Monday, October 13, 2008

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

Sunday, October 5, 2008

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..