PILGRIMAGE TO MAKKAH

It has been quite sometime that I have not updated anything new in this blog. It is because I was a bit busy carrying out some assignment which had been uploaded in my AFKamera (AFLenses) and AFTeknikal.
Alhamdulillah, I was honoured to be chosen to be one of the three millions worshippers who shall be performing Hajj in Makkah this year. So, there should not be any more new posting to my blogs from today until mid of January as I shall be away performing my Hajj from the 25th. November, 2008 until 5th. January, 2009.


To all my collegues, friends, competitors, family members, relatives and others who had acquinted with me before, I would like to ask for forgiveness for any wrongdoing that I might had committed intentionally or not.
I hope we would be given a chance to meet again sometime after Hajj, Insya-Allah. Should this is my journey of no return, I wish everybody all the best in this world and in the hereafter, Ameen.

AFKassim (26 Zulkaedah, 1429)

FAREWELL TO MY 'CROSS COUNTRY'

It is not that I love cars so much..
Cars are just means for transportation...
One of the means to transport you from a place to another...
In search of a living to support your staff and families..
However, as a human
After being transported all over the country for the past six years..
The same car has just become a close companion to you ..
That is my 4th. Volvo Car..
A V70 Cross Country XC70 model which I bought in 2002 ..


This car has ferried me all across the country ..
It has brought me to Padang Besar to carry out some services work..
It has driven me through pitch of darkness across Mu'azam District to Kuantan..
It has brought me and my family to UUM in Sintok ..
It has brought me and my staff to Gong Badak for various job assignments..
It has brought me so many times to Kerteh in Terengganu..
It has brought me to see my siblings..
It has brought me for numerous meetings with clients and associates..
It had entered various project sites to verify the contractors' works..
It had ferried me to Port Klang, Butterworth, Tg. Langsat, Rompin for various assignment..
It has ferried me and my children to Bandar Penawar for 5 years..
Sending and picking my four children from SMS Bandar Penawar ..
Plying weekly between Skudai and Kuala Lumpur for the past six years ..
and numerous other places in the country without any problem..


It has clocked 232,244 km since it was first met me..
An average of 106 km per day !!!
Despite two minor accidents, the car really serviced me without a major problem..

Although you are just a machine ..
Being together with you for the past six years had made the separation diffiucult for me..
I hope I had given you your right ...
I had only sent you for service at Federal Auto and Tokeo Motor...
Hoping you would get the best treatment ..
To make good whatever required so that you would always be in the best of health..
Giving service without a word of resentment ..

Now..
I have to depart with you with fine memories over the past six years..
I had handed over you to someone I know..
I hope you will continue serving humanity...
Hope you will always be loyal to your new owner..
May you live many more years to serve humans ..

Thank you very much my dear volvo ..

Ulangtahun 125 Sekolahku, Rakan Belajar 32 Tahun Lalu Kutemui ...

Tanggal 11-Oktober, 2008 yang lalu, Sekolah Menengah King Edward VII, Taiping menyambut ulangtahun penubuhannya yang ke-125 tahun. SMKE ini merupakan sekolah tertua di Malaysia. Bertempat di Dewan Perbandaran Taiping, satu jamuan makan malam telah diadakan dengan dihadiri oleh DYMM Sultan Perak, DYMM Raja Muda Perak, YM Raja Dihilir Perak, YB Menteri Bedar Perak serta pegawai-pegawai kanan jabatan pendidikan, guru-guru serta bekas guru serta bekas murid dan pelajar semasa sekolah ini.


Bagiku, bukanlah usia 125 tahun yang dibanggakan tetapi peluang menemui semula rakan sekolahku yang bersamaku selama 6 tahun (1971-1976) merupakan rahmat Allah yang amat aku syukuri. Pertemuan dengan rakan seasrama dan setingkatan denganku yang tidak pernah ku temui sejak November, 1976 (En. Shahrir bin Hj. Azmir) merupakan satu rahmat yang paling indah buat ku. Persahabatan yang terputus kerana tugas dan tanggungjawab kini dapat dijalin semula.

Two long-lost friends who had not met since 1976 (Form 5) and
met during the 125 yrs SMKE VII Celebration on 11-Oct-2008

Aku juga berpeluang menemui pelajar-pelajar di sekitar tahun 1969 hingga 1978 yang mana setengahnya telah tidak ku kenali.
Walaupun hujan telah turun di sebelah petangnya, perjalanan jamuan makan malam telah berjalan dengan lancar.
Sebuah lukisan yang dihasilkan oleh Cik gu Razak (seorang guru yang amat disenangi oleh 100% pelajar yang kini berusia 65 tahun) telah dihadiahkan ke Bahawh Duli Tuanku Sultan Perak yang telah mengingatkan nostalgia semasa zaman persekolahan dahulu.

En. Roli Hassan, Perak Deputy Education Director (Old Edwardian)

Majlis telah tamat pada jam 11.15 malam di mana selepas itu aku sempat berkenalan dengan Pengetuan SMKEVII Taiping, En. Yahya Liman yang juga merupakan saudar 2 pupu aku. Betapa kecilnya dunia ini rupanya.
Adalah ku harapkan ukhuwwah yang terjalin kembali dapat mengeratkan semula persahabatan yang telah terputus sekian lama ke arah menhwujudkan ukhuwwah islamiah yang lebih jitu... Ameen.. Ya Rabb 'alameen..

Bagi mereka yang ingin mengetahui maklumat terperinci tentang sekolah, boleh layari laman web ini - http://www.edwardians.com.my

LIFE BEGIN AFTER FIFTY ??

Hurricane strikes Florida

Some people said, "Life begins at forty" and some said, "Life begins at fifty" ....
Is there any significance to the figure 40 or 50 ??
Or is the figure is just a mere justification to one's bad intention and actions ??
Or it is just a reminder to those who has not realised that the age is catching up on him ...
And there is still a lot of responsibilities that he or she has not performed yet ...
These are : Responsibilities towards mankind and the Creator ....
Let us just ponder with a clear and open mind ...
Whether we are in the 20s, 30s, 40s or 50s years old age bracket, age does not matter any more ... Whatever we used to do when we were young may not be valid anymore when our age catches up with us. So, a smart person is he who can gauge himself and act accordingly to his or her present capability as we are not getting any younger ...

Lightning struck a 75-year old man

TNB staff being electrocuted by electricity while working

We must always think now whether we could still perform the same jobs we
used to do when we were young especially the high risk jobs..

Have we not seen people (friends and relatives) who passed away at the early age ...
Some of them are are much younger than us ...
Of course some are older than us ...
But does it matter much ?? The answer is crystal clear : IT DOES NOT ...
What actually matters to us ??
It is whether we have discharged our responsibilities rightfully
according to the commands of our Creator ... this is what matters ..

Despite us consuming what had been given to us as rizk...
Enjoying the life and comfort of this world...
We should not forget to prepare to meet Him any time without warning ...

A youth struck by lightning while playing football

It is just like being on an Oil Rig to perform some assigned task or work ...
Life activities will go on as usual; everybody is doing their assigned business ..
But...
When an emergency siren is activated on the rig;
Everybody will hurry to their assembly point and ready to evacuate the platform ..
Leaving everything and every tool and equipment that they are handling behind...
So...
We should treat living in this world as what we do when being on an oil rig ..
At least on the oil rig, there is an emergency siren ...
In this world, the sirens had long been sounded through many signs and h
appenings occurring daily around us and all over the world ...
It is whether we have taken the heed to prepare for the emergency evacuation or not ...

If we have not make any preparation yet, let us start doing it now ...
Have we fulfilled all the requirement stipulated in Rukun Iman ...
Have we fulfilled all the requirement stipulated in Rukun Islam ...
Have we enjoined good and forbids evil ...
Have we discharged all responsibilities towards those under our care ..
Our families...
Our relatives ..
Our staff ...
Our friends ...
Our business clients, associates, competitors ..
Our fellow countryman ...
etc..

If we have done our best, Alhamdulillah ...
If we have not...
It is still not to late to pay the dues ..
As,
we will be questioned on how we discharge every single thing that the
Creator (Allah) had given us...
The age... the money... the time ... the wealth (wives & children) ... etc. etc..
So we have to prepare for the Final Examination in the next world...
As, no one is either too young or to old to die ..
And no one could bring forward or backward the time of his death ..
And the date and time is only known to Allah, the All Mighty..
So, let us prepare for the time where we will be moved to the next world ..


Ya Allah... Grant us the good tidings in this world and in the
hereafter and ward us from the wrath (infliction) of the hell-fire...
Ameen Ya Rabb 'A-lameen.

AFK/JB..

KETUPAT PALAS

Just one day before the recent Hari Raya Celebration, I had visited my sister and brother-in-law (BIL) at Kpg. Panchor, Pantai Remis, Perak. It is a norm for me to visit them before hari raya if I do not intend to come home for hari raya due to a very short holiday.
My BIL normally prepares ketupat pulut during every hari raya. It is one of the special food made of glutinous rice which is normally sought after by people in the northern part of the country (Kedah, Penang & Perak) especially during hari raya.

The glutinous rice is initially boiled with coconut santan until about 90% cooked. The rice is then filled into the daun palas and folded into a triangle shape. The 90% cooked ketupat pulut is then cooked or steamed to fully-cook the pulut inside the daun palas.


Once cooked, the ketupat is then (normally) served with rendang ayam, rendang daging, rendang kerang or serunding.

fuaad/perak..

SAFF Consultants

That's the name of my company which was formed in 1995. Alhamdulillah, until now, the company has grown from 3 staff to about 15 now with two main services offered to the clients vis. Consultancy and Inspection & Testing Services.
The word SAFF actually came from Surah As-SAFF one of the 114 surahs in the Holy Quran Al-Kareem. SAFF means Rows or Barisan in Malay Language. It is also signifies a straight row when muslims perform their congegational prayer..
What has been expected by using the word SAFF is that all staff will be united together towards achieving one goal and having the same mission in giving the best and quality services to the customers.

Let us hope what that has been expired by the founder come true... Ameen..

AFKassim/TSPulai..

Syawal, 1429

BSPutra & TSPulai

Heartless Drain Cover Thieves

I am sure many people in this country especially in the new housing areas and townships have experienced or noticed what I had noticed. The incident was not so rampant a few years ago but now it has become one of the major problems faced by Local Authorities and people occupying the premises.
The issue is : Missing GI or Cast Iron Manhole or Drain Covers ...


More and more manhole and drain covers went missing as the price of steel/iron had risen for the past few months. Those ruthless and heartless thieves do not even bother about the safety of people who occupy the buildings in the area by removing the safety cover provided for by the contractors/developers. Without the cover, any vehicle or human being could just fall into the drain or manholes which depth may vary from 600mm to a few meters..


These thieves are not worth to live in this country ..
These thieves are not worth to be called humans ..
They live on the sufferings of others ..
They are just plain lazy and just want easy money ...

So,
We hope that when these heartless thieves are caught, they should be punished by sending them to the iron smiths and replace all the missing steel/iron covers which were missing from the areaa..
More surveillance must be carried out and secured method must be emplyed to make stealing of these covers almost impossible ..
Finally...
Just be careful when you walk along the rows of offices or trying to park your car along the roadside drains... there may be a manhole waiting to swallow you or your vehicle's tyre if you are not careful ...
Take Care and Be Extra Careful ...

Iftar at TTDI Jaya

Yesterday I was invited to my sister's house at TTDI Jaya for an iftar. My elder sister, Kak Izar is visiting her son, Fahmi who was struck by dengue fever and is recovering. Since she is coming in the afternoon, she was invited by the younger sister (Nawal) to have an iftar (breaking of fast) at the later house.
Since I did not have any other iftar plan, when I was invited without hesitation I just drove there after work.
Alhamdulillah, the iftar was a nice one. The special dish was Tanjung Malim Mee Rebus and the VIP is the first grandson of Kak Izar ...


TTDI Jaya..

Its already Mid-Ramadan ...

Ramadan seems to pass by so fast... 50% of Ramadan has gone and nothing can be done to retract the fast that we had observed.. We just pray that Allah will accept our fast as a sincere offering from us as His servant.

Tonight the sky is crystal clear... the moon seemed to be smiling ... It is already the 16th. night of Ramadan, 1429 ... So, let us be more thorough when performing our fast and ibadah.. The Lailatul-Qadar is reported to be in the last portion of the month..


Let us hope that the rest of our fasting will be accepted by Allah ..
Ameen Ya Rabb 'alameen..

Selamat Berangkat & Berjuang, Munzir

Pagi tadi jam 10.00 pagi, Munzir (anak ke-4) telah berangkat bersama rakan-rakannya ke Univrsity of Leeds untuk meneruskan pengajian di bidang perubatan. Pemergian di bulan Ramadan bagi kali pertama ke negara orang ini merupakan cabaran awal yang perlu ditempoh sebelum meneruskan pengajian di sana.

Seawal jam 6.00 pagi pihak JPA telah mengarahkan pelajar yang akan ke sana berkumpul di KLIA. Saya dan Munzir tiba agak lewat sikit kerana mengerjakan solat Subuh bersama sebelum ke KLIA. Waktu subuh hanya masuk pada jam 5.48 pagi. Setelah selesai solat pada jam 6.15 pagi, Munzir telah mendapat panggilan daripada pegawai JPA menanyakan kenapa belum tiba. Insya-Allah, saya meyakinkan Munzir bahawa perkara itu tidak apa kerana dari Bandar Seri Putra hanya mengambil masa 30 minit (keadaan biasa) atau 15 minit (keadaan tersdesak).

Munzir sedang mengenakan Suit (Blazer) dan solat Subuh

Memandangkan keadaan Munzir yang agak kurang selesa, saya terpaksa memilih masa kedua iaitu 15 minit. Alhamdulillah, setelah bertolak pada jam 6.30 pagi, kami tiba di KLIA tepat jam 6.45 pagi yang jaraknya dari rumah saya di BSPutra sejauh 35 Km.

KLIA - Lapangan terbang terbesar di Malaysia

From Left - Munzir, Hidayah & Firah (kakak & adik) dan Tawfiq (abang)

Bergambar bersama uncle, Embah & keluarga sebelum berlepas

Saat sebelum memasuki Get Perlepasan untuk menaiki pesawat ke London

Setiba di KLIA, Munzir telah menguruskan urusan pemeriksaan masuk serta taklimat akhir JPA. Pada jam 8.30 pagi, semua penuntut yang akan ke UK diminta masuk untuk pemeriksaan Imigresen dan ke terminal C untuk penerbangan.

Tiada apa yang dapat dikirimkan lagi selain daripada doa dan pesanan agar Munzir serta rakan-rakan akan berusaha bersungguh-sungguh serta jangan lupa amalan serta tanggungjawab kepada Pemberi Rezeki, Allah SWT.

Sementara itu, pegawai JPA memaklumkan bahawa kerajaaan membiayai antara RM 1.2 - 1.5 juta bagi pengajian perubatan di UK bagi setip pelajar. Jumlah kos yang tinggi ini perlu diberi perhatian yang serius agar bantuan yang diberikan akan dimanfaatkan sepenuhnya dan kembali mencurahkan bakti kepada negara kelak...

Ke kaunter Imigresen KLIA sebelum berlepas ..
Semoga Berjaya Anakku.. Jaga diri semasa di perantauan..
Jangan lupa berdoa untuk kami di sini ..

KLIA Sepang

Iftar Ramadan & Doa Selamat Untuk Munzir

Top : Isma's Families (parents, brother, brother in law,
sister, sister-in-law, nephews and nieces)
Bottom-Left : Munzir with parents & grand-parents
Bottom-Right : Isma accompanying sister-in-laws to the dining hall

Fuaad's Sisters (their husbands, sons & daughters)
Top : From RHS - Fazlina, Kak Izar, Sakinah, Madihah & Amal
(Nawal's daughters), Nawal and Kak Aqilah (white tudung)
Middle : From RHS - Nasir (Nawal's husband), Amin (Kak Izar's husband),
Azlan & Fahmi (Kak Izar's sons), Abg Wan Chik (Kak Aqilah's husband),
Muhaimin & Azam (Nawal's sons)
Bottom : From RHS - Kak Aqilah, Fazlina (Kak Aqilah's daughter),
Kak Izar, Sakinah & Madihah (Nawal's daughters)

Alhamdulillah, dalam kesibukan Ramadan Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) telah memaklumkan bahawa penerbangan Munzir (anak ke-4) ke UK untuk melanjutkan pelajaran di bidang perubatan adalah pada 13hb. September, 2008. MUnzir akan ke University of Leeds, UK selama 5 tahun,


Memandangkan masa yang agak suntuk untuk mengadakan majlis khenduri & doa selamat, kami memutuskan untuk mengadakan majlis Iftar dan Doa Selamat dengan menjemput saudara-mara yang berada di sekitar KL sahaja... itu pun tidak semua dijemput kerana kesuntukan masa. Alhamdulillah, majlis iftar diadakan di Puri Pujangga UKM pada 12-September-2008 yang dihadiri oleh lebih-kurang 70 orang sanak-saudara. Ia diakhiri dengan bacaan doa selamat oleh Sdr. Mohaimin, anak saudara saya yang menuntut di Sekolah Al-Hira', Batu Belah, Klang.

Big Square Photos Description :
Top (from Left) - Kak Ainon (Abang Hilmi's wife), Heriani & Halina (daughters);
Middle (from Left) - Inn, Idayu (Abang Iskandar's daughters) & Hidayah (my daughter);
Bottom - Munzir with his grand-father (Isma's father)

Majlis telah bersurai sebelum Isya' kerana ramai yang akan bertarawih. Semoga pemergian Munzir ke UK akan sentiasa dilindungi dan di dalam Peliharaan-Nya sentiasa...Ameen..

Bangi..13 Ramadan 1429