MOSQUES

I love mosques; so much so that I include visiting mosques in my travel itineraries, where possible.

It all started two years ago in Bali when a friend and I, spending the New Year on the island, decided to venture some 200 km to Singaraja to look for what is said to be the oldest mosque there.

It was on the eve of the New Year that we set out on our journey there. We had googled the night before, looking for places to go to, when we asked ourselves, “Where is the oldest mosque in Bali?”

We had read about Masjid Agung Jami’ in Singaraja and the oldest handwritten Quran kept at the mosque. The Quran was dated 1830s and handwritten by I Gusti Ngurah Ketut Jelantik Celagi, a Hindu royalty who converted to Islam following a civil war then. It is still legible despite the years. The handwriting is flawless.
We were told by the imam of Masjid Agung Jami' that the Hindu prince had studied Islam under the tutelage of one Haji Muhammad Yusuf Saleh. One of the conditions he imposed on his students was that they have to write the entire Quran by hand after they have completed their study.

The oldest mosque is called Masjid Kuno, now located behind some houses, in Singaraja.
The old Quran was originally kept here but moved to the other mosque after floods hit the area.

Masjid Agung Jami' is where the oldest Quran is kept

The oldest Quran on the island, dated 1830s, written by a Hindu royalty who converted to Islam

 So, imagine my excitement when I received in the mail this book, “Masjid – Selected Mosques from the Islamic World”, from ATSA Architects chief executive officer Azim A Aziz.

I first met him when I interviewed Datuk Baharuddin Abu Kassim, the architect of the National Mosque some two weeks ago.

I could use it as a guide as it lists 112 mosques all over the world, including 15 in Malaysia.

The 800-page treatise has the trappings of a coffee table book, generally described as “an oversize, expensive, and usually illustrated book suitable for displaying, as on a coffee table”.

Only, this particular one is an encyclopaedia of sort, with monographs (detailed and documented architectural drawings), photographs and architectural background information on the mosques.

Azim said he started putting together information about other mosques in the country as well as overseas when ATSA Architects was appointed to design the Cyberjaya mosque.

While researching on the history of mosque architecture, he could not find any written materials that he could refer to. Books that were readily available were either outdated or out of print.

Azim started planning the book with just 50 mosques but as he dug deeper into the subject matter, he found more and more interesting mosques the world over.

Some of the mosques are in countries where the official religion is not Islam like Thailand, Singapore and China. These countries were once in regions which were predominantly Muslim territories.

Azim also intended the book to be a study on the history of Islam and mosque architecture since 622, which is the first Hijrah year.

The first mosque featured in the book, Al-Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah, dates back to 2130 BC. It spreads over 32 pages of photographs, monographs and text. It covers the initial construction of the mosque up to its planned expansion in 2020.

It is interesting to note that throughout its expansion over four eras – Abbasid, Umayyad, Ottoman and Saudi – the Al-Masjid Al-Haram was and is still void of the onion-shaped domes which have become synonymous with mosques and Islam.

The onion-shaped domes are part of what is known as Mughal architecture. It came into being during the rise of Islam in the Indian subcontinent in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

Azim’s research showed that most mosques in the country featured a pyramid-shaped roof in the centre, often said to follow a structure from a Hindu-style religious architecture found mainly in Java.

It is also said that the construction of these earlier mosque was influenced by the use of Chinese carpenters brought in from China to build in Malaya, Java, Sumatera and the surrounding areas.

The book also revealed that the Kampung Laut Mosque in Kota Baru, Kelantan is not the oldest mosque in the country. That title in fact belonged to the Tengkera Mosque in Malacca, which was built in 1728, two years before the Kampung Laut mosque.

Azim said they could not find any concrete or specific dates for the Kampung Laut Mosque.

“Most of the legitimate websites cited that the Kampung Laut Mosque was built in the 18th century. From our findings, the closest date that we obtained was year 1730, while Masjid Tengkera was on 1728. The two-year difference is very close,” he said.

The Malacca mosque was considered as the state’s state mosque before the Al Azim state mosque was built in 1990. The Tengkera Mosque is also listed as a heritage building by the National Heritage Deaprtment of Malaysia in 1976.

If history is to be traced through the existence of mosque, the mosque was built during the Dutch colonial period following the relaxation of the rule on freedom of worship of non-Protestant Christian faiths. The design of the Tengkera Mosque, which incorporates traditional elements of Javanese and Sumatran architecture, bears testament to the presence of Islam in Malaysia for six centuries.

The structure of Tengkera mosque as seen today dates back to 1780, when the first recorded restoration of the mosque took place.

The book also covered the National Mosque, which celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year. The ‘’modernist, international style” mosque was described as progressive for its time back then.

Azim was barely four months old when the National Mosque opened in 1965.  At the age of 22, he served as intern to Datuk Baharuddin Abu Kassim, the man who designed the international style National Mosque.

Azim will soon publish a book on Malaysian mosque architecture, from the earliest surviving mosque to the present.

“We are working with five higher institutions to publish a Malaysian mosque architecture monograph that has not been done before.

“There is a real need to understand how mosque typologies originate and the various styles that influence the architecture. With these monographs, many other architects the world over can benefit from it.

“As a developing Muslim country, we have are very fortunate to have the opportunity to design mosque of the future to express our very own modern progressive mosque architecture.

“This can lead the way or influence mosque designs throughout the world,” he said.

Describing himself as a modernist in his architectural thinking, he wants to rethink the ways of designing a mosque to not only withhold its traditional values but also to reflect a progressive Islamic architecture.

It must also be sustainable and meets the needs of the modern Muslim congregation.

The review I wrote on "Masjid - Selected Mosques of the Islamic World"
in PULSE of Life & Times dated September 4, 2015

Ends

MELAYU

Melayu itu orang yang bijaksana

Nakalnya bersulam jenaka

Budi bahasanya tidak terkira

Kurang ajarnya tetap santun

Jika menipu pun masih bersopan

Bila mengampu bijak beralas tangan.

Melayu itu berani jika bersalah

Kecut takut kerana benar,

Janji simpan di perut

Selalu pecah di mulut,

Biar mati adat

Jangan mati anak.

Melayu di tanah Semenanjung luas maknanya:

Jawa itu Melayu, Bugis itu Melayu

Banjar juga disebut Melayu, Minangkabau

memang Melayu,

Keturunan Acheh adalah Melayu,

Jakun dan Sakai asli Melayu,

Arab dan Pakistani, semua Melayu

Mamak dan Malbari serap ke Melayu

Malah mua’alaf bertakrif Melayu

(Setelah disunat anunya itu)

Dalam sejarahnya

Melayu itu pengembara lautan

Melorongkan jalur sejarah zaman

Begitu luas daerah sempadan

Sayangnya kini segala kehilangan

Melayu itu kaya falsafahnya

Kias kata bidal pusaka

Akar budi bersulamkan daya

Gedung akal laut bicara

Malangnya Melayu itu kuat bersorak

Terlalu ghairah pesta temasya

Sedangkan kampung telah tergadai

Sawah sejalur tinggal sejengkal

tanah sebidang mudah terjual

Meski telah memiliki telaga

Tangan masih memegang tali

Sedang orang mencapai timba.

Berbuahlah pisang tiga kali

Melayu itu masih bermimpi

Walaupun sudah mengenal universiti

Masih berdagang di rumah sendiri.

Berkelahi cara Melayu

Menikam dengan pantun

Menyanggah dengan senyum

Marahnya dengan diam

Merendah bukan menyembah

Meninggi bukan melonjak.

Watak Melayu menolak permusuhan

Setia dan sabar tiada sempadan

Tapi jika marah tak nampak telinga

Musuh dicari ke lubang cacing

Tak dapat tanduk telinga dijinjing

Maruah dan agama dihina jangan

Hebat amuknya tak kenal lawan

Berdamai cara Melayu indah sekali

Silaturrahim hati yang murni

Maaf diungkap senantiasa bersahut

Tangan diulur sentiasa bersambut

Luka pun tidak lagi berparut

Baiknya hati Melayu itu tak terbandingkan

Selagi yang ada sanggup diberikan

Sehingga tercipta sebuah kiasan:

“Dagang lalu nasi ditanakkan

Suami pulang lapar tak makan

Kera di hutan disusu-susukan

Anak di pangkuan mati kebuluran”

Bagaimanakah Melayu abad dua puluh satu

Masihkan tunduk tersipu-sipu?

Jangan takut melanggar pantang

Jika pantang menghalang kemajuan;

Jangan segan menentang larangan

Jika yakin kepada kebenaran;

Jangan malu mengucapkan keyakinan

Jika percaya kepada keadilan.

Jadilah bangsa yang bijaksana

Memegang tali memegang timba

Memiliki ekonomi mencipta budaya

Menjadi tuan di negara Merdeka

~ Usman Awang

THE NEW LIFE & TIMES

If you are a reader of the New Straits Times, you may have seen the changes that we have made to the special interest sections that we called the Life & Times effective last Sunday. If you’re not (a reader), why don’t you give us a try; well … the SIS, if not the main paper.

From August 2 onwards, the Life & Times takes on a new life. 

While each pull out section continues to maintain its respective themes, it now has its own titles. 

Correct me if I am wrong but I think this is the first time that we've made such drastic changes to the Life & Times. 

Before this, we only had separate titles for the Sunday edition. 

Once upon a time, we named it Nuance and then changed it to People. I don't quite remember when we revert to using Life & Times on a Sunday. 

So, the Sunday's Life & Times is now Plush, BOTs (Monday), Heal (Tuesday), Flair (Wednesday), JOM! (Thursday), Groove (Friday) and Pulse (Saturday). 

We also decided to make the Sunday edition a little bit premium that the others.

Well,these changes are part of a bigger grand scheme of things that my Life & Times editors and I have put together.

As you know, changes are not done overnight. A lot of planning goes into it. 

When I took over the post five months after its editor left, I was told to do an audit of the SIS. I didn't know where to start actually. 

I swear that I haven’t been reading Life & Times all that much. My main read before had been the main paper and Business Times. I had handled those sections before.

Well, I did an eighteen-month stint as the coordinating editor of Nuance (the then Sunday pullout of the New Sunday Times). That was very much like the Life & Times. Nuance would have turned into a glossy magazine if it was given time to develop but the then management had a different idea about it.

Anyway, I asked the boss' secretary to find me the week's edition of the Life & Times and started cracking on how to best to approach the task. 

I know the editors and the reporters worked very hard to get the issues published despite being short staffed.

In my first meeting with them, I asked if they would agree to changes to their respective sections. "Can we?” one asked.

They wanted to make the changes but didn’t quite know how to go about it. And one section cannot do it alone. It has to be done together with the other sections.

So, we got our act together and planned for a total change of the SIS. 

We kept it as our little secret at first; just between the five editors of the seven SIS (while three editors are handling a section each, two others have their hands full with two sections each) and I. 

I must say our bosses were accommodating. They didn’t restrict us on the changes that we wanted to make, even approving the proposal for a name change.

The editors and I met again after they discussed the changes with their respective writers. 

When I presented the bosses with the first mock-up of the front pages, they were very impressed with the work we had done. I don’t think they expected it to be such. And we got the go-ahead for the design team to work on a full set of mock-ups for them.

The designers tweaked a little on the front page layout and worked towards putting together a mock-up of the inside pages. 

At the same time, the bosses asked the other sections - New Sunday Times, Learning Curve, news, sports and Business Times - to make the necessary changes as well.

One designer told me that they went home at 5am every day on the final week before August 2 to make sure that all the pages were ready to go for print. 

Now I know why the head of the design team wrote, “Sekarang boleh tidur” after the August 2 edition was put to bed.

While we maintained some of the popular columns that you have been following, we have and will be introducing new ones especially those that will engage the readers. 

You will find that besides the daily entertainment pages, we will also add Food pages on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Oh, on top of that, my team was also tasked to publish a one-off magazine for August 2 as a gift to reader in conjunction with the newspaper's anniversary.

The advertising and sales department had come up with the idea of a magazine in our of our meetings to discuss ideas for the anniversary.  

It was a challenge to us since we had to also work on the changes to Life & Times at the same time.

Furthermore, the magazine had to be advertising-driven.

And, we had to work throughout the Raya holidays to get it done.

I held separate editorial meetings with my editors to put together a magazine that balances between history and luxury. 

I got the Group Editor to write a note for our readers in the magazine. 

I simply lost track of the date, not the day (I tracked the days through the SIS), with these two major projects. On the day I was given the magazine, I told my colleague, "Eh, cepatnya. Bukan dia janji 27 haribulan ke?" He looked at me and said, "Today is the 27th." 

Alhamdulillah, the feedback that we got for both the magazine and changes to the Life & Times were positive. In fact, we received messages and emails asking us why a one-off magazine instead of weekly one. 

The answer to that question is quite obvious. We would not be able to produce such a magazine if we do not have advertising support. Also, I would probably need a separate team altogether to handle such a task.

I must tell you that I have the best team, both editorial and design, working with me. Without them, these changes will not be possible.

And the changes that we are making will not stop here. We will continue to make the necessary changes for both print and online. There are a few more exciting projects that are in the pipeline. Watch this space for updates.

IT’S A MALAY THING. OR IS IT JUST US?

When you come to our house on any day during Syawal, you’ll find that my mother would have prepared some kind of dishes, Johor favourites or otherwise, elaborate fare or simple ones, for you and your family or your extended families or friends who tagged along for the visit.

If you call ahead a day or two before the visit, you’ll give her enough time to buy the ingredients and cook a storm in the kitchen.  If not, she’ll boil spaghetti and toss it in Prego’s Carbonara sauce, which she has in stock at home.

Yes, she’ll go out of her way to make sure that you are fed when you come to the house; never mind the fact that you told her not to susahkan diri nak masak bagai when you called to inform her of your impending visit.

She reminds me of her aunty, who she stayed with her teenage years, whom I addressed as Tok Itam. If we dropped by her house unannounced at Jalan Parit Besar in Batu Pahat, the first thing she would say after the customary greetings, hugs and kisses will be “Apa aku nak bagi kau orang makan ni?” She’ll tinker in her kitchen and a few hours later, lunch will be served despite telling her kami singgah sekejap je ni.”

(This is the same grand aunt who, when we were much younger, told my mother to bring us back to the kampong often after she found my brother and I chasing after a turkey in her backyard).

Whenever we asked why she needs to do all that, my mother will say, “orang kan datang nak beraya.” So much so, people expect to be feasted when they are at our home.

Well, I can understand if it’s the first day of raya where you’ll be cooking special dishes for the family and you share the Raya fare with those who come for a visit on that day or if you hold an open house when you invite everyone to your house. But individual visits, even if it is at the tail end of Syawal?

We had a discussion over this. My nephews and nieces tell me it’s not just nenek who is doing this but it’s a Malay thing.

“When you go visiting your Chinese friends during Chinese New Year, your Indian friends during Deepavali and your Christian friends during Christmas, what do you eat? Oranges, nuts, muruku, cookies and cakes only, kan? Orang Melayu saja yang jamu makanan berat-berat ni,” one niece said.

When I raised the halal issue, she said they can always cater to meet the requirements of their Muslim friends.

“It is a same with buying new clothes for Raya,” a nephew said. “You need a minimum of two Baju Kurung, one for the first day of Raya and the other for the second day of visiting.

“I visited my Chinese friend during Chinese New Year. She was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of cut-off jeans that didn’t look all that new. So, this is another Malay thing,” he said.

“And this thing about house-cleaning, kita buat se tahun sekali saja ke?’ another niece said, while her husband attending to one of three table fans at our home.

I remembered having to polish my mother’s brassware collection every Raya. The work is tedious and that alone can take up the entire day. She never used them except for family engagements and weddings. Most times, these brassware are kept locked in a display cupboard but we still had to polish them before Hari Raya.

Or maybe it is just us?” I asked them.

You can only find woven ketupat shells nearing Syawal
(file pix)

SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI 1436H

Kian Berlabuh Tirai Ramadhan …

         Lambaian Syawal Kini Di Nanti …

Saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk memohon keampunan di atas segala perbuatan dan percakapan saya samada di dalam keadaan sedar atau tidak. Jua, di halalkan segala makan dan minum.

Sesungguhnya, yang baik itu datangnya dari Allah SWT dan segala keburukan, kesalahan dan kesilapan itu datangnya dari diri saya sendiri. 

Semoga kita dapat perkukuhkan ikatan silaratul rahim yang sedia ada, insya’Allah.

Tulus Ikhlas

Fauziah Ismail

A YEAR AGO TODAY ... I'M BIONIC ... well, not even close!

“She can now stick a fridge magnet on her right arm.”

“Bionic woman … ”

“Oooh, boleh sepak muka orang sampai ke dinding ni …”
"She 

“She still has her humour intact ...” after telling them that the doctor had to graft the humerus bone. Humerus … humour … get it? No? Never mind.

Yes, my office mates poked fun at me. I was away from the office for almost a month. I had popped in prior to the surgery (on the pretext of sending in the medical chit although the aim was to get out of the house) and a few times after (same reason and on the way from the hospital into the city).

When the surgeon finally agreed to discharge me, he gave a month supply of painkillers and medicated plasters. I took home the two ice packs.

His nurse asked that I see him in two weeks to get the staples off.

It was painless when the nurse took the staples out. The wound was healing nicely. But I asked that she bandaged it loosely (I was going into the office and later do a spot of shopping) instead of spraying alcohol after the staples were taken out.

The surgeon asked that I gradually wean myself off the arm sling but advised that I used it when I’m in public. “So people will not run into you,” he said.

He didn’t prescribed physiotherapy, saying that he was confident I would be able to exercise on my own, but asked that I undertake light exercises first. “The plate may pop out,” he said. I wasn’t sure if he was joking there.

The arm sling was my trusted accessory.

I wore it one and a half months after the surgery.

I didn’t have problems getting into and out of the Baju Kurung. But I needed help with the tudung as I needed both hands to pin it into style. And one time, I was using the instant shawl but gave up on it because the Syrian instant tudung didn’t look good on me.

I started lifting heavy stuff six months after the surgery. I could still not lift my right arm fully back then.

And I wanted to travel again. Bali was beckoning me back for the third time. “Oh you can. My patients tell me that they didn’t have problems going through the security scanner,” the surgeon said when I asked him when I can start travelling again.

He didn’t tell me when I can start travelling but by looking at my appointments with him, I could actually start planning my holidays and assignments abroad.

Two months after the surgery, I took five days off from work to go to Bali. Then in October, I was in Germany for an assignment. In December, I took my niece and nephew to London and Paris.

Six months after the surgery, I went to see the surgeon for what I thought could be the last time. I said this because at the visit, he had talked about taking the plate out.

“That soon? It was like yesterday you operated on me,” I told the surgeon.

No aches. No pain. In fact, I haven’t taken any of the painkillers he had prescribed me. There is no numbness of the fingers or the entire arm.

A year has since passed and I have my right arm back to normal.

A YEAR AGO TODAY ... I'M BIONIC ... well, not even close!

There was phlegm in my throat. Lots of it. I couldn’t breathe.  I could hear the gurgling sound as the nurse used the suction to suck it out. Once it was cleared, I breathed in as deep as I could.

When I woke up, I was at the recovery room outside the operating theatre. I had an oxygen mask on. “Kenapa ni?” I asked the male nurse seated at the table next to me. “Kakak kurang oxygen,” he said. I asked him for the time.

Half an hour later, I was back in the room. It was 2.30pm. I was hooked up to the oxygen next to the bed. I asked the nurse how long I would have to be on it. “Sampai pukul lima atau enam. Kalau okay, tak payah guna lah.”

I had the oxygen mask on until about four.

My mother and brother’s family came at about 4.30pm. My niece will be spending the duration with me at the hospital.

The surgeon came right after to check on me. The surgery went well. He showed me the x-ray which showed where he placed the six inch plate and screws. He asked if I was in pain. I said no.

I asked him when I can be discharged. “Maybe tomorrow. We’ll see,” he said.
Well, I wasn't convinced that the doctor will let me out so soon. I anticipated a long stay there, maybe a week. 
That was why I agreed to go out with some friends to Mahbub at Bangsar the night before the surgery. I sought permission before I went out. The nurse checked with the doctor and I got the green light. I was reminded however not to eat anything after midnight. I stayed out until 2am.
So, beside the anesthetic, I was possibly tired from the night before that I was dozing in and out of sleep. 

My sister and her big family came after the break of fast. All of them were from JB. And my cousin and her family from Subang Jaya also dropped by. I caught snippets of their conversations. I don’t know when they all left.

The nurse came in at 9pm to administer antibiotics.

Early in the morning, the surgeon came for his rounds. He was surprised to see me awake. “Any pain?” he asked.

I told him I had a tough night because of stiff shoulders. He prescribed ice packs.

I asked again when I would be discharged. “Let’s wait a day or two.”

The entire time I was in the hospital I was flipping the television channels. I watched all the cooking shows (yes, our TV stations air at least two cooking shows, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon) and serial dramas.

The surgeon suggested I finished the antibiotics first before I can be discharged. A day before I was actually allowed to leave the hospital he asked, “Why do you want to go home so fast?” I told him I’ve run out of television shows to watch!

He signed me out the next day after the last antibiotics was administered.

I continued to be on leave until after Raya.

When I saw him at his clinic after the Raya holidays, he asked if I want to be on extended medical leave. I was bored staying at home. Even with arm in sling, I went for terawih prayers. I actually went home for a few days. I went Raya shopping at KLCC with my niece and nephew. We went for break of fast outside.

“Doc, if I can go shopping, I can go to work.” He laughed.

* to be continued

A YEAR AGO TODAY ... I'M BIONIC ... well, not even close!

I postponed the surgery to the following week. “I have to make some arrangements at work,” I told the surgeon. I lied. I could just go through with it immediately but I wasn’t mentally prepared for the surgery.

His nurse penned down the date for surgery. She booked the room and cleared with the insurance company on the necessary payment. I was to be warded the day before for pre-surgical procedures.

After the appointment, I went to the office and then back to my own house. My staff thought I had done the surgery the way I was carrying myself. I told them the painkiller was my best friend.

Seriously, I have no problem being put under for the surgery. My problem is the pre-surgery procedure, especially having to draw blood for tests.

You see, I had a painful and traumatic experience when I was hospitalized for suspected dengue in 1974.  I was poked three times in each arm by an inexperienced nurse. She couldn’t locate the vein on my arm to draw blood. A doctor had to draw blood at the wrist instead and using a big needle, it was painful.

So, when the lab technician (that’s what she described herself) came by to draw blood, I told her she will not be able to find a vein on my arm. She has to poke my wrist instead. She told me only doctors are allowed to draw the blood from there.

So, she tried to find a vein on my hand instead. “Your veins are very thin,” she said. She went off after three failed attempts to get any blood out of me.

After that, a nurse came to do the same thing. Even before she could do it, the anaesthetist came by. “What are you doing?” he asked the nurse. “Nak ambil darah untuk lab,” she said.

“Let me do it. I may as well put in the IV line also,” the anaesthetist said.

Well, he didn’t put in the IV line. It took him a few minutes to finally get half a vial of blood. But my blood was splattered all over the bed when the nurse, who was applying pressure on my arm, did not release it after the anaesthetist took out the needle. It shot out like water from a hose.

I felt like crying. “Dahlah susah nak dapat darah saya … bila dah dapat, terbuang macam tu saja,” I said. The anaesthetist patched me up and left.

The next morning at 11.30am, I was wheeled into the operating theatre. I remembered how cold it was in there (I had surgery before to remove a torn meniscus tissue removed from my right knee in 1989).

“Let’s put in the IV line,” the same anaesthetist said. “Aren’t you supposed to put me under first before you put in the IV line?” I asked him. “We only do that with children,” he said.

It was really fast. “It’s in. You see how easy it is here under the bright lights,” he said.

A few minutes later, I was asleep. I was asked to start the zikir but didn’t even get to finish the first line.

The surgery took about one and a half hours.

I woke up choking.

• To be continued

A YEAR AGO TODAY ... I'M BIONIC ... well, not even close!

I fell at KLCC.

Wait, I know what you’re going to ask.

“Macam mana boleh jatuh?” I was asked that every time I relate this story. I don’t know really. The floor may have been wet (it happened in front of Garrett’s, the popular popcorn outlet) or I may have tripped after stepping on my long skirt. Or I may have simply misstepped.

I felt a sharp pain on my right shoulder. I knew immediately that something was not right. What I didn’t know then was that I had fractured the head of the humerus bone.

The KLCC guest relations officer, who happened to pass by, asked if they can take me to the clinic. I told her I needed a hospital instead.

When she told me that the medical centre had closed (it was after 6 pm when it happened), I decided to go to Pantai Hospital.

I took the Isetan escalator to the groundfloor and headed towards the taxi stand. It was peak hour. There was no taxi in the queue, except for one waiting for her ride to finish work.

The lady driver saw that I was in pain. I told her what happened and that I needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. She called her ride, informed them of my situation, and she got the go ahead to take me.

It was the longest 45 minute ride to Pantai Hospital because of the traffic. Every time the cab rode over a speed bump, the pain intensified.

When I reached the hospital, I couldn’t get out of the cab unassisted. The hospital’s attendant helped me out of the cab, put me on a wheelchair and immediately wheeled me into emergency.

A doctor, who attended to me, put my right arm in a sling and sent me for X-Ray.

“Patah kan?” I asked the technician after it was done. He nodded.

The doctor gave me his initial assessment. “Mungkin kena operate ni,” he said, while showing me the X-Ray results. “Tapi kita tunggu pakar orthopedic. Dia dalam operating theatre sekarang ni. Kejap lagi dia turun,” he said.

His “kejap lagi” was two hours later. The surgeon showed me the fractured part on his phone. The X-Ray technician had sent the copy to him.

“We’ll see if you need surgery in a week’s time. In the meantime, you wear this arm sling. I’ll prescribe painkillers. Come back and see me in a week.”

I called a cab and went directly to my brother’s house in Putrajaya. I was on one week medical leave anyway.

Sleeping that night was a torture; I ended up sleeping in a sitting position, with a pillow propped against the bedrest. After a while, I could find a sleeping position that was comfortable.

A week later, I was at the surgeon’s office. I had to do a 3D CT scan first before I saw him. At his office, I was shown the result. “We have to graft the chipped part, insert a six-inch plate with some screws. It’s a simple procedure. Takes about two hours,” he explained.

I asked if surgery was absolutely necessary. He told me the chipped bone will not heal itself.

“So, when do you want to do it?” I asked. He looked at his appointment book. “Tomorrow is ok,” he said. I said no.

• To be continued

FIREWORKS!

I was in cab on the way home from terawih on the eve of Ramadan when I saw fireworks lighting up the sky near the apartments where I live. They do start early this year, I told my usual cab driver. “Tak lama lagi nanti kita baca berita ada yang accident main mercun ni,” Hasanudin said.

He was not far from wrong. Today, a day short of a week into the fasting month, I read that a four-year-old kid lost his fingers when the “A-Boom” fireworks he was playing with exploded in his left hand.

No one really knew what happened. Only the boy can tell. He may have thrown the lighted fireworks too late or he may have tampered with the fireworks and it blew up on him.

The irony is we only read about these mishaps during the fasting month and well into Syawal too. Yes, only during these times; hardly ever during Chinese New Year although fireworks are big during their celebrations.

I played with fireworks when I was growing up and I have had a few mishaps myself.

The first incident was when I was still a toddler. Mak said I was throwing the metal holder of the sparkler but it somehow bounced back and the still-hot portion of the sparkler burned through my clothes and “lekat” at my stomach.

When I was older, I graduated to fireworks. Once, the bottle I had used to hold up the fireworks had toppled and the fireworks pointed towards me. The sparkles from the fireworks burned holes in the light blue shirt I was wearing. It was my favourite.

Some years ago, I brought home fireworks that would light the sky like those during the Merdeka and New Year celebrations albeit on a much, much smaller scale.

The problem with lighting these fireworks was that the wick is long. Most often than not, it would fizzle out before it reached the explosive. Or so I thought. It blew up as I got closed to it to check if it needed to be relit. It didn’t fry my brain but I was very nearly close to being deaf in one ear.

And my mother (yes, my mother … not my father) tells me they never had any fireworks mishaps during her time. Mind you, theirs are not the factory-made fireworks that we now play. They played with homemade bamboo or steel pipe cannons, which I think are far more dangerous.

Mak tells us of those good old days of competing who has the loudest cannon among the nearby kampong. She relates how she and her friends would listen to the hissing sound coming out of the bamboo or steel pipe (when carbide and water mix) and then, KABOOOOOOM! “Tak ada pun yang putus jari … (tak ada pun) yang mati,” she said.

While there may be no mishaps, Mak said some of her friends got punished by their parents; one for playing truant (they should be at the mosque or surau for terawih) and two, that they could have lost their lives playing with the bamboo or steel pipe cannons.

Fireworks are not a Malay thing. Lighting the kerosene-filled pelita is but not fireworks. Even then, some houses prefer the electric lampu lip-lap instead.

But still, more and more Malay children – more boys than girls – spend their Ramadhan and/or Syawal in the hospital after getting themselves injured playing with fireworks.

Why is that?

Baju Kurung

I never had a “pret a porter” Baju Kurung Telok Belanga or Baju Kurung Chekak Musang. Most, if not all, my Baju Kurung, even those for school, were tailor made. The in-seams are hand-sewn. Only the hems are machined together. The sarong? I was taught by my mother to tie my own sarong, even the sarong I wore to school.

I can sew my own Baju Kurung but I would let my mother finished up the neckline. I hadn’t mastered the tulang belut technique. I tried learning from my grandmother and my mother but they gave up on me. They find it difficult to teach a left hander how to do the tulang belut.

As time evolves, so have the Baju Kurung Telok Belanga and Baju Kurung Chekak Musang.

Today, both baju styles come in a variety of interesting - and colourful - designs, including batik, and other materials. The baju on the rack in departmental stores and boutiques are mostly without the pesak (gusset or insert, as in the seam of a garment, for added strength) and kekek (godet, a triangular piece of fabric usually set into the hem of a garment to add fullness), making them a little close fitting.

And the Baju Kurung Chekak Musang has since become more modern, spotting a Mandarin collar and three buttons, instead of five.

The myriad of colours and patterns and different styling and cutting have in fact taken the elegance out of these traditional clothes.

Most Johoreans I know still go for the original Baju Kurung Teluk Belanga and Baju Kurung Cekak Musang designs, which date back to the 1800s. And yes, both originate from Johor.

The Baju Kurung Telok Belanga made its first appearance during the rule of Almarhum Sultan Abu Bakar in the 1860s.  It was called Baju Kurung Telok Belanga because the Sultan was then residing in Telok Belanga in Singapore. The Baju Kurung Chekak Musang was introduced during the administration of his son, Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim ibni Sultan Abu Bakar (1895-1959).

The main difference between the two styles is that the Baju Kurung Chekak Musang has a collar, while both have the unique features of the pesak  and kekek. As a result, both baju types are loose cut. 

And, the Baju Kurung Telok Belanga has only one button (a kancing) and the Baju Kurung Chekak Musang originally five (buttons).

In the old days, the former was long, ending slightly below the knee. Its neckline was round (still is), with a slit in the middle and sewn neatly using stitches called Jahitan Mata Kia or Tulang Peranggi. It had no pockets.

Later, during the administration of Almarhum Sultan Ibrahim, the then Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Jaafar Muhammad tweaked the design a little.

The Baju Kurung Telok Belanga's length became shorter, ending mid-way between the waist and the knee. He also introduced three pockets for the baju, one on the left side of the chest and two at the bottom.

And Johor Malays then did not have the wide choice of fabrics currently available, and they wore mainly Baju Kurung Telok Belanga of striped silk. The Baju Kurung and samping are paired with loose-cut Seluar Acheh or Seluar Panjut; trousers fastened with a belt.

Men from Johor would have their samping under their baju. This is called dagang dalam. In Johor of old, commoners wore the samping dagang dalam while the bangsawan (aristocrats) wore theirs on the outside, or dagang luar.

To complete the look, the wearer dons a songkok or tengkolok, especially if one is a bridegroom or a guest at an official function. Some people try to match the colour of the songkok and samping with that of the baju. Some do not even wear a songkok.

It pains me as a Johorean to see the changes these new designers make to the Baju Kurung Telok Belanga or Baju Kurung Chekak Musang. The Baju Kurung is a symbol of Malay cultural heritage. These fashion designers should just leave the traditional clothes well alone.

The traditional Baju Kurung Chekak Musang
vs
The Baju Melayu Hipster

Which would you choose?

RAMADHAN 1436

Esok, kita akan mula berpuasa. Saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk memohon keampunan di atas segala perbuatan dan percakapan saya samada di dalam keadaan sedar atau tidak. Jua, di halalkan segala makan dan minum.
Sesungguhnya, yang baik itu datangnya dari Allah SWT dan segala keburukan, kesalahan dan kesilapan itu datangnya dari diri saya sendiri. 
Semoga Allah SWT menerima amalan dan ibadah kita sepanjang bulan Ramadhan ini. Mohon kita semua perkukuhkan ikatan silaratul rahim yang sedia ada, insya’Allah.

KICKSTARTING THE READING HABIT

It was a missed opportunity. I should have taken out my phone, put the camera setting on and take her photograph. Oh, I would probably ask her permission first before I snap her photograph or maybe not because I would want a candid shot.

She was a rare specie in this day of modern technology.

She was reading a book while waiting for her order to arrive. Yes, you read it right the first time. She was reading a book when I saw her.

This was at Ben’s KLCC two weekends ago. Everyone around us was looking at the mobile phone screens.

You know some were scrolling because they were using the index finger in an upward or downward motion on the mobile phone screen.

I saw others furiously typing notes, SMSes or messages on Whatsapp, Telegram or whatever message applications they have on their mobile phones.

I didn’t see anyone actually talking on the mobile phone.

I am guilty of doing the same thing – checking my messages, checking Facebook or reading the links send to by my friends – but only if I’m on my own.

A book used to be my companion, now it is iPhone 6. And iPhone6 Plus. Yes, these two accompany me everywhere.

Yes, I read but I don’t read books on my mobile gadgets such as phones and iPads. I surf the blogs, newsportals and other alternative news sites.

I still like reading titles on paperbacks and hardcovers. But I haven’t been doing so lately. In fact, I haven’t been to Borders and Kinokuniya for a while now.

I dropped into Borders at Bangsar Village II last Sunday. That was because a friend arrived late for lunch. I noticed there were many new titles. I picked up a book from there, telling myself that I would start reading it that night and probably finish reading it before the end of the week.

I must tell you that I have failed to do so. It is going to be the weekend soon and I haven’t started turning the pages yet.

I probably need to get away to a place where there are no mobile signals and no WiFi to start the reading habit again.

But where?

GOODBYE, MAS ...

I have fond memories of covering MAS when I was a reporter with Business Times.

I go for each and every MAS assignment – big or small, with or without a business angle to the story – and is seen at the MAS Building at Jalan Sultan Ismail almost every other day that the then MD Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman asked, “Don’t you have your own office?”

He was the most accessible MD. Phone calls to his office never go unanswered. His secretary vetted all calls but I have never had my phone calls to him barred. Also, she’ll call back if he was busy to take the call or if he was in a meeting.

I had many exclusives on MAS – some came from the airline itself, others were sources from within the airline and the aviation industry.

I can remember two.

The first was about Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli seeking RM8 per share, or RM1.67 billion, for Naluri Bhd's 29.9 per cent stake in the airline. When I received word of it, I sent in some questions to my well-placed contact in the Finance Ministry. It was on a Friday. I told him with or without confirmation I was going to run the story on Monday. I knew my informant had first-hand information but I needed to hear it from my ministry’s contact.

At noon on Saturday while having lunch with my cousins at Madam Kwan’s KLCC, I received a phone call from my contact. “You have a pen and paper with you? Write this down,” he said. I got a pen but no paper. I wrote the information on the restaurant’s paper napkin. I remembered sending him eight questions. He answered all of them.

I wrote the story for the Monday publication. I received a phone call very early in the morning from an MAS contact, asking me where I sourced the information from. It seemed that I had created such a furore in MAS with that story. Unofficially, I was told I was “persona non grata” at MAS. I wasn’t rattled by it. I could still get my exclusives without having to go to the MAS building.

Another exclusive was about a US$1 billion EXIM Bank loan to MAS to finance aircraft it ordered. I was at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) show during that time that I got wind of the EXIM Bank loan. I landed the story after I did a little bit of snooping among industry officials who were at LIMA and actually had it confirmed by a well-placed source.

That article earned me a two-hour “lecture” on the phone by a nasty MAS director, who questioned my race (“You’re Malay, right?) and religion (“Orang Islam, kan? Faham apa itu fitnah?”) Yes, what has race got to do with it? And how is it “fitnah” when the story is true? I kept quiet while he was ranting. At the end of it, I challenged him to deny the story if it wasn’t true. He didn’t take up the challenge.

Although I was covering aviation, I didn’t get to travel with the airline that often. I flew with them only once on assignment. It was to London when there was an issue about their fuel load. That was an educational trip for me actually. I got to talk to the pilots in the cockpit. They showed me how to read the fuel load and other instrumentation on the aircraft.

That assignment also showed us how prepared our pilots were for any situation. We were in a thunderstorm as we approached Heathrow. The pilot circled above Heathrow twice in an attempt to land. The second time, the wing tip of the B744 was struck by lightning. The Concorde flying below us abandoned Heathrow for Manchester instead. We landed safely after the third attempt.

I can say that it was the best times of my journalism career covering aviation especially MAS.

As I rose the ranks within the company (through promotions and re-designations), I had to delegate the beat to other reporters but I still kept a keen interest on MAS as I still have contacts within the company and the industry.

I cringed watching the daily “live” press conferences on the missing jetliner. There were so many questions that I wanted to ask MAS and other officials. I knew Ahmad Jauhari Yahaya from his days with NST but never got the opportunity to interview him as the MAS boss.

It is sad to be reading about MAS today. It is heart-breaking.

There are many good people in the company; those who have spent their lives building the MAS brand that we Malaysians were proud of. It is sad to see them go.

A foreigner is now running the airline. I was chastised for writing a piece on the possibility of a foreign CEO for MAS before the government found Idris Jala for the post. I received emails and SMSes, from politicians and corporate figures alike, telling me that we were not short of local candidates to helm the national carrier.

So far, Christoph Mueller has gotten his way to restructure the airline. He has the go ahead to cut routes and axe some 6,000 staff; a plan that could have been executed under previous managements but wasn’t carried out because of … well, you know.

I was told there will be a new name and livery for the national airline. 

Just look at Sony, Nike and AirTran. Who remembers them as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, Blue Ribbon Sports and Valujet respectively?

It may just work for the better for the new airline, along with all the other changes that Mueller has in mind.

CSR2015: KAMPUNG GINTONG, JERANTUT

I don’t remember the last time I went out on a CSR programme with the company’s Volunteers’ Brigade. I know for sure I haven’t gone out to any since June last year when I fractured the humerus bone of my right arm (where I had to eventually go for a surgery in July to insert a six-inch plate with six screws replace the grafted bone).

There were several CSR programmes that I could have gone for sometime late last year and early this year but the brigade chief didn’t think I was ready for it.

“Eh, dah boleh angkat barang2 berat dah?” he said when he saw me carrying a box to my office recently. He asked if I could participate in the coming CSR programme. I said yes immediately.

Some 40 of us went to Kampung Gintong in Jerantut last Saturday for the gotong royong Suara Komuniti BH. Kampung Gintong was one of the villages affected by the floods late last year. I remembered reading an article about livestock being swept away during the floods there.

It was a two hours’ drive from Kuala Lumpur.

Arrangement had been made for a contractor to replace the wiring of the Balairaya and Balai Hidang. Our job was to paint these two buildings.

It was a long drive to Kampung Gintong from Jerantut main road. There are some 160 residents from about 30 families living there. Houses were too far apart.

The villagers told us water rose to the roof during the floods. It took close to two weeks for it to subside. In fact, on the way in to the village, we saw some abandoned wooden houses, some still caked in mud.

The mosque and school nearby the Balairaya have been repaired. The mosque had new carpets and prayer mats. The school had the roof and furniture replaced and also a fresh coat of paint. There are some 40 students (from Standards One to Six) at the school, with 15 teachers. There is only one Standard Five student at the school.

Most of us could not imagine ourselves living in a faraway village like that. “I would need some kind of civilization,” someone said.

My guess is although there are basic amenities such as water and electricity and also telecommunications (funny enough, there is Maxis and Celcom connections when we were out in the open but not while we were in the Balairaya), we still need the “hustle and bustle” feel to the surroundings.

The before and after photos of the exterior of Balairaya Kampung Gintong, Jerantut

The before and after photos of the interior of Balairaya Kampung Gintong, Jerantut

One the abandoned houses at Kampung Gintong