Friday, April 21

trick or treat


kalau kita observe
cara orang arab di UAE ni bagi salam
and bertegur sapa.. memang syokk

first.. bagi salam...
cium pipi - bagi yang kawan biasa
laga hidung - bagi yang sedara bau durian

then, sorang akan start tanya..
'awak sihat?' (kullu tamam?)
sorang jawap 'sihat' (tamam.. alhamdulillah)..
then dia lak tanya.. 'awak sihat?'..
then jawap.. then bertukar tanya pasal
ayah, mak, abang, kakak, adik, etc
sihat ke.... last sekali..
kekadang tu tanya.. 'jamal tamam?' (unta sihat?)

semua di atas tu.. dilakukan..
begitu laju and pantas
dalam masa least than a minute kekadang tu..
and lepas tu.. boleh diam..
or buat hal masing-masing..

dalam shopping malls.. macam biasa la..
ada pasang background music..
but, yang bagusnya..
bila masuk je waktu sembahyang
or kedengaran bunyi azan
akan digantikan dengan suara orang bang tu
even setiap kedai.. akan silent their music player

masjid banyak.. every 500 meter ada satu
senang nak sembahyang... dan bersih
even toilet dia pun..
compare to our standard.. memang jauhhh..

teringat kata-kata Ustaz Ismail Kamus...
tandas kat Malaysia ni.. kengkadang tu..
engsel or sendal pintu nya pun takde
kata la tengah buang air...
ada orang tolak pintu tu
tak ke melompat kita?

kengkadang tu.. terfikir jugak
kenapa la.. surau dah masjid kita ni
selalunya mempamerkan
hasil kutipan derma minggu dan bulan ni
bukan main banyaknya.. dan seolah-olah..
dibangga-bangga kutipan yang banyak tu

bukankah kutipan tu
untuk kegunaan masjid/surau tersebut juga?

so, belanjakan la..
untuk jaga kebersihan dan kecantikan nya

contoh,
kalau Siak tak larat nak bersih
upah la orang luar bersihkan
kalau Lebai tak mampu nak betulkan pintu sendiri
upah orang betulkan
kalau Imam tak larat nak potong rumput
upah orang pendekkan...

yang selalu terjadi
duit derma tu.. di kira dan di simpan
'sayang' nak dibelanjakan
macam duit Tuk Siak tu pulak..

kalau kat UAE..
surau memang sentiasa nampak baru
bersih dan harum...

bukankah kebersihan itu tuntutan agama?
bukankah wajar ianya bermula dari rumah ibadah kita?

Thursday, April 20

for the ladies


(Fulla = Arabian version to Barbie Doll)

UAE ni memang negara kaya
but, 'pengemis' tetap ada
a bit in different sort
bukan yang selalu kita lihat
menadah dan menagih simpati
di tepi jalan atau di tengah pasar malam..
but yang jenis ketuk pintu rumah
pompuan and bawak anak kecik..
some of the ladies tu
boleh tahan muda and cun.. hehe..
sorry.. lari focus sikit

yang interesting nya..
sebab cost of living tinggi
the so-called pengemis ni
takkan mintak or terima
kalau setakat 1 or 10 dirham
ada pernah sekali tu
aku bagi la 10 dirham
dia tak ambik punnn...
dia akan mintak at least 100 dirham
perrghhh...so, solution is..
cakap je, 'mafi fuluss'...

actually, social security
and welfare state kat sini bagus..
but, only reserved for the locals
not the foreigners
thus, the aforesaid pengemis tu
were indeed arabs luar..
but, institusi zakat pun ada
and 'pengemis' ni tak rampant pun..

sebut pasal ladies tadi
wanita-wanita di negara arab ni
memang beruntung jugak

contoh..
kalau ada expo/exhibition/fairs
ada ladies day or hours...
kalau nak mandi laut
ada ladies beach...
kalau ada urusan kat some banks or gomen opis
ada ladies sections...

nonetheless..
kisah 'mak/bapak & anak ayam' pun ada kat uae ni
especially kat Dubai
mostly from china, russian and the CIS countries,
ada jugak indian, african and filipinos
as usual.. seen at 'designated' red light districts..
and commonly at discotheque and night clubs..

the interesting fact is that..
(unlike what we practice in Malaysia)
if any prostitute or a group of them kena tangkap
even though they usually will be in scantily clad
but, bila kena rushed or kena tangkap
the police will cover them with jubah hitam
before masuk dalam lori and dibawa ke lock-up
unlike Malaysia.. reporters and RELA boleh amik gambar
while they are in their most revealing attire...



kalau Sisters in Islam tahu ni...
hmm...

Tuesday, April 18

circle of life


now, di UAE.. dah mula masuk musim panas..
yupp.. back to sweltering heat
at present, baru cecah 35 celsius
nanti by june, july and august
boleh sampai 52 celsius...
humidity lagi... perghhh...
berpeluh and boleh kuyup baju

tu la pasal... the Arabs...
berasak turun ke Malaysia
for summer holiday
penuh kat Genting Highlands
abis keliling KL tu..
sampai kita pun tak tau
sama ada kita ni kat Dubai ke KL.. hehehe

thanks to 9/11 gak
they are not that keen to go to US and Europe
or that part of the world anymore...
sebab susah nak dapat visa
and the profiling thingy..

plus, sewa bilik hotel kat Malaysia
very cheappp... compare ngan Dubai for example
tu pasal diaorang akan stay sampai sebulan kat KL

another additional point
according to them (in general)
orang Malaysia ni baik...
welcoming and receptive..

and for most of us pun
bila tengok Arabs je
kita ingat diaorang ni baik dan alim
nak nak lak kalau yang pakai jubah tu
sure kita ingat depa ni
boleh jadi imam time sembahyang
tu yang kita mudah lembut hati tu..

yupp, some of them tu..
memang baik
some of them pun
robust and rude gak

despite several isolated news
being conned, fraud and rip-off cases
Malaysia remains as one of the popular destination
eventhough, it is a stopover
before they're heading to Thailand and Singapore
or even Australia...

teringat satu kisah
yang diceritakan seorang kawan..

ada satu kes.. Pak Arab bercuti
duduk kat Regent Hotel, KL
nak dijadikan cerita
mentol lampu bilik dia terbakar
then, dia keluar bilik
nampak sorang bangsa India lalu
terus dia panggil mamat tu
macam dia panggil orang India kat UAE ni
mamat India tu datang la.. sebab orang panggil..
Pak Arab tu pun taruss 'arah' dia buat itu ini..
macam selalu dia buat kat negara dia..
tup tup... kena tamparrrr...
sebab?.. mamat India tu CEO satu company kat KL tu...
heheheheh....

remember..
EVERYTIME YOU ARE IN FOREIGN LAND
YOU ARE A FOREIGNER

happy birthday !!!


selamat hari ulang tahun
yang ulung dan pertama kalinya
kepada blog ni..

a pat on the back
for myself..

congrats froggy !!

wishing for more words and ideas
to be expressed and shared
in the years to come...

sejarah mengajar kita menjadi lebih dewasa

Friday, April 7

truth or dare


always like him
since the first time
i saw him in person and in action
back in 1984
as he officiated the Surau
at my previous home-town..
Taman Melati, Gombak
as the Minister of Federal Territory

after 18 years in the political wilderness
after serving as Cabinet Minister for four short years
after being the youngest Cabinet Minister
to be appointed at the age of 34...

Shahrir was Minister of Federal Territory from 1983
and Minister for Welfare from 1986 – 1987.

since his comeback
i've re-gained some trust and hope
in Malaysian politics
and nevertheless for the backbenchers..

why?

the most recent example;
The New Attire


Quote For the Day:
If You Divine Future
Study Your Past

Monday, April 3

rough riders



UAE is a federation of 7 emirates
ada federal law, but each emirate's law
will supersede the federal law...

as i illustrated before..
kalau accident kereta, kat Abu Dhabi
tak leh move that cars until police sampai
otherwise kena saman and report/claim tak valid
but kalau kat Dubai
boleh move the cars while tunggu polis sampai
or terus gi balai buat report..

ada satu lagi law yang very funny...
Abu Dhabi and Dubai.. both is UAE..
but, to register a car, bought in Dubai
at Abu Dhabi.. kena ada import permit...
for your info, harga kereta kat Dubai
cheaper by hundreds...

satu lagi yang funny..
kat Abu Dhabi..
u tak leh basuh kereta
kat luar rumah or kawasan umum
menggunakan air...
only kat petrol station
or tempat cuci kereta yang berlesen..
sebab, air yang melimpah tu nanti
akan menyebabkan orang lain kotor
and not good for environment, etc...
so, other that tempat cuci kereta..
aku tak leh main simbah je air untuk basuh kereta..
lap guna towel basah/kering still boleh..

now, terbaru.. emirate of Sharjah..
announced it would ban all bicycles
from the emirate’s roads.

the Municipality is apparently
trying to clamp down
on 'uncivilised' people who transport scrap,
especially cardboard, on the back of bikes..

so, untuk labour/workers
that rely on basikal as a mode of transport
to go to work? how?
hmmm...

cyclists will still be able
to ride their bikes
but, only in the city’s parks
and quieter areas..

but,yang lucunya... maknanya
they have to find another way
to get there in the first place
don't they?...

pendek kata..
kalau nak berbasikal di taman-taman
kena la pikul dulu basikal tu from rumah..
hehehehe...

only if


tentunya, ramai yang dah baca/tengok/tahu
pasal trajedi boat karam di Manama, Bahrain
baru-baru ni, yang melibatkan hampir 60 kematian..

kat UAE pun ada...
Dubai mostly, but Abu Dhabi ada sikit
Dubai ada banyak operators yang buat bisnes ni
while Abu Dhabi only one operator..

package for the boat-cruise ni pun..
macam-macam jenis dan 'macam-macam' ada..

ada yang only dine and cruise
ada yang only cruise
ada yang for luncheon or dinner
ada yang ada dine and cruise
with tarian gelek and liquor-served on board
ada yang dine and cruise without the above..

jenis kapal juga
ada yang besar and kecik
ada yang kayu klasik dan modern fibre
ada yang boleh muat 30, 50, 100, 150 orang

and of course,
the rate per person also different because of these
range from AED 80 to AED 250..

selain dari boat-cruise
ada jugak 'abra' or sampan yang bawah penumpang
to cross the creek (UAE tadak sungai)
kalu kat malaysi.. bot penampang la..
macam nak merentas sungai sarawak kat kuching tu

apapun, semua boat ni.
memang takde Life Jacket...
either langsung or tak mencukupi

pelampong lak.. memang ada la..
but, still tak pernah tally
with the number on board..

so, as usual..
kalau tak jadi apa-apa..
takde orang kata apa-apa
bila dah jadi kat Bahrain...
starting today, all boat-cruise kat UAE
telah kena banned... until further notice..
and lepas ni.. sure kena lengkapkan alatan,
strict and stick to the guideline and rules

lumrah and fitrah manusia
blessing in disguise,
at the expense of others...