pleasant hours

di bulan Ramadhan..
waktu sebelah siang.. memang kelam
rileks je orang-orang di UAE ni..
tapi.. malam nya.. setelah abis taraweh..
meriah la semula..


jalan jammed selepas tu la..
macam orang nak pegi or balik keje
padahal nak pegi melepak je
di malls dan cafes adanya
or shopping barang keperluan harian..

pada bulan biasa
kedai kecil tepi jalan dan malls kecil..
hanya open dari 10 am hingga 1 pm
kemudian selepas siesta..
buka semula dari 5 pm hingga 11 pm

tapi.. pada bulan Ramadhan
kedai kecil tepi jalan dan malls kecil
hanya operasi dari 10 am hingga 1 pm
kemudian selepas iftar..
buka semula dari 8 pm hingga 1 am

(untuk malls yang besar..
lebih kurang sama time nye
banyak jugak kedai yang di dalamnya..
kalau bulan biasa.. open straight from 10 am to 11 pm
kalau bulan puasa.. open straight from 10 am till 1 am
cuma.. hanya 20% kedai dalamnya yang open for business
during between 1 pm to 8 pm tu)

pendek kata..
kalau hajat nak melawat UAE
untuk tujuan shopping..
time bulan ramadhan ni..
lupakan saje le..

yang paling aku tabik spring..
masa bulan Ramadhan ni
kedai yang jual makanan
hanya akan beroperasi
1 hour sebelum Iftar..
and then open hingga ke Sahur..

jadinya..
bagi yang bukan Islam
pepandai la nak (cari) makan
pada siang harinya..

eating time

di UAE ni.. seperti Malaysia juga
memang ada package iftar (berbuka puasa)
and also package bersahur
di hotels or restaurants
buffet dengan harga antara
40 dirham hingga 350 dirham per person

(1 dirham = 0.9 ringgit)

cumanya.. yang paling amat ketara
adalah sikap 'toleransi' antara
yang Muslim dengan yang non-Muslim

iaitu ketika yang Muslim nak iftar
memang tak nampak la sangat kelibat
orang yang bukan Islam / tak berpuasa ni
berpusu-pusu di hotel atau restoren
untuk 'sama-sama' sibuk nak berbuka..

tak macam di Malaysia
di mana.. yang aku paling 'sakit hati'
time orang nak bukak puasa tu la
yang non-Muslim ni.. pun 'sibuk' nak berebut
dengan yang Muslim / berpuasa ni
nak 'sama-sama' berbuka puasa

yes.. betul.. buffet tu open to all
cumanya.. apa la salahnya
jika dipinjam 'budaya' di negara UAE ni
which i really paling 'senang hati'
iaitu.. orang yang tidak berpuasa tu
hanya akan kerumun hotels / restaurants tu
lepas orang semua dah selamat berbuka

well.. actually.. in 'reality'
bukan sebab tolerancy sebenarnya..
but.. yang tak berpuasa ni
'takut' kena marah dengan Pak Arab agaknya
kalau 'sibuk sama'.. time depa nak iftar tu

hehe...

food or feast

berpuasa di negara Arab ni
memang berbeza dengan Malaysia tentunya
part Ramadhan Bazaar yang paling nyata..

di UAE.. memang takde la budaya pasar malam ni
apatah lagi bazaar ramadhan
yang menjual bermacam-macam juadah ni

but.. khemah-khemah dan tapak-tapak khas diluar masjid
untuk orang ramai berbuka puasa ramai-ramai bersama
memang banyak..

nasi briyani kambing/ayam dimasak banyak
untuk disedekah pada orang ramai tadi
adalah sumbangan dari orang-orang yang berhajat
hampir disemua masjid.. setiap hari..


i think.. rasanya.. (maaf cakap)
di Malaysia.. yang mula 'membudayakan'
bazaar Ramadhan ni.. adalah orang KL
kemudian di'sokong' oleh Kementerian Pelancongan
yang mempopularkan bazaar ni
as part of our tourism 'product'

jadinya..
penuh la bazaar
pelbagai la juadah

pembaziran?
rasanya.. terletak kepada individu
samada membeli untuk keperluan
atau untuk kepuasan

teringat kata-kata Ustaz Ismail Kamus
"kalau bulan puasa ni, time pukul 5 petang tu
kalau tengok kuih-muih tu.. rasa nak makan semuanya..
agaknya.. kalau ada yang jual batu-bata panggang pun laku.."

err... kak.. batu-bata panggang 2 bungkus?


hehe..

Ramadhan Kareem

bulan mulia, bulan yang ditunggu
bulan Ramadhan tiba lagi
alhamdulillah, syukur pada Allah
kerana dipanjangkan usia
untuk menunaikan dan menikmati Ramadhan

Ramadhan Mubarak !

there are things that i look forward
when it comes to Ramadhan in UAE
- there's no food bazaar or pasar malam
(hence, takde la kes membazir makanan or pembelian)
- but, akan ada banyak juadah sedekah di masjid-masjid
- no one is allowed to eat, drink or smoke
in public during the day (even for the non-muslims)
- no night-clubs will be opened

as always (this is my 5th time berpuasa di UAE)
Ramadhan is a very quiet month indeed (at least during the day)
restaurants will be closed during the day
most shops are open only for a short period
official working hours for offices will be shorten
(mine will be between 9am - 2pm)

apapun...
selamat menjalankan ibadah puasa
to all fellow muslims
semoga mendapat keberkatan hendaknya

Ramadhan Kareem !

named names

mari kita belajar tentang bahasa arab sikit
pasal apa?.. pasal nama...

begini...

first.. pasal nama ABDUL..

Abdul bermaksud... HAMBA KEPADA
dan selalunya digunakan dalam konteks atau bersama
dengan 99 nama Allah..
seperti Rahman, Razak, Malik, Fatah,
Latif, Karim, dan seterusnya
http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Asma_Allah
jadi maksudnya.. HAMBA KEPADA ALLAH..

di negara Arab. (or dalam bahasa Arab)
adalah tidak betul/elok..
sekiranya memanggil seseorang yang bernama Abdul Malik
dengan hanya panggilan ABDUL sahaja..
which simply means SLAVE OF
and to their ears, it just does not make sense
or worst, an insult

second.. pasal nama ABU..

seperti mana orang lain juga, ada nama timangan
kadang kala.. nama yang dikaitkan dengan anak sulung mereka

contoh..
sekiranya Yusuf mempunyai anak bernama Saeed
orang mungkin akan memanggil Yusuf
dengan nama Abu Saeed
yang bermaksud.. AYAH KEPADA SAEED

sama juga kepada ibunya..
contoh.. jika ibu kepada Saeed adalah Fatimah
orang boleh memanggil Fatimah dengan nama Umm Saeed
yang bermaksud IBU KEPADA SAEED

kaedah ini.. dipanggil.. KUNYA dalam bahasa arab..
contoh yang paling dikenali di peringkat antarabangsa
adalah for example, Mahmoud Abbas,
the Palestinian President,
is often referred to as "Abu Mazen".

third... panggilan ABU juga
boleh diguna atau bermaksud DATANG DARI

contoh.. sejarah nama tempat ABU DHABI
di mana pada satu hari
orang Bedouin telah mengekori anak rusa (Gazelle)
yang berasal dari satu kawasan pergunungan Al Dhabi
semasa mencari-cari kawasan berair,
rusa itu merayau sehingga ke sebuah kawasan
yang hari ini dipanggil Abu Dhabi (ibu negara UAE)
(iaitu kawasan di mana rusa yang DATANG DARI Al Dhabi
menjumpai lopak air tersebut)

akhir sekali..
nama ABU juga boleh juga digunakan
to refer to something associated with someone

contoh... kalau seseorang itu..
sering membawa laptop atau sering memakai baju biru...
kita boleh la panggil si polan tu
Abu Laptop atau Abu Baju Biru

hehehe..

happening again

more often that not
as i am preparing myself
to go to work in the morning
i wouldn't switch on the tele

but this morning..
i tuned in to this
English-Dubai-based tv channel

it's a good free-to-air channel
they have good choice of programmes
especially the sitcoms and movies from 6pm
but, sex/kissing scenes would be censored/cut short
unlike the other channels

anyway..
my story is about the news programme
prime time at 8.30 pm daily
and repeat at 7.00 am the next day

but.. amazingly..
the contents of the news
mostly (90%) were stuff from yesterday

huh?

yupppp..
you heard me right

how exactly?

well..
if you're to watch the evening slot
but had earlier read any daily newspaper
you would realise that the newslady
would be reading the same articles
that had been published in that newspaper

hmmm..
suratkhabar usually report
events yang berlaku.. semalam..
am i right?

in short..
the aforesaid news-slot
instead of reporting (fresh) news of that day
its ‘coverage’ was actually yesterday's events

hence..
it is even worse if you’re to watch
the repeat slot, the morning after
i.e. the news will be about events from two days ago

like i did this morning..

hehe..

dollar and cent

di Malaysia.. dah lama kita dengar
cases like 'black-money'
yang dimulakan oleh Africans
then, cases like 'bayar some fees dulu'..
as little as 1%.. in order for to be reimbursed
with 20% of the USD 10 million..

macam-macam jenis la..

but.. yang pastinya.. swindling money..
putar alam.. nakkan duit kita..

dulu.. mostly..
ianya bermula by Africans, from Africa...
nowadays, not necessary by Africans, or from Africa..

sudah menular dan bercambah..
no particular citizens, no particular countries..
makin 'kreatif'.. macam-macam cara dan kaedah..

and now, tak dapat tidak..
the 'scams' had reached UAE..

among others.. the modus operandi..
they would send the 'offer' through email

UAE ni ramai orang kaya..
baik dan murah hati..
but, things like spam emails ni
memang bende baru for most people..
so.. what a good combination..

contoh.. bayangkan..
ada government officials
are still using yahoo or hotmail domain emails
as their 'official' emails

jadinya.. memang terdedah kepada email spamming
jadinya.. ada orang yang berduit, baik hati
but, malangnya tak reti ni
telah terperdaya dengan scams yang disebutkan

mula-mula.. black money...
next.. 1% fee for millionaire heritage
then.. humanitarian donation..
next.. employment opportunities
macam-macam ada..

cuma.. yang sedihnya..
bila dalam berita or reports
ada menyebut things like..
'bank account in Malaysia'
'email from Malaysia'
'operating in Malaysia'

dan yang 'paling sedih'..
Malaysians pun kena tipu gak..

apapun.. teringat aku satu 'petua'
yang aku bagi kat my famili... decade back
semasa kes skim labu, piramid and all other scams
baru nak menular.. baru nak terkenal..
and ada among my family members yang nak 'join'

aku kata.. kalau betul la..
bayar 1% akan diganti 20%..
or labur RM 100 jadi RM 1000..
tentunya Maybank sendiri yang patut/akan
melabur kat bende-bende ni..

betul tak?

hmmm.. apapun..
bukan senang nak senang
bukan susah nak susah

heat wave

minggu ni..
adalah antara minggu paling panas di UAE
celsius tak turun between 42 to 44
peak during jam 12 hingga 3 petang

mudah sungguh pening kepala
senang betul rasa letih

jadinya..
nak keluar dari rumah atau opis pun
rasa malas la sesangatnya..
and only if really necessary

botol gelen air... cepat je abis..
aiskrim pun.. banyak laku..
air kopi or teh panas...
not favourite beverages at the moment
:)

apapun..
pernah dulu.. ada usul..
as published on the newspaper
berkenaan isu nak saman pemandu/pemilik kenderaan
yang tidak mematikan enjin kereta mereka
apabila/ketika mereka parking sekejap
untuk beli barang or bayar bil or masuk kedai

ianya dipraktikkan
dengan ignition remains switch on
with car's key intact inside
and the air-cond too remains switch on
to keep the temperature in the car
maintain at a cooling level

hmmm..
alasan yang diberikan oleh pihak berkenaan
yang ingin kuatkuasakan undang-undang ini
kerana jika enjin kenderaan tersebut tidak dimatikan
asapnya akan menyebabkan pencemaran alam

muhahahaaa... yenna dei..
nasib baik tak being enforce

anyway.. kalau kat Malaysia..
rasanya.. bukan masalah takut 'kesejukan' tu hilang
but more sebab takut kereta tu yang hilang terus

hehe..

never ending story

sebelum ini.. tentunya kita biasa dengar
catchphrase or motivational phrase
seperti NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

kita juga dulu.. selalu menonton
mini siri MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE
seterusnya ada filem M.I. 1, 2 and 3..
Tom Kurus yang berlakon jadi hero..
perghhh.. memang impossible.. hehe..

kita juga pastinya biasa dengar
motto or catchphrase iklan jenama Nike
JUST DO IT.. yang mana.. dari segi sudut motivasinya
'buat je la'.. 'boleh punya'.. hehe..

Malaysia Boleh !!!

tak lama dulu...
jenama Adidas pula membawa kita
kepada catchphrase baru..
IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING

ambikk kauuu... hehe..

apapun.. yang paling terbaru
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
'memperkenalkan' satu lagi catch-phrase
iaitu.. katanya.. IMPOSSIBLE IS AN ILLUSION

gulpppp !!!

well.. jika melihat kepada pemodenan dan kemajuan
serta projek-projek yang membangun dan dimajukan di Dubai
memang tepat dan tidak salah untuk beliau berkata sekian rupa

tapinya.. jika difikirkan sekali imbas
untuk negara seperti UAE dan wilayah seperti Dubai
memang boleh lah berkata begitu..
i.e. tanah banyak, duit banyak
just sell/tell me the idea..
money/cost is not really the problem..

in short, kat UAE ni
they plan and make the projects
macam main game SimCity
or macam main Lego je

teringat pada kata-kata
kartunis Majalah Gila-Gila.. Rejahab..
ADA DUIT SEMUA JADI

courtesy calls

mat salleh sure akan sebut
nama Abu Bakar or Mohamad
jadi Abu Bakerrr... Muhammedd...

yang tak best tu.. kita kengkadang..
sibuk and takut sangat
nak pronounce nama orang salah
bersungguh kita nak sebut
nama or perkataan omputeh
dengan yang terbaik.. macam..
John, Michelle, Michael, Margaret, Jean, Dean,
Extraordinary, Climbing, Plumbing,
Milo, My-Loo.... etc

even mat salleh ni
being white man and so-called supremo-uno race
diaorang bukan kisah nak sebut betul pun

contoh.. kalau kat UAE ni
or even in BBC or CNN..
kalau announcement, emcee omputeh ni
kalau berita, newscaster omputeh tu
depa sebut slannggg
and tweenngggg mat salleh dia
nama-nama orang arab ni..
or nama tempat kat negeri pasir dua butir ni..
padahal ada tu.. dah duduk lama kat sini...

contoh lain..
yang paling aku tak suka
and sakit hati gak la
bila mat salleh ni.. has succeeded
in turning the pronunciation
of the UAE currency
DIRHAM.. jadi.. DIRAM...
(with silent H)..

betul, it is only courtesy
but, it's still NOT the right thing to do..

however, di Malaysia tanahair ku
lain pulak jadinya...
contoh.. kita ni kengkadang..
bila bercakap bahasa Melayu tu
yang Melayu tu.. bila bercakap melayu
dengan bangsa India or Cina
kita selalunya lebih cenderung untuk bercakap
menggunakan telo or loghat or cara
orang bangsa lain tu bercakap..
'lu sana pegi la'
'belakang kalu'
'sini taruk boleh ka'
dan macam macam lagi..

why not..
kita cakap je bahasa Melayu standard...
bila bercakap dengan diaorang..
maybe sebab kita baik and lembut hati kot..
heheheh...

ada satu kisah yang terjadi
di negara UAE tanahpasir ku ini...

***************

My friend's father named Anantharaman Subbaraman
arrived at the airport.

He ended up waiting for his visa
for about 2 hours for the authorities to call his name.

Finally, he got fed up and went to them
and asked why they haven't called his name yet.

They said that they have been calling him
for the last hour and a half
and were wondering why he hadn't responded!

The reason was made clear
when the immigration officer
pronounced his name as: 'Anotherman Superman'

*************

time and again

setiap tahun..
calendar of events in Dubai
especially in hosting various types of exhibition
will be fully packed every month
and back-to-back weekly during winter season

among the many..
Dubai akan menjadi tuan rumah
kepada Arab Media Forum
yang akan dirasmikan oleh Sheikh Mohammed - Dubai

(ada dua Sheikh Mohammed in the UAE
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
- VP, PM and MoDefence of the UAE
- Ruler of Dubai
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
- Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
- next in line to be the President
- Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces)

apa yang menarik adalah..
dalam ucapan-ucapan beliau
semasa Arab Media Forum dan pelbagai acara bekaitan
pastinya akan diungkapkan berkenaan;
perlunya media yang adil dan kebebasan untuk media

apa yang lebih menarik adalah..
undang-undang di UAE sendiri, antaranya;

Article 70
No criticism shall be made against
the Head of State or Rulers of the Emirates

Article 84
It is prohibited to malign a public official
or anybody occupying a post in the public prosecution
or assigned to perform a public job

sebab itu..
jika kita baca dan amati
the newspapers published in the UAE ni
dalam ruangan Nation / Local News
setiap hari, semua artikel berkenaan UAE
adalah yang baik-cantik-manis-indah belaka

namun begitu..
sedikit demi sedikit, hari demi hari
slowly and gradually but surely
ada wartawan yang menulis dan menyentuh
isu-isu yang sebelum ini tidak akan/pernah muncul
i.e. jenayah, kemiskinan, kesan buruk ekonomi di UAE

secara dasarnya..
memang UAE ni tak banyak cerita
isu politik takde - no political parties
isu ekonomi baik - duit banyak, sedang membangun
isu sosial baru - kadar jenayah memang rendah

apapun..
bak pepatah melayu
"kalau tiada angin, masakan pokok bergoyang"
"air yang tenang, jangan disangka tiada buaya"
"ibarat menutup bangkai gajah dengan nyiru
akhirnya terhidu jua baunya"

do it again

in UAE..
memang ada kedapatan
majalah/suratkhabar terbitan antarabangsa
yang diimport masuk secara sah
termasuklah Cosmopolitan, Vogue, FHM, Maxim
ada yang version UK, US, Russia

seperti sedia maklum..
dalam majalah-majalah sebegini
pastinya akan terdapat gambar-gambar
model/celebrities/orang.. males and females..
in very 'revealing manner and suggestive contours'

orang jawa kata.. "waduh waduhhhhhh...
asyik skali dong.. bikin pusing.."
;)

untuk mengatasi masalah ini..
dan bagi memastikan majalah/suratkhabar tersebut
masih 'boleh' dijual dan dibeli di dalam UAE
pihak berkuasa mengamalkan 'the black marker' tactics
seperti berikut;




in general.. yang akan 'dihitamkan'
adalah gambar-gambar yang mempamerkan;
any form of nudity, exposed areola, genitals, buttock
yadi yadi yada.. you know the rest, right?
;)

anyhow..
since these 'markers' are human.. and male..
and have a deadline to meet
at times.. if you are among the 'lucky ones'
ada gak yang 'terlucut'.. not black-marked..

:)

lingua franca

my Arabic still not much progress
'swai-swai' = sikit-sikit or very slow

kalau la aku tahu
akan berada kat negeri tanahpasir ni
pasti aku belajar sungguh-sungguh
masa time sekolah dulu..

tapinya..
nak belajar bahasa Arab bukan senang
nak-nak lagi bila dah tua ni
lidah dah keras, otak dah tepu
:)

contoh...
ada keluarga Melayu kat sini
dah duduk hampir 15 tahun
but, still tak leh cakap Arab
anak-anak diaorang je yang boleh

but, contoh yang paling best
adalah kisah satu famili tu
Palestine (bapak) - Malaysian (mak)

memang best and very interesting..
anak-anak diaorang..
boleh cakap Arab, English and Melayu..
bukan pelat and berterabur punya..
but fasih and bahasa pasar punya woooo..

and anak-anak dia 3 orang ni
rupa memang muka Arab
but, even sesama diaorang pun..
they will speak in Malay

Mak tak pandai cakap Arab
Bapak tak pandai cakap Melayu
(yupp, despite being married for over 16 years)
hence, between husband and wife cakap English..
and anak-anak diaorang lak
kalau cakap ngan Mak.. melayu
kalau cakap ngan Bapak.. arab
and diaorang jadi perantara.. heheh

Mak diaorang ni yg kuat
to push and instill the Bahasa Melayu in them
respect and salute!

sebenarnya..
memang banyak perkataan Melayu ni
berasal dari Bahasa Arab...

cumanya.. kengkadang tu..
kat Malaysia.. kita 'salah' guna or pakai

contoh...
dulu kita guna perkataan "musabaqah"
yang bermaksud pertandingan
now kita dah tukar and guna "tilawah"
yang bermaksud pembacaan

contoh lain...
orang kampung kita
bila Maulidur Rasul je
selalunya akan sebut...
'cuti Maulud Nabi'
sepatutnya.. Maulid..

sebab..
Maulud maksudnya 'baru lahir' / new born
Maulid maksudnya 'kelahiran' / birthday

another thing..
kita selalu sebut MashaAllah
bila ada sesuatu yang buruk/keji terjadi
walhal, seeloknya, ianya digunakan
kalau kita kagum dan takjub
dengan sesuatu yang cantik/baik

now, kat Malaysia pun
ramai yang dah makin paham
untuk gunakan Innalillah
i.e. bukan hanya untuk berita kematian
tetapi jika ada ditimpa malang

satu lagi perkara penting
(maaf) pada sesiapa
yang mempunyai atau bernama NIK

kalau nak gi negara Arab
mohon dan diingatkan
supaya elakkan kenal diri anda
sebagai Nik Amir ke.. Nik Aziz ke..
atau sewaktu dengannya..

cukup dengan or cuba hanya
kenalkan diri sebagai Amir or Aziz sahaja

sebab???

perkataan bunyi Nik
dalam bahasa Arab
adalah bermaksud F**K

dengan itu,
kalau nak ke middle-east
and bila nak exchange business card tu
kena la padam or hitamkan
perkataan Nik tu...

"bahasa melambangkan bangsa"

getting hotter

now, di UAE.. dah mula masuk musim panas..
yupp.. back to sweltering heat
at present, baru cecah around 40 celsius
nanti by july and august
boleh sampai 52 celsius...
plus humidity lagi (around 90%)
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..
hehe..

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
(now dah tukar nama - Grand Millennium)
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...
hehe..

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

the progress

baru je kebah from demam 2 hari
still masuk opis though
can't take leave at this moment
keje tak banyak, but need to settle it now
no fret, i managed, dah terbiasa gini
anyway, it was just selsema and badan seram sejuk
telan panadol for sinus yang kotak kaler biru muda tu
hilang la selsema tu for a while

camne boleh demam?
well, partly because lama dah tak jatuh sakit
and partly due to the weather is getting hotter now

here.. a photo as a proof..
i took yesterday afternoon
while driving back from opis

the temperature reading was 42 celsius
even from inside a car that was half-full blown
with good air-conditioning system

now, imagine, being outdoor
working on a construction site
pergghhh......

oh ya.. one more thing
i've been meaning to write about this one
updates on Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower)

last saturday..
this still-being-constructed skyscrapper
(one of the many more in the UAE)
has been crowned - the tallest building in the world
with 512 meter thus far
(passed Taipei 101 with 508 meter)
(predicted finally to stand at 700 meter)
with 141 floors for now
(no other building in the world even close)
(forecasted to have 160 floors)

"standing in the eyes of the world"
- my lurve Ella ;)

he did it again

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
the Vice President and Prime Minister
and Minister of Defence of the UAE
and Ruler of Dubai
did it again

well..
memang selalu dah dia buat surprises sebegini
among others were this, this and this

however
last weekend (Friday and Saturday)
he had set a new 'benchmark'

he went to Fujairah
(a nothern and not-so-urbanised emirate of the UAE)
and 'brought along' his members of cabinet

pada pagi Jumaat
a cabinet meeting in an informal setting


lepas tu.. tengaharinya
sembahyang jumaat di masjid berhampiran

he just sat in the middle section of the masjid
unlike our Raja, Sultan, PM, Menteris and VVIPs in Malaysia
yang selalunya pasti akan 'disediakan' saf paling depan sekali

lepas solat tu.. dengan tiba-tiba
salah seorang penduduk tempatan kawasan situ
telah mengajak beliau untuk makan tengahari di rumah beliau

and he accepted the invitation
together with most of the ministers

next, lepas habis makan
dengan tak disangka-sangka beliau mengumumkan agar
anak-anak tuan rumah (yang dah berkahwin) yang jemput dia tadi
diberikan/dihadiahkan sebuah rumah setiap seorang
dengan biayaan beliau sendiri

perghhhh....

seterusnya.. petang tu
sambung meeting

esok pagi dan tengaharinya
melawat kawasan sekitar kampung

petangnya
sebagai penutup dan sebelum balik ke Dubai
mandi-manda bersama some ministers

hehe..

these events, beyond reasonable doubts
had further uplifted his good image
in the eyes of the people living in the UAE
regardless whether it was a genuine day-to-day practice
or just another excellent public relations stunt

anyway..
a fellow Malaysian
cynically joking around by quoting
"our PMs pernah ke buat gini?"

i just simply replied by saying
"pernah! dan pasti akan buat lagi
bila? tunggu le musim pilihanraya"

:)

the race is on

yes..
it is hot during summer in this region
that's why most of them travel out during this season
to places like Europe, South East Asia and Australia

and as a result
of Malaysia's strong and all-out promotion
in its tourism sector especially
it's very hard to get or book a ticket
to visit Malaysia during July to August
Kuala Lumpur will look like another arab cities
during these upcoming 2 months;
Genting could be easily mistaken for Cairo;
and perhaps in the near future
Dungun will be mistaken for Dubai
hehehe..

nonethless..
it's not as hot
as the development projects in the UAE
with projects in Dubai has been estimated
and past the AED 1 trillion mark
as well as the projects in Abu Dhabi
hence, that's already AED 2 trillion
(about USD 550 billion)

why is this possible?

here's one example;

in May 2006
the Dubai government had launched Bawadi
the world's largest hospitality
and entertainment project
valued at AED 100 billion (USD 27 billion)


next, in late 2006
the Abu Dhabi government had launched Saadiyat
the 6 theme-island-districts tourism destination
estimated at AED 100 billion


later, in May 2007
it was announced that the Bawadi
will be doubling its project worth
to AED 200 million

why?
among others..
probably because
Dubai tak nak 'kalah' kepada Abu Dhabi

apapun.. perghhhhhhhhhhh...

oh ya..
have i mentioned already that
nowadays, in the UAE
projects with a million-dollar tag
are no longer making news?
are already considered peanuts?

apa kelas million.. kak kiah oii
bila billion is the new par/standard to beat?

well.. these projects
already stole all the thunders of that
earlier projects such as
Jebel Ali Airport (the biggest airport in the world)
Burj Dubai (the tallest tower in the world)
Dubai Mall (the biggest mall in the world)
The Palm Islands, The World Island,
et cetera and the list go on and on

hopefully,
the day would never come
the day they decided to topple
our only remaining hope and pride
(the Petronas Twin Towers still standing
as the tallest twin-tower in the world)
to be in the world record book
by building a taller twin tower
or perhaps a triplet tower

well..
we shall wait and see
or perhaps i just might have given them
the heads up.. oppppssss..
hmmmm..

the heat is on

it's July already?
my oh my, time flies

anyhow..
it's officially summer in the UAE
the heat already lingers around 43 celsius nowadays
with 65% humidity thus far

by hujung July till mid-August
merasa la lagi insyaAllah
up to 48 celsius


pohon-pohon tamar telah mula berbuah
kurma akan bertukar warna
dari hijau ke kuning dan merah-cokelat

bermula Julai juga, till 31 Ogos
in UAE, no workers are allowed to work
di tempat terbuka / outdoor
between 12.30 to 3 .00 pm
otherwise face the penalty of AED 10,000 per worker
(this is targeted largely for construction sectors)

and this is the 3rd year in a row
for such ban to be enforced
however, it's reducing its number by year
i.e. in 2005, it was for 12.00 till 4.00 pm
i.e. in 2006, it was for 12.00 till 3.00 pm

there has been rumours and discussion from last year
to actually scrap this ruling altogether
with a strong lobbying by the construction companies
thankfully, stronger empathy from NGOs and government agencies
did balance things up and prolong this humane ordinance

mabruk !

big plate

semalam.. di Abu Dhabi
telah diadakan lelongan nombor plet kenderaan

macam-macam nombor ada..
tapinya, yang berkait ngan nombor 5
yang paling mendapat perhatian ramai


apapun..
once again..
it's another world record event


the number '5'
was sold for AED 25.2 million
(RM 24 juta or USD 6.8 million)

IT IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE NUMBER PLATE IN THE WORLD !

the owner of the number plate
Talal Al Khoury, an Abu Dhabi-based businessman
also offered highest bids for few more numbers
- number 55 for AED 6.5 million
- number 45 for AED 5 million
- number 76 for AED 2.75 million
- and number 55555 for AED 2 million

kata beliau..
"the number does not mean anything to me
i will keep it and after my death
it will be re-auctioned and probably raise more money
that will again be given to charity and humanitarian work".

the revenue from the auction
a total AED 100 million
would go to various charitable entities
for people with special needs and accident victims

about 700 participants from 13 nationalities
bidded for numbers of their choice

a Ukrainian bidder purchased
the number plate 1001 for AED 550,000
a Chinese bidder purchased
the lucky number 88 for AED 4.2 million

number '12'
came second as the most expensive number in the world
with the tag of AED 8.9 million

in an auction last July in London
(the previous record holder)
number plate bearing 'M1'
was sold for just GBP 332,000

previously.. in Dubai last March
the highest bidding was for number plate E 15
only managed to fetch AED 3.2 million

hmm..
told you before
that Abu Dhabi is richer than Dubai

mabruk !!!

new plate

starting last November..
the emirate of Abu Dhabi
has introduced a new plate number for vehicles
which very distinctive with the previous ones

hence..
the plate numbers
had been transformed from these;

to only this type;

among other..
no more arabic numeric
no more various colours
red is the official colour for Abu Dhabi
number 5 means the 'fifth generation' plate

this plate number
(made by a German manufacturer)
will be in line with international specifications
has hologram features
and carries the national emblem

Malaysia, bila lagi?