JUDEO-CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM TAPESTRY

The creative minds of descendents of Adam to depict God's affairs.

Walla-hu-'alam

INTERMISSION: NOT ANWAR'S KOTE MAMAK

Definitely not Anwar's.

The name is Cassia grandis. The plant, a medium size tree is an introduced one likely from/through Burma-Thailand. It prefers dry areas.

The more than foot-long fruits dangling from tips of branches are green in colour and turn black when ripe. They are ribbed and bengkok.

The Malays (northen states) called them Kote Mamak. I don't the think trees are happy to have such a what-you-see-is-what you call name. I tell you why later.

In the ripe fruit are many flat, roundish seeds covered with thick blackish mucilage which are edible of sweet-sourish taste. Kids like them and were sold at 20cents each in Kedah.

Left: This leguminous tree is also known as pink shower or coral shower.






Right: A 22 year-old, heavy fruiting tree in arboretum at MARDI Station Hilir Perak grown from seed obtained from a tree at Marang's beach. It is thought that such a hardy tree species can be useful as shade trees for cocoa.

Kote Mamak is definitely an abnoxious name. The edible fruit, pink flowers and nitrogen fixing (?) roots as many leguminous plants are can be useful for agriculture and landscape.

How a landscape architect could advise a housewife that a Kote Mamak is good for shade tree without blushing? In the end people shy away from using the tree for whatever purposes, as it is happening now hence leading to its rarity. Who knows it may have medicinal/aphrodisiac properties?

We have to give a good name to the tree away from the courseness of language. Kasia grandis? (grandis maknanya besar!)

PELURU TUK JANGGUT RATAH SGT. HASSAN

Filem P. Ramlee yang kedua ialah Sarjan Hassan, yang pertama Penarek Beca. Filem tersebut adalah true story. Inilah (kiri) rupanya Sarjan Hassan (1927-1991) yang lahir di Mantin, N.S.

Selama berkhidmat dengan Rejimen Askar Melayu selama 16 tahun, 1946-1962, beliau telah membunuh 54 orang pengganas tidak termasuk yang dicederakan atau menyerah diri kapada beliau.

Sebut saja beliau masuk hutan buat operasi, komunis kecut perut. Dimana saja ada hotspot, wira bangsa ini akan diperintahkan untuk menghapuskan musuh.Pengebonanan beliau mendapat penghargaan negara dengan dianugerahkan beberapa pingat dan di naikkan pangkat leftenan akhirnya.

Nekat dan keberanian Hassan ialah membalas dendam kerana pembunuhan isterinya, ibu mertua, nenek mertua, dan anak saudara isterinya oleh kumpulan Bintang 3, suatu gerakan Malayan People Anti Japanese (MPAJ) di Pantai, Jelebu yang diketuai oleh Lai Su Ting.

Sebaik sahaja Jepun menyerah diri pada 14 Ogos 1945, Bintang 3 telah mengambil kesempatan memerintah Malaya selama 14 hari, ia-itu pemerintah Cina, sebelum BMA (British Military Administration) mula mendarat di Singapura pada 5 Sept. 1945 yang diketuai oleh Lt. Gen. O.L. Roberts.

Sementara pemerintahan Bintang 3 selama 14 hari inilah berlaku banyak penganiayaan keatas penduduk terutamanya kapada mereka yang ada bersangkut paut dengan pemerintahan Jepun. Penghulu Ismail di Salak, datuk kapada Hassan turut ditangkap.

Untuk melengkapkan diri dengan ilmu bebatinan mempertahankan diri dan melawan Bintang 3 Hassan bersama dua lagi saudaranya berbasikal ke Bkt. Katil, Melaka untuk berguru dengan Kiai Yusof Rahimullah selama 1 minggu. Kemudian mereka ke Sg. Choh, Hulu Selangor untuk belajar dengan Tuan Guru Ahmad Bakhtiar. Seterusnya mereka berguru pula dengan Kiai Mohd. Salleh di Batu Pahat.

Hassan mengambil keputusan untuk berkhidmat dengan Kor Rejimen Askar Melayu. Beliau menghadhiri latihan asas ketenteraan 6 bulan di Port Dickson dan kemudian ditempatkan dalam Battalion Kedua di Kem Bagan Pinang, P. Dickson. Ia wira yang warak, tidak suka bercakap kosong dan taat menjalankan perintah.

Pernah komunis mengumpan Hassan dengan 'matahari' seorang amoy cantik tetapi tidak berjaya.  Malah ia dinasihatkan supaya memujuk kawan2 yang dalam hutan menyerah diri. Ramai keluar menyerah.

Hassan tak lut peluru Tuk Janggut, ketua tertinggi komunis, di Perak:

Rujuk: Harun Johari. 2001. Kapten Hassan: Wira Negara. DBP

BERSIH 5.0 - MOTHER OF ALL BERSIHS

Objective:
To demand the Malay rights not to be bastardized by Malays.

Modus operandi:
Calling all Malays of all ages that have been bastardized by nincompoop and corrupt leaders at all strata of political, public, private governance/agencies be it at national, state, corporation, company, department, institution, university, college, school, district, mukim, qariah, kampung, (even) home levels to spit peacefully against the shenanigans at Putrajaya, Dataran Merdeka, Penang bridge, Causeway and anywhere deem of  strategic impact.

Bring your own kapur-sireh-pinang. Gobek is not allowed for it can be a weapon. We will paint the town red.

Date/time:
To be announced.  

LIBRARY-CUM ARCHIVE-CUM MUSEUM

They have upgraded the Blogger and my laptop browser cannot support it. I have a minor problem for most of the pictures are in the laptop are yet to be transferred to the desktop computer. Using the pictures available in the latter I have to make do with this self-agrandizement post. Pardon me.

TS Sanusi Junid probably has the largest collection for a personal library numbering more than 20,000 books.

Allahyarhamah Alijah's Gordon's collection through MSRI (Malaysia Sociological Research Institute), Jalan U Thant found in 4 steel containers, air conditioned has more than 3720 books according to the CD library list provided to me. The books cover topics on Islam, politics and social aspects on the Palestine-Israel conflict, the Middle East, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia.

Pak Kadir's (Capt. Rivers) library in his attic room at Cameron Highlands is being catalogued and nearly 3,000 have been registered. He said the oldest book published is dated 1790 on maritime.

Part of the book collection in an apartment meant for my library-cum archive-cum museum (L) at Taman Equine.

My collection numbered about 3,000 books, journals, references etc. I have yet to list them. It's a poorman's collection because most of the books selected were bought during sales at exhibitions and university bookstores here and overseas.

The buying spree began at garage sales and used book stores while studying at Oregon where books can be bought at a fraction of their price.

One Peace Corp family who spent time in the East Coast of Malaysia gave me several boxes of hard-to-get books about Malaysia. During my travels I look for books also.

By the time we were about to go back to Malaysia the boxes of books almost filled up the 2-room apartment of the university housing. My wife and 3 children still reminisced such cramped living experience! However, they now can write faster and better than me!

About 3/4 of the books/journals/magazines at the apartment library are on agriculture while the rest on history, Islam, general knowledge, references etc. Some of the books are also classified by countries such as China, Egypt, Thailand, USA, India-Pakistan. Once a while I would spend time in the so-called main library. Apart from that I kept a working book collection of books at two other living places, Kajang and Tronoh.

Display: Lower jaw of elephant (above) obtained from an abandoned veterinary department's laboratory.

Instamatics and SLRs (L); old records (R) mostly rocks! I am in the process of looking for a secod-hand record player.

Of late I have been frequenting the Sunday Market at Ipoh to scrounge for used books and encyclopedias.

"My only regret is that I cannot finish reading all the books" I quote from someone.

MALAYS BASTARDIZED BY WEAK LEADERS

Abdullah Ambek was my primary Malay school teacher. He was smiling mild mannered man. Never saw him losing his temoper. Majid, a shorty with a gold plated tooth was a fierce teacher. He pinched my tummy several times. They teamed up with Mokhtar Hashim and (believed) did a number on Dato' Taha, ADUN of Gemencheh. Rumours had it that the latter was kebal and had to be shot through the balls! That was UMNO politics of yesteryears, principled, play by the gun not money or women.

The cancer of cronyism, promoting unqualified and/or corrupt leaders has reached terminal stage. "UMNO is now rotten to the core," Dr. Mahathir said. He also added that UMNO leaders are half-past six weaklings. UMNO is now desperate than ever for good leaders. They do not even know the criteria to choose from, at one time it was winnable candidates and now local heroes. Just say we want honest, qualified and peoples' candidates.

He is fingering at himself, so he admit it!

Remember, this rich fellow who rounded-up our cents but failed to foresee the long term ramifications. The rural folks whom he supposed to deal with live by the cents. Did he consult Bank Negara or Parliament? Its pointless to consult Najib, the Finance Minister who talk billions and disperse money like nobody else business.

Living by the shadow of his father for more than 30 years in politics of nothingness. Dare to renovate his residence for RM65M? At one time he proposed RM640M sports complex renovation in London! For whom?

I am everywhere and listen to you all but not to the Sultan of Johor or Mahathir on the scenic bridge. Bull! Beware of Scorpene or the ghost of Altanthuya.

This self-proclaimed samurai kontot said that the Parliament building is already 45 years old, leaky and millions need to be spent for repairs.

1Malaysia is proud to have a minister to administer the Parliament. Is it full of nincompoops and hooligans?

This Melanau is hooked on P. Ramlee just because he looked like him at one time!

To him the rest of Sarawak are whimps as such no one is qualified for CM-in-waiting even. He is overstaying his welcome. Cronyism corrupts.

The founder of Sarawak, the Brookes were benevolent rulers for all.

For many, till we die standing in politics.










L. As Minister of Education he is at lost on the language of knowledge hence anti-PPSMI. Alas, what future of our young holds by one dogmatic man! Yeah, I want your feedback on our education system. Another bull story.

R. His portfolio is monumental. Blame the leader-giver. The laptop fiasco has not ended yet. The Perpustakaan Negara is just another wing for PTDs/PTAs.

The Malay dilema is the bastardization of the Malays by the politics of half-past six leaders.

Variants of extreme bastardized Malays. Warning, it can make you vomit

THE DEVIL IN THE EYE

Tuesday, 17 April 2012

 adapted from Barrie. http://wherebearsroamfree.com/ 

Feminists may ridicule the inflexible rules of Islam on gender segregation. Men and women are not supposed to mix freely. There even is a saying in Islam that women are a fitnah (upheaval, choas, sometimes even translated as curse). But that is a matter of speech, not literally.

What it means is that men's weakest spot, his sexual urge, if not controlled, will cause him his downfall. Just like the saying "money is the root of evil", the saying "women are a fitnah" is figurative.

We all know that prostitution and sex outside marriage is very common. What many fail to admit is that if sexual urge is not controlled, it controls you.

But the root of the problem in men is that it all starts with the eye. And that's why Islam shields the male eye from the female form - the hijab. The eye is the most frequently sexually stimulated organ among the five senses.

But then you may ask, why protect the male eye only? What about the female eye, and hence, men too should cover up as much? I have explained that quite in detail here - Sex scandals is what Islam has forewarned us all along

Incidentally, while the hijab is taken to mean the headdress a Muslim woman wears, the meaning of hijab actually means all things that cover the woman's sexuality from the male eye. Hence, it does not just mean her scarf, but also the clothes she wears, as well as her actions and her behaviour.

Before Feminists and Liberals say that I have taken the patriarchal route on the view of women as the cause of men's misery, please read the article I linked above. If you feel that you disagree and would like to comment, I guess it won't take too much effort to read in detail what I wrote. In any case, here are just some excerpts from the above link:-

This portion discusses about the weakness of men - sexual urge, starting with the eye.

Imam Al-Ghazali, one of Islam's most revered classical scholars, once said that when a man's organ stands erect, two-thirds of his intellect walks away. Very true.

So what are the ways that are recommended to control sexual desire?


Means to control illicit sexual desire

1. “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts)” [al-Noor 24:30] (Quran)

Of course, that's easier said than done for many men. So it has to be combined with other deeds like prayer, fasting and remembrance of Allah.


2. Covering women up. Ah, this is gonna be a contentious issue for many non-Muslim women, especially those who uphold "Western" ideals. To those who say why must it be the women who cover up more than the men, the answer is simple. Firstly, don't women have more things to cover than men? Secondly, between a naked woman with a man alone, and a naked man with a woman alone, which situation would likely end up with both having consensual sex? Ah, don't you think it makes more sense to have which gender more covered up?


3. Separation of sexes. Again, some Feminists claim this is misogyny. Especially when the women are made to pray behind men or sit behind men. Simple answer. Is it not true that men are more easily distracted by a woman than women distracted by a man? Need more be said?


The Eye - most frequently sexually stimulated organ among the Five Senses

Isn't the eye the first organ that attracts the person to the opposite sex? In today's context where men and women mix freely, isn't the eye fed with all the sexual stimuli around you, far more than the other four senses combined?

The above being the case, isn't the way to control illicit sexual desire hence, to halt that stimuli at the very source - ie to stop the eye from receiving sexual stimuli? Well, that's how I explain all the reasons for the segregation of sexes and covering of women.

This portion addresses the Feminist and Liberal idea that Islam is misogynistic.

Countering Claims on Misogyny

Some (mainly Western) Feminists are quick to claim that the recommendation in Islam (as cited above) to counter illicit sex desires are mainly misogynistic. They claim that blame is put on the women and the onus on women to cover up is also placed on them. But this is simply cultural acceptance. To Western Feminists, it is misogyny. That's your culture. Thank you, but no thank you. Many Muslim women in Muslim societies choose to cover themselves up on their own accord anyway. What now?

Some Feminists claim that women are as seen as "evil" in Islam. They cite how some past scholars describe women as "fitnah" (can't find an equivalent English word , but it has links to such meanings: trials, upheavals, chaos, disunity in society).

Again, it is a cultural representation of things. That's the language of the people of the times. It does not mean women are evil. It means that if you don't lower your gaze and control your eyes, or your sexual desires, you will end up having illicit sex.

A simple comparison I can give is "Money is the root of all evil."

Of course we know that money is neither good nor evil. It is the people who control them are. Likewise, when some of these scholars decribe women as a "fitnah", it does not refer to the women, but the deeds that follow if you don't control illicit sexual desire.


More Women in Hell according to hadith

So if it is the men who have less control over illicit sexual desires, why is there a hadith that says there are more women in hell? Again, this is yet another argument used (mainly by Feminists and perhaps anti-Muslims) to claim that the teachings of Islam is misogynistic. But there is a simple explanation.

As we can see, it is the eye which is one of the weakest spots in men that leads him to illicit sex. For the woman, the weakest spot is neither the eye nor her desire for illicit sex. It is her tongue.

Now hold a second, ladies. Feminists who want to dispute me that the woman's tongue is her weakest spot can scream all they like. I am sure I can find more women (and men) who agree with me than disagree.

For the man, if he engages in illicit sex, who is he most likely to have sex with? A woman, isn't it? So for every evil deed he does, he brings along another woman with him. Perhaps if she is a prost, she would bring down 20 men with her.

But the fact remains that when the sex act stops, the sin stops there. So for every one deed of sexual act, two people at that time, one man and one woman, would be accountable.

Now compare to the tongue - gossip. For every one session a woman gossips, there would be five, ten, twenty, thirty pairs of ears. And who most likely would be her gossiping peers? Other women, no?

However, when she stops gossiping, would that gossip stop? Unlikely. Wouldn't the second hand gossipers pass to more (women) gossipers?

Unlike the sex act where it is a one man one woman show, gossip sessions involve many. And unlike the sex act where the illicit deed ends there when the couple disengages, the "fitnah" caused by the gossip continues to multiply even after the original gossiper stops. Do your math and see how many men compared to women would hence end up in hell.

Again, critics and Feminists may say the above teaching is misogynistic. But if you look at reality, isn't the situation described fairly accurate?

Conclusion

Liberals may laugh and ridicule Islam's conservative ways. But in the end, as always, even the simplest sexual desire, if left uncontrolled, can lead to bigger things.