Goodbye, Bakti

Intro...

Abang, Dato’ Yeop (Ketua Rombongan Abang), Abg Zul Noordin, Ayah

Akad Nikah, 24th December 2005

SMS...

Anak lelaki Dato’ Yeop Adlan name Bakti meninggal di Brisbane Australia pada Sabtu 20hb Januari 2007

22-Jan-07, 22:47

Bakti Adlan Yeop Adlan...

Internet News 1...

Jenazah anak Dato' Yeop Adlan tiba malam esok

At The Kargo...

Photos from SonyEricsson 750i

Briefly...

Yesterday right after work, Abang, Abg Zul Noordin, Hafiz (Abang’s cameraman) and I went straight to KLIA to join Dato’ Yeop and his brother Lt. Jen. (Rtd.) Tan Sri Ahmad Saroji at KLIA Kargo to receive Allahyarham Bakti, supposedly to be arriving on MH136 at 8pm.

Tan Sri Ahmad Saroji had also arranged two TUDM vans ~ one Van Jenazah, and another a full-load of men ~ to assist.

Once there, entering the Kargo Area took more time than getting Bakti out of the Kargo. Abang Zul managed to pull more strings to ease all those final nitty-gritty paperworks to be done for Bakti to be released, even before we reached the Kargo Terminal. Ya lah, Bakti dah pergi 10 hari dulu dan kalau boleh kita nak mempercepatkan segala-galanya.

But of course, tak siapa boleh lawan cable yang Ambassador Dato’ Yeop and bekas Panglima TUDM ada lah, kan. Nevertheless, one would be surprised of how many fans Abg Zul Noordin had acquired all through out his stint as Penceramah Bebas.

We managed to get in at 8.30pm, and by 8.50, we were all out of the building already. That fast, kan?

(Usually, it could take even up to 2 hours for all those required parties to verify the body and papers to be signed before the body could finally be released.)

While Dato’ Yeop, Tan Sri Saroji and Abg Zul went to make a police report for permit pengkebumian, the vans and us shoot off back to the awaiting crowd at Masjid TUDM Subang.

We heard from Abg Zul that once they reached the KLIA Police Station, hanya kena tinggal sign aje. Report semua dah siap buat, Alhamdulillah.

We reached Masjid TUDM Subang by 10pm. MasyaAllah orang sangatlah ramai. Car-park penuh. Aku agak, ada 500 orang yang hadir… mainly saudara-mara, jiran-jiran, kawan-kawan Dato’ Yeop, orang-orang istana, Old Boys MCKK and of course Majlis Tertinggi PAS and KeADILan.

Abg Zul, Dato’ Yeop and pengurusan masjid went into the Bilik Mengurus Jenazah to pry open the compression steel box (which is required so that perut jenazah tak meletup during flight due to pressure) which was inside a very nice mahagony-coloured casket. They transferred Bakti back into the mahogany casket, quickly carried him to the Masjid for a final Solat Jenazah.

THIRD Solat Jenazah for Bakti that we know of. First by the Muslim Society of Brisbane, second a Solat Ghaib by kawan-kawan masjid Abg Zul di Masjid India, and third, in the Masjid TUDM.

By 10.40, semua bertolak ke Tanah Perkuburan. Abg Zul managed to arrange Dato’ Yeop and Datin Mimi to be with Bakti in the van through-out the journey to the kubur for their last quality time together. We (Abang, Abg Zul Noordin, Hafiz and I) decided not to go sebab pastinya akan ada terlalu ramai orang.

Internet News 2...

Jenazah anak Dato' Yeop Adlan selamat disemadikan.

End...

When we visited them last Sunday, Datin was crushed; Dato’ still maintained his composure. Datin had Abg Zul and Abang promise to keep Dato’ Yeop busy, since Dato’ Yeop only hangs out with the both of them. And yes, Dato' Yeop has been putting up a brave front since Day One. Just how he’s been trained and groomed as an Ambassador ~ to maintain calm and composure in the face of adversity. It would only be in due time that he would collapse and burst...

Our hearts go out to the whole family. Bakti was the only son who was very very close to both parents. A very filial son who never raised his voice not even once to either parents. Dato’ Yeop looks highly on his 24-year old son, writing him long emails everyday, expressing his thots and regaling Bakti just about anything under the sun. Datin would never fail to talk to Bakti at least once a week, and in return Bakti loves his Mummy ever so dearly.

Unfortunately, we never get to meet Bakti in person, alive. Seems like we never get to at all now.

I really cannot imagine those friends of mine (Mdm. Zakiah, Uncle Thomas, Norzie & Abg Razak, Dato’ Yeop & Datin Mimi; etc.) who had lost their children. It’s like… masa kau lahir, kami sambut; masa kau mati, kami juga yang hantar kau pergi. Pastinya rasa macam nak ikut serta masuk ke liang lahad masa tu, kan…?

Al-Fatihah buat Bakti Adlan… dan segala kekuatan buat keluarga beliau. Aaaamin.

**Sila baca juga MCKK 60: A Tragedy

f~

Ngiangiang

Sedari pagi tadi di pejabat, tak semena-mena telinga dan otak aku terngiang-ngiangkan satu lagu...

Waktu semalam, bung
Aku bermimpi
Bertemu ular, bung
Besar sekali

Ular menggigit, bung
Jari kaki ku
Setelah menggigit, bung
Ular berlalu

Ku picit-picit, bung
Darah keluar
Aku menjerit, “Aduh!”
Hingga tersedar

Apakah itu, bung
Erti maksudnya
Impian semalam, bung
Amat seramnya...

Aku call Umi. Aku nyanyikan ke Umi. Umi nyanyi sama-sama separuh jalan, antara ingat dan tidak. Umi kata, tajuk dia "Mimpi". Tapi tak ingat penyanyi asal siapa.

Aku call pula Abang. Aku nyanyikan ke Abang. Abang pun nyanyi sama-sama, hampir sampai habis, walaupun liriks berterabur. Abang kata, tajuk dia "Mimpi Digigit Ular" (dalam hati aku kata, ish, macam tajuk karangan lah pulak, kan). Abang pun tak ingat penyanyi asalnya siapa. Tapi di M'sia, it was made popular by Uji Rashid. Bezanya, instead of "Bung", Uji guna "'Bu", seolah-olah nyanyi pada Mak dia.

Aku google "Uji Rashid Lyrics", and tu diaaaa.... ada lagu tajuk "Impian Semalam".

Tapi, aku tetap tak puas hati. Siapa lah penyanyi perempuan asal lagu ni. Eiii.

Ngiang ngiang ngiang... la la la la la

** Jom jenjalan tengok...
Mathilda's complete weird and fun photo albums


Kalau Mamat ni boleh buat, mengapa tidak kamu???
la la la la la

f~

Malam Reformis Dalam Kenangan

The whole week of last week, prior to the Malam Reformis Dalam Kenangan held on the 26th January 2007, saw me watching Abang organizing the big event rather closely. Almost every night afterwork since Monday, I’d be following Abang to the studio where his good friend, AbgN, who is also an infamous indie film-director, helped Abang trying to put some films and shots together for slide shows and docu-clips during the event.

On Tuesday night, we had Rahmat Haron the indie poet and thinker, reading his Sajak Reformasi (can’t remember the title). Unlike Abang, I’ve never been a sajak enthusiast that much, but I tell you this guy can read his sajak sampai boleh buat segala bulu meremang tegak. Menganga aku dengar dia deklamasi kat dalam bilik recording tu. Macam tak percaya the deklamasi came from a very mild-mannered, soft-spoken and humbled man.

For the sajak show, AbgN and his editor Mr.E painstakingly chose and collected hundreds of clips from the mountainous VCDs of various Reformasi events from 1998 till now. Itu tak termasuk lagi lagu latar tu.

On Wednesday and Thursday, we were there at the studio till midnight, relentlessly recording voice-overs for the 31 pejuang/aktivis yang dah pergi… antaranya, Abang Umar Tan, MGG Pillai, Hjh Ning and Dato’ Fadzil Noor. The voice-overs would then be combined with individual photos and slo-mo background of various demos and ceramahs. Infos & photos of the pejuang-pejuang were painstakingly compiled by Abg Nasir Isa and Abang himself, where Abang then edited each and every biodata of the deceased.

Teruk aku tengok Abang bekerja ~ dia Ketua segalanya. But looking at how passionate & committed he was with his work, never once lose track of his concept or lack of ideas nor hilang sabar in that short period of time, make me love and respect him even more.

Friday night was the big event ~ I took leave ‘coz I didn’t want Abang to letih-letih berkejar sana sini nak hantar aku kerja and then nak ambil aku dari ofis… plus, I wanted to be on stand-by just in case he would need any extra help that evening.

That Friday noon after prayers till 4pm, Abang was at the studio. For some reason, AbgN and Mr.E were in a big rut ~ they were lacking behind schedule, possibly because AbgN was known to be a perfectionist. Thing is, the night before though, they promised to deliver both shows by 6pm; but on that Friday evening, they said it had to be at 9pm instead (Slideshows were expected to start at 10pm).

Abang was still alright with their delivery schedule, trusting them to be able to finish on time coz we had a peek through both raw shows of Rahmat’s and the individual slide shows on Thursday and we were very happy with them. Even then, Abang helped them sussing through their schedule and omitted a lot of requirements for them to be able to deliver, or so he hoped...

The Night started on time with a humble turn-up ~ some 500 people, but it was alright and pretty comfortable... all in the fiery spirit of Muhibbah and Reformasi. It was, however, pretty chaotic for Abang since he had to take over AbgN’s position as the night’s Floor Manager (to control the event, lighting, sound system, etc). That said, Abang did a brilliant job since it wasn’t Abang’s first event managing of that scale.

(The biggest scale that abang had done was of course the demos, and the “Malam Budaya” in March 2005 where it was the first Anwar Ibrahim’s major function after he was released from prison. That was a major success ~ big huge crowd turn-up; all tickets sold out, some 2000 of them. Back then, AbgN was the Floor Manager too.)

That evening and night, I "risked" myself by helping around at the Hall, ushering the VIPs and the family members of the deceased; accompanied the SK staff at the registration and sales tables; and of course, occasionally ran to Abang for his sips of mineral water. Aku risau betul takut dia dehydrated ‘coz he’d been working too hard with nary enough time to stop and drink. And it would definitely be this night that the usual Special Branch Officers who frequent Abang's functions would recognize me and had me on camera. Lantaklah. For the love of my husband and my country.

The biggest agenda of the night would be the family members of the deceased coming up to the stage to speak of their loved ones; the show by the children of Tahanan ISA; sajak-sajak and shows by other activists; and of course, the peak was the Rahmat’s sajak video and the voice-over slideshows.

Since the idea of The Night came about as a memoir of Abg Umar Tan, the semangat perjuangan among the audience was even more intense and fiery when family members of Abg Umar (or fondly known as Ah Tan) were called up onto the stage for a word or two. Abg Umar's elderly mother and elder brother were not prepared for any speech, but they were both visibly touched by the camaraderie and waved back to the crowd, thanking the crowd for such support and love. I'm sure even they did not expect that Ah Tan was loved that much, until that night.

What can I say… Abg Umar was deeply loved and missed by all. Kami the crew ni lebih terasa ketiadaan Abg Umar, sebab selalunya kalau ada function-function macam ni, dialah yang paling sibuk sekali menolong…

At the same time, we at the sales table were also busy putting in readily-printed VCD covers into plastic cases, supposedly for the two said videos, which will be burnt onto cds at the venue and sold at RM5 each.

Of course I didn’t know what was happening behind stage. But when Nurul Izzah came up for a speech (which was not at all in the jadual) and then Saari Sungip started reading the biodatas instead of my voice-overs and the slideshows… I just could tell something disastrous was brewing.

True enough… the videos didn’t arrive ~ AbgN & Mr.E failed to deliver. People then started to leave as Saari tried his best to continue reading the biodatas. I ran backstage to Abang to tell him what was happening … but saw instead Tian, Ginnie the M.C and the Studio Exec that Abang had rented all the equipments from sitting sullenly around Abang who was sitting on the steps beside the stage. I never seen Abang like that before ~ looking so frustrated, disappointed and miserable. He looked as if he couldn’t care less. It was just so not Abang.

I knew I had to go back to where I was… it wasn’t a good time to pester.

Soon, Saari ended his biodata reading of not even half of the deceased. And thus the night ended, at about a quarter to 11pm.

However, friends (such as Abg Zul Noordin, Pak Syed Hamid, Syed Husin, DSAI, etc) who knew Abang’s previous event managing works, knew that the night did not end the way it was supposed to end. I just hugged and kissed Abang back-stage, and told him that all in all, he had done brilliantly even without the videos.

It was a few minutes past 11pm that AbgN & Mr.E finally arrived at the hall. AbgN went straight to Abang who was sitting with me at the sales table looking visibly upset. They left the table to discuss. But even after that, Abang was still not a happy man.

All in all though, it was a really good night. You can read about it here and here.

Back at home, all weary and drained, we talked long through the night. I knew I had to let Abang vent out his frustrations. What upset him the most was that not only AbgN failed to deliver and had him uninformed way beforehand, AbgN was also unapologetic over the non-deliverance too.

I asked him what he wanted to do with the two almost-completed videos. Abang just told me he needed time to calm things down between him and AbgN before he could think of anything. What really upset him was that he trusted his friend 110% to be able to deliver. If he would’ve known in advance that his friend cannot perform in stress, then there would certainly be a Plan B which would be way cheaper.

I reckon that was a real true test of friendship, no…? That your own close friend failed and embarrassed you big time.

A few days ago, Abang said he planned to have a future screening-gathering, where both videos would be screened, plus, maybe, a short docu-film.

So we’ll meet again next time, ya. And this time there’ll be Plan B, shoud anything untoward like this happening again, best friend or no best friend :- )

f~

Ayuh Kita Re(la+dha)

Price of crude oil has dropped down to RM54.01 per barrel. And yet the price of our petrol stays the same.

Right, let’s be a very good Muslim about this ~ be very forgiving, redha and bersangka baik, that the multi-billion profit that some “sectors” are getting out of this :-

... would be put to very very good use in rebuilding the entire of flooded Johor and other states without having to depend much on the public funding and donation;

… that there will be major upgrading of the entire public system in K.L by at least providing more than just two gerabak for each Putra and Monorail service, plus free parking at the stations;

… that it’ll be used to build national highways without having to bow down to the concessionaires what-nots (which is just all excuses, by the way);

… to impose the minimum-wage in the national manifest;

To say the least!

On another note…

Just why the concessionaire document that details out the use of your money and my money is considered as an OSA (Official Secrets Act) and thus not supposed to be exposed to public knowledge is also beyond me. We worked, we toiled, we struggled… and we should merrily allow others to suck the bejuices out of us without our knowledge and permission??? Bah!

I found this Edinburgh City Council website, where they are now in the midst of working out a brand-new tram services for the Scottish City. I was amazed at how transparent their report to the public is, updating it every so often for the public to know and scrutinize. Siap ada Business Case lagi, boleh?

Ya, ya, Malaysia memang Boleh, but certainly bukan dalam hal-hal transparency nampak gayanya. Kalau tidak, pasti setiap highway and public services akan ada pembentangan yang sama to the public. Tak malu ke depa ni eh. And yet I am the one being called not a good Muslim? Pffft.

f~

Voiced-out Sengal

Aku masuk kerja waktu "WP3". That means, my punch time is 08:30.

Biasanya aku keluar rumah jam 07:41, dan selalunya kalau keluar jam 07:41, aku akan punch 08:11. Tepat, kan?

Tadi aku keluar rumah jam 07:42, dan kalau nak mengikut logika menggunakan additional maths yang aku selalu score dulu, aku sepatutnya punch 08:12. Betul lah, kan?

Tapi tidak. Aku punch 08:31 tadi. Kesengalan betul.

***

Jemputlah semua untuk sama-sama memeriahkan function yang di organised oleh Abang, "Malam Reformis Dalam Kenangan", 26 Januari 2007 Jumaat malam ini, di tempat yang sama dengan book-launching venue Abang that is the Chinese Assembly Hall di Jalan Maharajalela, pukul 08:30, insyaAllah.

It's a function more like in memory of Abang Umar Tan. But then they decided to collect more details on other people yang dah pergi. Most of them yang dah pergi berumur 45 ke atas. Tapi ada juga yang baya-baya aku, dan tinggalkan anak sekecil umur 10 bulan.

VIPnya, dah pasti lah, orang yang sama dengan perasmi buku Abang tempohari.

Kalau datang, boleh dengar voice-over aku pada video slides yang memperkenalkan pejuang-pejuang yang dah tiada. Guna bini, boleh compensate bayaran cara lain, mah. Hehe.

f~

My Bro the Interior Decorator

My 24-yr old brother Farhi (he just turned 24 last 31st Dec) was a 2nd-Class Upper Degree holder in Chemical Engineering from UTM Skudai, graduated when he was only 21, worked for two years and a bit in a very reputable American oil & gas company being the youngest Sales Engineer in the company dealing with tenders & contracts, and got paid very very well ‘coz he did very very well despite hating the whole entire prospect of the job (he did so well that the Bosses were so very reluctant to let him go, belanja dia makan tah berapa kali, even spared his post for a few months just in case he might want to return working at the company).

And now while sussing-out his life, he does part-time in Interior Decorating contracting job. Contracting job, mind you. Dirty hands and all. Not just designing, tau. And a one-man show at that, too! Respect.

I am very very proud of him being very strong-willed in his belief that there’s certainly no point in going on doing things that you’re not really passionate about… sometimes, at the expense of his ego and him feeling so worthless for not being able to continue contributing as the first son. I mean, you'll need a hell lot of courage and bravado to leave something really comfortable and secure, right?

As much as I am proud of his faith in his decision and passion (which is, doing interior décor & designing), I’m also waiting with bated breath, praying hard that his sacrifice would never ever let him down.

So far, it hasn’t (let him down), alhamdulillah. To my (architect’s) eyes, at least. And he's still quite young. Better start now than later, me thinks (try telling that to my exasperated parents, though!).

With that, people… do visit his works on his blog, and should you need any revamping-work on your home or room (or wherever), do have him in mind, ya? He has done a number of beautiful works the past months, but the most recent ones would be here and here.

Better still, if any of you are attached to any Interior Decorating company and in need of a very creative assistant, there are Farhi’s contact particulars at the side-bar on his blog, too!

Cheers, all!

f~

I Am 'Caitlin'

A pretty thorough observation of me by my lil bro here. Tah mana budak bertuah ni dapat. Tapi, best gaks.

f~

Parked Van

Abang kata, nama Korea “Park” tu maknanya “Abdul”.

“Iyyyeaaaaa ke???” aku tanya, mockingly.

“Iyyyyeaaaa,” Abang jawab, convincingly.

“Tengok tu ~ Park Ju-Bong, Park Ji-Sung, Park Chung-Hee… tu semua Abdul Ju-Bong, Abdul Ji-Sung, Abdul Chung-Hee lah tu…”, Abang olah, penuh yakin.

“Addddaaaa ka gitu??? Kalau macam tu, tah-tah, nama Belanda “van” tu maknanya “bin” tak?” aku tanya.

“Mungkin jugak. Ruud van Nistelrooy, van Houten, Robin van Perise…” Abang jawab.

“Wah, kalau macam tu, Abang pun boleh guna “van” jugak… Zul van Anwar. Rosley van Abdullah. Anwar van Ibrahim. Jadi orang Belanda gitu…”.

Giggle giggle.

“Alah, tak heran. Kat Pendang pun, Abang ada kenal orang Belanda gak,” Abang mused.

“Ehh??? Ada meh orang Belanda nak datang Pendang???” I mocked again.

“Addddaaa…. Nama dia, Pemandu van Kilang,” Abang jawab selamba.

Gelak gelak gelak besar kat Restoran al-Malik tu, sambil makan malam.

Boleh?

More readings on Korean “Park” and Dutch “van”.

f~

Satu, Dua Hun

Kalau diameter lubang hidung blogger terkemuka Tok Rimau boleh bertambah satu hun baru-baru ni sebab dia masuk suratkhabar, hari ni diameter lubang hidung aku pula yang bertambah hun. Barang satu tengah (a.k.a se-tengah) sahaja. Sebab bukan aku yang masuk suratkhabar. Tapi projek aku.

Kalau ada beli Utusan Meloya Malaysia hari ni (aku tak beli okay, tapi ofis aku beli), pi seksyen “Kota”. Front page dan muka dua. “Kiosk KLiK Bantu Pelancong TMM 2007”. And my Nervosa entries here, here and here.

Tapi cari-cari di utusan online, tak jumpa lah pulak… meloya betui.

***

Eeeek, minggu ni aku sibuk betul di ofis.

Abang pulak, mula lah dia dengan his fortnightly fatigue-induced fever. Baru-baru ni, dia demam dari Isnin malam sampai Rabu malam. Orang lain, balik dari kerja terus tutup kepala kerja tapi layan rumah aje. Tapi dia, walau dah balik rumah dari kerja tapi kepala tak pernah tutup-tutup. Senantiasa berjalan memikirkan idea idea idea idea ~ untuk his weekly cartoons lah untuk his fortnightly news lah untuk his occasional gatherings that he organises lah (previously it was the demo; at the same time was the Book Launch, and now the up-coming “Reformis Dalam Kenangan”, which would take place next week, insyaAllah). Tu belum termasuk idea nak melayan aku lagi tu, heh heh. Kesian dia, kan.

That said, I still want to write about the book launch, my alumni gathering and the toll demo last Sunday, but… tak leh concentrate lah sebab kepala terlalu penuh dengan pelbagai kerja di office. Maybe I’d do that this weekend at the poolside cybercafé since it’s Abang’s working week.

In the meantime, nak tolong sama-sama promo Kuala Lumpur International Literary Festival 2007 where Kak Dina will be one of the participating writers for the event. She’ll also be launching her book (upcoming I Am Muslim) around the same time! Eiii tak sabar gitu!

***

In another serious note… Just got this sms from Abang on his close friend, 2 minutes ago:

“Azmin Ali diserang beberapa orang yang tidak dikenali dan berparang di depan rumah kira-kira 12pm lalu. Motif tidak diketahui. Kereta hancur dan Azmin cedera ringan”.

Didoakan semoga Abg Azmin, kakak dan anak-anak selamat dan tabah… aaamin.

f~

Abang's ‘Cartoonable’ Book Launch

For those who didn't manage to come due to the traffic snarl, you missed the humorous speech from the cartoonist himself! Those who thought Abang as a serious guy despite of being a cartoonist, definitely had a change of mind after that night. The guy's funny after all!!!

There's a 10-minute video clip on the speeches on Malaysiakini.com... tapi kena jadi member and log into the news portal if you want to watch it, lah. We're trying to get ourselves a copy of that clip. So, kalau dah dapat nanti, I'll try to put it up on the YouTube or something, ok?

Got L O A D S to tell (book-launching nite; MPH Midvalley; MRSMJ Alumni; Toll Demo), but gotta settle work first mkay?

In the meantime, courtesy of Malaysiakini.com:-

Zunar’s ‘cartoonable’ book launch

Soon Li Tsin
Jan 13, 07 2:49pm

Riddled with jokes, anecdotes, innuendoes and outright references - Zunar’s book launch last night in Kuala Lumpur was an affair to remember.

Zunar or Zulkiflee Anwarul Haque launched his fourth cartoon book entitled, ‘Cartoons on Tun ...and Others’ was attended by 200 fans including PKR adviser Anwar Ibrahim.

The 44-year-old political cartoonist who regularly contributes to malaysiakini took several jibes at his 'targets' during his 20-minute speech.

He began by poking fun at Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“I once wanted to be a politician. I don’t think it’s that hard to be a politician. If people like Abdullah Ahmad Badawi can be PM, I can at least be United Nations secretary-general," he said drawing roars of laughter from the crowd.

“I don’t know if he reads my cartoons but probably he's too busy sleeping," Zunar mused.

Zunar then made fun of his most famous subject, former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad whose exaggerated nose has been a staple of Zunar’s illustrations.

“I want to say thank you for giving me so much inspiration because his face and character is so cartoonable.

“I also want to apologise to him for using a body part of his to make money without his permission," he said to a tickled audience.

Taking on a serious note soon after, Zunar said he does not draw merely for laughs.

“I don’t draw just for laughs. I draw so that people would laugh and think. I’d like to think of myself as a drop of water in the ocean but at least I am able to create a ripple or even a wave," he added.

Big Zunar fan

Zunar started his career in 1986 when he joined Gila-Gila magazine as a general cartoonist. In 1990, he joined Berita Harian as a political cartoonist.

However, his stint in Berita Harian was short-lived due to restrictions imposed by the company and pressure from the government.

Following the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, Zunar realised the importance of playing a role in educating the public about the political scenario in Malaysia. He then came back as a political cartoonist.

Anwar confessed he was a big Zunar fan and told the audience how significant Zunar’s cartoons were to him especially during his incarceration.

“During my years of solitude, I use to read and appreciate his cartoons. It gave me a sense of joy ... at the expense of my friend Mahathir of course," Anwar quipped.


He also noted one of the cartoons that Zunar had drawn mocking him.

Anwar is shown in 1974 calling for ‘demonstrasi’ (demonstrations), in 1986 calling for 'demokrasi’ (democracy), in 1998 calling for ‘reformasi’ (reformation) and in 2004, he says: ‘Wait and see...’

“With friends like these, who needs enemies?" Anwar quipped.

The launch was also attended by malaysiakini’s editor-in-chief Steven Gan, PKR leaders Azmin Ali and Tian Chua.

Cartoons on Tun ...and Others, priced at RM29, is available at malaysiakini office in Bangsar or purchased online at www.kinibooks.com.

+ IKLAN: COMING Toon!!! +

For more info, click here!!! Peta lokasi pung ada!

Do get the monorail to hentian Maharajalela for easier travel!

So, see ya guys, God Willing!!!

f~

Thank You

Aiyak, I’m all both so excited and nervous for Abang's book launching tonight.

I reckon, I'll be very very happy if the book dapat sambutan, 'coz that simply means Abang's happiness and relief would be a hundred more times amplified than mine, and that by itself would further amplify my happiness to see him amplifiedly happy. Eh, what lah.

For tonight, I've personally requested from Abang that I don't want and don't need to be that typical wife sitting pretty beside or nearby him. I think I'll be more comfortable helping the organisers around and layan the guests, while at the same time holding my breath to kempiskan my perut and tighten my booties. Heh.

Anyhow... for those who'd be coming over to memeriahkan lagi suasana, THANK YOU for coming and for the support, and I’ll see you there!!!

For those who couldn’t make it but ada niat untuk membeli buku koleksi Abang, dan apatah lagi pada mereka yang dah order buku koleksi Abang… THANK YOU JUGA for the support!!!

Ish… You are all God-sent lah, ya hear??? :’-)

Mucho mucho gracias and love,
f~

* New article on the book from Harakahdaily!

Buy Buy Buy!

Tun BigNose ~ The Collection, by Zunar

Banner courtesy of Tok Rimau

Support our local most daring and original political cartoonist! Go get my husband's book now! :-D

(Also inconspicuously available at MPH Bookstores, Kinokuniya and Popular Bookstores... do ask at the counters!)

Picture gallery of the book-launching here by Azmin from Pretty Peektures.

“I don’t think there’s anyone out there who really qualifies to be called a political cartoonist apart from Zunar...”
~Steven Gan, Editor-In-Chief, Malaysiakini

Note: New Entries Below!

Macam Mana

Aku tak isi-isi lagi log-book yang due March, dan dah tengah bulan Januari dah ni...!!!

Aiiiieeyyyyyy.

***

Macam mana Kak Dib (Adibah Noor) boleh nyanyi dengan begitu hebat tanpa mengah-mengah, tapi masa aku karaoke Family Day kat Melaka baru-baru ni sampai mengah-mengah???

Ini macam kalu, macam mana nak represent my batch for karaoke competition this coming Saturday night during MRSM Jasin Alumni Gathering, ni???

Aiiiieeyyyyyy.

***

Esok malam nak melawa macam mana ni??? Kalau orang-orang yang aku sayang pun tak nampak aku lawa, macam mana aku nak melawa ni??? (The latter statement however does not apply to Abang, adik-adik kandung, adik-adik tak kandung or even friends... so then, I shouldn't be bothered much about looking good or not lah kan???).

Aiiiieeyyyyyy.

Memang betul skrip cerita Cinta tu... kadang-kadang, orang yang paling kita sayanglah yang paling susah untuk disayangi.

Dan aku tak sayang Abang. Aku kasih kan Abang. heh.

f~

Now in MPH Bookstores!

Abang's book's hit MPH 'Stores dah... see here.

Am not too sure which store... but am almost very sure major stores like the one in Midvalley and One-Utama have them.

Aku tengok Abang macam rilekkkkk je. But who knows what's brewing inside him, kan. AKU pulak yang nervous. Aiiiieeyyyyyy.

Haaaa.... I know why I'm nervous! I know why!

His profit my profit, mah. My profit my profit. *grins* tee hee.

Beli eh??? Labu's, labi's and my photos also got inside you know... ihik.

Thanks for the support for local artist(s), y'all!!!

Mwaks,
f~

Message Via Cartoon

ZULKIFLEE Anwarul Haque, better known as Zunar to his friends and associates, has quite a unique trade - he is a professional political cartoonist.

In his 20-year career in the profession, the 44-year-old Zunar had his share of ups and downs but on Friday (Jan 12), he will be a proud man. That day, the fourth edition of his cartoon collection will be launched by none other than a namesake - Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy premier.

Ahead of the launching of his Cartoons on Tun..and Others, Zunar told malaysiakini why he is doing what he does best...

... read more here.

***

*yaaaawn*

I'm knaaaaaackered. Came back late yesterday evening from a two-day Family Day in a beach resort at Pengkalan Balak, Melaka. Grrrreaaaat office outing. But aiyoh, badan akak aching all over for the lack of warming-up prior to the activity-laden weekend. Tua woh...tua...

Nak kejap mata, kejap.

f~

It's A Nice World After All

It really is a nice day today.

Friends poured in through e-mails, congratulating me on behalf of Abang over his about-to-be-launched book and them being very very encouraging and supportive. 'So nice, kan.

Some people from the UM Architectural Department came over to discuss about our lands and the possibility for them to use the lands as their students' projects. At the end of the meeting, they said they never thought any Local Council can be so helpful and friendly until they met me. They even called me back once they've reached their office, just to thank me once again. 'So nice, kan.

And out of the blue my senior lady officer in the office gave me a surprise nicely-wrapped present! She said, "Take it as your advanced birthday present or something (which is in July, by the way), 'coz I cannot stop thinking of you when I saw this (prezzie)...!!!". 'So so so nice, kan!

Hmm, really really really damn nice day, kan??? Alhamdulillah............!

f~

Stubborn Filth

I really hate the ceramic tiles in both of my bathrooms at home in Cheras. Really hate them. To a tee.

They're the typical ceramic tiles where, number one, the colour fades over a short period of time. And number two, the dirt just sticks onto them like your most ugliest taiklalat on your face!!!

Up to a point where I felt like pouring a thin layer of spirit on the floor tiles and kapoofff! lit it up on fire so that dah alang-alang hitam biar permanently hitam hangus terus, baru paaaaaaadanmukakauuuuuu.

The first time I moved into the apartment soon after I got married, I had risked my life by mistakenly mixing pure Clorox and Good Maid Chemical Remover together as supposedly powerful cocktail and sprayed them onto the tiles in both bathrooms. Man, the toxic fumes choked me big time! I was really on the brink of suffocation, then only I found out that there's a clear warning on the label of the Clorox bottle that says ~ "Do not mix Clorox with other chemical"!!! Memang saja carik pasal. Mujur Labu & Labi masa tu tak wujud lagi!!!

That was a potent mix alright, BUT donned like ninja in my white telekung, the scrubbing sure paid off... the stubborn stains came off!!! They (the stains) also, like, suffocated and toxified mah and hence so terrified so they chiow lor, haha. Tapi tobat aku tak ndak dah buat macam tu lagi!!! Mata sakit; kerongkong sakit; and the fume lingered in the whole house for a bit while even though all fans were at full blast and all windows were opened! Memang idiotic downright gila.

So, I went with the usual method: Spray pure Clorox (using the industrial spray, mind you!). Then, leave them bathrooms for maybe half an hour. And then start looking like a white ninja and scrub scrub scrub while still very much choking and eyes a-blinking on the fumes.

(I manage to improvise over time by including the use of my swimming goggles and the hazard mask while scrubbing, though. Lessen the sore throat and the burning of my lungs.)

The wall tiles shine beautifully after that, scums all come off from the groutings… but the bloody black watermarks on the floor tiles remain stubbornly intact, like permanently infused underneath the ceramics skin or something.

Bayangkan lah lantai yang masih nampak lagi kotor dan hitam gila, tapi grout antara tilenya putih melepak. Can ah like that? The very the sakit hati, you know.

I've even tried biological-and-environmental-friendly method from the internet ~ soda bicarbonate paste and vinegar. I need to save my health and Mother Nature, no? But aiyohhhhh… so much lah about being green. The paste and vinegar gave out some scary reaction okay… kindalike doing some mad lab-testing ke apa. And yet it did bloody nothing to the stain… in fact, did not even eliminate odour, plus the paste left some thin slimy-like film on the tiles. Aieeeeeey.

Help. Help. Help!

Any healthy, workable suggestions are very very much welcomed, please!!! (note: no use of VIM, please!) Abang said he might try going to one of the SmartShops somewhere and see what sort of magic wonders they may have. Got ah, you think? I really hope they have. Expensive pun, expensive lah.

‘Coz I so cannot tahan doing ‘business’ in a filthy-looking environment in my own home, which is ironic since the nature of thy ‘business’ itself is rather filthy, heh.

f~

Donch Play Play

Such not a good start for a first day working of a New Year.

I reached office, clocked-in and directly went into the office’s Meeting Room where the cabinet contractor delivered and installed the built-in cabinet last week while I was on leave.

And what I found was like, OH. MY. GOD.

It was so funting shitty, it just spoiled my morning away. Everything is just crooked, not in line, senget-benget, kasar, macam seolah-olah letak plywood, potong and tampal apa-apa yang patut and voilah!, dapat lah cabinet. Bloody-hell. I straight-away sms-ed my main contractor and told him,

“Sir, asm. I have BIG PROBLEMS in accepting the workmanship of your cabinet people. Please ask them to see me this morning right away or else I would have to advise both my Boss and my QS not to release any payment just yet. Tq.”

At whaddya know, at 10-ish, the cabinet contractor came over. Aku tak pernah marah contractor aku non-stop tanpa kasi dia peluang nak defend properly. Inilah kali pertama.

“Apa yang awak buat ni??? Tengok ni, benda senget-benget pakai sandal-sendal aje! Kalau dah tahu tak sesuai, bawak balik ke kilang and betulkan apa yang patut, jangan ikut sedap je nak cuci tangan dan campak macam ni! Kayu jenis apa yang awak pakai ni? Plywood, potong, pastu tampal je cermin kat belakang pastu tutup dengan kayu??? Mana beading dia?? Handle senget-senget, lubang kunci senget-senget; daun pintu senget-senget. Ni, pintu ni… kalau dah tahu tak leh buka, do la something! Jangan biarkan je! Awak tahu ke tak buat cabinet ni??? Kalau awak buat macam ni kat rumah pun, awak terima ke?? Ikutkan saya, saya nak awak cabut semua ni balik sebab langsung tak in-line dengan lukisan saya! Awak tahu tak awak dah malukan saya sebagai seorang arkitek! Ni macam nak menghina saya dan pejabat saya…mentang-mentang kami kerajaan tapi nak guna benda-benda sampah macam ni??? Yang datang mesyuarat kat bilik ni bukan orang-orang buta design, awak tau! Arkitek-arkitek besar yang tahu detailing! Awak kalau tak tahu detailing, awak beritahu la, tidak la saya anggap awak sebenarnya pandai buat cabinet! Ni tengok warna kayu pun lari-lari…sini gelap, sana terang; sini macam kayu hanyut; sini lubang-lubang bla bla bla…”.

“Tu la cik, semangkuk ni datang, warnanya lari-lari…”

“Eh, takkan awak tak buat QC kot?? Nak terima je semua walaupun buruk?? Anyway, that’s YOUR problem. Ini bukan pertama kali orang buat cabinet guna semangkuk ply! Dah, saya nak awak tanggal SEMUA pintu ni, ganti, buat proper… dan ganti skirting-skirting macam kayu hanyut ni, tak mau lagi sandal-sendal macam tu. I may not be a cabinet maker, YOU are. Awak patut tahu apa yang buruk apa yang tidak, malah patut advise saya, bukan saya hentam awak gini! Awak tahu, saya nak bayar awak dengan duit rakyat, tau!!! Kalau buat proper dari awal, saya dah boleh puji-puji awak. So, please eh, I don’t have anything else to say but for you to take out all the doors and skirtings, or else there would be no payment, thanks!”

Muka mamat tu, aku tengok, merah hitam dah. And I just walked out, leaving him there, my hands cold from anger.

I may be kasar and undiplomatic… but orang-orang bumiputra macam ni kena ajar sket. Jangan ingat projek kerajaan dalam tangan, kau nak ambil kesempatan. At least, not with ME.

I wonder what else would be waiting for me this year...! Aiiiyohhhhh... my blood can go upstairs la like thisssss....!

Have a Happy New Year, everyone!

f~

HAPPY 2007!!!

WELCOME TO 2007, EVERYONE!!!

My horoscope for next year from The Star does not dictate quite well pertaining career and health, but I’m pretty optimistic. Dengan du’a dan ikhtiar, insyaAllah Allah akan berlaku adil, sama ada hasil yang baik atau tidak, pasti ada hikmah!

My resolution for next year? To sit for my Professional Part 3 exam, if that constitutes as resolution lah, heh. Resolution on shedding pounds and earn more money??? Hmph, tengoklah. Cumanya, aku nak mendisiplinkan diri balik for my twice-weekly swimming-workouts that I’ve left some 3 years ago. Yang penting, fit. Tadi pun dah beli goggles baru untuk azam baru. I might as well start tomorrow morning.

You can, budak dompot, you can…

My prayers? Is for world peace; dan kekuatan mengharungi dugaan Allah. For love & respect; for contentment in the family; for acceptance and blessings in whatever us the anak-anak do; for kebahagiaan dunia dan akhirat buat semua…

Dan semoga the fate of both Abang&I changes in ways that anywhere we park our car, people would not simply choose our car to park behind us even though there are ample parking space around us. No joke, people. Ndak je kami buat sticker that says…

Looking for a parking space?
OUR behind is always free to park!
We LOVE to be stuck in our car,
waiting for YOU!!

Patience and wisdom to all!!!

f~