Doli & Da Bomb

Doli & Da Bomb. Sounds like a singing group right out of the '60s, eh? Remember 'Naomi & The Boys', or 'Gerry & The Pacemakers' or perhaps 'Ruby & The Romantics'? 

This posting, however, is not about food for the soul. Instead we're coursing through real 'makan' joints; koayteow stops to be precise, 'char' or otherwise. 

There is an eatery in TTDI (Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur, for the uninitiated) called Doli that serves many variations of this flat rice noodle. 

Located at Jalan Wan Kadir off the main road near the TTDI wet market, Doli's stir-fried 'char koayteow' is among the best we have ever tasted. 

Because prices at Doli are pretty decent, and the fact that they also offer non-koayteow variety (chicken rice, curry mee, mee rebus etc), we patronise the place often. 

[Digressing a bit, the Cantonese-style kungfu chow served at the Royal Lake Club is super-tasty, and my personal favourite. The only problem with the club's 'Buttery' outlet is that its service has been competing against, and losing to, the tortoise for yonks.  

'Buttery' staff gives kura-kura a bad name. I am still trying to figure out why the service has not improved, especially since the club has been in existence for over 100 years]

Back on the koayteow track... Three nights ago we discovered a joint that could give good ole Doli a run for its money. It's called Bom Kitchen, with dishes tagged with 'explosive' names like 'grenade', 'dynamite' and 'C4'.

About the only thing in Doli's favour is the fact that Bom Kitchen is way across town, in Keramat's AU2 area. The not-so-fun part is we have to 'tongkah' KL traffic, taking Damansara Ulu Kelang Expressway (DUKE) to Jalan Enggang to get to the place.

Bom Kitchen may be just a warong (stall) business, but the dishes 'rawk', to borrow today's parlance. We took Muslim Aid's two interns Fairus and Sofia along, had a 'dynamite' each, and shared a humongous 'C4' dish between us.

The 'C4', costing RM19, can eat 3-4 and is Bom Kitchen's signature dish. It's gravy-laden, with fresh seafood that's fried in batter first before using them as 'perencah' in 'C4'. The end result is a delicious, somewhat crispy squids and prawns nestling in a pan of noodles and gravy. 

'Granade' sells at RM4 per plate, 'dynamite' at RM5.00 per plate. I'm wondering when 'bazooka' will be introduced. The stall opens 6.30pm to 1am daily and closes Tuesdays.

Another specialty is supercheap 'Nasi Bom', targetting youths and the lower-income. Pre-packed in the style of nasi lemak, Nasi Bom, which is rice and one lauk, sells for RM1.50 each. It's very popular with school kids and youngsters.

The place has been in operation for the last two months and maintains its own Facebook account too (click here), thanks to its IT savvy co-owner, Muhammad, who runs the joint with a couple of partners (they cook, he waits at the tables and cleans up).


Muhammad is doing his post-graduate studies weekends in business management. The trained engineer is a social worker by day. Engage him in a discourse on humanitarian work while you are there; he would 'layan' you if the place isn't too busy..

To get to Bom Kitchen from PJ, take DUKE towards the city and turn into Keramat via Jalan Enggang (at almost the tail end of the expressway). There's a roundabout as soon as you enter Jalan Enggang.

Take 3pm and drive up until you see Jusco on your left. Make a U-turn at the traffic light ahead, and take immediate left (the road climbs up a bit) and left again. Be extra-careful with the U-turn, though. Demonic drivers are a-plenty behind the wheels, even at traffic lights.


The jalan where the warong is located, Jalan 24/56, AU2, is a horseshoe and the stall is a stand-alone, with no other businesses alongside or nearby. Go on folks, give it a try. Am sure you won't be disappointed...

C4 to whet your appetite...

Welcome banner at Bom Kitchen 

Sofia (left) and Fairus menjamu selera..

Dynamite, anyone?

"Meletop di mulut, bukan di tangan"

Sedapp...

Thoughts On Mother's Day

From the day I breathed my first to the day she breathed her last, my mother and I were never close. It was fated that we we not meant to be, but that didn't mean I had loved her any less. 

Throughout my childhood, I had referred to her as Kak Nor. I never knew her as anything but my eldest sister, the first child of the woman I called Mak.

I must have been 10 when it finally dawned on me that Mak was actually my grandmother and that Kak Nor was the one who gave birth to me. Such revelations naturally took a lot of adjusting to, and I was a confused child for a while.

If coping with the transition from Kak Nor to Mak was tough, acknowledging the elevation of grandma's status from Mak to Opah was even tougher. I dealt with the situation the only way I knew, by burying myself into books.

My mother was a petite woman who had managed to maintain her slight figure well into her 50s. Size-wise, I am no nowhere near, for I take after my father's side of the family; the Megat women were relatively tall, big-boned and sturdy. 

The women on my maternal grandpa's side of the family, being Kelantanese, were a resilient lot, that much I can say. Thus I am not surprised to share the traits; fiercely protective of the brood, independent in thought and deed, with none of us suffering fools gladly.

Despite a couple of hiccups along the way (the divorce from my father being one), Mak had had a fairly uneventful life. She remarried, produced 5 daughters, and remained in the blissful union for almost 40 years, until Bapak's demise in the late '90s. Mak left us four years ago, age 73.

"May Allah swt bless you with the best there is, Mak. We love you and miss you; the pain never heals." Al-Fatihah.




*You may want to read related postings: 

1.  I Want ....
http://kamabakar.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-want.html


2. Dungun Di Hati ku
http://kamabakar.blogspot.com/2010/03/dungun-di-hatiku.html


3. Requiem For My Mother
http://kamabakar.blogspot.com/2008/06/fare-thee-well-my-beloved-mother.html


4. Mak In Remembrance
http://kamabakar.blogspot.com/2008/06/mak-in-remembrance.html

Refugee Children - Their Sorry Plight

The innocents..

Hafizes (Quran memorisers) in the making ...

An uncertain future awaits this little one .. 

Father-of-one Muhammad is an engineer by training and a social worker by choice. 'Mat' handles project development for Muslim Aid by day, runs an eatery with some friends by night, and attends lectures weekends towards his MBA.    

Muslim Aid interns Fairus (left) and Sofia are UiTM students. Physics graduate Fairus, from Kulim, is on her last lap doing pure mathematics at the university, and spends her free time teaching mathematics to Orang Asli kids at a shelter supported by Muslim Aid.

Kuantan lass Sofia is a marketing major whose interest lies in creative arts. She has taken a year off study to devote her time to humanitarian causes, coming on board Muslim Aid a couple of weeks back.

"Madrasah Anak-anak Yatim dan Tahfiz Quran Hashimiah - School of Orphans" is housed in a dilapidated shoplot in the vicinity of Selayang wholesale market (pasar borong). The school, with 165 children, occupies the second and third floor of the four-storey building.

Ustaz Hashim, a Myanmar Muslim, is the heart and soul behind the madrasah. Apart from running the school, this UNHCR refugee status holder teaches Islam to locals, ploughing back whatever he earns into the madrasah. Ustaz Hashim received his teaching certification from Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan in April 2012. Here he proudly displays the much sought-after watikah, a lifeline to this man whose only mission in life is to do things right.

Quran and other religious books in a sorry state, torn and tattered Quran buruk aplenty. Yet, small hands reach out to them everyday, reading and reciting, memorising the verses, guided by teachers who just refused to give up.

Makeshift desks, shelved to the wall during makan and tidur times..

Just screw some aluminium sheets together against the wall, rope in a basket or two, pile in all the odds and ends and walla, there's your storage rack.

Rest before lunch. By the way, this is also where the children sleep come night time. Some of them go home to their respective families after school, but to most, the madrasah is 'home'.

The 30-minute rest is made mandatory to ensure the kids are alert for their afternoon lessons. 

Here they are, patiently waiting for food to be served. 

It's lunchtime!

Kusyuk menjamu selera...

A prayer of thanks ...

...even if the only lauk is potato curry..

No matter what their status, children have fundamental rights to education. In Malaysia, there are 18,700 refugee children under the age of 18. Of this, 13,800 are of school-going age, but proper schooling is denied them solely because of their 'stateless' status. [More about refugee children in Malaysia here].


Here at Madrasah Hashimiah, there are 165 such children, age four to 16. Some 70 of these kids are girls. Of the total, 50 are orphans; 40 with relatives (who are fellow refugees) while 10 are yatim piatu (with neither parents nor kin) who depend entirely on the goodwill of its principal, 42 year-old Ustaz Hashim, and his family to survive. 


I have lived in KL for 39 years, but shamefully, this was my first visit to this part of the city. I was told this slice of Selayang is known as the 'Burmese Quarters' for this is where most Myanmar Muslim refugees in Malaysia live. 


[Note: Myanmar Muslims are not to be confused with the Rohingyas, a Burmese Muslim ethnic group originating from the Myanmar-Bangladesh border area; the Rohingyas can be found mostly in Klang and Penang]


Because Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN convention on refugees, it has no domestic legal protection for asylum seekers. [Read here for more].


Like many other asylum seekers in Malaysia, Myanmar Muslims can't hold proper jobs. As such, no matter how educated they are, many end up as labourers at the Selayang wholesale market, thus their congregation in the area. 


The kids were in the middle of their morning lessons when our Muslim Aid team of four arrived to check on the progress of the school, and to have a status meeting with Ustaz Hashim.


The madrasah has been in operation since 1994 and has survived the years through the generosity and kindness of well-wishers,both NGOs and the general public. 


There are currently 10 teachers (local and fellow refugees) attached to to school. They are paid a pittance to teach (RM500 - RM800 is the norm) but many remain committed to the children.


Ustaz Hashim lamented the low pay but said he just couldn't afford to pay better salaries. "In fact we need more teachers especially for Bahasa Malaysia and tahfiz (Quran recital) but I am at my wits end trying to figure out how to meet their pay."


The children are taught Quran & Islamic Knowledge, English, Bahasa Malaysia, their mother tongue the Burmese language and mathematics. Mornings are reserved for religious lessons, afternoons for the rest of the syllabus. 


The school is currently in dire need of Bahasa Malaysia textbooks (Standard 1 to Standard 4) and appeals to the public for donation. "It's so hard to teach with everything lacking," opined Ustaz Hashim.


The emphasis, however, is on learning the Quran. Many children from the madrasah become hafiz every year and a ceremony is held annually to acknowledge this achievement. This year the presentation ceremony will be held in June and as in years past, Muslim Aid will have a hand in organising the event.  


Despite their straitened circumstances, the kids are holding up quite well. Personally, I have not seen a better-behaved, bright-eyed bunch in a long time. I was told by Muhammad, who has been working with the refugee community for many years, that refugee children in this country were generally courteous and well-disciplined. 


Last year, in a national tilawah (Quran recital competition) for children's homes and orphanages throughout the country, a boy from this madrasah came out tops; quite an achievement for a school that lacks almost everything but the will to survive.  


According to Ustaz Hashim, it costs RM10,000 a month just to feed the children twice daily. "As you can see, we are not lavish with food either; it's only one dish a day with rice. Occasionally we give them meat or chicken." 


The day we were there, the kids had rice with gulai kentang. I struggled to hold back my tears, thinking just the night before I took the family out for a lavish Chinese dinner to celebrate a son's birthday.


A popular woman artiste is a regular donor here, providing hundreds of kilos of rice on the quiet every month while a Buddhist organisation pays for the madrasah's monthly utility bills (bless you, Tzu Chi). 


Recently, a new problem surfaced, challenging the madrasah's existence. The owner of the premises had indicated that he wanted to sell the property, and had offered it to the madrasah as first choice, for RM800,000.


"We may have to look for an alternative place soon. Much as I want to buy this place, wakaf it and turn it into a permanent school, I don't see how can I ever find the money," he said.


Ustaz Hashim said it made perfect sense to buy the shoplot for many reasons. Currently they are paying RM1,400 rent for the two floors but the school population is expanding rapidly and space is getting really cramped. "We are in dire need of another floor, but we can't afford the rent." 


A fair bit of renovations have also been done to accommodate the children's needs (wudhu area etc). The key reason, however, is logistics. The madrasah is smack in the middle of Burmese Quarters where the Myanmar Muslim refugees live. Moving it outside the established boundaries would mean creating a host of new headaches - transportation for the children, for example.   


In the meantime, it's business as usual at "Madrasah Anak-anak Yatim dan Tahfiz Quran Hashimiah  - School of Orphans." The kids still need to be fed, clothed, tutored and taught, lack of money notwithstanding....


Founder/Principal:
Ustaz Hafiz Hashim bin Qassim (019-2621671)


Address:
111-3, Kompleks Pasar Borong, Jalan 2/3A
Km 12, Jalan Ipoh, Selayang
68100 Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur


Monetary donations can also be made through Yayasan Kemanusiaan Muslim Aid Malaysia. Please call 03-22881996 (MUhammad/Puteri) for details.   

Walk A Mile In Their Shoes ....

Refugee children of Sekolah Tahfiz Hashimiah, Selayang

(Tersangat daif keadaan mereka) 

In striving towards a healthier lifestyle, there is nothing like a good, brisk walk to help shed the pounds. And if that walk happens to be in the name of charity, that's double the merit.  


If your schedule isn't too packed next week Saturday, come walk with us for a good cause. Those easy strides of yours may well enable some needy kids to attend school properly equipped and attired, and on a full stomach too. 


"A Mile For A Smile" is a 3.3km walkathon bringing together Muslim Aid Malaysia Humanitarian Foundation (Muslim Aid) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) as joint collaborators, to raise money for an education fund currently being planned by Muslim Aid for orphans and underprivileged children. 


The walkathon is an effort by 'Euphoria Event', a student group under UiTM's Bachelor of Event Management (honours) programme. The course is meant to train undergraduates into becoming competent event managers, planners and coordinators.  


It will be held on Saturday May 5, 2012, at Taman Metropolitan, a landscaped theme urban park spread over 117 hectares in Kepong, on the fringes of the city. 


The recreational park with an excellent trail is well-known to city dwellers as the place where kite fanciers gather (by the side of a man-made lake) to indulge in their passion of kite flying.


Programme:


7.30 am     arrival and registration
8.30           warm-up session "Senam 1Malaysia"
9.00           walkathon begins
10.30         walkathon ends
10.45         arrival of VIP/sponsor reps
11.00         recitation of doa
11.10         opening address 
11.20         Asst VC officiates event
11.30         prize giving
12.00         photography session
12.30         event concludes


Fee for registration and participation are as follows: RM25 per adult, RM15 per student and RM12 per child under the age of 12. Money raised go towards the establishment of the Muslim Aid Education Fund for orphans and underprivileged children. 


In the forefront as beneficiaries are children from the various Orang Asli communities. Many of these tribal folks still live the old ways, hunting & gathering deep in the forests, but their kids need to be kept in school hostels to ensure they get proper schooling.


Also needing help are refugee children currently here, many of whom orphans and destitute. Their future may be in limbo but they are entitled to an education like any other child in the world. 


For the likes of us who have the ways and the means to do something to contribute towards their well-being, no effort should be spared. It's nothing less than amal jariah on our part. 


Walker sponsorship is welcome and team participation, especially from the corporate sector, is greatly appreciated. For more details and the registration form, please visit our website at:


 http://www.muslimaidasia.com.

Muslim Aid Malaysia Humanitarian Foundation

Khatan (Circumcision) for children of Rohingya refugees, Selayang, KL.  

Apologies are due for my apparent neglect of Kata Kama. It has been almost three weeks since the last entry and I really have to get back into the groove of things.

I don't usually leave the blog unattended for long periods but there have been much work lately (no complaints there, though), besides a few other 'must see-to' commitments.

Just for the record, I recently joined Muslim Aid Malaysia Humanitarian Foundation, the local arm of international NGO, Muslim Aid, to assist in areas I am familiar with i.e. public relations, marcom and fund-raising. 

It's quite a departure from the rough and tumble corporate world I once was a part of, but with the grace of God, I think I'll manage, Insyaallah.

I take comfort in the fact that I'm no stranger to NGOs promoting humanitarian causes, having been a Rotary Club member for almost a decade in the mid '90s.

 With all the projects that Muslim Aid Malaysia has lined up for the year and beyond, we are looking at a busy time ahead.

Broadly speaking, Muslim Aid is a non-political and non-sectarian international aid agency, inspired by Islamic values, to serve the needy irrespective of religion, race, ethnicity, nationality or political creed.

Beneficiaries include the orphaned, refugees and internally displaced people, communities caught in cycles of poverty, and survivors of disasters. 

Muslim Aid Malaysia, the local arm of the international relief agency, was granted tax exemption status in 2009 by the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (LHDN), thereby providing donors tax deductibility for their generous donations.

Muslim Aid Asia is headquartered in KL where our office is located. The agency has directorate offices in London, Munich and Sydney and field offices in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Gambia, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Sudan. The organisation also partners with many independent in-country NGOs.   

http://muslimaidasia.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/   

Starving children, victims of Somalian draught, 2011.

Food aid for victims of Somalian draught, 2011

Ramadhan Food Packs for Iraqi poor.

Consider This....

Ten Thoughts To Ponder ....

Number 10
Life is sexually transmitted.


Number 9
Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.


Number 8
Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.


Number 7
Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks, months, maybe years.


Number 6
Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospitals, dying of nothing.


Number 5
All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.


Number 4
Why does a slight tax increase cost you $800.00, and a substantial tax cut saves you $30.00?


Number 3
In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.


Number 2
Life is like a jar of Jalapeno peppers--what you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow.


Number 1
"Don't worry about old age - it doesn't last that long."

I Love This Woman!

Finally, someone who gets her priorities right!

An elderly lady was standing at the railing of a cruise ship holding her hat tight so that it would not blow away in the wind.

A gentleman approached her and said, "Pardon me madam, I do not intend to be forward but did you know that your dress is blowing up in this high wind?"

She: "Yes I know, but I need both my hands to hold onto this hat."

He: "But madam, you must know that you are not wearing any panties and that your privates are exposed!"

The woman looked down, then back up at the man and replied, "Sir, anything you see down there is 75 years old. But I just bought this hat yesterday!"

When the Bird Flew

There's so much truth in what they say: it takes all kinds to make the world...

London cop Bruce Perry covering streaker O'Brien's private parts which, admittedly, is no longer private. Phew! That's a very suey helmet is ever there is one; after 'that' head, hope he didn't put it back on his head..

Ever wonder how streaking came to be? Streaking - the act of running nude through a public place (usually at a sports event) - was quite rampant during the '60s and '70s.

People usually streak on a dare. The earliest recorded incident in England was on the 5th of July, 1799 when a naked man was arrested whilst streaking at the Mansion House, London. 

He confirmed that he had accepted a wager of 10 guineas (equalling 735 pound sterling today), to run naked from Cornhill to Cheapside. 

In the United States, the first recorded incident of streaking was by college senior George William Crump in 1804 at Washington College (now called Washington and Lee University).

Crump, who eventually rose to become a US Congressman, was arrested for running nude through Lexington, Virginia, where the university was (and still is) located.

I was floating about in cyberspace when I chanced upon the story of Michael O'Brien, a 25 year-old Australian who was the first known streaker at a major sporting event.

On the 20th of April 1974 he dashed out naked, manhood flying, onto a rugby pitch during halftime before a crowd of 48,000 people, HRH Princess Alexandra of Britain amongst them.

It was a Rugby Union match between England and France held in the London suburb of Twickenham, and O'Brien apparently did it for a 10 pound bet.

He was captured by police constable Bruce Perry who covered the streaker's genitals with a police helmet. This famous (infamous?) helmet is now on display in the museum at Twinckenham.

O'Brien may have captured the imagination of millions around the world but his luck didn't hold.

He was fined 10 pounds, the exact amount he won in the bet, and was fired the very next day by his not-so-amused employers.

O'Brien later went on to become a successful businessman in Australia, shunning the media over the years in an effort to keep the lid on his youthful indiscretion.  

 In 2006, however, he eventually spoke on an Australian TV show called “Where Are They Now?”

He said he regretted his stunt, saying it was a stupid thing to do and that he wasn't proud of it. Also on the show was ex-bobbie Bruce Perry whose helmet covered O'Brien's manhood.

“I feared he would be mobbed, or that other people would follow suit. I felt embarrassed so I covered him up as best I could,” said Perry. 

“It was a cold day – he had nothing to be proud of,” Perry added. [Oh, bummer!]

 The picture above, taken by Ian Bradshaw, won numerous awards including the World Press Photo of the Year.

It was also chosen as Picture of the Year by Life magazine and Picture of the Decade by People magazine.

Some really awful jokes & puns to lift your Monday blues..

- I asked for a Swedish Massage, but ended up with a Happy Finnish.

- One of my teachers at school was cross-eyed; he never could control his pupils. 

- Did you hear about the guy that went to a zoo that had no animals except a dog? It was a Shih Tzu.

- Where do cows buy their clothes? A Cattle Logue.

- I've written a song about a tortilla. Well, it's more of a wrap.

- Square: 'Why do you only have one round edge?' Circle: 'That's how I roll.'

- My wife left me yesterday because she says I am obsessed with metamorphosis.''But please Babe,'' I pleaded. ''I can change.''

- Got chatting to a very philosophical, obese monk earlier. He was a deep fat friar!

- Playing football today, the opposing goalkeeper said he'd kill me if I scored a goal. I wouldn't put it past him.

- I was offered a job as a noise pollution inspector. I had to turn it down!

- Some scientists at my local university have developed an invisible safety pin. To be honest I can't see the point.

- My bedside light turned into a butterfly this morning, That's the last time I buy a Larva Lamp.

- My wife got really pissed off today because I kept dropping random women's names into every sentence. I said, "Sue me."  

- Went to a fancy dress party last night as a loaf of bread! The birds were all over me..

- My friend cloned himself last year He's been beside himself ever since.

- About to pay a deposit on a well-earned holiday in the Romanian capital. I'm going to Bucharest!

- England doesn't have a kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.

- We'll never run out of math teachers, they are always multiplying.

- While in Mexico, the Chinese diplomat got a ticket for going the Wong way down a Juan way street.

- The lumberjack was so good with the chainsaw, he got promoted to branch manager.

- Why was World War One over so quickly? They were Russian..

- And why did World War Two take so long? They were Stalin!

- I saw a guy pickpocket a midget; how can someone stoop so low!

- What happened to the frog's car which was parked illegally? It got toad.

They just discovered who made King Arthur's round table. Apparently, it was Sir Cumference.

What's Your Problem Again?

Whatever issues I may have in my life seem incredibly lame after looking at all these iconic photographs (a few of which have won the Pulitzer).

1957: Dorothy Counts, the first black girl to attend an all-white school, being mercilessly taunted and jeered by her white male peers.

 http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/August-2010/Where-are-They-Now/Dorothy-Counts/

Tokyo, January 12, 1960: This picture was snapped just seconds before Japanese Socialist Party leader Inojiro Asanuma was murdered by a right-wing 17 year-old student.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1e1_1284429060&comments=1

Saigon, South Vietnam, 1963: The self-immolation of Buddhist priest Thich Quang Duc, in protest of the government's torture policy against priests. Incredibly, Thich never made a sound while he was burning.

  http://mostodd.wordpress.com/2011/02/20/the-burning-monk/

Loc Thuong, Binh Dinh, South Vietnam, September 1965. Mother and children wade across river to escape US bombing.

South  Vietnam 1966:  US troops dragging a dead Vietcong soldier.

Saigon, South Vietnam, February 1, 1968, South Vietnam police chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan shoots a young man suspected to be a Vietcong soldier.

http://watchingshadowsonthewall.wordpress.com/category/iconic-images/

Uganda, 1980: A missionary holding the emaciated hand of a starving boy in Uganda. The boy died soon after.

http://lalitkumar.in/blog/uganda-famine-famous-photograph/

Beirut, 1982: Massacre of Palestinian refugees in camps Sabra and Shatila.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/09/17/lebanon-sabra-and-chatila-massacre-remembered-29-years-on/

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4733.htm

Beijing, 4 June 1989. A demonstrator confronts a line of People’s Liberation Army tanks during Tianannmen Square demonstrations for democratic reform.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,988169,00.html

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/behind-the-scenes-tank-man-of-tiananmen/

Somalia, 1992: A Somali mother holds the body of her child who had died of hunger.

http://www.netnomad.com/somtimes.html

Rwanda, 1994: A Hutu man mutilated by the Hutu ‘Interahamwe’ militia, who suspected him of sympathizing with the Tutsi rebels.

 http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/iconic-images-of-human-rights-violations-7-genocide-in-rwanda/

Iran, 2002: Soldiers and villagers digging graves for the victims of an earthquake in northern Iran. A tearful child clings to his dead father’s pants before burial.

http://articles.cnn.com/2002-06-22/world/quake.iran_1_qazvin-islamic-republic-eurasian-plate?_s=PM:WORLD

Rene & Atief - The Wedding

Don't we all love weddings! We get to meet relatives and friends near and far, offering a chance to mend fences for some and renew old ties for others. 

Some get to parade new togs and heels. Others less restrained take the opportunity to show off their bling-blings that could put a dimmer on the stars in the Milky Way.

Then there's food, glorious food. I'm sure you love wedding feasts as much as I do. I guess it's not so much what is served, but the whole kenduri atmosphere the occasion affords.

There were makan aplenty at the wedding of my niece, Masyarene Mohd Som (daughter of my sister Zahana), to her beau, Syed Atief Syed Amran, in Shah Alam Saturday last.

("Three down, three to go, plus one," I whispered in half-jest, and the mother of six daughters and one son smiled ruefully!)

With aqad (solemnisation) and bersanding (sitting on the dais) done on the same day - one in the morning, the other in the evening - our meals were kowtimmed for the whole day. And that had not even taken the tapau part into account. See why I love weddings in the family?

THE AQAD

Rene, radiant in white, patiently waiting to be led downstairs for the solemnisation ceremony.

 Aqad was undertaken by the bride's father himself, a taciturn former Air Force pilot now flying with a private carrier, whose serious demeanour had caused the nervous groom to slightly flub his nikah acceptance. Can't help it, Atief; he's got 6 daughters on his mind!

  

Mother of the bride sitting pretty beside her third daughter, soon to be someone's wife. Psst, did I spy some tears behind the smile? (I know I did :-D)

Sarung cincin.. 'With this ring, I thee wed.."

Rene and Atief posing for their first picture together as husband and wife. 

 

Yours truly with all her sisters but one and sisters-in-law. From left: first sister and mother of the bride Zahana, fourth sister Zanariah, sister-in-law Wan Hanisah (all the way from Kota Bharu), third sister Zaridah (the glamour puss of the family), sister-in-law Sara (from Ipoh), second sister Hanizah and yours truly, the Big Sister (in both rank and size). The missing one is my adik bongsu Norliza, currently working and residing in the US.

A simple pelamin for the aqad ceremony.

Before long, these adorable cucus of my sister Zaridah clambered up to stake a claim on the wrought iron kerusi.

The bride's two elder sisters, Masyareta and Masyarena, both happily married with a child each. Rena's the first medical doctor among her siblings and runs a private clinic in Nilai. 

This heart-shaped cake is one of the hantaran items from bride to groom. I especially like the lavender/blue theme colour.

My eldest brother Megat Yusof with our niece Asma (daughter of Zanariah), yet another doctor in the making, with a couple more years to go before graduation.

Muda, segak, able and available! Not you, Chop (heaven forbids!) but the young man, our nephew Anoh (Mohd Noh), only son of our sister Hanizah. Any takers? :-D

Let it be known that Hanizah has joined my ranks in tearing our hair out for the past few years waiting for our bujang sons to bring home 'potentials' to show us. At this rate, we'll be bald soon, eh Zah?

Pak Abu, with nary a care in the world, menjamu selera with kampung fare (ikan kering, sambal belacan, ulam et al) for lunch.

THE RECEPTION

The wedding reception was held later in the evening at Kelab Shah Alam Selangor, not far from the bride's family residence. There were some 600 guests in attendance.

Nothing fancy really (and it was that way intended), just the usual bersanding, merenjis, makan beradab dan later, cake-cutting. There were no VIPs nor guests-of honour. Everyone was a special guest of the family.

Selamat Pengantin Baru

Pak Syed and wife, parents of the groom; they live in Perlis. Looks like we'll be trudging up to the North soon  for an utara-style kenduri. Looking forward to the trip.

My two orang bujang, Naj and Joe. Any takers? Hehehe..

This is what we in the family affectionately call "Geng Salor" i.e. the children and in-laws of my brother Megat Fouzi and his wife, Wan Hanisah, who hails from Salor, Kelantan.

These 3 cutiepies are the elder granddaughters of my eldest brother Megat Yusof. From left: Tun Nur Syalisa, Tun Nur Ainaa and Tun Nur Syahirah. Aduhai, potential heartbreakers semua ni..

My glam memanjang sis Zaridah with her better half, Radzi. Fuuuh, sapa punya jari tuuu?

Ahem.. merah sangatlah Mak Ngah..!