology...

Just drop a line in the comment, and I will invite you later....bear in mind that I have LIMITED number of invitations....

departing from summer holiday...

This 14th February....I will start my new semester. After peacefully enjoying every bit of serenity of three months long summer holiday, now I have to enter the world of struggle and hardship again!

Either I would like to embrace the coming semester or not, that is not the question. I have to mentally prepared myself to face the coming semester. With new faces in my PBL group and the old faces in the ICM and prac group, I wonder how this would decorate my semester. 9 am lectures, aeon pracs looking over the dead bodies, domination in PBL, attachment at God-knows-where hospital (hopefully it is not that far away)....hopefully, I can endure all of this again.

I still cannot imagine that this holiday is already at its end, hoping at the very least that the coming semester will not bring me too many despair and hopelessness in it.

But I ought to be optimistic not pessimistic. Life is a struggle. Life is uncharted ocean of experience. Endure it using the oar of wisdom and the wind of courage. When the goings get tough, the tough gets going.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

An insighful poem. Always learned new meaning everytimes contemplate on the poem.

wassalam.

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

You Have A Type A- Personality

A- You are one of the most balanced people around Motivated and focused, you are good at getting what you want You rule at success, but success doesn't rule you. When it's playtime, you really know how to kick back Whether it's hanging out with friends or doing something you love! You live life to the fullest - encorporating the best of both worlds

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

1426...sapience

The coming 1426 marked the already passive 'dead' Muslim community throughout the chaotic world. A billion Muslims but few gathered to be united under one faith. A billion Muslims but few remain ever faithful towards islam. A billion Muslims but few had the pride to be a true Muslim.

A sunset it seems to be, but hopefully it will be a solar eclipse. The evildoer reigned the globe and the pious ones become the scattered flocks. The light of truth seemingly becoming vague each day. The powerful sun seems to be abandoning the earth and the force of darkness prevail without any strong fight from the defender of truth.

all the noises that dumbfound us,

the clatter and the clamour of the clutter of our lives.

Cars and streets make silence shatter,

idle minds fill up with idle chatter,

if we fill our void that’s all that matters.

Why are the drums so silent?

Why can’t we hear the rhythm?

What’s wrong with you and I?

Why are the drums so silent?

Why can’t we hear the rhythm from the heals of believers

marching to the garden as they strive?

We’ve digitized The Revelation.

Does our rehearsed recitation
go any deeper than our throats?

Our calls to prayer seem to rise up to the sky,

conferences and lectures, seminars for you and I,

the words that blow away with anasheed that make us cry yet,

Why are the drums so silent?

Why can’t we hear the rhythm?
What’s wrong with you and I?

Why are the drums so silent?

Why can’t we hear the rhythm from the heals of believers

marching to the garden as they strive?

If we can just be brave enough to be each other’s mirror

we may finally recognize the face of conscience that we fear.

And if we take the time to mute the noise we’ve built around ourselves

the rhythm of the heartbeats and the purpose may be clear,

If we beat the drum… (a whisper of peace…)

Beat the drum… (moving through the land…)

Beat the drum…

If we beat the drums of hope and faith

we will all fall into rhythm, I have faith in you and I.

If we beat the drums of hope and faith, then we will feel the rhythm

from our footsteps and our striving,

marching to the garden as we try.

Dawud Wharnsby Ali - Why Are The Drums So Silent?

The long remembered exodus/hijrah but few learned and practised the real essence of those hardship. The Companions are long gone and they have set the standard for us to emulate. They have achieved the peace and the serenity of this world through wisdom they gained and learned from Rasulullah and al-Quran, yet to many people today, al-Quran is just a matter of free time to be read once a year and an issue of tradition.

New year comes, but how many hesitate to progress to a better life?

One year gone, but to what extent are our achievement?

On the authority of Ibn 'Umar, radiyallahu 'anhuma, who said: The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, took me by the shoulder and said:
"Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a traveler/wayfarer." Ibn 'Umar used to say: "When evening comes, do not expect (to live till) morning, and when morning comes, do not expect (to live till) evening. Take from your health (a preparation) for your illness, and from your life for your death."
[Al-Bukhari]

Becoming a stranger is an easier choice than a traveller. The stranger is usually prepared to eventually go back to his original place or home town. His heart will always long for his home. His main concern will be in preparation to do whatever possible and beneficial for returning. A stranger does not look like the other people in his current environment - he is different.

Ibn Al-Qayyim, a famous Muslim scholar, says that a Muslim is a stranger amongst the disbelievers and the Mu'min is a stranger amongst the Muslims, and the Muhsin is a stranger amongst the Mu'mins.

A traveller is one that always travels days and nights without stopping and heeding towards his final destination. If he stops for a while, this is to provide himself with the needed power to continue his journey and to go farther until he achieves his main objective. A stranger might obtain and keep more things than he actually needs but the traveler takes as little as possible in terms of luggage or other things.

Yet many Muslims dare not to be neither a stranger nor a traveller. To them, the world is their ultimate dream and it is the final destination. Many people aghast when death struck. Prepare or not, the death will come to you eventually. Be prepared!

It is time for all of us to reflect and progress. Not the time for us to complain, regret nor lament on the past. Let bygone be bygone. Let us turn a new chapter into our life. Open it with endurance and fill it with wisdom. May the force of truth be upon us. May the light of truth shine again.

Let the vibrant of truth echoes throughout the vast universe....

wallahuallam.

100 tahun meneroka sejarah....

2005 menandakan tahun ke 100 bekas sekolah menengah aku menempatkan dirinya di dalam sejarah Malaya, Semenanjung Tanah Melayu dan Malaysia. Ditubuhkan pada 1905 dan menerima kemasukan pelajar pertama pada 2 Januari 1905, ia telah banyak mencorakkan sejarah negaraku ini. Antara gelarannya ialah "the Eton of the East' sempena mengambil nama Eton, institusi pendidikan terunggul di England yang ditubuhkan pada 1440 oleh King Henry VI.

1905 - 2005

Merupakan antara binaan tertua di bandar kelahiranku dengan struktur Graeco-Romannya, ia jelas mencorakkan peta landskap di bandarku ini. Kalau anda berkunjung ke bandarku ini, tidak sah jika tidak berkunjung ke sekolahku ini yang agak unik dan berbeza daripada sekolah-sekolah ternama di seluruh pelusuk Malaysia. Bandar Diraja adalah gelaran bandar kelahiranku dan sekolahku ini dahulunya juga merupakan sekolah diraja, khas untuk golongan sultan, bangsawan dan yang elit sahaja.

Sekolahku....namanya bukan bermula dengan perkataan sekolah. Lambangnya berasaskan 4 warna negeri di Malaysia. Namanya...Kolej Melayu Kuala Kangsar (MCKK). Namanya digeruni lawan dan kawan. Ramai orang yang bermimpikan untuk memasuki MCKK dan tidak kurang juga yang mengkiritiknya.

100 tahun berlalu, pelbagai nama dan tokoh pemimpin telah dilahirkan.

Almarhum Sultan Salahudin Abdul Aziz, bekas DYMM Yang Di-Pertuan Agong; Tuanku Jaafar, Sultan Azlan Shah, sultan Perak; Almarhum Tunku Hishamuddin Alam Shah, bekas Sultan Selangor; Allahyarham Datuk Onn Jaafar; Allahyarham Tun Abdul Razak, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Pendeta Zaba; Tan Sri Musa Mohamad; Dato Seri Hishamudin Hussain; Dato Seri Effendi Norwawi; Tan Sri Razali Ismail; Tan Sri Hassan Merican, bekas CEO Petronas; Tan Sri Saleh Sulong; Tan Sri Halim Saad; Tun Haniff Omar; Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad; Dr Hatta Ramli; Hishamudin Rais...... merupakan sebahagian kecil daripada mereka yang telah dilahirkan oleh MCKK.

Kalau anda menggunakan PLUS Highway dan melihat di papan iklan besar yang berada di sepanjang lebuh raya, pasti anda akan melihat perkataan 'BigTree'. Big Tree merupakan syarikat pengiklanan yang terkenal dan nama 'Big Tree' itu sebenarnya diambil daripada sebuah pokok besar di MCKK. Pengaruh bekas pelajar MCKK @ MCOBA sebenarnya amat meluas dan pernah satu ketika dikatakan berjaya mengawal sektor ekonomi, politik dan kesultanan di Malaysia. Hampir kesemua bekas pelajar MCKK mempunyai seakan-akan semangat 'asabiyyah' kerana terlalu mengagung-agungkan sekolah terpencil di bandar Kuala Kangsar yang kecil.

big tree

Teringat aku kembali pengalamanku di MCKK. Aku memasuki MCKK ketika di Tingkatan 4 dan tatkala itu, pelbagai cabaran dan dugaan yang menimpaku. Ada yang pahit, ada yang manis namun itulah yang mewarnai kehidupanku selaku pelajar MCKK.

Pada zaman awal penubuhannya, MCKK berjaya menempa nama selaku institusi pendidikan terulung di Malaysia atas kecemerlangan di bidang akademik dan sukannya. Namun, pada zamanku, sekolahku ini mula mengalami zaman kemerosotannya di dalam bidang akademik. Oleh kerana terlalu menumpukan terhadap kegiatan ko-kurikulum, akademik hampir tergadai.

Bayangkanlah, hampir setiap sukan yang kami ceburi, pasti kami bergelar juara. Sekurang-kurangnya juara negeri. Ragbi, bola sepak, kriket, polo air, tenis, badminton, bola keranjang, bola baling, hoki, bola tampar, sepak takraw, olahraga....MCKK mendominasi di peringkat daerah, negeri, kebangsaan dan antarabangsa. Pada zamanku, sukan ragbi hampir berjaya mencipta sejarah. SAS, STAR...antara musuh tradisi kami, kami telah tewaskan mereka. Kolej Vajiravudh, Bangkok, Thailand hampir-hampir kami tumpaskan di bumi Kuala Kangsar.

west wing

Untuk debat pula, MCKK pasti dicemburui ramai malah aku boleh mengira berapa ramai di antara SBP yang ingin melihat sekolahku ini tewas. Tunku Kurshiah College, Sekolah Alam Shah, Sekolah Sri Puteri ...merupakan musuh-musuh tradisi di dalam debat ini. Aku masih lagi mengingati pertarungan sengit dalam perdebatan pelbagai peringkat.

Dan di MCKK ini jugalah yang menemukan aku dengan Ihsan Khairir dan Cheme. Kami bertemu di suatu program yang mengumpulkan pelajar-pelajar terbaik SBP di seantero Malaysia. Selama beberapa hari, kami dilatih untuk menajamkan teknik menjawab soalan Matematik Tambahan dan Fizik di PERMATA. Aku dan Ihsan merupakan teman sebilik namun kami berada di dalam kumpulan yang berbeza.

Dan kerana program itulah juga, peperiksaan percubaan SPM di MCKK dilanjutkan seminggu. Kami, peserta program dan peserta debat yang bertanding di peringkat kebangsaan menduduki trial SPM lewat seminggu dari tarikh asal.

Aku masih ingat lagi betapa sibuknya menjadi seorang pelajar MCKK. Pada awal tahun, tatkala kelas mula dibuka...kami disibukkan dengan kejohanan sukan tahunan yang berlangsung. Tatkala cikgu sibuk mengajar, fikiran kami melayang ke padang memikirkan strategi untuk mengalahkan rumah sukan lagi satu. Di kala cikgu memberikan latihan untuk disiapkan, kami sibuk melakarkan program latihan untuk memenangi kejohanan sukan tahunan. Bagi yang terlibat dengan debat dan kuiz, mereka akan asyik berada di dalam 'invisible mode' di kelas lantaran sibuk dengan persediaan yang rapi. Ketika kami sibuk bertelagah dalam menentukan wakil rumah sukan bagi setiap jenis sukan, para guru pula sibuk 'bertelagah' berebutkan pelajar untuk mewakili kuiz atau sukan atau debat masing-masing. Hehe...suatu pengalaman yang tidak dapat dilupakan.

Di pertengahan tahun, kami sibuk pergi menyokong wakil kolej yang memasuki peringkat negeri. MCKK mempunyai pasukan soraknya yang tersendiri dan mempunyai lagu sorakan sekurang-kurangnya 30 buah lagu dan kesemuanya kami pahat di dalam hati. Tiada satu sekolah di Malaysia yang mampu menandingi kekuatan sorakan kami dan tiada siapa yang memiliki lagu sorakan seunik MCKK. Bukan setakat menyanyi, kami juga mempunyai gerakan tertentu berdasarkan setiap lagu.

Di akhir tahun, ketika sekolah-sekolah lain sibuk dengan suasana peperiksaan dan ramai yang mula berhenti dari kegiatan ko-kurikulumnya, kami di MCKK sibuk dengan persiapan untuk peringkat kebangsaan dan antarabangsa. Ketika inilah, kami mengadakan perlawanan tahunan dengan pelbagai sekolah lain dan di antaranya ialah perlawanan ragbi tahunan dengan Kolej Vajiravudh dari Thailand.

Selaku Sekolah Berasrama Penuh tertua di Malaysia, MCKK memiliki sejarah dan tradisi yang tiada pada SBP lain. Ada tradisi yang baik dan ada yang buruk, namun kesemuanya diwarisi sejak turun-temurun.

quadrangle

rumah berhantu....tiada siapa yang sanggup mendiaminya

Terlalu banyak pengalaman dan kenangan yang mencubit hatiku ketika bergelar pelajar MCKK. Namun, itulah sebahagian daripada kehidupanku dan ia akan kekal sebagai teladan dan pengajaran di kemudian hari.

Signs of the Last Day

The Signs are listed in roughly chronological order, although the order is not necessarily precise, especially for those in the future.

This is a brief summary of the signs; there are many books, articles, cassettes etc. which discuss these in greater detail. May Allah enable us to recognise and heed the Signs, and strengthen us in the times of tribulation.

"Are they waiting for anything except the Hour, to come to them suddenly? But its Signs have already come!" (Al-Qur’an, Surah Muhammad)

Past
1. Splitting of the Moon.
2. Death of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
3. A form of death which will kill thousands of Muslims. (Understood to refer to the plague of Amwas during the caliphate of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab.)
4. A major fighting in Madinah (understood to refer to the battle of al-Harrah during the caliphate of Yazid, 63 AH).
5. The Muslim conquest of Jerusalem.
6. The Muslim conquest of Constantinople.
7. Two large groups of Muslims will fight in war.
8. A war between the Muslims and a reddish people with small eyes, wearing sandals made of hair (understood to refer to the Mongol Tatar invasion of the Islamic lands that almost destroys the great civilasation)
9. A peace agreement between the Muslims and non-Muslims from the yellow race (Chinese, Mongols, etc.)
10. Thirty impostors (dajjal) will appear, each thinking he is a prophet.

Present?
11. Naked, destitute, barefoot shepherds will compete in building tall buildings. (ie poor countries competing with each other to build tall buildings, KLCC in Malaysia?)
12. The slave-woman will give birth to her master or mistress. (the mother become slave/servant to her own son/daughters)
13. A trial (fitnah) which will enter every Arab household.
14. Knowledge will be taken away (by the death of people of knowledge), and ignorance will prevail.
15. Wine (intoxicants, alcohol) will be drunk in great quantities.
16. Illegal sexual intercourse will become widespread.
17. Earthquakes will increase. (How about the latest tsunami? Isn't it caused by an earthquake?)
18. Time will pass more quickly.
19. Tribulations (fitnah) will prevail.
20. Bloodshed will increase. (the unresolved Palestinian war, Chechen, North and South Korea,Iraq, Ivory Coast, Sudan..to name a few war-thorn countries)
21. A man will pass by the grave of another and wish he was in the latter’s place.
22. Trustworthiness will be lost, i.e. when authority is given to those who do not deserve it. (How many corrupted leaders you know?)
23. People will gather for prayer, but will be unable to find an imam to lead them. (Too many people didn't practise Islam as it should be till nobody feel qualified as imam, can also be interpreted as the loss of the Caliph)

Future
24. The number of men will decrease, whilst the number of women will increase, until for every man there are 50 women. (probably due to massive war or disease that kills many men?)
25. The Euphrates will reveal a treasure of gold, and many will die fighting over it, each one hoping to be the one who gains the treasure. (The Euphrates is located between Turkey, Iraq and Syria...hmm, isn't the Iraq war was caused by the oil {oil = gold}?)
26. The Romans (Europeans) will come to a place called A’maq or Wabiq, and an army of the best people will go forth from Madinah to face them.
27. The Muslim conquest of Rome.
28. The Mahdi (guided one) will appear, and be the Imam of the Muslims.
29. Jesus Christ will descend in Damascus, and pray behind the Mahdi.
30. Jesus will break the cross and kill the swine, i.e. destroy the false christianity.
31. The Antichrist (al-masih al-dajjal, the false christ) will appear, with all his tools of deception, and be an immense trial. He will be followed by 70,000 Jews from Isfahan (present-day Iran).
32. The appearance of Ya’juj and Ma’juj (Gog and Magog), and the associated tribulations.
33. The emergence of the Beast from the Earth, carrying the Staff of Moses and the Seal of Solomon, who will speak to the people, telling them they did not believe with certainty in the Divine Signs.
34. A major war between the Muslims (including Jews and Christians who truly believe in Jesus after his return) led by the Imam Mahdi, and the Jews plus other non-Muslims led by the Antichrist.
35. Jesus will kill the Antichrist at the gate of Ludd (Lod in present-day Israel, site of an airport and a major Israeli military base).
36. A time of great peace and serenity during and after the remaining lifetime of Jesus.
37. Wealth will come so abundant that it will become difficult to find someone to accept charity.
38. Arabia will become a land of gardens and rivers.
39. Society will then decay.
40. The buttocks of the women of the tribe of Daws will again sway in circumambulation (tawaf) around the idol Dhul-Khulsah.
41. A great fire in the Hijaz, seen by the inhabitants of Busra.
42. Three major armies will sink into the earth: one in the east, one in the west, one in Arabia.
43. An Abyssinian leader with thin shins will destroy the Ka’bah.
44. The huge cloud of smoke.
45. The sun will rise from the west (its place of setting).
46. A gentle wind which will take the souls of the believers.
47. There is no-one left on the earth saying, "Allah, Allah" or "There is no god except Allah."
48. Eventually the Day of Judgment is established upon the worst of the people, who copulate like donkeys in public.
49. The blowing in the Trumpet by the Angel Israfil, upon which everyone will faint except as Allah wills.
50. The second blowing in the Trumpet, upon which everyone will be resurrected.

taken from here

Despite the numerous signs we saw and experienced daily, how many times our faith strengthened? Are we waiting to see the ultimate day to be convinced?

wallahuallam

p/s - The writing in red was my comment on the article...

ampun kemaafan....

Yang kurik itu kendi,
Yang merah itu saga,
Yang cantik itu budi,
Yang indah itu bahasa,

Menara api haluan perahu,
Patah galah embun berderai,
Niat hati siapa yang tahu,
Sekali salah hancur birai,

Buah berangan masaknya merah,
Kelekati di dalam perahu,
Luka di tangan nampak berdarah,
Luka di hati siapa tahu,

Terlajak perahu boleh diundur,
Terlajak kata buruk padahnya,
Terlajak perahu boleh diukur,
Terlajak kata hilang percaya,

Menambah ceria di persada mewangi,
Mencoret kata berpantun di sini,
Salah sedikit usah dikenangi,
Lupakan saja apa yang terjadi,

Ngauman rimau raja rimba,
Terkejut kancil teringat derita,
Sifat alpa adat manusia,
Maaf tuan hamba pinta,

Freaky storm here...

On Monday, the temperature was around 36 C but since Melbourne was renowned for it's four-season-in-a-day...later that night, the weather change drastically.

First, the wind blasted everything on its way be it trees, houses, bicycles, cars or even buildings. The temperature drops significantly. It was getting colder as we reached the midnight. When I woke up the next morning, it was already raining cats and dogs. The tempereature unbelievably drop to 14 C, half of yesterday warmth. Freezing cold, I put on my winter cloths.

Looking outside, everything was bathed with the chilly raindrops. Luckily Melbourne had an efficient sewerage system in comparison to KL. If this kind of weather hit KL, I bet it was gonna be a disaster.

The heavy rain continue throughout the day till the next morning. Here what I got from the online news.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Police are searching for a boy believed to have been swept under a bridge by floods in Melbourne, while snow was reported in Victoria's alpine regions following wild storms that struck Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales and south-east Queensland.Police search and rescue and local State Emergency Service volunteers are searching for a boy believed to have been swept under a bridge by flooding on his way to school in Melbourne.

Shortly after 8am (AEDT) a passer-by told police that a young boy was in Skeleton Creek under the Sayers Road Bridge in Tarneit, in the city's south west.

Meanwhile, despite temperatures of 36C earlier in the week, heavy snow was reported at the Falls Creek and Mt Hotham ski resorts in Victoria's alpine regions following freak storms that swept across the eastern states.

The storms, caused by an intense low pressure system, brought chaos to Melbourne and parts of Victoria overnight, while strong winds also wrought damage in Tasmania.

Thousands of homes in Sydney and parts of NSW were left without power early today after wild storms yesterday and overnight storms caused blackouts in south-east Queensland.

In Melbourne, storms overnight caused flash flooding, while winds and falling trees left a trail of damage.

Flights into Melbourne late last night were diverted because of bad weather.

Victoria's State Emergency Service was swamped by more than 2500 calls overnight, stretching volunteers to the limit.

"It has certainly been a very busy night, with every suburb of Melbourne, parts of eastern Victoria and the Geelong/Bellarine Peninsula areas being affected," SES spokesman Peter Cocks said.

Mr Cocks said the storms which hit Melbourne were some of the worst the Victorian SES could recall.

Trains and trams across Melbourne were trapped at stations and depots and police urged Melburnians to stay away from the city if possible.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Ward Rooney said the weather was among the most extraordinary he had witnessed.

Melbourne's average February rainfall is 45.8mm, but the city received 120mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am (AEDT) today, more than for any other day in any month since records began in 1856.

The previous record for rainfall over the city in 24 hours was 108mm in 1951.

By 8.15am (AEDT) today, clouds were breaking up over Melbourne and blue skies reappearing.
However flooding continued to cause problems, with a swollen creek this morning trapping a man and woman in their cars at Arthurs Creek, about 40km north-east of Melbourne.

The heaviest rain fell on south central and south-eastern Victoria, Mr Rooney said.

The highest rainfall totals were recorded at Wallaby Creek, in the Goulburn River catchment north-east of Melbourne, with 171mm since 9am yesterday, and 168mm at Monbulk, in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne.

"There is also a bundle of figures above 100mm across southern Victoria," Mr Rooney said.

"This is a very intense low pressure system that has developed virtually over the top of Victoria.
"And because it's such a strong low pressure system, we also have very strong winds."

Forecasters were optimistic the rain had fallen in Melbourne's catchments but a Melbourne Water spokeswoman said the effect would not be known until later today.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued widespread flood warnings across southern Victoria.
High winds caused an 80m jib to snap from a crane at the MCG overnight, where construction company Grocon is building new spectator stands.

In Tasmania, heavy winds buffeted the north of the state, damaging homes around Devonport.
NSW, meanwhile, was recovering from storms late yesterday which blacked out thousands of homes around Sydney and on the Central Coast.

Heavy rain and large hail stones pummelled parts of Sydney and the Central Coast yesterday, causing flooding, while winds of more than 90km/h brought down trees and power lines and tore roofs off buildings.

The bad weather also brought tragedy, with Sydney schoolgirl Klara Clausen, 16, killed by a falling tree during a school camp in the NSW southern highlands early yesterday.

In south-east Queensland today hundreds of homes were still without power after overnight thunderstorms.

Most of the blackouts were in the Gold Coast hinterland and Beaudesert regions but supplies were expected to be restored within the next few hours, a spokeswoman for electricity distributor Energex said.

Around 16,000 homes had their power cut at the height of the storm last night.

The storms followed a massive dust storm which blanketed large areas of Queensland yesterday.

news.com.au

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whoa...even got snow during summer...freaky weather indeed

Affiliate

Reading through all those lengthy post of mine on the adventure of Cobram and Wandin East, editing little bit here and there...finally I managed to fuse all those posts into one big extended post.

Next, I checked the word count for the post and too surprised that it was only around 10 000 words ;)

According to this web, anything that is written between 7500 to 20 000 words should be called as a novellete whereas novel is for those stories that exceed 50 000 words. Guess I should write 5 times longer to reach the status of novel. With that in mind, hopefully it will resolve the argument that my post is as long as a novel...... hehe..........

On second thought, why don't I put this one big chunk of novellete at another blog. Hmm, great idea though....thus, I created another blog of mine.

Click here to see.

wallahuallam...

Final note for Wandin & Cobram...

Setelah beberapa minggu bekerja di ladang ceri ini, pertama sebagai pemetik ceri dan keduanya sebagai 'cherry sorter'....akhirnya kesemua ceri di ladang itu habis. Tiada lagi ceri untuk dimakan ;) tiada lagi ceri untuk dipetik dan tiada lagi ceri untuk dibuang. Maka, berakhirlah kerja kami ini.

Mungkin ada yang tertanya-tanya....apakah yang aku dapat dari pekerjaan ini?

Sebenarnya....agak banyak juga aku telah pelajari dan fikirkan sepanjang perjalananku yang bermula di Cobram dan berakhir di Wandin East. Duit...Alhamdulillah, rasanya lebih dari cukup. Namun, sebenarnya duit bukanlah matlamatku bekerja selama ini. Ada matlamatlain yang ingin kucapai dan aku rasa matlamat itu telah pun tercapai.

Tafsiran kita terhadap sesuatu peristiwa, sejarah mahu pun penjelasan maksud tersirat terhadap natijah yang nampak kesemuanya bergantung kepada pegangan individu yang melakukan penafsiran itu dan menurut neraca yang digunakannya untuk mengukur (Human perception).

Jika aku melihat matlamat hidup ini adalah untuk mencari kekayaan dalam bentuk wang, maka aku akan mengatakan gaji yang aku perolehi ini masih lagi tidak mencukupi. Jika aku melihat matlamat hidup ini adalah untuk mengisi masa lapang, maka aku akan mengatakan bahawa masih banyak lagi masa lapangku yang tidak terisi. Jika matlamatku adalah untuk mencari ketenangan jiwa dan kedamaian hati, mungkin aku akan bermuhasabah kembali. Jika matlamatku adalah untuk mencari keredhaan Illahi, mungkin aku akan merenung kembali apa yang telah kulakukan selama ini.

Ada orang menganggap bahawa dengan memiliki sejumlah wang yang banyak, dia telah mencapai kebahagiaan. Ada orang beranggapan dengan menguasai perniagaan bernilai berbilion ringgit, kebahagiaan telah dia ketemui. Ada orang beranggapan dengan gelaran seorang Dr, Ir mahu pun Datuk, dia telah berjaya dalam hidupnya ini.

Sebenarnya, itu semua bergantung kepada neraca yang kita gunakan selama ini. Jika kita melihat hanya kepada dunia sebagai sumber kehidupan kita, maka kita akan menyatakan kita telah pun mencapai kebahagiaan tatkala mencapai apa yang diimpikan oleh sebahagian umat manusia. Jika kita melihat menggunakan neraca dunia dan akhirat, kita akan mengatakan apa yang kita capai di dunia tatkala ini hanyalah seumpama debu-debu di padang pasir yang luas. Tidak bernilai sekali jika dibandingkan apa yang mampu kita perolehi di akhirat.

Jika kita melihat menggunakan ruang lingkup yang sempit, maka kita akan berfikiran sempit juga dan mungkin tidak akan dapat melihat apa yang ada di luar. Tika aku bekerja...aku menyedari bahawa manusia ini seringkali gundah-gelana tatkala ujian datang menimpa. Kadangkala kita diserang kesusahan, kita mula memaki-hamun. Tiba ujian kesenangan, kita alpa untuk bersyukur.

Kalaulah kita melihat dunia ini seumpama sebuah tempat persinggahan sementara untuk kita berehat, maka kita tidak akan menghiasi tempat permusafiran kita dengan begitu indah sekali.

Dari Ibn Umar r.a., katanya : " Rasulullah SAW telah memegang bahuku dan bersabda : ' Anggaplah dirimu di dunia ini sebagai seorang perantau, atau pengembara. ' Maka Ibn Umar berkata : "Jika engkau berada di waktu petang, maka janganlah engkau menunggu pagi. Dan jika engkau berada di waktu pagi maka janganlah engkau menunggu petang. Gunakanlah waktu sihatmu sebelum datang waktu sakit. Dan gunakanlah waktu hidupmu sebelum datang waktu mati. " [Riwayat Bukhari]

Kembara aku di dunia ini hanyalah sementara sahaja. Apabila kembaraku di dunia ini berakhir dan aku menuju ke tempat akhirat yang abadi, segala-galanya yang kucapai di dunia ini akan kutinggalkan.

Setiap apa yang kita cintai akan musnah. Ibu bapa akan meninggal dunia, pasangan hidup akan mati, adik-beradik akan meninggalkan kita bersendirian, harta akan hilang...pendek kata, segala perasaan cinta kita akan menjadi kecewa dan pasrah. Malah di tempat akhirat yang kita bakal tiba nanti pun, belum tentu kita akan bertemu semula ahli keluarga yang hilang. Kita belum mampu mengetahui samada kita akan bertemu semula ibu bapa kita, pasangan hidup atau pun adik-beradik yang tersayang. Tatkala memikirkan hakikat ini, aku sering memikirkan kembali akan matlamat hidupku ini....

Cinta kepada manusia hanya sementara, cinta kepada Illahi kekal abadi. Selaku pengembara, aku harus meneruskan kembaraku tanpa henti. Jikalau aku singgah di mana-mana tempat sekali pun, itu adalah untuk mencari bekalan sepanjang pengembaraanku ini. Aku tidak sepatutnya membawa barang muatan yang berlebihan. Aku hanya memerlukan hanya sedikit sahaja barang keperluan.

Selaku seorang pengembara juga, aku perlu berada di jalan yang betul. Kalau aku berada di jalan yang salah, aku akan tersesat dan aku tidak akan sampai di destinasi terakhir. Untuk itu, aku memerlukan ilmu pengetahuan yang benar. Jika aku tidak tahu menggunakan bintang dan matahari sebagai penunjuk jalan, kembaraku akan punah sama sekali. Untuk mencari ilmu yang benar itu, aku perlu mencari teman yang bakal menunjukkan aku jalan yang betul. Mampukah aku untuk bertemu teman seperti itu?

Namun, sifat manusia itu pelupa. Seringkali kita terlupa kehidupan ini adalah kembara kita ke akhirat. Kita mungkin mengetahui destinasi terakhir kita adalah akhirat namun apa yang kita lakukan selama ini mencerminkan bahawa kita ingin menginap selama-lamanya di tempat persinggahan ini. Kita seolah-olahnya tidak mahu menuju ke destinasi terakhir dan tidak mahu meninggalkan dunia yang fana.

وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ وَلَلدَّارُ الآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ أَفَلا تَعْقِلُونَ

"Dan tidak (dinamakan) kehidupan dunia melainkan permainan yang sia-sia dan hiburan yang melalaikan: dan demi sesungguhnya negeri akhirat itu lebih baik bagi orang-orang yang bertaqwa. Oleh itu, tidakkah kamu mahu berfikir?" [Al-An'am : 32]

Seharusnya cinta aku yang paling tertinggi ialah kepada Illahi. Aku sering mengharapkan petunjuk dari-Nya namun aku sering terpesong dari jalan yang nan satu. Aku mengharapkan untuk bertemu dengan-Nya namun keadaanku tika ini...sesungguhnya layakkah aku untuk bertemu dengan-Mu? Kealpaan, dosa, keangkuhan....sifat itu harus aku campakkan sejauh-jauhnya namun kadang-kala ia datang kembali.

Mampukah aku untuk meneruskan kembaraku ini? Mampukah aku untuk bertemu dengan Tuhan Penguasa sekelian alam nanti....

Kian lama terpenjara

Mencari makna cinta

Dalam ungkap kata bersulam dusta

Bila gerbang rahmat terbuka

Menjelma cinta suci

Sehalus dan selembut sutera kasih

Terbentanglah tersingkap kebenaran

Terlerailah terbenam kepalsuan

Tuhan pada-Mu ada kedamaian

Diribaan-Mu kebahagiaan

Tiada lagi rasa kesangsian di hati

Cinta Mu cinta tulus suci murni

Kasih-Mu nan abadi

Bertautlah bercambahlah cinta

Mengharum dalam jiwa

Menemukan kerinduan syahdu

Pada yang Maha Esa

Sutera kasih membelai

Membalut kelukaan itu

Sutera kasih melambai

Mengisi kekosongan pengharapan
Rela pasrahkan kehidupan

Mengharungi cabaran

Rintangan perjalanan di hadapan

Doa dan titis air mata

Mendamba sutera kasih

Agar terus bersemi selamanya