Negaraku #3 - 10 tahun sblm merdeka

Well, for this one, no more quiz, but I really want to share this documentary I saw recently. It was my colleague who showed it to me (thanks Mira~!) ... and I want you to watch it too.

It's about the other side of the story... you know there are always 2 sides to a story (of even maybe more)... well this is the left-wing side of story. How they too tried to fight for merdeka. And no... this is not something you'll learn at school. Here, I've put the 1st part of the documentary. The complete documentary is only about half an hour long and available on YouTube...

You may agree with it... or you may not... but at least it opens up our mind~ =)

P.S.: Met, this is the one I wanted you to see...

Negaraku~ kuiz #2

Let's play another kuiz! huhu... since today at the office they were talking about kuih, let's see how well do you know kuih-kuih melayu?!

Since I stay at sempadan Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, with parents and relatives orang Melaka and Perak... so I'm not well exposed to kuih-kuih from negeri-negeri pantai timur (except for those yang Gta ajar when I was in KB... thanks met~!), and those from Sabah or Sarawak. So this list is limited to only those that I actually know hahaha... and please note, there may be more than one name for each type of kuih.

So, let's staaaart~~~ ... Namakan kuih-kuih dibawah:

And again... hadiah kuiz is the new-found knowledge!!! huhu... at least, if you go bazaar ramadhan now, you know what it's called :P

P.S.: The pictures were taken from all over Internet... and they're for illustration purpose only, dan bukan untuk menguji kesabaran anda yang berpuasa :P

Negaraku~ #1 ... kuiz merdeka!!!

Teringat balik what we did semalam... I was helping my colleagues out preparing for this month's Bakti session (which was today, tapi sorry sgt turns out in the end tak dpt join~). Anyway... they were preparing questions to give out to the kids masa kuiz nanti.

So, in conjunction with the upcoming Merdeka, let's learn more about our beloved country. See if YOU can answer ALL these questions WITHOUT GOOGLING (which I doubt you can, coz we had to google them up too =P):

Beri / namakan....

1. Nama-nama 4 sahabat Hang Tuah
2. Negara-negara bersempadan dengan Malaysia
3. Sungai terpanjang di Malaysia
4. Warna jalur teratas pada Jalur Gemilang: merah atau putih? (no googling~!)
5. Peristiwa yang menyebabkan terbentuknya Rukun Negara
6. Wanita yang menjatuhkan sumpah selama 7 keturunan di Langkawi
7. Negara-negara yang pernah menjajah tanah kita ini
8. Gunung tertinggi di Malaysia
9. Tun Hussein Onn digelar sebagai Bapa ______________
10. Jumlah bilangan orang bergelaran Tun dibenarkan (yang masih hidup) pada sesuatu masa
11. Beza Datuk dan Dato'
12. Negeri-negeri Melayu Bersekutu
13. Definisi orang Melayu mengikut Perlembagaan
14. Negeri-negeri yang sekarang tidak mempunyai Sultan
15. Tema bagi Hari Kermerdekaan untuk tahun ini (2010)
16. Berapa jalur yang ditutupi oleh bulan dan bintang pada Jalur Gemilang
17. Sungai terlebar di Malaysia
18. Tahun kereta Proton dilancarkan
19. Nama bermula dengan Wan adalah berketurunan / asal dari negeri mana?
20. Pada PETRONAS Twin Tower, tower mana yang lebih tinggi?

Hadiah kuiz??? It's the new-found knowledge that you get of course! huhu...

P.S.: Would like to thank a certain TP at the office for making us read through the slides on kemerdekaan (complaining we don't have jati diri sebagai warga Malaysia =P)... thank you~!

Flood in Pakistan

"Pakistan’s worst-ever floods have killed 1,600 people and displaced as many as 20 million. As many as 17 million acres (6.8 million hectares) of farm land have been submerged and billions of dollars of crops destroyed. - Bloomberg, Aug 21st."

It's a pity that people have to endure such hardship, especially in Ramadhan. They won't even get to celebrate Eid (makes you feel very grateful huh?).

So, let's help out... Mercy Malaysia has launched Pakistan Relief Fund recently (click here for more info) and a team has been sent to actively help out on the ground since 4th August. There are other organizations that are helping out too.

P.S.: Every contribution, no matter how small counts... =)

Complete...next~! =P

Met schedule to get my crossstitch done by June!!! huhu... and finally it is framed! Uncle yg buat frame tu pun baik je layan nk warna merah la, frame warna brown la... sgt happy k! Now dah tergantung kat living room ... klau nak tengok jemput datang raya nnti =P hehehe

My next project (target complete by end of this year~ =p):

P.S.: Met, klau kamu nak design bunga tu ckp je k. I wld love your fruit basket by the way.

Book Reviews....

Let's just cramp everything into one entry~! haha. Here's my review of 5 books that I have read (either this or previous year). Please understand that these are just my personal view, you may agree with me... or maybe not, best you give the book(s) a try yourself ;)

1. Quran Saintifik (by Dr Danial Zainal Abidin)
Rate: 5.0 /5.0

I would honestly recommend reading this book. Very good for self knowledge. You'll see the significance and advantages of the things that we do as a Muslim (such as tahnik, avoiding pork and alchoholic drinks, etc.). And most importantly you'll discover the beauty of the Quran itself =)

2. A Thousand Splendid Suns (by Khaled Hosseini)
Rate: 4.5 / 5.0

A nice novel really - the story of Laila growing up in a middle of war time, and all the hardship and sadness she gone through. You can kinda feel the horrors of being in war zone area, not knowing who would end up dead the next day... Anyway, I prefer this book compared to Khaled's Kite Runner.

3. Ajaibnya Sedekah (by Muhammad Muhyidin)
Rate: 1.5 /5.0
I think the author started off with good intention and good idea of writing this, but somehow I can only manage to read it only uptil half of the book (the reason because I find the writing style is annoying). IMO, the concept of the more you give the more you get can't be explained logically by mathematical eqn or economic model (it's just magic~ could be your rezeki or a test)... so for the book trying to explain it, I'm just lost. Plus, I'm just annoyed that there's no proper referencing done (I expected to see list of references at the back or at least footnote on which Surah or Hadith it is taken... En. Azizan just said that I was being too much of a researcher =P sorry~)

4. Lost Symbol (by Dan Brown)
Rate: 4.0 / 5.0
The first half of the book is just slow and almost boring... but towards the ending it gets really good. I'm amazed that the book in the end emphasizes on the importance of Holy Books to humankind (although they think the Books are written by early geniuses and not from God - they must have been atheist then rite?). What I love about this book is not it's story (I think Da Vinci Code is much better) ... but I love the impact it made on me... thinking how lucky I am to be born a Muslim.

I know this kinda run out of the topic, but try imagining living the whole life not believing in God (as an atheist). What would motivate you to do good? What would be your whole purpose of living really? As a Muslim, we believe in heaven and hell, we understand our role on this earth, and the need to do good and we know our Quran is protected until the end of time. So true, it is the saviour to humankind... if we were to follow it's teaching closely.

Yeah... Mr. Brown might have just put bits and pieces of facts together just for the sake of a bestseller novel... but I would have to applaud for writing books that are controversial, but encourage ppl to think (although that might not have been his intention~! who knows).

5. Enjoy Your Life (by Dr. Muhamad 'Abd Al-Rahaman)
Rate: 4.5 / 5.0
This is a motivational book on how to be a better person, based on examples from our Prophet. Quite light reading. Below are a few good points picked out from the book.

• Perhaps just a smile at a poor man would raise you in rank in the sight of Allah.
• Respond to mistreatment with kindness.
• Do not interfere with matters that do not concern you.
• Be content with what Allah has apportioned for you.
• If you are obliged to do something or forced into a situation then you might as well enjoy it!
• Do not burden yourself with what you cannot do
• Be careful to not allow yourself to be pressurized by others
• Whoever is humble for Allah's sake, Allah elevates him. Allah only increase the honour of the one who is humble.
• Intelligence is not to win an argument, it is to avoid it
• Put yourself in the shoes of the one critised & think from his perspective. Only then pass a judgement on him.
• Help by your speech if you cannot do so in any other way.
• Piety is to show good manners
• Why should we continue to torture ourselves over something which was over & done? Do not pay attention to small matters.
• Steady on principles
• Remember names
• Worship in secret
• Smile and keep smiling
• Be concerned about others
• Be optimistic & have good opinion on ppl.