Sydney's Summer

Sydney is experiencing its coldest start to summer in 50 years!  How ironic is that huh??!! and I am here to be part of history :)  So now I have one more story to tell my anak cucu years from now about what happenned in Sydney in the summer of 2011.  Ain't life great?!!  

The sky is always gloomy nowadays.  And it drizzles almost everyday.  Hampering my long term exercise regime (yeahh...I know it's lame, just cut me some slack will ya?)  The only exercise I consistently do right now is the Sunday football game with the guys.  Since it's now summer, we get to play until 8.00 pm.  Don't worry though, we didn't miss our Marghrib prayer :)


Still, the Sunday football game may not last.  We have less people now, so it's less fun.  In fact, last week we had to play with some people from China.  Playing with people you barely know was definitely less exciting.  Well, at least to me.  You see, some people play because they love the game.  I play because I love the people - my friends.  Yup, I'm sentimental like that.  I value friendship, I really do.  Friends are forever, unless if I got stabbed in the back.  Then it's a different story.  I remember a friend of mine used to tell me - If you fuck me once, shame on you, but if you fuck me twice, shame on me.  Ehehh....sooo Godfather.  


Anyway, I really hope there will be more students coming next semester.  It's not just about football.  It's about having activities to do within the Malaysian community.  Activities bring people closer.  And in a small community like us, it's important to be close to one another.  Here, it's soooo not like back home.  Back home, I barely had the time to chat with my neighbors.  Let alone play football!  We were so busy with our lives that the only time we really get to socialize is during Hari Raya or when someone dies.  Yup, we are that sad back home.  I hope I could change that when I got back.    


p/s:  another sad thing is this blog.  hmm....gotta post more often....

King of ASEAN!!!

Can't help it!  Need to blog about our win against Indonesia last night.

Maannnn....it was so sweeeettttt.   Sweet taste of glory.  Congrats to the players!  

Normally, I'd say something nice to the LOSERS - ie. better luck next time, good game etc etc.  But since they were so mean and disrespectful to us, I'd say IN YOUR FACE INDONESIA!!!!   Thanks for all the hostilities, hatred and provocations.  And of course the most mean-spirited thing of all - jeering our national anthem.  Come on man.  You guys are better than that.  Oh yeah.....my anger is dedicated only to those bad Indonesians.  The good ones, you guys are great.

Anyway,  winning the gold medal certainly solidifies our status as the best team in ASEAN.  Look - Gold in 2009, AFF Champian in 2010 and another gold in 2011 - i think we deserve a little bragging rights.  But don't stop there FAM.  Defending it will be much harder.  Keep up the good work!

End of semester

Semester dah abissss!!!!!

It's always nice when the semester is over.  But it will be nicer if I could celebrate it with my friends.  And better still, have access to a lot of money so that I could really celebrate.  Mannn...seriously, JPA must revise the allowance structure.  It's just not enough, especially to those with family.  Dont get me wrong, I'm thankful, but I think it's not wrong to speak the truth.  The truth is...the allowance is barely enough.  

Fortunately, I still have my gaji in Malaysia.  But I feel so sayang to transfer the money from Malaysia to Australia.  My original plan was not to touch the money in Malaysia so that we have enough cash to restart our life in Malaysia once we got back.  Well, not our entire life, we just need to buy the cars.  But still, cars cost a fortune in my tanahair tercinta.  In Australia, cars are cheap.  Seriously cheap....so if you want to drive nice car even though your earn a middle class salary, please come to Australia :)

I have a three-month break and I have absolutely no plan what to do with it.  Thinking of getting a job, but don't know what kind of job should I do.  It would be nice to get some extra money.  It could cover our trip to Gold Coast in February.  Or maybe could save some money to send Akif to school here.  Dont know la.  I'll just keep that in mind for the time being.

Oh yeah...played my last football game with the TESL boys just now.  They are leaving for Malaysia next week.  Hmmm.....we have less people in the community now.  The government wont send any TESL students next year.  It's sad to see them leave.  The friendship, even though it's still new, it's solid.  I guess when you are in a small community, you really value your friends.  These boys, they are much much younger than I am.  Now I am not saying that I'm old either ok.  All I'm saying is that if your compare the age difference, they are younger, maybe by 12 years.  But they treat me as though I'm one of them.  Apparently, there's no concept of 'Abang' here.  And surprisingly, I'm ok with that.  

Anyway, I wish them best of luck.  Hope to see them in Malaysia.   Hmm...I'm missing Malaysia so much.  While Australia is nice, it's not Malaysia.  One thing that I really miss is my financial freedom.  I'm no rich guy.  But in Malaysia, I can do anything that I want without worrying about not having money.  

Here, I don't have that freedom.  I am constantly worried of whether the money could last till the end of the month.  It's sometimes frustrating when you cannot provide the same life to your family here.  But Alhamdulillah, my family seem to understand.  But Alif sometimes does ask question like 'abah...do we have money to buy this..' and it breaks my heart to say 'no'.  Maybe I would give him the same answer in Malaysia, but it's because I don't want to, here, I have to say no because I cannot afford to.  Hishhh....runsing wooo.

Ok la.  I got nothing to write anymore.  See you guys later.  Hope the tigers will maul the garudas tomorrow!!!

Entry penat....

End of semester is just around the corner.  Mannn....how time flies.  I'm very busy now.  Sleepless nights, red eyes, overeating and too much coffee.  I've got 4 assignments to submit in three weeks.  It's totally driving me crazy.  Hmmm...going back to school is not as fun as I imagined :P.  My standing is not good.  Hope I'll survive.  Yup, that's the mission at this point.

Procrastinating is not helping at all.  I always know this, but keep doing it over and over again.  Bila la nak sedar oii.  One more thing, being a HOD is not helping either.  I am so used to people doing things for me, I am now feeling it awkward to do everything myself.  Usually, my staffs will prepare my schedule and remind me of the deadlines, but now, I'm on my own.  Hence, the chaotic sleepless nights I'm experiencing now.

Like I said, I hope to survive this first semester.  But come next semester, the game is on baby.  Yup, gotta come back with a bang.  You'll see....

Insya Allah....

See you guys

Darfur

I learnt something sad about Darfur two nights ago in my Border Security and Migration class.

You know the two factions who are killing each other, the Arabs and the Africans, they are both Muslim.  Just to make sure, I checked with a friend who used to work in Sudan, and he confirmed it.  

It really got to me.  Why are Muslims killing Muslims?  Because of land disputes?  This is ridiculous!

Islam is a religion of peace and harmony.  It doesn't teach its followers to be mean cruel.  Still this is happening now.  And yet, we are mad when people label us terrorist.  We keep calling the unbelievers as infidel, but it is not them who are killing each other. Are we living the Muslim life?  Are we setting the right example to others?  

The Muslim world really is in need of a leader.  Just to bring all of us back to the right path.  I think it is our responsibility to clean Islam's name.  Just imagine how the Prophet (PBUH) would feel if he sees his ummah in such clueless life.  Totally disregarding all his teachings.  We are letting him down mann.....

I really feel I need to do something personally.  But I don't know where to start.  Allah....help us!  

Sorry la....kinda emotional because this is really sad.

Something to ponder

I like this one.....

'Disregarding history is like driving without a rear view mirror'

-Dato' A. Kadir Jasin-

Malaysia Day and ISA

So how was your Malaysia Day?  Great?  Fantastic?  Good for you.

Mine?  Well, can't really say, coz I wasn't in Malaysia.  And I'm not used to celebrate Malaysia Day yet.  Still a very new celebration for me.  I guess, I appreciate Merdeka better.  Simply because of the word MERDEKA is soooo liberating.  Yup, I definitely need more time to get used to this Malaysia Day.

Received news from back home that ISA is finally abolished.  Well....that's sad.  I'm a little bit disappointed about this decision.  I can't understand the motivation behind the decision. I mean, is this really the wish of the MAJORITY.  Is democracy in our beloved country being defiled by this so-called draconian law as claimed.  Is the person who labeled the law draconian even ever experienced draconian laws? 

A friend of mine who strongly opposes the law and everything the government does, said that he is not in favor with ISA because he feels that everyone deserves a day in the court.  Ehehh....I don't blame him.  He wasn't wrong,  just being too idealistic.   Clearly, the words were not his.  He was just parroting it.  

I got news for you buddy.  The law is far from not perfect.  Sometimes, it just don't work.  It does not provide justice, it only provides the opportunity for justice.  

Let us now see a simple example.  Indonesian intelligence informs us that a suspected terrorist is en route to Malaysia and will enter through KLIA.  He is expected to launch a fatal attack on Malaysian soil a couple of hours after he arrives.  The target cannot be confirmed.  So now, the police has a decision to make.  To arrest or not.  If arrest, under what law?  They don't have enough evidence, only information from their Indonesian counterparts.  If they do not, innocence lives may be in danger.  So what to do?

As a citizen, I would expect the police to arrest the guy.  I'm not in a mood, to take any chances of me or my family being attacked in my own country.  I want to be able to feel safe.  I don't want to walk around in the city wearing a kevlar bullet proof jacket.  Nahhh....that's not the Malaysian life.  We like to lepak at our ubiquitous mamak stalls, alfresco style!  We like to lepak at Uptown, enjoying the our black pepper steaks, nescafe ais and listening to a few guys basking their hearts out.  Yup, they may not sing perfectly, but that's enough to entertain us.  

See, we are not complicated people.  Yup, some people may have been complaining and bitching about how hard is it to live in Malaysia, and how other countries are way better than us.  You know what, by all means, please leave!  We are very much better off without you.  We need people who can appreciate the country.  We need people who aspires to build this country.  We certainly don't need people who'd jump to the first opportunity the get to leave and live a so-called 'better' life in another country.  All I can say to the receiving country - Good Luck!  They are your problem now!

So back to the question on the suspected terrorist.  This is specifically why we need ISA.  If some people abuse it, blame the people.  Not the law.  Well, what's done is done.  I just hope that the government will come up with a new law similar to ISA.  

By the way, Happy Belated Malaysia Day!

Alif Hafi' Award

Alif's got an award from school.  Siap naik pentas lagi.  Woohoooo!

The only thing is, we (the parents) weren't inform about the event.  At least we could brought our camera along.    Well, this is one good thing about omputeh education system.  They reward students to motivate them.  Even though the reward it's not that big.  Still, a seven year old would be proud of himself.  Especially since he has only been schooling for less than a month.

Now, he wants his mainan....Aiseh......duit gaji pon tak masuk lagi nih :P  but insya allah, abah & mama will buy you something Alif.  Keep it up!

Tukar Theme jap

aku ekceli tengah tuleh untuk entry lain.  tetiba ilang idea la plak.  

so aku cuba tukar theme blog ni.  so far tak jumpa yang betul2 berkenan lagi.  yang ni cuma untuk temporary je nih :)

alaaa...maleh la plak nak sambung....

Alfatihah to Zulfakar

I was doing my assignment when I decided I was too tired to go on. Instead I logged on to FB. Got a message from Azhar - 'Bro....Zulfakar meninggal pukul 2 pagi tadi'

Ahh...that's life. Unpredictable. Arwah died of pneumonia. Being warded since the beginning of Ramadhan and finally he got the 'call' this morning. He was such a nice person and a good friend. Always reliable, always willing to lend a hand when you need one.

To lose him so close to Aidilfitri is so overwhelming. But to know that he'll be spared from the tortures of the grave is also a relieve. Hope he'll be placed among those blessed souls. Amin.

Zul - you'll be missed. Rest in peace my friend.

Mi Casa

Our apartment or Unit; as they call it here in Australia is finally getting the look of a real house.

When we moved in 2 weeks ago, we had almost nothing apart from a few electrical appliances that we brought from Malaysia. The house was very cold then. We didn't even have electricity.

It was Saturday, very late on Saturday in fact, so the electric company was apparently reluctant to do an emergency connection. They imposed several conditions that were impossible for us to comply. Eventually, we had to concede that the electricity will only be connected on Monday.

So, we had to stay with a family that we barely knew. Alhamdulillah, they welcomed us with open arms. I can't imagine what would had happened if they didn't help us. We were so desperate. If it was only my wife and I, we would probably stayed on, we would braze ourselves to fight the cold, but we couldn't-it would be unfair to Alif and Akif.

We stayed with Sabarul and Wan over the weekend. They were very nice. They too have children of the same ages as ours. Wawa and Adam. The kids clicked almost immediately.

While they were having fun, I was restless. My plan didn't go as I planned it and it was stressing me out. Ramadhan was around the corner, and our house was far from livable.

On Monday, we got the electricity connected. Quickly we went to the house and did some cleaning up. We had no furniture except for two thin mattresses, again, courtesy of Sabarul and Wan. It was sad, but at least we got the ball rolling.

The following day, our new fridge came, and then the heater and frying pan (yup, my wife ordered a frying pan. She said it was Tefal, and it was cheap). But still, the house looked empty.

Meanwhile, the boys were bored. They played a lot and were very noisy. They stomped the floor, they screamed, they cried etc etc. I was irritated by all these as I didn't want the neighbour to complain. The stress meter was consistently rising and I knew I had to do something, or they kids will face my wrath. It would be very unfair to them, since it was my decision to come here and it obviously disrupted their lives.

My wife found a cheap 2nd hand tv online-Aud50. I hesitated initially, because I'd prefer a new one and most importantly I didn't want to deal with the logistic problems :) Hey, don't blame me ok, it's a 28" tv, it's big and heavy!

But after a few nagging, I conceded, and went to buy the tv. I glad I did it. The house is much livelier now. And let me tell you, here, all the channels are digital. Even with our tv (which is quite old) the picture is sharp.

And finally, last Sunday, we finally completed the house. I went to Bankstown with a couple of friends and pick up some furniture from a very nice man called Abang Sahak. He gave mattresses, beds, sofas, plates, cups, blankets and a table. It was beyaond expectation. Now the only thing that we might need is a rug. But it's not urgent though. Pelan-pelan kayuh la. Hopefully, things will get better from now on. Insya Allah.

Here are some pics of our Unit:

Entrance to our Unit

The pool
The clubhouse




Front view

Alif @ North Ryde Public School

Finally, we managed to enroll Alif into school. Saje tunggu sampai dah settle semua. So now he's in North Ryde Public School in Year 1.

He was nervous the night before school. Butterflies in his stomach I guess.

Anyway, I didn't send him to school. My wife did; as we didn't have our own car yet, and had to ride with our neighbour. I was told Alif almost immediately forgot about his mother once he gets to know his new friends.

I'm a little bit worried about his conversation skills. But I guess budak-budak kan, as long as they get to play, language is irrelevant. And he is a friendly person. So I guess everything should be ok.

So, here are some pics:

Abang & Adik

new uniform

macam sarjan hassan pon ada

with mama

selamat datang pon ada

with Denis, a terengganu boy

with the mat sallehs

Malaysia Vs Singapore

Full Time
1 - 1. Aisehhmennn.....that's the end of our World Cup dream.

They played better in the 2nd half but still not enough firepower. Their movement were predictable. It is a sad night for the Harimaus. Knowing fully well that they are better than this.

We miss Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and Safiq Rahim dearly. Safee Salee did score. But I guess the burden was too heavy for him to shoulder alone. Abdul Hadi Yahya was ok. But they just didn't click.

Personally....I'm angry. This is not the team that won the AFF Suzuki Cup. That team played with bravado and honour. Even the fans could feel it. They had the width, depth, darting runs, I mean the whole nine yard. But the team that played tonight, couldn't be as half as good as the previous team.

Come on guys. This is not the end. We Malaysians still believe in you. So YOU have to believe in you. It's time to do some soul searching. Because I believe some of them might be wondering around aimlessly after being praised non stop lately. It's not the time to be proud. Buck up!

Original Entry
Half Time

0 - 0 still. Not so good so far. We are not playing our usual game. The defence seemed nervous. Lack of confidence perhaps. Come on! These are the same players who played in AFF. Then, they were solid as hell.

The midfield too are not running smoothly. Creativity is at all time low. Hardly any dangerous penetration. Not to mention the kiasus were defending with 7 players. Well, can't blame them right?

All in all, the southern guys are looking much more dangerous than our boys. Hope the boy can still do it. Come guys! Malaysia Boleh!!

Sydney, so far.....

Ahh...it's been nearly three weeks now, and we are yet to settle down in Sydney.

Let me tell you something, it is NOT easy ok. It's blardy stressfull and I hate it. But I guess good things don't come easy huh? You gotta earn it.

But yesterday, things started to change to a more positive tone. I was finally offered a house to rent. Yup people, we haven't moved into our own house yet. Again, it is NOT easy to find a house here in Sydney.

You gotta inspect the house first - then submit an application to the agent - the agent will then review the application and discuss it with the property owner - the owner will ultimately decides if he likes me or not :)

and the inspections are only scheduled on Thursdays and Saturdays. Apparently, before I came here, inspections are done almost everyday and exclusively. But now, it's always an OPEN inspection, meaning everyone can come and inspect the house. And of course, compete against each other. Hmm....talk about about perfect timing huh?

Takpe, I already got a house now. And we are moving in on Saturday. Yeaaaa....the location is quite perfect. 15 minutes walk to the university, and around 7 minutes walk to Alif's school. Ok la kan...since we don't own a car yet.

I'm still contemplating whether to buy one or not. But it seems that it is a necessity. Well, I'm not going to think about it now. Just want to concentrate on moving into the new house. Hope everything would go smoothly.

I'd like to thank everybody who have been helping us all this while. Kak Nani, Wawa, Hanafi, Lan, Kia, Ein, Sabarul and Wan, Zid and Jimmy, Lin and Gabby and the rest of the Malaysian community who have been cheerleading when we were really down. Thanks guys. Only Allah can repay you.

.....I'll will repay you when my allowance is in :)..... EN. JPA, tolong cepat sket ye.

Ok la...here's some pics: maleh la nak upload banyak2...slow....tgk kat FB la

@Max Brenner

@Manly Beach

on ferry to Manly

Harbour Bridge

with the boys

Alif's result and Harimau Malaya

Alif scored 471 over a total of 500 marks in his exams. That is equivalent to 94%. He also got 5As. However, he's ranked 18 out of 36 students. The total of students who scored 5As in his class is 26. Wowww.....

He was shocked when he got to know his ranking. Well, that is understandable. He topped his class in the kindergarten; so being ranked 18 is something alien to him.

However, the class teacher said there's no need to be alarmed. He did well, but the competition was very fierce. He is after all in the first class of the best primary public school in Ipoh. So, I'm not that worried. He's still in standard 1. Still a long way to go. And being in a competitive environment would good for him. So, hopefully he will get better results in the future.

My wife and I have decided not to push him too hard. We want him to enjoy learning. As long as he could grasp the concept of the subjects; that's good enough. If he got into the top 3, that would be a bonus. Good luck Alif!

Let's move to Harimau Malaya.

It's hard to ignore the achievements of our football team - Harimau Malaya of late. Since winning the gold medal in the SEA Games in 2009, they refused to slow down. They won the AFF Suzuki Cup early this year, and recently won a place to the final qualifying round for the Olympic Games.

I'm proud to say that I did play a role in their success :) I went twice to Bukit Jalil for the games against Vietnam and Indonesia. It was awesome. Those who missed the chance to witness the victories should regret their decision not to go to the games. It was historical.

Now, we can see young people wearing the national colors with pride. I'm so proud of this development. 5 years ago, Malaysian fans could not care less about our football. They were hopeless and nauseating to watch. But now, every time we play, the fans come to the stadium with high hopes in their hearts. Even if we lose, we do it with honor.

That's what I think the players finally got to understand - HONOR. Fans want them to play with honor. The fans understand that winning or losing is just part of the games. We just want to see them losing after giving all they have to the game.

I hope that the team would continue to progress from now on. Bring back the pride and glory of our football. Justify football as the No. 1 sport in the country. Let's us now try to conquer Asia. And maybe one day, we will be on top of the world!

It's been quite a while....

....since I last posted in this blog.

A lot to share but my kerajinan to update is just not there. I blame this on the IT Department :P

It boggles the mind when you dont block blogsites but block Blogspot (chewah...cam tounge twister plak kan).

In other words, you allow people to read blogs, but ban them from updating their blogs? And at the same time, you allow people to enjoy Facebook? Hmmm.... I'm not sure about others, but I just cannot comprehend the policy.

Most probably, the policymakers may have short-circuited some portion of their brains in their effort to understand this no brainer subject matter.

I believe reading is good. It stimulates the brain. But to be able to read and then offer your own two cent in writing is much better. It makes your brain to work harder. My justification is quite simple. If one can only read and unable to offer his opinion on the subject matter, over time, he'll become a robot. He will only do what he is programmed to do. No room for creativity or his own suggestions to make the job more practical and efficient.

Tatau la aku. Some people are soooo conservative that their only objective is to stamp their authority; even though they are wrong most of the time. I really think they should retire and make room for the more energetic and dynamic people..... like me :) ahahhah

Happy New Year?

Salam.

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It's not too late to wish everyone Happy New Year 2011M and 1432H.

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I'm writing this because I just heard that another ADUN just passed away. ADUN Merlimau who was also the Exco of Malacca State Government.

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Al-Fatihah.....

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If the government decides to hold another by election, it would the 15th time after March 2008 general election. I guess it sets a new record huh?

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I cannot help but feeling nervous about all of these by elections. No, I'm not worried about who wins or loses. It's something else I'm worried about.

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I'm worried if God is trying to tell us something. There's a reason for everything right? It's never a coincidence. Dia yang Maha Mengetahui!

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Don't you think it's kinda strange that we have been having almost non stop by elections?? It's an average of every two and a half months! What did we do (or didn't do) to deserve this?

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I think God is really trying to tell us something. Not sure wheather it's a good thing or a bad thing. I hope it's a good one though. But I really cannot shake that bad feeling off.

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Frankly, I feel that our political scene is growing uglier by the minutes since March 2008. The spat between the two sides of the divide is getting worse and is not showing any signs of ceasing. If before I thought politic is dirty. Now it's sooo beyond that. I dont even know how to describe it at all.

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The rakyat is also indirectly affected. Unprecedented sense of prejudice is at an alarming rate. Everything is sensitive nowadays. Everybody wants to blame each other for everything. Nobody wants to back off. You guys feeling me?

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Just hope that everything will turn out well for Malaysia. I really do....Pray for the best you guys