Blessing of Ramadhan

It's been more than 2 weeks since I posted my last blog. As we are now in the 8th day of Ramadhan, my schedule at home changes a bit to accomodate Tarawih and I simply feel 'lazy' to write at night. However, this morning I feel a bit excited to write because this feeling of sluggishness if not handled properly, could lead me to total state of laziness and may effect my focus at work.

I was informed by Nosh that one of my friend's child was electrocuted and passed away last night. I am not very close to him but I knew him by association with other colleagues of mine and also professionally at work from time to time. I am not also too sure how old is his child but I was told that he lives in Section 13 Shah Alam. May Allah bless the soul of his child and May Allah also bestow upon him patience and perseverence to endure this test, especially in this holy month of Ramadhan.


In ten days, my second daughter will be taking her PMR exam. I am praying to Allah for her success in this exam. I hope she can also get similar result like her elder sister two years ago with straight As.Judging from her trial, insha'allah she can make it. Day before yesterday she told me that she got the highest mark on her English Literature paper. Her teacher in fact asked the class to read what she has written on her test paper. I actually took a peek but don't quite understand what it was all about really..well, alhadullillah..at least she is quite ok in her English.

My cameras are temporarily put to rest this Ramadhan. I think I also need a break for awhile after taking more than 3000 photos this year. Insha'allah, they will be put to service back this Syawal and I am quite sure they will do a lot of work for me :)

So far, Gondai Jr has been fasting without fail this Ramadhan. He also did not miss any sahur yet. The thing with children which I sometime fail to comprehend is their energy level. I did not see so much different in him fasting or not in terms of his exuberance and also intensity to play or move around. Simply put, he just does his stuff without complaining of tiredness, sleepiness or even hunger. Only on certain days that he did mention of being 'haus sikit' but apart from that, he seems to be oblivious about the fact that he is fasting. As usual, my other half is the busiest of us in Ramadhan preparing the food especially during sahur. She wakes up at about four in the morning and only wakes me up and the children when everything is ready on the table. Being a career woman herself, I really appreciate what she does to the family and I think only Allah can reward her accordingly for such a noble sacrifice!



There is a lot of speculation about internal staff movement within the department. I used to have high interest in this issue particularly after I was selected as one of the talent pool candidates. There was an informal words about me successing the boss and stuff like that when I was following the management course. However, judging from the remarks and the way things went against me lately, I sincerely feel that I am out of the picture for the immediate succession programme. But alhamdullillah, I really don't feel bad about it anymore. I recall vividly remark made by one of my retired bosses that "you will get what is coming to you". Everything is from Allah and we just have to be patient on what comes to us...to me for now, I just want to give my every best to the company irrespective whether I am giving or taking the order...

Are we Being Independent ?

"Allah memberikan satu misal perbandingan: Seorang hamba abdi yang menjadi milik orang, yang tidak berkuasa melakukan dengan bebasnya sesuatu pun; dan seorang lagi (yang merdeka) yang Kami kurniakan kepadanya pemberian yang baik (harta kekayaan) dari Kami, maka ia pun membelanjakan hartanya dengan bebasnya, samada secara bersembunyi atau berterang-terang; adakah kedua orang itu sama? Segala puji tertentu bagi Allah (dan Allah jualah yang berhak disembah), tetapi kebanyakan mereka (yang musyrik) tidak mengetahui (hakikat tauhid itu)" - An-Nahl 75

The nation is still in the state of celebration. Yes, we celebrated our 50th Independence from the British on 31st August 2007. Everywhere we go will see signs of celebration be it in terms of flags, banners or posters. Few will go even further by dressing themselves up with the national flags. We could also see many cars, buses, lorries and trucks flagging the Jalur Gemilang with pride. Turn on the TV or radio and we will almost be incessantly reminded about how our past leaders fought hard to achieve the independence that we are enjoying at the moment. Yes, in a glance we have indeed become independent and almost everyone could not agree more.


As a person who was born post independence, I could not really feel the suffering of those leaders that have fought for our independence. I am very sure that they have indeed sacrifice a lot for us and I just hope that Allah will reward them accordingly. My late father had often described to me how difficult the life before the independence especially during the Japanese occupation. My late father was in fact one of the lucky ones who survived the torturous life of the Japanese forced labor. As a teenager, he was taken away by the Japanese to help them build the infamous railway lines. According to him, we was a bit fortunate because he was selected to become a cook and hence spared the strenuous and laborious work on the field. My late father also vividly recalled on how his relatives had thought that he had gone forever with the Japanese but soon were very surprised to find out that he was still alive. Well, as a moslem, we beleive that only Allah can take one's life..not a second earlier, not a second later.


To me, independence is really about having a choice. The more choices we have, the more independent we should be. However, we must not forget that the choice that we make will come with the consequences of that choice. What we are now is due to the choice that we made in the past. People may argue that sometime the choice that we made was due to external factors and did not really due to our own judgement or will. Well, to some extend, that might be true. Some of us for instance, started thier lives on a much better condition than others. Some may start thier lives with a lot of struggle and handicaps. But, everyone has to make thier own decision given the conditions they are in with, sometimes in thier lives. I really don't agree with the beleive that one should be responsible not only to his or her own doing but also others. For me, blaming others for our own judgement is very sinful. That's why in Islam, nobody can't take the burden of dosa of someone else. After all, the greatest nikmat that is bestowed upon us from Allah is Iman and our choice must not runaway from this premise. What makes us different from other beings in this world is our freedom of choice. And if we can decide on a given set of choices based on the guidance from Allah and his messenger Muhammad S.A.W, we are actually freed from making a bad choice and that is what a true meaning of independence to me...