No Other Thoughts

Other than the customary Hajj cough, i am A OK and ready to take on the world.
Touched down at 0100 hrs at KLIA on Boxing Day 2009.

To me my Hajj has been most fulfilling and there was never a moment that i had any second thoughts or other thoughts about being there.

The only thought that came through was that i should have made the pilgrimage earlier.

The best memories i have is of Arafah and Mina and the smell of fresh burning firewoods lingering in the air throughout, that was used for cooking because the Saudis banned the use of gas for cooking, because of past fire experience due to the use of gas!!!
The rains before Wukuf truly was a blessing that cleanse the air...
That was indeed a true blessing.

Will gather my thoughts in small doses and will try and jot down some interesting moments.

No Second Thoughts

Last year, when i was woken from my 'slumber', and being blessed with my other half having a precious part of her body removed, my life has taken a better meaning.

Taking God's reminder, it got me back into Orbit and readjusted my Focus.

On reflection, my experience might not be the best, but i am gratefull that it did happened.

This resulted in my two marvellous Umrah experience in April and May, and InsyaAllah, my journey this Monday, 16th Nov to perform my obligation with my wife.

I once heard that, there are 22 reasons, why one finally perform the Hajj, despite it being one of the 5 Pillars of Islam.

Well, i do succumb to one of the reasons, when i was given the 'friendly' reminder last year.

As a Muslim, performing the Hajj has always been one of the ultimate dream.
Growing up, literally, hearing untold stories of the experiences of the Hajj from others, sometimes gives a different connoctation.
Sometimes it might have some negative impact to mere mortals, who are not devoid of sins.

It is a known fact that the 'calling' to perform the Hajj, was sounded by Prophet Ibrahim and the 'calling' by Allah Taala was done even before the Earth was formed.

It is also a common knowledge that every Muslim hopes that those that has gone earlier for their pilgrimage, will also 'do the calling' for them, when they are there.
This is called 'Seruan'..
I have received a few request to 'seru' them to follow the path....
InsyaAllah i will do the needfull.
In fact i will do a little bit more, and i wll also 'seru' for those that has not requested it.

I hope that i will be able to perform the Hajj, admirably and get through with flying colours, with the Grace of Allah.

I hope, when i come back, i should be able to encourage others to perform their Hajj soonest, without having the experience of being reminded like me.

For me, there was never a Second Thought, when matters of performing the Hajj is concerned.
It is only my human weakness that, only at this age, i am finally making the serious effort to really do it.
My example is not a good one to emulate.

I am sure all Muslims do not have any Second Thoughts when matters of the Hajj crops up.
It is just a matter of wrong priorities.

The Next Raya-Friday,27th November

Now that Raya Puasa is just a memory, i am reminded that the next Raya is only 2 months away...Raya Haji, which should fall on Friday, 27th November.

I am planning to be in Makkah by then, InsyaAllah.

I know that it will be a new experience from spending Raya here.

May ALLAH accept what i have done

As Ramadan draws to a close,InsyaALLAH tomorrow,
I hope ALLAH TAALA accepts my month long compulsory fasting.
Like what i wrote earlier, i hope i pass the month long test.
Only GOD knows.
As i watched the Friday morning program Tanya lah Ustaz, i am attracted to what was said.
The correct greetings for Raya should be "May Allah accept what you have done" and the greetings that we have been accustomed to all this while, "Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir Bathin" is a Malay greeting.

It makes a lot of sense to me, because after a month long puasa, it is most appropriate that we should hope that we get full marks, or rather GOD accepts fully what we have done.

We know how we have performed and we truly know
that GOD knows better.
We hope HE accepts what we have done.

Likewise my Raya wish to all my friends this year and thereafter..
"May ALLAH accepts what you have done"....the month long puasa

And plus the usual Maaf Zahir Bathin..

Malaya plus Sabah and Sarawak

Today 16th September is Malaysia Day.
Giving the fasting month as an excuse, there is no extra-ordinary events lined up to remind us of the significance of the day.

Likewise, it was never an occasion in the past for celebrations, especially for us this side of the South China Seas.

Reading through some write ups on the formation of Malaysia, it crosses my mind that not many on the Peninsular values the significance of the additional two states into one Malaysia.
Many still harbours the thoughts of Singapore leaving us and how Singapore is nowhere near us.
Many are still asking the same question.."How come Singapore can do it?".

Will Sabah and Sarawak leave us in the future?
How come Brunei managed to keep out of it and yet remain strong?

I may be wrong in thinking about these.
Who am i to think on behalf of the people of Sabah and Sarawak?

Did i pass the Puasa?

In a few days time, the month long puasa will end, and the old routine will continue.
Life will be normal again.
My puasa has been quite a normal routine one, not much challenges.
I am truly blessed, Alhamdullillah.

But there are many others who have more challenges during the fasting month.
Definitely, those that has to work in the field away from the air-conditioned office, like the Traffic policemen,soldiers,pasar malam, construction,.. etc..etc..has a more challenging puasa than me.
I should know because in my previous career, i was subjected to such conditions..
Maybe they get more marks for their extra challenges.
I am not sure about mine.
Did i pass this puasa with just enough points or....?
I hope so....

Anyway, this Sunday, i will be celebrating Raya back in Sungai Patani with my family at my sisters house, because my mother is there.

I have not been celebrating Raya back there for the last few years, with good reasons..
This year i do not have a valid reasons, not to be with my mother and siblings back home.
I will take a slow drive this Saturday, very early in the morning.
To the few readers that drop in, i would like to wish you a Safe and Memorable Raya.

The Lukewarm Response to this years' National Day

(I posted this to my RMC Old Boys yahoogroup)
Dear all,
I might be wrong here.
It seems that the overall response to this years' National day is rather lukewarm.
I am referring to our E-list here.
In previous years we had some postings about our National day or rather i would post something just to highlight our National day.There will be one or two others who would do similarly.

This time around there is none and i am the only one at the moment, just a day away from 31st August to write something here.

Am i surprise?
No i am not because i too am feeling rather lukewarm about this year's do.
Unlike in 2007, when i was involved in the parade itself when we had 50 of our OPs marching up front on National day parade, this year seems quite a distance away from that feeling i had two years ago.

Am i being less patriotic?
Am i being less Malaysian?
Am i getting ungratefull?
Am i the only one?


Some says that it is the H1N1,
Some says that it is the fasting month

But nobody is saying that they are not in the mood to be reminded of the day, 52 years ago,
when our fathers gladfully declared and celebrated their Independence from their Colonial masters.
Yes,the tv is constantly screening flashback of that moment in time, but then again statistics has it that most of us alive now are oblivion to that day 52 years ago.
Yes we can pretend to have some sentiments but, that is only superficial because, most of us were not there then...
It is only a historical sentiments that we have.....we are play acting to be sentimental about our independence.
Again i might be wrong here, and there are many genuine Malaysians out there who are truly appreciative of our forefathers fight for Independence!!

To top all that had happened recently, the 'cow's head' incident yesterday in Shah Alam, seems to me an indication that something is terribly wrong.
I can understand the sentiments of some of those who objected to the location of the temple.
But i cannot accept the idiotic act of parading the 'cows' head'.
I liken it to our childhood act of drawing a line on the ground and drawing a circle there on each side as an indicator of our father's head and daring the other guy to step on it.

That is inviting trouble...
Now that it has happened, i am sure there will be many 'rumours' and 'wild tales' that will follow.
There will be many stories of the 'pigs head' and many others.....

I am not sure how our Govt is going to tackle this.
Can they ISAed all those guys that took part yesterday?
Can the Indian leaders convince some Indians to take it coolly?
Can the Police seriously control everybody?
Can the others tolerate the idiotic act as an act by some Idiots out to cause mischief?

I know fingers are pointing here and there.

Can we on this E-list do something so that things will not escalate or be blown out of proportion?
I am sorry if my posting here, be misconstrued an an out of place posting or a piece of rubbish....

I am just trying to reason out how wonderfull, the last 52 years has been, less the Communist Insurgency and the Racial Riot of 69, that our nation has been blessed with.
Overall, we have not done badly.
I know some disagree and says that it could have been better, but on looking back, we are OK.

Since i am just older by a year than our National day, i am gratefull to my parents and grandparents for being responsible to ensure that i have a better life than them.
My National Day sentiments is for them.
Merdeka, Merdeka Merdeka.......
In English it is Freedom Freedom Freedom.
And it is the Freedom of the Mind that is Ultimate.
Free the Mind from Hatred.....

OP Azudin O Fuad

52 Years is a long time

As we are about to be reminded of the 52 years after we got our Independence from our colonial masters, i am lost for words as what to write.

I decided to post the picture of the flags which was taken at the foot of the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.
The flags are displayed 24 hours a day.Rain or shine.
I know another friend of mine, a retired Jeneral, who writes about the flag in his blog. I did not make any comments there but i thought that i have a different angle as how the flag should be raised.
From my observations, it seems that the flag is only raised once and it stays there forever.
Unlike my basic training of raising the flag and lowering it down before sunset, it is becoming a trend now, that our flags are raised up the flag poles and remains forever up there.
Sometimes the flags remains for 365 days a year, i.e. from one National day to another!!
Sometimes, the colours changed and the shape too changed due to wear and tear..

Is the flag just a decoration?

Is flying the flag 365 days a year day and night a sign of one's utmost loyalty to the nation?
Do we need to physically keep the flag flying?
The flag too needs some rest...

In my military life, we took care of the flag with utmost respect and care.
The flag is raised and lowered every day.
The flag is lowered and kept dry, when it rains.
There is always somebody who is nominated to take care of the flag.
Looking at the way flags are raised now, it seems that once they are up there, then nobody cares about them, come rain or shine!!!!
Can this also be a metaphor at how loyal we are to our country and leaders?

Mine Language

Literally translated Mine Language means Bahasa Saya and Bahasa Kita is the plural of it, which is Our Language.
As much as my Bahasa and English is good, i still cannot figure out how they want to implement the English part into our education system.
I am still confused over the whole thing.
I know some have resorted to taking a neutral stance towards the whole thing.

This morning i was trying to remember, how i learnt to speak English?
I do remember singing the Nursery Rhymes like Baa Baa Black Sheep, Humpty Dumpty, London Bridge and what not. I do remember many Nursery Rhymes in Bahasa Melayu like. Bangun Pagi gosok gigi, tom tom bak and what not.
I know that the Malay part comes naturally.
Only my late father speaks and write in English. My mother only in Malay and Jawi, the Arabic Malay.
I was trying to remember an occasion in my Primary school days when i spoke in English to another classmate of mine..well guess what, i cannot remember!!!

I remember that i can read and write and speak English as early as Std One or Two.
I remember reading Beano and Dandy comics as early as Std One and being exposed to these comics even before my primary school days...

I remember speaking in an Elocution contest when i was in Standard Six.
But i cannot remember using English to speak to another friend of mine or even my family?

Likewise in my Secondary school, i do not quite remember speaking so much in English other than in the class, i.e. using English as a means of communications.
I was merely using English in my reading part and also in watching tv.

Come to think of it, my longest session in using English whilst conversing was in England and whilst i was lecturing at the Armed Forces Staff College, where we had students from overseas.

Most of the time my spoken English in full sentences is very limited not because of anything else but more of convenience and circumstances....

With so many subtitles on tv, it do disturb my concentartion on the spoken English, because the eye sees faster than what we hear...

Because of all these, Mine Language is a mixture of Malay and English and i dare say that i am good at it.
Like it or not, i do not have any other choice but to use Mine Language or Bahasa Saya...
What's Your Language?

Using my Language

So the experiment is over.
It is back to using Bahasa Melayu/Malaysia for all subjects except English.
I am trying to reason out with myself on the rationale of the Government's decision.
They must have solid reasons why.
I can also understand the dissapointment of some.
Maybe the Govt is right.
Maybe it is better to teach basic Math and Science in BM.
Once they have the basics and fullly understand it, maybe they can further their studies in learning about Science and Maths in English.
As an example, my daughter who has completed her second year medical studies at Leicester University came from an all BM primary and secondary education at MRSM.
She got her straight As in Form 3 and 5, in BM.
She graduated with an IB Diploma from Mara College Banting.
I did not see any problem even though she was educated in BM all the way.
Likewise we have students in Egypt and Russia, and they are doing well in their new found langguage studying a tough science and maths based subjects...

As for me, i was educated in English all the way.
But i did not have any problem in my BM in my later years.
Come to think of it when i was in Form 3, there were many of my friends who wrote and spoke broken English....but that did not deter them from graduating as Doctors and Engineers.
There was one guy whose English was so attrocious at Form 3 that when he became an Engineer and then a lecturer at a University, some of us were puzzled.
Like wise my English has been quite ok and i was amongst the few debaters in my lower secondary school days.
I was told that i was quite an orator back then, taking part in Elocution contest and debates...but that does not mean that it guarantees that my Science and Math are tip top...
So maybe it does not matter whether Science and Math at Primary and Secondary school level are taught in BM.
If the student has the right aptitude and attitude, he or she can always excels in their later days.....

So the effort to emphasize more on just teaching English in English might work..
Maybe the Govt is right after all.
My regret was that my Arabic never take off....because the method of how i was educated was just reading without understanding....

I belief that languages must be taught at a very young age, at TADIKA level...looking at the Smart Readers system , where children can speak English during the 4-6 years age...nothing is impossible...
After all the Chinese and Indians speaks an extra language than the Malays...

Where have i been?

I just realised that i have been busy. My last posting was weeks ago.
Today is Thursday 9th of July.
I have been missing on my cycling routine and keeping empty promises to my cycling buddies.
It is not that i do not have the time, but more that i have other priorities.
Will try to write in with more substantial news and muses through with my second thoughts, which actually there are many looking at the daily happenings including the lastest No English..and also how Michael Jackson is buried?

The Flowers are Blooming

(This was written to my RMC Old Putera yahoogroup.)

This morning, when i woke up, i looked outside my bedroom window.
Not many, i belief have my priviledge of having rare flowers blooming outside their windows, only once or twice a year.
Well it is the time of year when these flowers shows their full views and clouded the skinny and unpresentable trees that bore them.
I never did like the type of trees that were planted along my road,because they were skinny and did not provide much shade.
Somehow on count back, i have realised that, you cannot judge a tree by it's size of the trunk or bushy leaves, until you see the flowers!!

On looking back at my verbal diorhea in the last few days, i hope i have not been misjudged by the many as to my true intentions.
I know i have crossed the thin line and hit under the belt.
I know i have exposed and super-imposed certain personalities.
Like i said, i am only a mere mortal not devoid of sins.
To Forgive is Divine, as to Err is Human.
So i rest my case.
Please spend a few seconds to look out of your window and look at the flowers that are GOD send free of charge....with no strings attached.
Like i have said, I am truly Blessed.

OP Azudin O Fuad

Another year have gone by....18th June 2009.

I have entered my 53rd year.
How many more years will i have?
Only God knows.
One thing i know is that for every moment that i will have is always a moment to cherish for.
These need not be happy moments or memorable moments.
They need not be moments that i dream of or dread off...
For every moment that has passed, there is not a moment that i can recover..
My only wish is that when the moment comes for me to leave, it will be a happy moment,
InsyaAllah

Friday Morning Thoughts-12th June 2009

Pictures of Muhammad Ali Mahdi bin Anuar on his Second Born Day after 8th June 2009
Welcome to the World.






I did not managed to jot down last Friday morning thoughts due to some bad time management.
There are many things that i want to share but i need some time to put them into proper sentences.

This morning, i would like to share my thoughts on breast feeding.
I know everybody agrees that mother's milk is the best.
I also know that not many mother can match their thoughts with their deeds.
There are many valid excuses given.

Well this thought came to my mind last Monday,8th June when my niece delivered a 3.05kg boy at Pantai Medical Centre at about 1405 hrs, by Ceasarian method.

Muhammad Ali Mahdi bin Anuar came into the world with eyes wide open(see photos)to my niece Tahera Zahra binti Shorbaini Abdul Ghani/Zainun Othman Fuad.
This is my First Cucu menakan albeit not from my lineage...
Tahera was my second anak menakan to get married and the first,her elder sister Fatimahtul Zahra is due in August.

Our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him),managed to be breast feeded by his mother for a short period because she passed away soon after leaving him as an orphan.
As much as there were plenty of goat's milk and even camel's milk, it was destined that he was breastfed by his 'milking mother'.
I could not trace any write ups that says that he was given non humans milk.
Surely there must be a lesson here somewhere!!!!

During one of my 'one to one' occasions with Tun Dr Mahathir i did mentioned to him that the social ills of todays youth are attributed to cow's milk!.
He brushed me off and says that 'nak salah lembu pulak!!!!'
Well i told him that kalau salahkan mak pak mereka, nanti mereka marah, so better to marah kan lembu....
I even said that when i had susu lembu dulu, it was high quality milk powder, Dumex from Holland or New Zealand, whereas now it might be the cows from India or maybe China!!!!and hence the quality might be low..
I was equating this in jest with no substantive rationale!!!

And since i just did this connection with the examples by our beloved Prophet, i think there is a connection some where, where it attests to the superiority of mother's milk and hence placed all mothers as the determinant to ensure our ultimate ticket for entrance to Heaven, InsyaAllah.....

Just another Musings again.
Azudin O Fuad

Just Sharing the last Training-June 2009

Pagiii.

I am truly blessed that i managed to be on site, (albeit some unavoidable absence) during the last Training at Putrajaya International Convention Centre from 5th to 7th June 2009.

It was truly a historic occasion. I hope there will be another occasion in the near future, when such a mammoth training can be done, InsyaAllah.

What did i get from the last Recharge?
In relations to my first training in April 2006, there was only a few additions and modifications, which were done to suit the time.

Pak Ary is still superb and i hope and pray that he remains so.
The new second liners too have been well trained by Pak Ary, and i must say i do miss Pak Aminul performing together with Pak Ary upfront.
This Pak Legisan? he is good too...
As much as we have our own Malaysians as cadre trainers, it will take a while for them to reach the proper level..
I hope that we should have our own home grown trainers that has the the same quality as Pak Ary's second liners soon....
I too hope that we can also realise the dream of having our own Graha 165 in Malaysia.....
I will also try to pay a visit there soonest.

I am impressed that the number of volunteers as ATS was oversubscribed.
My application was kindly rejected.
Anyway i hope to be of service in future training if time permits, if only just to re-arrange the chairs and hamparkan the kain tempat duduk....

I hope to attend the MCB Series and all the others, including attending the kids and teenage series, just so that my knowlege can be further enhanced....
I remember attending the teenage training in Bandung in end April 2006 for a short while and i was given the opportunity to give a small pep talk/sharing with them.

I learnt too that the ESQ spirit is indeed powerfull and almost everybody i met have that big smile on their face. You can see from the pictures in my blog.

One thing i do know is that in just a short span of 3 years ESQ is here to stay and we are a lucky lot to have been amongst the first to have experienced it.

Like i always say to my friends, that i would like to share the ESQ experience with them because i do not have that much extra money to share with them, and that sharing this ESQ experience is a life time sharing whereas if it is material sharing it will only last a few seconds.....

Unluckily i did not meet Fakhrul our moderator, because i wanted to discuss with him on some ways of enhancing our communications on this Alumni ESQ165 yahoogroups.

Actually this communication channel should rightly be called "Forum Komunikasi Alumni" or " Alumni Communication Forum".

I think saudara Fakhrul can get the official consensus from ESQ LC and get the guidelines and blessing from Saudara Razib and Ahmad Yani.

Then we can devise certain guidelines and the do's and don't and ensure that our communication lines are open all the time and we do not have any little hiccups here and there....

Let us lead the way and truly use the latest God sent technology to communicate rationally and truly prove that TOTAL ACTION is everywhere and anywhere using anything and everything......
I have written some time back on the proposed guidelines and i hope somebody can tabulate all the other points and comments and put it in simple language as our Guidelines on the FKA or ACF......

Lastly, the song Demi Matahari is still ringing in my ears...till now...
I know that it can be the top song in due time and might even win the juara lagu.....
Allah hu Akbar.......

I told Pak Ary that luckily he gave the green light for the song to be reinstated..
If not i would have sung the lagu Demi Bulan...........!!!!!!!!!!!!he..he..
Anybody can send the song so that i can download....
I bought the SNADA CD...
Cukup lah setakat ini.
Will try to put some captions to all the photos on my blog..
I hope the ESQ LC do not saman me for taking so many pictures during the training.
I tried very hard not to take the pictures in a disturbing manner and i did not use the flash.
There was an occasion when somebody was taking pictures with the flash on and Saudara Rosile was searching high and low up in the Interpreter room to see whether it was me!!!!
Sorry bro, it wasn't me...i know when and where to take and i also know why they do not allow recordings of the training sessions by individuals.
Some might misuse it and use the normal "cut and paste" and try to use it in their
Most of the pictures of individuals that i displayed were done in good faith and i informed them beforehand of my intention.
I also tried to get the best shot of them so that they look nice!!!
You can see a very bubbly Puan Marhaini and a youngish Saudara Razib......and all of them were giving the 3 cm smile...
To Satria ESQ 165 who made their mark in getting the Petition, i salute you.
I am ashamed that i was a bit slow in this sense, being a military guy and should have been as a Panglima to lead all the Satria...
Minta ampun dan maaf banyak banyak Saudara Rosile plus wife and Sheh and others....
I am deeply and truly humbled at your Satria/Fighting spirit.....

I know we have been told that ESQ is like Oxygen.
Well since i like to Muse around on Second Thoughts, i would like to differ on that.
Please correct me if i am wrong.

Actually ESQ is like "Ajinomoto or Kicap ABC", which is a taste enhancer or penyedap rasa/selera...

The Real Oxygen is ISLAM..
Nothing can replace ISLAM and in this life of ours we do need some time 'Ajinomoto" to enhance our taste...

I know there are many that do not use Ajinomoto...
Well, my favourite food is Maggi Mee and i know many says that it is not good.
But to me it is my food saviour and the Maggi Mee Curry flavour taste has not changed since i first ate it way back in 1970's...
Contrary to what they say, my hair is still intact and bushy not botak and luruh rambut and my overall health Alhamdullillah is stable with no major known common ailment thus far.
I am a bit overweight, yes, but i do cycle regularly, both on mtb and road bikes, covering easily 30 km without feeling any fatigue....
I know that we are encouraged to berenang, memanah and naik kuda.
Well i regard cycling as an alternative to menuggang kuda, albeit kuda besi or aluminium or carbon....!!!!!!!!!
I am awaiting Sheh and Jahid my Putrajaya neighbours plus Shahrin to join me

Saudara Muhammad Ary Ginanjar Agustian-

For those who are reading my blog and do not have any info on the ESQ Way 165 please excuse me for not giving a short info on it before posting the pictures and the write ups on the 3 days training at PICC Putrajaya which are meant for my ESQ Alumni.
I do not know how to load the pictures on the Alumni Communication Forum and the only choice for me to show the pictures is to load on to my blog.
Well Dr Ary Ginanjar Agustian is the guy who came out with this training methodology on the Islamic Guide to Developing the Emotional and Spiritual Quotient.
His training methodology has garnered more than 700,000 participants and it is gtowing every day.

I accidentally attended the First Training in Malaysia held at the Palace of the Golden Horses, Seri Kembangan on 6th to 8th April 2006.
It has definitely left an impact on my personal self and i am glad that the accidental chance to stumble upon this training then was the best that could have happened to me. I owe Saudara Razib and Jamal Nasir a lifetime gratitude.

It was then that i gave Pak Ary the name Muhammad Ary Ginanjar, because i told him that his stature needs to have our beloved Prophet's name up front.

Well today, on the last day of the biggest ESQ Training in Malaysia, Dr Muhammad Ary came out at the closing of the training in a Black Baju Melayu complete with Sampin Songket and Songkok.
He said that he wore the Baju Melayu at his own behest, to show that his affiliations with us here in Malaysia has already been imbued since Parameswara days....(i will write on Parameswara, my version some other time as opposed to Pak Ary's version!!!),...or rather he considers himself as one of us, which is obviously true brecause we are from the same rumpun or serumpun and our langguage too is the same...sometimes we can understand Indonesians better than Kelantanese!!!!

I have posted his pictures in Baju Melayu and also him together with his father and mother celebrating their wedding anniversary....i did not get what number...

Will keep on posting more pictures of the 3 days event