RIOT IN SUDAN

Post di bawah ini aku ambil dari e-mail dan gambar yang dihantar rakan sepersekolahan yang sedang berada di Sudan atas urusan kerja. Kepada yang tak tahu apa berlaku boleh check ini.

"Assalamualaikum,
Some experience I went thru today. I watched in the news about the death of VP John Garang, but didn't expect any problem since he died in a crash of a helicopter owned by Ugandan Army.
I was going for a meeting with one Khartoum state-owned company, on the way suddenly the van driver hit the emergency brake, and made u-turn...there were a crowd rioting on the street. The southern boys gang managed to throw some rocks at our van.
I was not that afraid, or shocked so we looked for alternative roads to the office. But somehow we were led farther and farther away from the city because the streets were full of riots. The driver took the shortcuts and kampung road to evade the rioters, but somehow we were connered.
So we parked the van behind one old contenna. Luckily one of the house owners allowed us in with the van also parked inside their compound. Minutes later I heard shootings. I could not contact anybody in Khartoum. But when I tried calling Malaysia, I managed to contact one colleague. I told him to tell people that I was safe.
One of my staff, a southerner, went outside the compound to survey the area. He was nearly shot by the police when the southerners gang was running away from the police and he accidentally joined the crowd.Luckily he was saved when one of the local allowed him in.
We were dead worried about this staff of mine. When things went quiet for a while, he emerged at the place we were hiding. I told him I was very worried about him , funnily he told me he was worried about me because he 's afraid I would go out to look for him.
The good part... the house owner treat us with lunch(they call breakfast at 11.00am), bread with foulbean, egg etc. At about 2pm we were told that the security forces had managed to control the situation and it was safe to go out.
So we came back straight to Office. People at the office were worried about me too.They were making solat hajat already... I was told a few other staff are also stuck at some of other work locations.
Have another lunch, the office ordered from hotel since nobody's allowed out yet...
Morale of the story... problem macamana pun.. soru tak miss...On the serious note.. I feel very lucky to be safe...Thanks to Allah..."

Aku harap Chalok sihat dan dapat reply e-mail kengkawan yang menanti berita.

AKADEMI FANTASIA DAN AZNIL

Akademi Fantasia 3 bakal berakhir dengan kemuncak Konsert Final pada 6 Ogos 2005 di Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam. Siapa pemenangnya? Pengundi/peminat menentukan. Walaubagaimanapun, bekas pelajar Akademi ini akan popular tetapi sejauh mana popularity mereka tidak dapat dijangkakan kerana jika dilihat dari AF1 dan AF2 berbagai keadaan telah berlaku. Pelajar yang dianggap berbakat hilang entah kemana dsbnya.

Terpanggil untuk menulis berkaitan Aznil. Aznil merupakan sinonim dengan AF dan pengacara dari AF1 hingga sekarang dan mungkin juga Af4, AF5 dan seterusnya. Apa yang menjadi kegusaran adalah tuturkata Aznil didalam mengacarakan konsert tersebut. Rasanya ramai pihak bersetuju bahawa AF telah merubah sedikit tempo cara hidup kebanyakan rakyat Malaysia. Berkumpul beramai-ramai dihadapan televisyen pada hari Sabtu jam 8:30 untuk menonton konsert AF. Mungkin tidak banyak rancangan TV yang disajikan menarik minat seluruh isi keluarga hingga ke masa siaran yang lewat.

Selain dari skrip (kalau ada skrip) yang cuba memasangkan antara pelajar, perkataan yang Aznil gunakan agak mengejutkan dan kadang kala tidak sesuai untuk tontonan umum (AF bukan rated 18SG rasanya). Penggunaan perkataan 'double meaning' - seperti sebelum persembahan Akma - belum kahwin? ngak ada yang cocok? Nanti kalau ada yang cocok kahwin ya! atau pun perkataan 'kemut' rasanya amatlah tidak sesuai sekali.

Semasa konsert tersebut, anak saya bertanya apa makna 'kemut' tu? Apa nak jawab? Biarkan ia berlalu sahajalah. Itu belum lagi sindiran sindiran panas yang di keluarkan.

Harapnya Aznil ni berubah lah (fikirkan market/penonton). Meminjam kata kawan saya " Aku banned AF sebab Aznil". Should I follow suit?

CSI

Dah lama aku tak menulis dalam blog aku nih. Kesibukan amat ketara sekarang. maybe lepas ni aku boleh menulis bebanyak lah sikit kot sebab komputer pun dah okay kat rumah. Banyak benda boleh cerita, banyak bahan boleh di kupas (ingat bawang?) tapi aku ralat sikit tak dapat tengok CSI Season Finale malam tadi. Argghhh. Ada seminar lah pulak tapi nak buat camana kan? CSI tu hiburan, seminar tu ada manafaatnya. Kagum aku pada Dr.Nordin (pengasas World Wellness + RX Water) sebab dari pesakit kanser yang kena buat kimoteraphy, rambut dah nak habis, semalam first time jumpa (dulu tengok gambar lah kan?) lebat dah rambut dia. Menyebabkan aku mula berangan nak pakai RX Shower (buat permulaan lah). Harap-harap aku tak terrmiss ulangan CSI Season Finale minggu ni (kalau tak silap hari Ahad kot?).

Al-Quran

Apabila masyarakat dunia didedahkan dengan kebiadaban askar Amerika terhadap tindakan mengoyak dan membuang Al-Quran, seluruh dunia mengecam termasuk Malaysia tapi apa yang boleh kita lakukan? Apa yang negara bolah lakukan? Pak Lah kata "kita tak boleh buat apa-apa". The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) telah melakukan tindakan pro-aktif dengan memberi terjemahan AL-Quran kepada sesiapa sahaja yang hendak mengetahui dengan lebih mendalam tentang Islam dan Al-Quran dan tidak tertakluk kepada orang Islam sahaja.

"In today’s climate of heightened religious sensitivities and apparent cultural clashes, now is the time for people of all faiths to better acquaint themselves with Islam’s sacred text, the Holy Quran.The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is proud to announce a new campaign intended to promote understanding of the Quran by distributing complimentary copies to any interested member of the American public. This campaign, titled Explore the Qur’an, serves as a response to those who would defame and desecrate the holy book of Muslims without full knowledge of its teachings.False and uninformed accusations have been leveled against the Qur’an for some time. But now, this initiative places the sacred text directly in the hands of the American people and encourages all people of conscience to discover the truth about Islam. Explore the Qur’an allows the holy book to speak for itself and educate people of other faith traditions about the universal teachings of Islam. "

Hasil tindakan pro-aktif mereka telah ramai yang memohon naskah tersebut hingga mencecah puluhan ribu orang.

The CAIR campaign has drew Americans from different cross-sections, who were curious about learning the true essence of Islam. They included a police officer, Christian religious leaders and professors, CAIR said. “It is not really a book that promotes violence. Its ultimate world view is peace in a community sense,” CAIR quoted as saying Arthur Ort, one of those who got a free copy of the Noble Qur’an. “I wanted to read it in English for myself and see just what it does say and see if I can understand it,” added Chuck Roth, a Vietnam veteran. ABC’s veteran reporter Bill Blakemore commented that CAIR “is now entrusting their miracle into the hands of non-Muslims, hoping their neighbors will get to know them better.”

Tindakan proaktif CAIR telah membantu rakyat Amerika untuk memahami Islam. Bagaimana pula negara kita? Tindakan pihak pembangkang terutamanya PAS telah disekat dari menyampaikan maksud sebenar dan rasanya masih ramai di dalam Malaysia sendiri tidak memahami dan cuba menjauhi Islam selagi pihak atasan dan wartawan tidak mendedahkan apa yang seharusnya difahami oleh umat Islam dan bukan Islam.

Antara perkara yang menarik untuk di lihat dan seharusnya lebih dijelaskan terutama oleh akhbar-akhbar mainstream adalah perkara-perkara seperti berikut:

What about Muslim women?
Under Islamic law, women have always had the right to own property, receive an education and otherwise take part in community life. Men and women are to be respected equally. The Islamic rules for modest dress apply to both women and men equally. (Men cannot expose certain parts of their bodies, wear gold or silk, etc.) If a particular society oppresses women, it does so in spite of Islam, not because of it.

Kenyataan diatas menjelaskan secara mudah pandangan dasar Islam yang kerap diputarbelitkan oleh pihak yang memegang fahaman sekular. Satu lagi perkara yang menjadi masalah salah faham terhadap Islam adalah Jihad.

What is Jihad?
"Jihad" does not mean "holy war." Literally, jihad means to strive, struggle and exert effort. It is a central and broad Islamic concept that includes struggle against evil inclinations within oneself, struggle to improve the quality of life in society, struggle in the battlefield for self-defense (e.g., - having a standing army for national defense), or fighting against tyranny or oppression.

Takkan nak diharap Astora Jabat yang terang-terang telah difatwakan oleh Mufti Perak sebagai

'terkeluar daripada ajaran Islam yang sebenar dan oleh itu orang Islam adalah dilarang mengamalkan ajaran itu.' Walaupun perwartaan fatwa ini berkaitan tulisan Astora berkaitan azab kubur tetapi ianya secara tidak langsung menjadi asas kepada pegangan penulis ini yang diketahui amat kerap menghentam ulama-ulama.

Semoga kita lebih bersikap proaktif dalam memberi penerangan kepada bukan Islam dan juga orang Islam sendiri.

Wallahu'alam

Star Wars III - Revenge of the Sith

3 June 2005, setelah lama kureng minat pada filem sekeluarga telah pegi menonton wayang Star Wars III. Walaupun dah buat phone booking tapi sebab 5 orang akhirnya cuma dapat row E, lima dari depan. Kesimpulan pertama - baik tengok kurang-kurang kat row atas sikit - H ke J sebab berbanding Star Wars dulu-dulu, filem tersebut dipenuhi oleh pelbagai. Terlalu detail yang hendak di tonton. Kepala anak saya kejap ke atas, kejap ke bawah sebab nak mendalami keseluruhan skrin agaknya. Nasib baik tayangan yang ada kosong jam 11:45pm. Kalau awal, mahu tak jadi pergi sebab tersangkut dengan MD kat office sampai 9:00pm. Bila dah tengok, anak-anak dan juga orang rumah dok tanya kesinambungan filem (Episod IV). Susah nak explain tu. Cuba juga mencari VCD / DVD dikedai keesokan harinya. Tiada pulak tu. . . kena jalan jauh sikitlah agaknya.