long time no post

my oat resolution didn't really work out well as i had anticipated. don't put the blame on me. blame it on peer pressure & free meals.

the last few days had been some very hectic days, work-wise. had to stay back until night to make sure the project could be completed by the end of the week. it did minus some minor things to be done. i'll be sure to apply for the replacement leave entitlement. 3 days in total. yahoo!

got the guitar strings replaced with new ones at density studio, kerteh. the old ones had been attached to the guitar for so long, i think 2 years, that their tones had become dull. definitely not suited for a stage performance. the new ones are more suited for an electric guitar. at first, it felt awkward to play. but after a while, it felt & feels ok. at least, it won't hurt my fretting fingers that much.

there's gonna be a rehearsal for the talent competition in the afternoon before the dinner night. those involved can be dismissed early from work. yahoo! i'm glad that i can now also adjust the guitar & mic sound/volume to the optimum so that they are equally audible to the audience & 1 won't dominate over the other.

2 earth days to go...

q oat dinner

yesterday, i've managed to execute my new resolution: having oat as my lunch at the workplace. i also had a very light breakfast: a 60-sen chocolate-flavored bread. bought 1 for my daughter too on the way to the office. throughout the day, i always felt hungry. so, i just grabbed light snack & fruit here and there in between meals to fill up my raging stomach. i hope i'll be persistent in continuously executing this resolution. fear no internal & external factors!

so, should i go to q or not? still quite it-related. to expand dms & beyond. is it a better prospect for me? i had a so-called slow talk with the q boss. i've got roughly 1 week to decide whether it's a go or no go. maybe i should follow my wife's advice to "seek" divine advice & help by performing istikharah solat. i've never done it so far throughout all my life. it's high time...

at home, still practicing for the performance. 2 of my left hand fingertips are aching and a little bit swollen and i couldn't really press & hold the guitar strings that well. i think i've been practicing very heavily since the last 1 week or so. i should have been resting for a few days now to let my fingertips to cure properly. maybe i should go see a doctor as well... the most important thing to do is that i've gotta reserve my energy for the actual show. oh, got the info from someone that ogy is gonna be the mc for the dinner. i'm gonna die. afraid of her famous lightsaber (laser) mouth...

practice makes perfect & i'm a father.

been practicing. day in. day out. a fortnight to go. 2 other competitors. 1 betting on the voice. the other on their god-given bodies. not really care about losing or winning. just for the fun of it.

happy father's day to all fathers around the world. dead or alive. been a father for more than 8 years already. maybe in 15-20 years time, will be a grandfather...



thanks to my daughter for the touching card.

a question to ponder: why does my sister always like to "befriend" a wife's husband? (i'm no busybody)

have u listened to the latest portishead's third? it's so damn dark & gloomy & good. weezer's red album is happy as usual. coldplay's viva la vida is listenable. thx 2 d net.

the last article in the post a week in review is originally available here, which u're very encouraged to pay many visits...it belongs to the grand mufti of perlis.

more cleared savanna, bulb & our precious

the last post allowed only max 5 photos of the cleared savanna. here's the remaining 3:







here's the receipt of the bulb (installed on the day after the receipt date) which can last up to 3 years (hopefully close to 3 years & not just merely up to 3 years):



and here's the ultrasound images of our precious:

a week in review

we of the above from 1 of the previous posts didn't even manage to go to the grand outdoor stadium to watch sukma's athletics event since we had other commitments to do - devouring chicken satay & gulping big glass fruit juice treated by my wife's bro. at home. take-away. earlier in the day, we of the above minus a few went to the beach near the airport. making a sand castle was the kids' favorite of the day. the one that i did in cherating during the company's so-called fishing trip a few years ago was much more presentable though. at least, it won the 2nd place. but u can't expect much from a kid's handiwork anyway...unless if he/she is one of those adiputras...

on 1 of the earlier days during my holiday week, my wife and i went to kts to do 4d scanning/ultrasound of our precious. the doctor took quite sometime to get a good shot of the image because our precious was very active. it's making movements faster than the ultrasound technology could cope with. in the end, we could only be satisfied with the so-so best images that the machine could produce.

my work days were nothing special. however, 1 of the days became very special because it was a state gazetted holiday. on the night of the closing ceremony of sukma, my wife got some smses from her friends informing that it was announced on the tv during the ceremony that the next day was a state holiday due to excellent performance of the home state, which was beyond expectation and exceeded the initial target of medal tally. i turned on the tv & the presenters at the end of the ceremony show did mention about the special holiday. i smsed hr gals for confirmation and after a while, it was confirmed that the company was recognizing the holiday as well. yahoo!

i took the opportunity during the sudden unexpected holiday to clear up my savanna. see the photos above. it was so tiresome to do so. luckily, my wife's bro who's here to babysit my daughter when she's not at school, helped me with the task. starting that night, and a few days after that, my body started to feel the aftermath of the hard work. that's what happened if u don't exercise on a regular basis. plus that's the sign of me & u getting older and older by the day...

my wife's bro was here for the whole week to also learn how to play guitar. i managed to teach him a few brief lessons here and there on how to strum and on chord construction. talk about guitar, i'm planning to perform 2 songs during the coming company's annual dinner, on an acoustic guitar. cat stevens' wild world & radiohead's no surprises. the limit is 10 minutes. at first, i planned to also sing 1 of my own songs, replacing 1 of the 2 songs, but i could foresee that the chord progression and changes are quite difficult to do on stage especially with all those butterflies in the stomach. originally, i didn't intend to attend the dinner. my wife wanted us to go. but after they changed the theme of the talent competition from strictly bollywood to free theme, i decided to go & at the same time, show off my talent. winning is secondary but that would not be so bad either... :) plus i can convey some sorta message to the audience...but i highly doubt it that they would ever get it...

my wife's sis who was here since a few weeks ago, at first to babysit my daughter but later got a temporary job as a substitute teacher at my wife's school, had to go back after her last day at school, to the hometown to attend to her older sister, who is my wife's younger sis, who was having a miscarriage. my wife's bro went back as well. so, his lessons ended there. my wife's bro & youngest sis are currently on a 3-mth semester break from their colleges/unis. how i miss very much being a full-time student. the only downside was the lack of fund. my wife's other bro, now waiting to be called upon to embark on a teaching profession, came by car to pick his siblings back home.

still about the oil price increase. i read 2 good articles related to it. got them via email. here's the 1st one:

Harga Minyak Naik : Nikmat Dunia Tergugat

Oleh

Zaharuddin Abd Rahman

www.zaharuddin.net

Kenaikan harga minyak petrol dan diesel bermula 5 Jun 2008 dan tariff elektrik mulai 1 Julai 2008 menyebabkan rakyat Malaysia ramai yang mencarut, memaki dan marah, hal ini dapat dilihat di sana sini.

Ada yang tidak boleh tidur memikirkan cara mengurus belanjawan baru keluarga. Bagi keluarga yang berpendapatan jenis ‘cukup-cukup makan sebulan' pasti semakin resah dan marah, sedih dan rasa terzalim.

Di Malaysia kita ini, sebenarnya banyak isu selain kenaikkan harga-harga ini, kita ada isu murtad, riba, syirik, bomoh, tangkal, zina, maksiat, culik, sumbang mahram dan pelbagai lagi.

Namun dari banyak-banyak isu, isu kenaikan harga beras dan minyak ini yang paling meriah sambutannya dari masyarakat. Hiruk pikuk dari segenap blog dan media.Kenapa??!!

Inilah realiti masyarakat kita, kehidupan dunia sangat memberi kesan kepada minda dan hati. Berbanding kenaikan pelbagai masalah berkaitan agama yang hanya mendapat sambutan beberapa kerat kumpulan masyarakat sahaja. Malah tidak dipedulikan oleh majoritinya.

Mudahnya, apabila perut sendiri tergugat dan libatkan dunianya yang DIKASIHI barulah ramai mahu bising dan protes. Selagi belum mengenai mereka dan hanya mengugat hal ghaib akhirat sahaja, JARANG DIHIRAUKANNYA.

Kita patut bimbang dengan iman kita sekarang ini, sangat patut bimbang. Kelihatan pengaruh dunia sangat mendalam kesannya dalam jiwa.

Jika sekiranya kedua-dua jenis isu dunia dan akhirat mendapat perhatian anda sejak sekian lama. Tahniah saya ucapkan, teruskan menjaga imanmu tersebut wahai teman.

Sebagai mengulas ringkas isu kenaikan harga ini, berikut beberapa fakta secara ‘adil' dan ulasan ringkas dan spontan saya (spontan ini menyebabkan mungkin saya ada terlepas pandangan aspek-aspek lain) :-

FAKTA : Harga sebenar petrol ialah RM3, tetapi kerana kerajaan memberi diskaun 30 sen, pengguna hanya membayar RM2.70 seliter.

ULASAN :

Terima kasih namun mengurangkan subsidi dalam sebuah masyarakat yang belum bersedia akan pasti menyakitkan orang awam berpendapatan rendah dan sederhana. Maksud saya ‘bersedia' antaranya :

1- Ilmu dan skill . Purata masyarakat Malaysia terutamanya bumiputra masih terkial-kial dan mencari kehidupan dan pendapatan secara sihat. Skim cepat kaya, pelaburan haram interent, perjudian sms, rancangan hiburan masih bersarang dalam minda kebanyakkan mereka. Masyarakat sebegini masih manja dan perlukan perancangan terbaik dari kerajaan dari sudut pendidikan dan kewangan.

2- Penghapusan Rasuah : Selagi rasuah menggila dalam Negara ia pasti menyekat perkembangan skill dan kemampuan diri rakyat. Maka apabila subsidi dikurangkan, kumpulan kurang pendapatan akan terus tertindas disebabkan rasuah. Malah lebih dahsyat, rasuah akan bertambah pula akibat dari segala kenaikan ini. Lihat sahaja Negara-negara maju, pra syarat mereka adalah mesti minimakan rasuah dahulu.

3- Gaji minima ; Gaji minima diperlukan bagi membantu masyarakat kurang pendapatan mengharungi kenaikan demi kenaikan ini. Adalah amat dihargai jika gaji miniam dapat dinaikkan sedikit agar rakyat pendapatan rendah boleh menikmatinya sedikit. Gaji minima di negara-negara yang mengapungkan harga minyak mereka adalah tinggi, ini seimbang dengan harga minyak, adapun Negara kita tidak sedemikian dan kita juga belum mampu untuk menawarkan gaji minima yang tinggi.

4- Harga kereta belum wajar : Baik juga jika harga kereta sepatutnya di buka mengikut harga pasaran sebenar juga. Menurut faktanya harga kereta di Malaysia adalah antara yang termahal. Biar semua berlumba-lumba menjadi lebih kompetitif seperti Air Asia dan MAS. Mereka berlumba-lumba menawarkan harga rendah. Namun keuntungan mereka masih juga bertambah.

5- Pengangkutan Awam Belum Sedia : Saya jarang menggunakan pengangkutan awam namun saya sedar akan kurang mampunya pengangkutan awam ini untuk menampung keperluan dan permintaan sekiranya semakin ramai ahli masyarakat ingin beralih dari kenderaan sendiri kepada pengangkutan awam. Ringkasnya, ia masih belum cukup efisyen.

FAKTA : Diskaun 30 sen diberi bagi setiap liter minyak. Jika harga minyak di pasaran dunia turun, penyelarasan akan dibuat sebulan sekali, tetapi kadar diskaun 30 sen itu akan tetap diberikan.

ULASAN :

Wallahu'alam, menurut pandangan saya, ia kelihatan baik dan wajar. Namun dalam konteks realiti yang sudah naik sebegini sukar untuk turun kembali.

FAKTA : Rebat tunai bahan api akan dibayar oleh kerajaan kepada pemilik kenderaan selepas mereka membayar cukai jalan.

ULASAN :

Saya kira ini adalah teknik kerajaan agar memastikan semua pengguna yang berkelayakan membayar cukai jalan, ini mungkin kerana ramai pengguna jalanraya tidak punyai road tax yang sah. Ia serampang dua mata.

Bagaimana pula bagi keluarag miskin yang tiada kenderaan bermotor langsung?. Walaupun mereka tidak perlu mengisi minyak namun mereka masih perlu membeli barangan yang diangkut menggunakan kenderaan penjual. Sudah tentu si penjual akan menaikkan harga barangnya kelak. Bagaimana dengan rebate bagi kumpulan sasar sebegini?

Apa yang boleh membantu mereka. Kita bimbang mereka akan menjadi semakin miskin dan susah. Moga Allah membantu mereka.

FAKTA :

a- Bayaran tunai RM625 setahun diberikan kepada pemilik kenderaan persendirian berkapasiti enjin sehingga 2000cc serta trak pick up dan jip berkapasiti sehingga 2,500cc. Pemilik motosikal berkapasiti enjin sehingga 250cc pula mendapat bayaran tunai RM150 setahun.

b- Cukai jalan dikurangkan sebanyak RM200 kepada pemilik kenderaan dan motosikal yang tidak tergolong dalam kategori itu.

c- Pemilik motosikal berkapasiti enjin lebih 250cc mendapat pengurangan cukai jalan RM50.

ULASAN

Saya kira ia sebenarnya cuba bertoleransi dengan kumpulan pendapatan sederhana dan cuba mengenakan kenaikan kepada kumpulan sasar kaya sahaja. Dalam hal ini, kerajaan dilihat meletakkan cc kenderaan sebagai kayu ukur, individu itu kaya atau miskin. 2000cc kereta dan 25cc ke atas dikira kaya lalu tidak layak mendapat sebarang subsidi rebate dan petrol (kecuali 30sen sebagaimana di atas).

Persoalannya, betulkah kayu ukur sebegini?

Kerajaan juga cuba toleransi dengan memberikan rebate cukai jalan sebanyak RM200 kepada pemilik kenderaan mewah. Ini bermakna, orang berpendapatan sederhana mendapat RM625 setahun dan orang kaya dapat RM200 setahun. Sebenar jumlah RM625 setahun hanya mungkin cukup untuk 'cover' harga beras untuk kegunaan satu-satu keluarga.

FAKTA : Harga gas memasak LPG dan gas asli kenderaan NGV kekal pada harga lama.

ULASAN

Terima kasih. Perlu diteruskan.

FAKTA : Kira-kira 59 peratus isi rumah di Malaysia yang menggunakan elektrik pada kadar 200 kilowat jam atau kurang RM43.60 sebulan tidak akan terjejas dengan struktur baru tarif elektrik.

ULASAN :

Satu tindakan yang mungkin kurang toleransi, adalah lebih wajar jika kenaikan demi kenaikan ini dibuat secara ansuran dan sedikit demi sedikit. Kita baru sahaja menghadapi kenaiakn harga beras sebanyak 80-100%. Kini diikuti minyak dan seterusnya tariff elektrik.

Harga besi dan lain-lain juga baru sahaja naik, yang membawa kesan kenaikan harga rumah dan sudah tentu sewa,

Saya faham, diwartakan penggunaan yang MELEBIHI 200 kilowatt atau RM43.60 sahaja yang AKAN NAIK. Adapun kurang dari itu TIDAK BERUBAH. Ia jelas cuba mengenakan kumpulan sasar orang kaya dan tidak mengenai golongan miskin yang kurang menggunakan elektrik secara puratanya.

Namun demikian, apabila tarif elektrik lebih RM43.60 ini naik, kilang-kilang yang menghasilkan barang makanan dan industri akan menganggung kos tambahan. Pastinya semua barang akan naik lagi. Peniaga juga pastinya menggunakan kenderaan untuk menghantar barangan. Apabila harga minyak naik, sekali lagi peniaga mendapat sebab munasabah untuk menaikkan harga. Akhirnya sampai juga kesan kenaikan kepada kumpulan miskin yang menggunakan tarif 43.60 sahaja. MAKA SEPATUNYA SABAR-SABARLAH UNTUK MENAIKKAN BEBAN ASASI.

KESIMPULAN RINGKAS

Rakyat miskin yang tiada kenderaan, terabai? Yang punyai kenderaan kurang 2000cc dapatlah RM625 setahun, pemilik kenderaan 2000cc ke atas dapat berjimat RM200 dari cukai jalan? Itu sahaja?.

Bagaimana dengan pertambahan pendapatan kerajaan. Ini yang perlu didedahkan secara telus. Malah ia juga menyebabkan Tun Dr Mahathir membuat kira-kira mudah :-

"Can the Government subsidise? I am the "adviser" to Petronas but I know very little about it beyond what is published in its accounts. What I do know may not be very accurate but should be sufficient for me to draw certain conclusions.

Roughly Malaysia produces 650,000 barrels of crude per day. We consume 400,000 barrels leaving 250,000 barrels to be exported.

Three years ago the selling price of crude was about USD30 per barrel. Today it is USD130 - an increase of USD100. There is hardly any increase in the production cost so that the extra USD100 can be considered as pure profit.

Our 250,000 barrels of export should earn us 250,000 x 100 x 365 x 3 = RM27,375,000,000 (twenty seven billion Ringgit).

But Petronas made a profit of well over RM70 billion, all of which belong to the Government.

By all accounts the Government is flushed with money.

But besides petrol the prices of palm oil, rubber and tin have also increased by about 400 per cent. Plantation companies and banks now earn as much as RM3 billion in profits each. Taxes paid by them must have also increased greatly.

I feel sure that maintaining the subsidy and gradually decreasing it would not hurt the Government finances."

FAKTA : Kerajaan akan memperoleh penjimatan subsidi sebanyak RM13.7 bilion setahun yang akan digunakan untuk subsidi produk makanan rakyat negara ini.

ULASAN :

Bagus dalam perancangan untuk subsidi makanan, namun subsidi makana diambil dari subsidi minyak. Maka harga makanan akan pasti naik juga. Justeru pusing-pusing semuanya ke satu destinasim, iaitu HARGA NAIK!. Gaji minima untuk kumpulan sasar miskin, masih tidak diperbaiki . Golongan bumiputra yang paling ramai miskin.

Saya juga bimbang, lagi terdesak orang bumiputra kita, lebih mudah mereka ditipu dan diperangkap oleh penyangak Ah-long, skim cepat kaya, MLM piramid, peraduan pelik, peraduan melancong percuma, elaun lumayan dari khidmat hantar barang (dadah) di keluar negara dan lain-lain. Akhirnaya semakin terdesak. Semuanya kononnya ingin mencari side income selain kerja full time mereka.

PANDANGAN ISLAM

Sukar untuk saya menulis kesemuanya di waktu ini, mudahnya tanggungjawab sebuah kerajaan menurut Islam memang tidak mudah. Pandangan mereka perlu sentiasa lebih hadapan dari pemikiran rakyat biasa. Kerana itulah mereka pimpinan mesti dilantik dari mereka yang berkelayakan.

Mereka perlu bermiskin dahulu berbanding rakyat. Apa sahaja yang kurang merekalah yang perlu menyalurkan pendapatan mereka demi kebaikan rakyat. Mimpikah kita untuk mendapat pemimpin sebegini?

Demikian sedikit pandangan spontan saya berkenaan isu terkini terhangat. Anda juga bebas menolak dan menerimannya. Cuma dinasihatkan jangalah ada yang memaki dan mencarut di ruangan komentar saya ye. Cukuplah memberi idea dan komentar atau kritik dalam bentuk berhemah. Agar semua dapat manfaat termasuk saya.

Sekian

Zaharuddin Abd Rahman

www.zaharuddin.net

5 Jun 2008

************************

and here's the 2nd one, a very bold & daring article by the current grand mufti of perlis, from the mufti's website himself:

Agama Bukan Candu Untuk Mengkhayalkan Orang Miskin

Posted on Jun 08, 2008 under Isu Semasa |

Oleh Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin

“Dan berikanlah kepada kaum keluargamu, dan orang miskin serta orangmusafir akan haknya masing-masing; dan janganlah engkau membazir denganpembaziran yang melampau. Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang membazir itu adalah saudara-saudara syaitan, sedang syaitan itu pula sangat kufur kepadaTuhannya”.

(Surah al-Isra: 26-27).

Saya tertarik apabila membaca kisah al-Imam al-Nawawi (631-676H) yangdiminta oleh Raja pada zamannya al-Malik al-Zahir untuk memberikan fatwabagi mengharuskan Raja mengambil harta rakyat untuk digunakan memerangi musuh yang mengancam negara iaitu tentera Tatar. Tujuan itu pada zahirnya baik kerana mempertahankan negara dari ancaman musuh. Harta itu pun hendak digunakan untuk keperluan jihad.

Namun ramai ulama yang telah dibunuh ketika itu kerana enggan mengeluarkan fatwa berkenaan. Al-Nawawi juga enggan menulis surat sokongan terhadap tindakan Raja Zahir itu sekalipun beliau tahu pengambilan harta itu untuk kepentingan negara juga.

Apabila Raja bertanya kepada beliau mengapa beliau enggan menyokong? Beliau menjawab: Setahu saya engkau dahulunya seorang hamba, tidak mempunyai harta. Kemudian Allah memberikan kurniaan kepadamu lalu diangkat engkau menjadi seorang raja. Aku dengar engkau memiliki seribu hamba lelaki yang setiap mereka memiliki tali pinggang daripada emas. Engkau juga ada memiliki dua ratus hamba perempuan, dan setiap mereka memiliki sebekas perhiasan. Jika engkau belanjakan itu semua, sehingga hamba-hamba lelakimu hanya memakai tali pinggang kain, dan hamba-hamha perempuanmu hanya memakai baju tanpa perhiasan, juga baitul mal sudah tiada simpanan wang, harta dan tanah lagi, maka aku akan fatwakan untukmu keharusan mengambil harta rakyat itu.

Sesungguhnya yang menolong jihad dan selainnya ialah penyerahan diri kepada Allah dan mengikut jalan nabiNya s.a.w. (lihat: ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Daqar, al-Imam al-Nawawi, 144-145, Damsyik: Dar al-Qalam).

Saya suka dengan jawapan al-Imam al-Nawawi ini. Saya tahu, selepas ini

banyak forum-forum perdana, ceramah-ceramah di radio dan televesyen akan memperkatakan tentang kewajipan berjimat cermat. Maka ustaz, ustazah dan penceramah pun atas pemintaan penaja yang membayar harga ceramah akan bersungguh-sungguh menyuruh orang-orang bawahan untuk berjimat cermat.

Dalil-dalil pun akan dibaca. Mungkin akan ada ustazah yang mencari

cerita-cerita ajaib yang baru untuk dikaitkan dengan bab jimat cermat dan

jangan membazir. Mungkin akan ada penceramah yang cuba menangis-nangis seperti seorang pelakon berjaya yang menerima anugerah bercerita kepada mak cik-makcik yang kusyuk menonton tentang azab seorang yang membazir ‘nasi lemaknya’.

Datanglah orang-orang kampung mendengar forum perdana dengan basikal atau motosikal sebagai menyahut seruan agar tidak membazir petrol. Adapun

penceramah, datuk-datuk pengajur, YB-YB hanya menggunakan kenderaan mewah yang ber kapasiti atas daripada 2000cc. Tujuannya untuk mengelakkan

pembaziran wang kerajaan yang terpaksa memberi rebet kepada empunya

kenderaan 2000cc ke bawah, lebih tinggi daripada 2000 ke atas.

Maka insaflah mak cik dan pak cik yang barangkali teringatkan tulang ikan

yang pernah dibuangnya padahal masih ada sedikit sisa isinya yang melekat. Itulah membazir namanya. Maka, atas keinsafan dan taubat itu, mungkin ada yang akan mula mengurangkan makan nasi lemak daripada sebungkus seorang kepada sebungkus yang dikongsi bersama. Air kopinya yang memang sudah ‘ceroi’ akan ditukar kepada yang warna hitamnya antara kelihatan dan tidak. Maka selamat negara kita ini, disebabkan pakcik dan makcik, pak long dan mak long, pak lang dan mak lang di kampung sudah mengubah gaya hidup mereka.

Jika saya hadir ke forum yang seperti itu, saya ingin bertanya soalan, tapi

soalan yang belum ‘dijakimkan’, “apakah agama ini dihantar oleh Allah untuk

menghukum manusia bawahan dan menghalalkan yang lain tidur dalam

kekenyangan dan kemewahan?”. Sebelum harga minyak naik, telah sekian lama mereka yang berada di teratak usang itu menjimat makan dan pakai. Saban hari mereka mengira belanja untuk memboleh mereka terus hidup di kala negara dunia belum menghadapi krisis harga minyak.

Saya tidak mahu membicarakan tentang kenaikan harga minyak dari sudut perjalanan ekonomi antarabangsa. Telah banyak pakar-pakarnya bicarakan. Tapi saya ingin bincangkan tentang soal pembaziran dan jimat-cermat. Ya, memang Islam memusuhi pembaziran. Bahkan al-Quran tidak pernah mempersaudarakan antara mana-mana pembuat dosa dengan syaitan, melainkan mereka yang membazirkan.

Allah menyebut dalam al-Quran: (maksudnya):

“Dan berikanlah kepada kaum keluargamu, dan orang miskin serta orang musafir akan haknya masing-masing; dan janganlah engkau membazir dengan pembaziran yang melampau.Sesungguhnya orang2 yang membazir itu adalah saudara-saudara syaitan, sedang syaitan itu pula sangat kufur kepada Tuhannya”.

(Surah al-Isra: 26-27).

Demikianlah Allah persaudarakan pembazir dengan syaitan. Kesan pembaziran sangat besar. Lihat negara kita yang kaya dengan berbagai hasil. Sepatutnya kita akan tetap kukuh dan setiap rakyat akan menikmati kekayaan ini dengan adilnya. Namun, disebabkan pembaziran, harta negara yang sepatutnya dapat dimakan puluhan tahun, tetapi surut mendadak dalam masa beberapa tahun.

Maka, yang patut mendapat bantuan dan hak, tidak cukup untuk sampai

kepadanya. Barang keperluan pula bertukar menjadi mahal. Pembaziran

memusnahkan kehidupan rakyat bawahan dan menghalang hak yang sepatutnya sampai kepada mereka. Maka betapa wajar untuk para pembazir itu dipersaudarakan dengan syaitan. Apatah lagi dalam banyak keadaan, pembaziran itu lahir dari keangkuhan dan kesombongan. Sifat-sifat itulah

jua yang menjadi asas kepada kekufuran syaitan.

Soalannya, mengapakah apabila kita membicarakan tentang pembaziran, kita hanya terbayang orang-orang bawahan di kampung ataupun bandar. Jika kita ingin meminta supaya setiap warga negara ini berjimat dan jangan membazir, maka bermulalah daripada atas. Bukan sekadar untuk ‘mengenakan si miskin yang sekian lama telah berjimat dan sudah tidak tahu apa yang hendak dijimatkan lagi. Mengapa kita hanya terbayang rakyat yang berada dalam rumah persendirian dan berbelanja dengan wang poketnya yang sudah lelah?

Kita sepatutnya terlebih meneliti semula bagaimana perbelanjaan yang

menggunakan harta negara dan rakyat yang sedang berjalan di istana-istana, kediaman-kediaman rasmi kerajaan di peringkat negara dan negeri?. Apakah wajar di kala ini keraian untuk orang-orang besar sama ada sultan atau menteri begitu mewah? Makanan yang dihidangkan untuk mereka, harga satu meja kadang-kala boleh dimakan oleh ratusan rakyat bawahan. Karpet yang dipijak oleh mereka harganya ribuan bungkusan nasi yang dimakan oleh ‘orang biasa’.

Apakah patut di saat yang sebegini, ada istana atau kediaman rasmi menteri yang hendak ditambah-mewahkan?

Apakah patut orang-orang besar ini diraikan dengan hiburan atau pertunjukan dan konsert yang menelan puluhan ribu ringgit sempena sesuatu kunjungan mereka. Wang itu, wang negara. Wang itu, wang rakyat.

Apakah dalam masa yang sebegini mereka masih mendapat peruntukan untuk bersantai, bermain golf dan ‘berhiburan’ dengan menggunakan wang rakyat bawahan yang disuruh menjimatkan nasi lemak dan air kopi mereka?.

Pembaziran sebegini lebih rapat menjadi saudara syaitan dibanding wang persendirian yang dibelanjakan.

Meminjam falsafah al-Imam al-Nawawi yang saya sebutkan tadi, jika orang

atasan telah benar-benar berjimat, maka wajarlah untuk dikurangkan subsidi

rakyat. Al-Nawawi telah dibuang negeri kerana enggan bersekongkol dengan perkara yang seperti ini. Namun, jika itu tidak dilakukan, ulama bukan burung kakak tua.

Saya mengambil risiko menulis hal ini. Tanggungjawab di hadapan Allah lebih besar daripada segala-galanya. Para ulama dahulu jauh lebih mulia, tidak dibandingkan kedaifan saya ini. Pun mereka telah menunaikan tanggungjawab al-Amr bil Ma’ruf dan al-An-Nahy ‘an al-Munkar ini. Semoga Allah menimbang tinta para ulama dengan darah para syuhada.

Telah berlaku tahun kesusahan dan kelaparan yang amat sangat di Semenanjung Arab pada zaman Amirul Mukminin ‘Umar bin al-Khattab. Dikenali dengan ‘Am al-Ramadah kerana Seakan bagaikan warna amad atau abu disebabkan ke kurangan hujan, warna tanah dan warna kulit manusia yang bertukar

disebabkan kekeringan. Ini berlaku pada antara tahun 17H dan 18H selama sembilan bulan.

Amirul Mukminin telah berhempas pulas menguruskan harta negara ketika itu bagi mengatasi kesusahan rakyat. Di samping kecemerlangan pengurusan, yang ingin disebutkan di sini kecemerlangan pendirian dan sikap. Ibn Jarir al-Tabari meriwayatkan bahawa ‘Umar bin al-Khattab tidak memakan pada tahun berkenaan lemak haiwan, susu dan daging sehingga orang ramai dapat

memakannya. Barangan makanan berkurangan di pasar.

Pada suatu hari pekerjanya dapat membeli untuknya lemak dan susu namun dengan harga yang agak tinggi. ‘Umar enggan makan bahkan berkata:

“Engkau telah menyebabkan lemak dan susu menjadi mahal, sedekahkan keduanya, aku bencikan pembaziran. Bagaimana aku dapat memahami keadaan rakyat jika tidak mengenaiku apa yang mengenai mereka?”.

(Al-Tabari, 2/358, Beirut : Daral-Fikr).

Juga diriwayatkan bahawa suatu hari pada tahun berkenaan disembelih unta lalu dimasak dan dibahagikan kepada orang ramai. Lalu diceduk masakan itu untuk dihidangkan juga buat ‘Umar. Tiba-tiba yang diceduk itu bahagian belakang unta dan hatinya. Lalu ‘Umar bertanya:

“Dari mana diperolehi ini?” . Daripada unta yang kita sembelih hari ini. Kata ‘Umar:

“Oh! Alangkah buruknya aku ini sebagai pemimpin, jika aku memakan bahagiannya yang baik lalu aku berikan rakyat makan yang sisa” (Ibn Sa’d, al-Tabaqat al-Kubra,

3/312, Beirut : Dar Sadir).

Maka alangkah buruknya seorang presiden, atau sultan, atau raja, atau

perdana menteri, atau menteri besar, atau menteri yang makan dengan mewah daripada peruntukan harta negara atau negeri sedangkan rakyatnya dalam kesusahan. Ketika rakyat membilang butiran beras, helaian ringgit untuk persekolahan anak, keperitan membayar sewa rumah, api dan air, sementara mereka yang berkuasa ini pula menghadiri jamuan negara dan negeri itu dan ini.

Bermewahan dengan pertunjukan dan hiburan dari peruntukan wang negara. Kemudian bercuti rehat, tanpa rakyat ketahui apakah kepenatannya untuk rakyat. Kos cuti itu pula ditanggung oleh negara tanpa sebarang pulangan keuntungan buat rakyat. Alangkah zalim! Alangkah keji sikap yang sedemikian rupa.

Saya kadang-kala begitu hairan apabila seseorang dianggap ‘berjiwa rakyat’, hanya kerana makan nasi yang dijamu oleh rakyat, atau masuk ke kampung mendukung anak rakyat untuk beberapa minit bagi membolehkan wartawan mengambil foto. Apakah itu dinamakan berjiwa rakyat?

Jika hendak diiktiraf sebagai berjiwa rakyat, rasailah apa yang rakyat

rasai. Orang seperti ‘Umar bin al-Khattab lebih mulia daripada segala

keturunan atau pangkat yang ada di kalangan manusia. Kemuliaannya telah diiktiraf oleh Allah dan RasulNya. Dia ahli syurga dengan jaminan Allah danRasulNya sementara politiknya tidak ada saingan yang menggugatnya. Namun tetap amanah dan jujurnya terhadap rakyatnya. Merasai penderitaan rakyat.

Beliau idola kepimpinan kita sepatutnya. Walaupun beliau tidak pernah

menyuruh orang menyembah atau menjulangnya, namun beliau dipuja oleh sejarah dan diangkat oleh Allah.

Kenaikan harga minyak menaikkan harga barang. Orang berpendapatan rendah menjadi mangsa. Agama berperanan untuk menyedarkan semua pihak tentang tanggungjawab terhadap rakyat. Dalam keadaan begini, antara perkara pertama yang patut dibentang kepada rakyat adalah pengurusan kemasukan dan

pengagihan zakat. Zakat yang mungkin sampai kepada peringkat bilion ringgit di seluruh negara mesti diagihkan secara telus dan bijaksana.

Mengapa masih ada fakir miskin yang bagaikan meminta sedekah kepada pihak yang menguruskan zakat? Mengapa program tv lebih menjumpai si miskin dibanding pihak yang menguruskan zakat? Mengapa zakat masih berbaki dengan begitu banyak setiap tahun sedangkan kemiskinan masih banyak? Mengapa pihak yang menguruskan zakat kelihatan bertambah mewah, sementara yang patut menerima hak kelihatannya bertambah letih dengan keadaan sekarang?

Di masa inilah peranan zakat bagi memastikan setiap yang memerlukan memperolehinya tanpa kerenah birokrasi yang bukan-bukan. Jangan sampai untuk mendapat RM150 si miskin berulang alik berkali-kali dengan tambang sendiri, sementara yang mendakwa amil zakat mengisi minyak kereta dengan wang zakat atas nama amil! Ramai kata kita berjaya menguruskan zakat sebab kutipan yang tinggi. Saya katakan, pengurusan yang berjaya itu bukan sahaja kutipan semata, tetapi juga pengagihan secara telus, bijaksana dan bertanggung jawab.

Dalam usaha kerajaan menangani kemelut ekonomi hari ini, perkara-perkara yang disebutkan ini mestilah dipandang serius. Kejayaan sesebuah kerajaan menghayati penderitaan rakyat akan menjadikan mereka lebih disayangi dan disokong. Jika orang atas mengubah cara hidup, kita akan berkempen untuk semua agar mengubah cara hidup. Jika orang agama disuruh berkempen orang bawahan agar mengubah cara hidup, sementara melupai yang di atas, mereka sebenarnya cuba menjadikan agama sebagai candu agar seseorang melupai masalah yang sebenar.

Price of goods? Not good!

After Friday prayers yesterday, overheard somebody just outside the masjid mentioning about the price of goods which will surely increase after this. The aftermath of oil price increase. In fact, read the online news that buses have started raising the ticket price. The price of sugar has also increased by a few sen. Soon, prices of other goods and food will increase as well. I must be bold, strong, determined and persistent to stick to my plan. Read somewhere that this oil price increase will definitely affect middle-income earners like me...

I had almost spent the whole day watching sukma yesterday. in the morning, went to watch gimrama (gimnastik berirama or rhythmic gymnastics). in the evening, watching the same thing as well. in the morning, brought my wife's 3-year old nephew as well, on top of the other nephews. boys are indeed difficult to control. running up & down the stairs. climbing fence. but still i'd like to have min 5 kids if The Almighty permits. the young gymnasts look so sexy in those tight suits. juggling the ball and wiggling the ribbon. it's fun & entertaining to watch. my daughter liked it very much. in fact, when all of us, especially the boys (what d'ya expect?), wanted to go back, she still wanted to stay. but parents have the final say anyway. my wife commented that those gymnasts looked very much like concubines or dancers in the past during the sultanate or emperor time, dancing and entertaining and pleasing the king or sultan or emperor. i couldn't agree less. i would never allow my daughter(s) to be a gymnast, professional or amateur.

at night, we originally planned to go watch the athletics event at the new open/outdoor stadium. however, my wife & i were so tired & flat that we had to cancel the plan. i was sure the boys would be very disappointed. my daughter was. i slept so early after taking my bath. don't know about my wife but she told me this morning (today) that she slept rather late last night. maybe she was busy & occupied with reading all those blogs...

when my holiday almost reaches its end, i received more work-related calls from contractors and the company staff. i guess it's sorta like a warm up before i actually go back to work & report for duty next week...

oily & sticky post

still about striking poor/oil. should i get angry over the petrol, diesel & electricity price/tariff increase like others do? what difference can it make? why didn't we vote wisely previously? why didn't we just bring down the government? would the new, alternative government be able to contain such an increase? still about my plan. i'm thinking of devising a very drastic plan. fasting is always the first choice until my wife has completed making up for her last year's missed days of fasting. otherwise and afterwards, for lunch & dinner, it's gonna be oat all the way. my beverage would preferably be just plain water. if available, warm plain water. let's see if i would succumb to peer & family pressure or not.

yesterday's morning, "we of the above" from the previous post minus my wife who's very tired from yesterday's stint due to her growing belly carrying our precious, went to the pool at batu burok to watch another sukma event. u can guess what the event is. my state almost always had representative for each type of swimming contest, but always finished last and sometimes among the last. being a home state, you get to field your swimmer regardless of qualification...i think. it's quite hot over there despite the shades from the canvas roof. so, my wife's nephews + my daughter started to feel very uncomfortable & wanted to go back. i bribed them with the promise to go have some meals at a&w near the beach after we've had enough of watching swimmers swimming. in the end, being a great keeper of promise, my bribery was fulfilled. moral of the story: if u promise to commit a sin, "lu pikir lah sendiri" whether u wanna keep it or not. (double quote, unquote means use your own head/brain to think)

after lunch, almost the whole of those now staying permanently or temporarily in the house of my parents-in-law went to k berang to attend a wedding feast organized by the siblings/family of my wife's sis-in-law, her brother's wife. being her brother's marriage. different paths were taken. going was very familiar. coming back was rather strange coz i have used the latter path 2 or 3 times only. but the latter road was very peaceful & quiet. at least for now.

in the evening, went to my parents' house. it's their turn to have me, my wife & daughter to spend the night at the house. however, my ma & my daughter's cousin who's staying there were away on a holiday in the west coast visiting my sisters. so, my daughter was rather alone having no one to play with. so, i had to bribe her with the key-cracked monopoly pc game to ensure she would not feel that bored. to my surprise, she fell asleep very early. at least, i know that she could rest better after having slept late at night on the previous nights.

got a few work-related calls yesterday...na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na...time to sleep...

"there will be blood"

that's the title of a movie about finding oil in the us in the late 19th/early 20th century. i bought the soundtrack to that movie just because the score was written by jonny greenwood of my all-time favorite band radiohead, currently the most popular & famous non-mainstream band in the world. so, looks like it's inevitable now. with the price of the world's crude oil per barrel at about usd135 now, it's not really a surprise (i'm lying here) that pak lah had to announce the increase in petrol, diesel & electricity price. at rm2.70 now from the previous rm1.92, all malaysians now have to spend more money on petrol if their car travel usage remains the same. despite the rebates, we still have to pay more. so, what can we & i do? u wanna know my plan? at the office, eat less outside & more inside. fasting is 1 great way which gives me a lot of benefits other than money saving. u can check out the net on the other benefits. i can't think of any other plan but at the moment, that would suffice. in conclusion, the government sucks & my salary increment is worth nothing. hopefully, there will be no blood...

sukma means heart?

yesterday, i spent almost the whole morning sleeping due to tiredness of staying up quite late the night before. after noon, went for shopping at the grandeur of hypermarket in kt, which is mydin hypermarket. then, tried to look for the power adapter replacement for my daughter's portable dvd player but couldn't find one. the original adapter was damaged still not beyond recognition but beyond use. that's what happened when so many hands were using it. also tried to look on the net but in vain. maybe, i should try harder. in the city, tried to look for a new pair of sandals of my preference but couldn't find two! what a city...

in the evening, went to assimilate ourselves among the sukma crowd/audience. ourselves include my whole family, sis-in-law & my wife's nephews. unfortunately, the gymnastics event of the day had come to its closure. but, we were savoring the beauty and marvel of the new & grand sports complex anyway. and spent some money for the kids to have some light snacks, meals, drinks & fun on the primitive merry-go-round. then, we spent some more money gulping big glass fruit juice at the famous big glass fruit juice restaurant. i had the biggest glass amongst us. (and u're complaining about your bigger stomach...)

today, in the morning, we of the above + another of my bro-in-law managed to go to the same sports complex to the indoor stadium to watch gymnastics there. the gymnasts were undoubtedly very skillful. nevertheless, 1 of them broke or sprinkled her neck. not dead yet but injured. another injured her knee. well, that's why we call it a sport. after lunch, with my daughter who suddenly wanted to follow me to the city after having a quarrel with her cousin, went to tmpoint to settle about my billings & the possibility of rebates. still not solved yet but at least i was comforted by the fact that my elder bro-in-law who's working with tm is taking care of it now. then, got a car wash to wash my car. arrived home (parents-in-law's) late at 6 pm. we of the above planned to see another sukma event, swimming, from 5-7 pm, near batu burok beach, but considering that we had only 1 hour to do so, including the journey to there, which we believed that the road to there would be very congested, we canceled our plan for today. until next time...

neo-post-100th post

somehow, blogger.com & blogspot.com got f#%ked up big time and so i
couldn't logon to update my blog...

here's what i have for today if today is still referring to monday:

i just realized that my previous post was my 100th
post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i'm celebrating it with 100
asterisks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
200!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
now, it's 300!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
...whatever....

if previously it seems like the system was experimenting with me, this
time i'll be experimenting with the system & let's see how low i can
go. let's see how low it can go. let's just wait & see. no need to
pray for the betterment of the system. it's better without.

today's my 1st day of being on leave from work. still went to town,
sorry, it's city since earlier this year, to settle some personal
matters. got a call from my contractor who got a call from my boss re:
a really5 petty problem at the office in the controlLED room. got
really5 pissed off with those in that room bcoz the so-called problem
is NOT a problem at all and should have been resolved before this or
at least during the day & especially during office hours. but, being
a nice company citizen, i gave my instructions to the charity
contractor on how to settle the not-really-a problem anyway. at the
same time, i called the room & the personnel who picked up the phone
became the victim of my frustration & for venting my anger and
dissatisfaction. your secret is my collateral. i wonder if they
really require more than 1 workstations in the middle of the night. i
thought they normally would just watch mpg & listen to mp3 & watch
soccer & watch youtube & download this & download that & the dirty
list goes on... your dirty secrets are my safe collateral...

yesterday, my ex-indirect boss came & i managed to voice my
dissatisfactions to him as well. well, he's the one who started to
tell me about his with the company, now his ex. despite his advice to
do otherwise, i will carry on with my anchovy plan against the sharks
and just eat, drink, sleep, wait & see...

everybody pleads not guilty but a victim is still a victim & the
damage is already done & life goes on & on & on...

--

pirus
http://colorofpirus.blogspot.com

missed days

3 days ago: all of a sudden, sap called me & informed me that he's in kb. he planned to meet me in kt, assuming that i was there but since i was in paka, we planned to meet there instead, of course. that reminds me of my stint in kk, when i also called him when i was already there with my family. kinda late info. when i met him right before friday prayers/solat, he's not alone! he's with bad, another ex-college friend. we had some light drink + meal, sorta pre-lunch, before i went for solat. we met again at mcd kerteh for lunch and later at fizi's house. fizi is yet another ex-college friend, now working with a company which my company is serving subserviently. fyi, sap & bad were on a nationwide road trip, traveling by car around the country from west to north to east to south and back to west.

2 days ago: yesterday evening, meaning the evening of 3 days ago, my family & i suddenly decided to go back to kt. today, meaning 2 days ago, i spent most of my day in kt town settling personal matters. sent my wife's car for repair. it's making this very strange noise since the past few days. it turned out to be caused by the worn out brake pad & it cost a bomb to repair but it had to be repaired anyway. tried to solve the celcom hha & tm streamyx billing dispute but still not yet solved. they asked me to come back on wednesday while they're checking & settling the issue. my aim is just to get the rebates for the "extra" charge that i was paying since the last 2-3 months. on another note, i hate it when people are taking advantage of others... on yet another note, it was so jam-packed in kt because of the official opening of sukma. the roads to/from kt via the bridge and the old road were all congested. talk about modernization, this is what u'll get.

1 day ago: just another boring day at work. departed from kt. i know that starting my own biz is the best but i just don't know what kind of biz is the best for me. mlm? no way! i was thinking of writing but looking at my situation & attitude now, i don't think that would kick off. composing songs? i've been having this writer's block syndrome since i started working in the corporate world. no wonder artists who used to work in a corporate world normally had to quit the world since they will never ever be able to balance between the 2 careers. so, looks like i'm stuck "eating payroll" for the rest of my life...

after work, settled a few things at home before driving back to kt. since the light bulb of the front porch of my house always went out using the around rm2 bulb, this time, i had replaced it with a more expensive rm19.90 bulb, claimed to be able to last up to 3 years. when i think about it, 1 day can be considered as up to 3 years as well...hmmm...