Tuesday, July 31, 2007

One Birthday and Three Weddings

Last Sunday, was a record breaking in my life. I went to a birthday party and three weddings in a day. Imagine in a day I went to these functions between 10 am till 4 pm.

1. Ally & Ayra's Birthday Party

My niece, Lynn invited the family for her 2 daughter's birthday party. Ally's getting 3 years old and Ayra's 5 year old. Of course Mimi & Acik are looking forward to it because Lynn told them it's a poolside birthday party and they can jump into the pool too. So they got their swimming gear ready. Mimi brought along her new "Burqini suit" her mom bought at the Islamic Exhibition in PWTC.

Although it was children's birthday party but as usual, they were more adults there i.e. parents taking their children there. And of course the food should also be prepared meant for the adults. Kak Illah (Ally & Ayra's nenek) prepared LaksaJohor, especially for the adult. Lynn prepared spaghetti carbonara for the kids. Of course there are chocolates cakes and other kueh.

The guests were mostly Lynn & Ariff's friend. The face-painting artist were there to paint the kids faces. 2 small rubber pools for small kids were already filled up with water. A blown-up rubber slides have been pumped for the kids to play. Lynn also displayed her new products i.e. the "slides".

We planned to go for the 1st wedding by 12 noon. Mimi and Acik, who were already involved in the party, didn't want to join us, so we left them there. After all, their cousins and uncles & aunties were still around go take care of them.

The reasons that we had to go to these weddings is very simple : all these people came and help at our wedding 18 years ago.. hahaha..18 years ago mah! So it's only justify that we need to attend these weddings.

2. 1st Wedding at Pucong

This is my best friend, Andak's nieces wedding. Andak was my best man at my wedding. And of course all his family were at my wedding 18 years ago. It was a double wedding as Kak Ani's 2 daughter wedded the same time.

I haven't been to their house in Taman Bukit Kuchai, Pucong for ages. The last time was when Andak got married and that was many years ago. However, we got there easily.

We arrived about 12.45 pm and Abg Shah (Kak Ani's husband) met us at the entrance and ushred us in. Met Kak Ani and the rest of the family. Andak was the so-called "event manager" that day. We had some food and waited for awhile to see the 2 brides and grooms bersanding. They were supposed to arrived by 1.00pm. However till 1.45pm they have not appear yet. Thus we got no choice but to leave for the second wedding. which is in Gombak. So we have to excuse our self and leave early.

3. 2nd Wedding in Gombak

We rushed our way to Gombak for this second wedding. It was Kak Hasnah's son wedding. Kak Hasnah was Ky's Mak Andam when we got married. She is also he "tukang urut" when Ky delivered my first son. Kak Hasnah is also Nadia's auntie. Nadia is our family wedding planner. What a trivial. So it not nice to attend this wedding. It more of paying respects to these people. The groom .... hmmm.. we didn't know much about him.

Anyway, we arrived at the reception about 2.20pm - just after the arrival of the bride & groom. My sisters-in-law and brothers-out-law were already there. Fortunately we were seated in the VIP tables meant for the family of the bride. By this time I couldn't eat much at all. Buat syarat, I took very small portion of rice and some lauk.

So by 2.50pm, fortunately in-laws and out-laws made the move. So it's my way to the third wedding somewhere in Sentul. It was already cloudy and start to drizzles.

4. 3rd Wedding in Sentul

Now this is my relatives son's wedding. He is my mom's cousin. During my wedding (years ago) we transit at their house before marching to my house.Their family is one of the closest family to us till now. So it's not nice for me not to go to their son's wedding. My sisters and brothers came earlier.

Anyway we arrived slightly after 3.00 pm. I was relieved to see that there are still guests coming to their house. We don't to be seen as a late comers especially when the hosts is clearing the tables and chairs. That would be awkward right. Anyway as buat syarat, we took little portion of the food. Since I knew that the Caterer was the Caterer that catered at my wedding, I'm sure the food was good especially the rojak. Phew.. it was good but a bit pedas.

The Caterer was his aunt, which is somehow related to my mom. Imagine that they have been catering for more than 20 years. Hmm...

So after 30 mins there, we excuse ourselves. We told the host that this was our 3rd wedding reception for the day!

Thereon, we headed back to Kelana Jaya, my in-law's house. Mimi and Acik were still there having fun in the pool with their nieces, Ayra & Ally.

Of course, we lepak there for a while after Zuhur prayers. We went back home about 6.00 pm to rest at home. Phew... one birthday and three weddings in less than 6 hours. Believe me, that's was a record in my whole entire life!!!





Friday, July 27, 2007

Puasa Bulan Rejab

Someone sent me an email with regards to Bulan Rejab i.e. a month in the Islamic Calendar. Rejab is 2 months away from Ramadan i.e. the fasting month. However, it is good for us to observe this month to start fasting.

Me .. I thought why not especially when I read this email:

  • Barang siapa yang berpuasa satu hari dalam bulan ini dengan ikhlas, maka pasti ia mendapat keridhaan yang besar dari ALLAH swt.
  • Dan barang siapa berpuasa pada tanggal 27 Rejab 1428/Isra Mi'raj (Sabtu, 11 Ogos 2007) akan mendapat pahala seperti 5 tahun berpuasa.

  • Barang siapa yang berpuasa dua hari di bulan Rejab akan mendapat kemuliaan di sisi ALLAH swt.
  • Barang siapa yang berpuasa tiga hari yaitu pada tanggal 1, 2, dan 3 Rejab (16,17,18 Julai 2007) maka ALLAH swt akan memberikan pahala seperti 900 tahun berpuasa dan menyelamatkannya dari bahaya dunia dan siksa akhirat.
  • Barang siapa berpuasa lima hari dalam bulan ini, insyaallah permintaannya akan dikabulkan Allah swt.
  • Barang siapa berpuasa tujuh hari dalam bulan ini, maka ditutupkan tujuh pintu neraka Jahanam dan barang siapa berpuasa delapan hari maka akan dibukakan delapan pintu syurga.
  • Barang siapa berpuasa lima belas hari dalam bulan ini, maka ALLAH swt akan mengampuni dosa-dosanya yan g telah lalu dan menggantikan kesemua kejahatannya dengan kebaikan, dan barang siapa yan g menambah (hari-hari puasa) maka ALLAH swt akan menambahkan pahalanya."
Well I guess being at this age, I need to do more good deeds. As someone said, " Hari dah senja dah"... Well what it meant is that we are now coming of age. Being nearly half a century old, I guess I now have to think about the days of hereafter.

So today is my fifth days of fasting.. yahoo.. I managed to fast 5 days in a row. But I have to take a break this weekend because there are 4 weddings to go. 2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. Well it's also a practise for me before the full Ramadan month of fasting.

Can I continue to fast next week? Well.. we'll see.



Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Selamat Pengantin Baru

Last Saturday was also the wedding reception for my office colleague Osman Rizal. He is now married to Syamimi, a lecturer in Megatronic in one of the college in Melaka.

Some of my office colleague attended this wedding which was held at Safari Resort in
Kuala Kangsar, besides the Perak River. And since these guys had travelled that far, they took the opportunity to have a feast of Perak durian and also went for a dip in one of Perak river after the wedding.

These are some pics, courtesy of another office colleague, Azlee McGuyver.


The arrival of the bride & groom by boat from the other side of Perak River.



The dress code for our office colleague was blue.

Since I had to organised a talk the same day, I couldn't attend his wedding. Anyway I wish him "Selamat Pengantin Baru & berkekalan sehingga ke akhir hayat".

Monday, July 23, 2007

Ceramah "Taubat"

Apart of our daily life, my wife, Ky especially loves to do something as a welfare work especially related to the religion. She teaches Al-Quran with few other ladies volunteers at a nearby Surau. Apart from that, she also organised a ceramah for the benefits of the people in general. Of course, I will back her up on this.

So last Saturday, we had organised a Ceramah on "Taubat" by Ustaz Dr. Abdullah Yasin. This is a second of a series that we had orgainsed. The first one was a Ceramah on "Menghadapi Penyakit and Tawakkal".

The idea of having this talk on
"Menghadapi Penyakit and Tawakkal" was mooted by Ky specially for Cancer patients and for people who is facing with many other ailments and sicknesses. Since the respond for this first talk was overwhelmed, we decided to have the "Taubat" talk. Later there will be another talk in the future.


As talk is organise on personal basis, we had to get few volunteers to assist us. First we got Pertubuhan Kumpulan Al-Nidaa' to help us advertise this talk to their members and public. This helps us a lot in letting people know about the talk. We also roped in our cousin, Aini, who also got few of her friends to mend the registration table. We also got somebody to volunteer as the MC.

So last Saturday, at 10.00 am in Bangunan Marinara, the talk was held. By 9.00 am people started to arrive and by 9.45 am, people started to flock in and the registration table we busy registering the attendance.

The attendance was overwhelmed. By the headcounts, there were about 600 people who came as far as Seremban and Ipoh. The 500 seats were all filled up and some had to sit on the carpeted floor. I managed to squeeze in additional chairs for the late comers.

As usual, the Ustaz would refer to the printed note so that everybody would follow thru and understand his explanation.


One thing why I like to listen to Ustaz Abdullah Yassin is his way of communicating the content of his note in a relax and "not stressful" way. In layman's word, he is not only mentioning punishments and hell all the way. He would give example of his teaching that people would understand easily and at ease.


Many teaching and new things that I learned from this talk. Among others:
Taubat Nasuha ia lah taubat yang memenuhi 3 syarat :
  1. Meninggalkan Maksiat
  2. Menyesali
  3. Berazam untuk tidak mengulanginya lagi
Do you know that all the Dosa-dosa kecil akan terhapus from prayers to prayers i.e. dosa kecil will be deleted once we prayed? But not the Dosa besar of course.That's interesting isn't it. So we have to pray lah ....

The talk was suppose to finish by 12.30 pm, but due to some questions and answers session, it ended up by 1.30 pm but nobody's complaining.

On the other note, the talk had achieved it's objective. Many people came and thanks us for organising the talk. The money collected from the registration were paid for the rental of the hall, the printing cost for the handout notes and some sumbangan for the Ustaz. For the balance of the collection, we have decided to donate into the building fund of a surau at one of the Sekolah Tahfiz. As this is a voluntary work, it is more rewarding to help other people and we seek more in the days of hereafter.

If God's willing, we are going to organise another talk of this series. Insya'allah.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Zara Elisha from London

Talking about pics, I also got few pics from Zetty, a niece-in-law ( ada ke perkataan ni) from London. She sent some cute pics of her daughter, Zara Elisha. Zetty now residing in London with Juke (Marzuki). While Juke, who works as an Auditor with Deloitte & Touche, Zetty accompanies him and now works as an Architect there . Only recently they took Zara together with them since both of them are working. Aida, Juke's sister accompanied them to be a nanny for Zara for the time being.

Here's the pics:



Zara's nude pose.. Besar nanti jangan buat macam ni tau!


Posing maut Zara! Kecik-kecik dah pandai posing maut ya?


Pandai betul posing for the shoot


Another cute pose lepas mandi.


Zara with her Daddy (Juke)


Zara with Uncle Redza (Juke's cousin also working in London)


Hardly 6 months tapi dah pandai berdiri dah.


Pose dengan bola... minat Manchester United ke Chelsea?


Cutie...cutie..cutie

By the way, Zetty told us that Zara is a racist. Why we asked? Because she only like Mat Saleh. Every time if Mat Saleh main-main dengan dia, she will giggle and laugh tak habis-habis. But when Mak Hitam came to play with her, she'll scream her lungs out. Racist betul Zara heheheee.

Pics of Linda's Engagement

Just received an email from Emma in Holland this morning. She is now in Holland with her husband. Went there 2 weeks ago and about 2 weeks after their wedding. She is already missing the family. Tu lah dia, nak sangat kahwin mat saleh.

Anyway she emailed us some of the pics taken during Linda's engagement ceremony which was barely a week after Emma & Denise's wedding. I've posted about this earlier. Just check the previous posting.

Since my brother was in KL from Labuan, we took this opportunity to conclude the engagement for his son, Along and Linda.

So here are the pics.


My sister, Kak Lang representing the family to fit in the ring.
But which finger can fit hah?



Ok this one fits? Betul ke nak tunang ni.


Maseh Mak Lang!


Heheee.. Linda dah ada tunang!


Posing maut Linda....


Linda and her mom (Kak Miah)


Linda's Mom and Brother (Yadin) & Abg De (Along's dad) and Kak Lang.

So when are they getting married? It either before Raya or after Abg De and Kak Mah come back from Mekkah. So we'll see ok.

Monday, July 16, 2007

Office Karaoke!!

It was Friday the 13th. Was it supposed to be jinxed? Maybe not. Our exiting boss, Tifli had recommended yesterday at his farewell lunch that he would bring his Karaoke set to the Office for us to let loose.

Ehmm..what an interesting idea. But who would have imagine that someone would do it in the office? Well those people in the International Sales & Services Division have done it! After all we did it after the official office time.

The Boss brought his own Karaoke set from home and set it by 5.30pm sharp. Initially everyone was not too sure whether we should sing in the office. But looking at the Boss effort of having it here, we have to cooperate with him.

Initially everybody was a bit reluctant to sing, so Aznita and the Boss started an Indonesian number. Aznita (representing the Asian Region), being a singing veteran, she has no qualm about singing. Her voice was ok too.


Tifli (the Boss) and Aznita started the Karaoke to break the ice!

Senin, representing the Technical & After Sales. Hmm not bad. Mungkin dia kaki karaoke juga kot hehee..


Senin sang "Seroja" with confident.

When no one else wanted to sing, Aznita took the mike again. This time the ladies accompanied her. Not because they want to sing but after this they can go back after they sang. What and excuse? Belasah aje...


Aznita accompanied by Siti & Nena... Fiesol meramaikan je!!!!

Of course there were people who asked other people to sing but they them self won't sing lah . Buat-buat cari the best song for them to sing. But they didn't sing anyway.


Pak Hamdan, Wan Faridah & Badli choosing the songs...
pilih jer lah, tapi tak nyanyi pun?

Osman Rizal (the newly wed) was sporting enough to sing with Aznita lagu Ajai & Nurul's "Keliru". Not bad. But of course, there were comments by Pak Hamdan. "Osman kau jangan keliru selepas Kahwin man!" By the way, he represented our Business Support.


Osman (hidden talent lah tu!) & Aznita belting out lagu Ajai & Nurul's "Keliru". Hopefully he's not Keliru after getting married just last week hehhee..

I am not a singer. Never had and never will. But Pak Hamdan insisted me. Well, when Hazami's "Sonata Musim Salju" song was put on, I picked up the mike and sang with Kushairi. Of course not the whole song lah.


Khushairi & me duet on Hazami's "Sonata Musim Salju". Boleh lah tahan.

Andy, the only mat saleh with us, was called several time to sing. Khushairi (by now he never let the mike go, ok) called Andy to sing along with him. Amazingly the video showed girls wearing bikini and they had a really good time singing while enjoying the video. By this time, more people join to singing, with or without the mike. Singing or watching the video??


Khus singing with Andy (UK & Australian reps.) Hotel California. It's not that they sing well but the video was showing girls wearing bikini hahaha.. that's why they enjoy the video.

How about representative from other regions. No reps from the Africa, Middle East and GCC. Nor reps from the Iran & Turkey or the Corporate Services. Well, they became the back-up singers or commentators as well.


And the rest are the spectator/commentator/back-up singers!

By 7pm, I decide to leave whilst the rest still enjoy the karaoke. Hmm.. well it's a good session to let loose sometimes. Instead of too stressed up to meet the volume to export cars overseas, get approval here and there, finding vessel space, production let down, etc. etc. this can be a way to release tension and have some laugh.

So do we have another karaoke session next time? Hmm.. maybe!!

Friday, July 13, 2007

17 years of working here


Got an email from HR with regard to the Company celebration of it’s 22nd Anniversary. of inception. And then I also got an email for the occasion of celebrating those who have worked in the company for 10 and 20 years. Then I realized that I have been with this same company for 17 years. Arghhhhhh…. 17 years?? And to be exact, I started working here on 5 July 1990. So this mean that last 5 July 2007 was my 17th years working in this company.

I can’t believe it. Me being here for 17 years – that’s how old my eldest son will be on 8 August 2007. 17 looooong years. So what do I get out of it? Good question. But can I get a good answer out of this 17 years. I guess so.

I was working in a 6-days a week job in a bank and always wanted to work in a 5-days week office. My luck came when I received an appoinment offer letter from this company. I started work being a young executive Corporate Planner. Mind you that at that point of time a salary of RM1,800 is considered a big salary. Well compared to a mere monthly salary of RM1,000 in that bank, it’s a huge jump. And I remember that about a month after I joined, my first son, little Aizuddin was born in Subang Jaya Medical Centre. What a joy?

Being a Corporate Planner, was an experience. I remember doing feasibility studies to buy over companies, doing joint ventures and also forming new companies. Get to know more about Contractual Agreements and work closely with our legal team. Did some travellings to Japan concluding several agreements and even to Pakistan investigating a deal.

Over time the job scope also changed. At one point of time, my department was the Secretary for the Management Committee Meeting (MCM). That's where all approval for projects were made before submission to the Board of Directors. I was also mandated to be the Secretary of the MCM for about half a year after the Company Secretary left.

It sound a bit glamour to be the secretary of the MCM. Who would not? I know all the secrets and the P&C stuffs of the company. As part of the MCM, I gained respect from most of the Divisional Heads. Everyone makes sure that they submit reports of time or I will be the one who would call and get a nasty remarks from me. Some would not even want to pick my calls because there scare. Ahaha.. those were the days.

After about 14 years in Corporate Planning, I decided to make a move. Management of Company changed. So are the culture and environment. Thus I requested to move into International Marketing. It might be different being a Corporate Planner but I just need a change. Afterall I have an MBA majoring in International Business.

My request was approved and thus I landed being the Head of Business Support i.e. handling order management and logistic. Although it is totally new environment, I've got to learn this new tricks. Now after almost 3 years in International Marketing, I'm ok. Well, people keep changing. People come and go. But for me, well I will stay as long as I can. The pay is good. Me being complacent and not wanting to move to a new venture (for now) and I'm still ok with it.

17 years in this Company have given me some pride, some future, a lively hood for my family, an experience being employee, friends and colleagues became family to me, and most of all a "rezeki yang halal". Alhamdullillah.



Thursday, July 5, 2007

Beyond Positive Thinking

Fathiah have recommended me earlier, a book to read called "Beyond Positive Thinking" by Dr Robert Anthony. So yesterday, I bought it and will start reading it once I got some free time.

Well, I'm not much into reading but will only read books that really intrigues me especially when the tittle catches my eyes. And this one, make me curious to know more.

I have read quite a few books before like the Robert Kiyosaki's series : Rich Dad Poor Dad (I'm the later one mah!!!), Cash flow Quadrant, Business Schools. Also others books which I can't really remember.


So this book, BPT will by my latest book to read. And if you want to know more ....hmmm baca lah sendiri hehehe..

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Time with Zul & Fathiah

How many times do you spend times with people who have interest in you: in business, your well being, your future, your family, etc. ? Not many right? Or another question : how many people do care for your well being, now and future? Not many right?

Well, Ky & I were blessed to know this couple who makes difference in our lives. It's Zul & Fathiah. This couple have been helping us in our business and personal life. They are our business partners cum mentors cum friends cum coach, etc. Not many people who take interest in you, right? In the office, your bosses have only interest in you so that you perform and achieve the Company's objective. After 5.30 pm, they don't care what will happen to you until the next morning when you punch in again. The bosses don't care what happen to your family and kids. Neither would they care what your future will be.

Unlike the bosses, this couple would help us to achieve our goals and dreams. They don't have to be with us but they have chosen us to be part of their life. They will help us succeed so that they'll too will succeed.

Zul reminded me about some planning matters in our business last week. So this week I was slightly free and thus I drove over to their place, which is a luxury banglo in Section 8 Shah Alam.

Zul started explaining to me about an excel worksheet which was introduced recently. It comprises of detail information and planning for our business. It also entails what can we expect in the business if the planning and work is done right.

As for me, although I was not 100% active in the business (due to some reasons) but I plan to jump back again. Thus this is a good jump start for me. Zul & Fathiah also talked to me on family matters. It's a good and refreshing to listen to someone who is financially independent and knows what they are doing. We even have lunch together.

How much do you have to pay to sit down and have lunch with Financially Independent people? I heard recently in radio that if you were to sit down for dinner with Warren Buffet, you have to pay something like RM2.0 million. But Warren Buffet won't make you rich either. Well, with Zul & Fathiah, the price is simple i.e. "you being a good student, listen and follow their advice, have big dreams and work it out". You want to be within the space of people who love to give their best for you.

Thanks Zul & Tihi!


Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Along & Linda officially engaged

Believe it or not! Linda and Along were officially engaged to each other last nite.
Time : 8.00 pm
Date : 2 July 2007
Venue : Kg Tunku, P.J.

Got a ride from my sis & her husband because I was alone. Mimi & Acik wanted to come along but I disapprove because I don't want them to stay late and tomorrow they have a reason for not going to school. Ky had a long day yesterday and she didn't want to go either. So the best thing to do is to get a ride from Zalma who stay just one block away from me.

We arrived before 8.30 pm. The merisik was supposed to be done after Maghrib. So by the time we got there, they were already concluding the discussion. Kak Lang is ready to put the ring to Linda's finger. Of course, I had to take pictures of this ceremony.

Linda was smiling all the way. It was witness by family members from both sides. Kak Miah & Yadin (Linda's mom & elder brother) was there. On our side, my 5 brothers and 3 sisters were there plus my in-laws too. Only Jeman, Kak Ngah and Ina didn't attend. (BTW I have 5 brothers and 5 sisters altogether - and that can make a football team hehehee..)

The discussion cum merisik was smooth. I guess because all of us knew each other since a long time. By the way, Linda's mother (Kak Miah) is Abg Zali's sister and Abg Zali is my brother-in-law. So what makes Along and Linda then. They are both Emma's cousin but from different family line.

Anyway, Abg De was also excited having a soon-to-be daughter-in-law. He has been calling Kak Mah in Labuan telling that everything went smoothly as planned. He even took a photo of Linda and mms it immediately to his family in Labuan.

Thereon, we were invited for dinner. But where is Linda by then???? We were searching for her to be with us for dinner.

We found out that she was in the back kitchen and is already on the HP with Along. "Amboi tak menyempat-yempat lagi dah call Along lah tu ye?" One of the aunties making a statement. "Eh, kan kita dah ada tunang" said Linda and everybody laughed. She is an easy going girl and I can say that the way she talk makes you laugh.

I guess there'll be another wedding before year end. Baru nak rehat lepas Emma kahwin, dah nak kahwin lagi sorang.

Anyway Selamat Bertunang Along and Linda. Uncle berdoa jodoh awak akan berkekalan.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Thanks giving & Match making

Got sms from my sister telling us family to gather at Mak's house on Sunday afternoon. There were few agenda for the gathering. 1. to meet up with my elder brother who now resides in Labuan came visiting us. 2. to discuss about Along (one of our nephew) and nak jodohkan dia dengan my brother-in-law's niece 3. thanks giving by Emma & Denise.

As usual my sis would remind us to bring a dish each. This weekend Bibik happen to take her weekend off and Ky is going for her Kelas Tafsir Quran every Sunday morning. "So how?" Ky asked me. Me being a dutiful husband would say; "Alah beli aje ayam panggang 2 ekor kat Giant tu bawak rumah mak! Kan senang" Isn't it? Why should I get into trouble of cooking when there's somebody who could do it better than us. So buy lah... (My colleague, Azlee would love to agree with me on this!!!) I told everyone about the roast chicken imported from Giant but no one care less about it as long as there is something to eat. By the way, my roast black-peppered and honeyed chickens finish off first ok!

After doa selamat was read, Abg De (from Labuan) mentioned that his wife, Kak Mah kirim salam to everybody as she could not leave her aging father.

We then proceed to discuss about Along and Linda. You see, Along is the eldest of the nephews & nieces. He is about 33 years old now. Emma ( the our eldest niece) just got married a forth night ago. Syamsul got married about 2 years back and now got a little angel, Wani. Every time he is around, evrybody would ask ; "Ha, Along bila lagi?" Usually his standard answer was; "Belum jumpa lagi". If the auntie is more kepoh, she would reply; "Macamana nak jumpa kalau tak carik?.

Linda is a young widow with one small girl, Khalidah. Her husband passed away 10 months ago due to kidney failure and lung cancer. Linda is also a niece of my brother-in-law. We had known Linda since she was young. A vibrant, full of energy, a bit chubby but nice girl. People loves to be around her because she is a joker and makes everybody laugh when she is around.

So my brothers and sisters were match-making the 2 of them and believe me, they both agreed. We were happy about it as we had known both of them. But of course, being a concern uncle, I told Linda to get to know each other first so that the decision they make is a good decision.

Abg De (Along's father) from Labuan were also informed on this. Of course he agreed to it. He has been waiting for the day for Along to get married. As I said earlier, we knew Linda since she was small and we were comfortable with her. So today, after Maghrib, we will be going to Kak Chik's house in Kg Tunku to do the "merisik" and Linda's mom will be there too. I hope everything will turn out right for them.

Next we have Abg Zali, Kak Chik, Emma & Denise thanking us for helping out the wedding from the engagement cum khatam quran, to the Nikah in Terengganu and wedding receptions both in Seri Melayu and Wisma Getah Asli. As a token, Emma gave us a small hamper for each family.

Well to me, the most important thing is to get all the family members together; be it a simple birthday do or a big wedding functions. The objective is that I want to have a whole family that cares for each other in good and bad times. I am glad that my effort of bringing family together achieved it objectives.




Who do you listen to?

Sometimes you do not know who is the best person you should listen to? Is it people who are older ,wiser, more qualified than you? I am not sure. Or maybe it depends more on the situation or condition at that point of time.

Why do I raise this issue? You see last Saturday night this someone for now just let us know as Abg X called me up to ask for something.
(I won't reveal his name because he is close to me). It was a "doa script" that I wanted to get from an Ustaz nephew of mine who read the doa at a wedding. Me, being the person who always got involve in any close family wedding thought that it would be a good idea to get the "Doa script" so that it can be used by someone else in the future. You know lah, sometime it's quite difficult to get someone to read doa especially when they never read doa at a wedding before. So I thought it would be handy if I could get this Doa script.

So at some point of time, I asked this Ustaz nephew of mine for it. Obviously for good intention, this Ustaz nephew is ever willing to give a copy to me without hesitation. But this Abg A, who was seated next to me started complaining and telling me why should I get it. Of course I explain that it can benefit us later. After all, I'm not getting it from him but from this Ustaz.

The same thing happen when I was trying to get the MC script from the so-called professional MC. This guy gave the MC script to my niece who was involve in that wedding. I asked my niece to keep a copy because I'm sure my niece will need to use it in the future ( as she is also the family's MC for some event). Again, when Abg X heard it, he made comments that I don't like to hear. My niece agreed with me on this but Abg X was not. I told Abg A that after all we are paying the so called professional MC so why not we keep the script after all right! After all I not getting it from
Abg X so what the fuss isn't it?

So last Saturday Abg X called me asking me whether I still have the Doa script. Of course being a good guy, I told him that I have it. But I ask him for what? He told me that he might be doing the "Doa reciting" at a friend's daughter wedding reception. I gladly told him that I will fax it to him later.

I know I'm a good person but somewhere in me, there is a bad evil.. heheee...now this is a chance for me to get back at him. I told him that "remember Abg X that when I wanted to get the Doa script from Ustaz, you were very sarcastic to me like hell. Now you yourself want to use the Doa script. So next when I get something for our future benefit and use, please don't be so sarcastic at me ok." Wow what a feeling ... to get back at people who had degraded me before in front of other people. I know I'm cruel but what the heck it's so uplifting for me. hahahaaa....

So I told me wife about it so that she knows my situation (as she was seated near me when I got that call). And that was not the only situation I told her.

Another scenarios.
1. We were looking for an bigger size car or MPV as my kids is growing up a few years back. A Proton car is too small for us to travel as a family especially long distance. You see the 3 boys and my little girl are all growing up in sizes and in heights. Thus getting from one point to another is a challenge when you have small car. So we thought it's a good idea to have an affordable MPV to carry us around. A few years back, the most affordable MPV or a van would be Toyota Unser. Well it might look like a van but if can fulfill the purpose of carrying us around, to me why not isn't it?

So I told Abg X about it. You what, the first reaction was... Ha.. kereta Unser tu. If you buy that Unser, don't come to my house. But malu aje! I was stunned by his remarks but I kept it to myself. I put off that idea of buying the Unser then.

A couple of years passed and Toyota came out with a new model of Unser with more accessories and new look. Me and my wife decided to buy the newer version anyway as that the most affordable MPV that can carry us family with comfort. My kids were very happy travelling this time as everybody were comfortable and could even have a seat to sleep in while travelling. It's with Automatic and high-line model.

So one day, somehow or rather God knows how to get me back to Abg X. We wanted to go for Friday payers at Masjid Shah Alam. Since there were many of us and the only transport that can carry all of us, was my Toyota Unser. So everybody including Abg X got into my Unser. On the way, Abg X said " Eh..not bad lah this Unser. Very comfortable and luxury." Ah... should I get back to him? Well since I'm going for Friday prayers to do good deed, I just kept quite. But inside me I said... tu lah dia, dulu sampai tak kasi kita orang datang rumah dia kalau kita orang beli Unser...!!!

2. While I was toying with the idea to buy Unser before he was recommending me to buy Kia Sportage, as he has already got one. He said that it is the best MPV lah... money saving lah...so on and so forth. Well I'm not into Korean cars. My heart was already with Unser.

After a year or so, he started complaining about his Spotage. Banyak pakai minyak lah, not easy to maintain lah mahal lah... blah..blah..Today he has already sold his Sportage and bought another Kia model.

Should I have listened to him before, I think I have the same predicaments as him. I'm glad we bought the Unser. It doesn't gave us much problem and easy to maintain. Now we already sold of the Unser for a smaller Avanza. Even Avanza meets our requirements for now.

So guys, who do you think you should listen to? Somebody who is
older and who you think is wiser, knowledgeable, experience or more qualified than you? I guess it all depends. But we have think who is best for us to listen to. He might be older, knowledgeable and experience than you but probably he won't give you the best advice.