For Mother's Day - IBU

Ibu,
Kasihmu indah berseri bagaikan pelangi
Sayangmu sesuci embun di pagi hari
Dakapan eratmu hangat bak mentari yang menyinari bumi
Sejati pengorbananmu seharum ambar kasturi
Yang menusuk kedalam sanubari

Ibu,
Semangat wajamu kami kagumi
Sehebat halilintar membelah bumi
Penat, letih, bosan dan jemu
Tiada terukir dalam dirimu
Tak pernah mengalah walau seinci
Tujuanmu hanya kesatu destinasi

Ayah pergi meyahut seruan Illahi
Meninggalkan ibu bersendiri....

Tapi ibu,
Kau bertekad menterai janji
Membesarkan anak anak mu yang kecil lagi
Demi masa depan kami
Kau memeras sepenuh kudrat, urat dan sendi
Sehingga kelihatan percikan keringat di dahi
Kau hanya merendam sebak di hati

Ibu,
Walau seribu badai dan taufan melanda
Kau tempuhi gelora dengan hati rela
Kau gigih berusaha
Kau pendam duka nestapa
Dibibirmu mengukir senyum tawa
Kau tak pedulikan sesiapa
Tak menoleh kebelakang
Siang malam kau terus berjuang

Pada saat raut wajahmu dimamah usia
Kau tersenyum merasa lega
Kerana di ketika itu kesemua anak anakmu sudah berkeluarga
Sudah boleh berpijak sendiri di bumi nyata

Ibu,
Perjuanganmu kami sanjungi
Pemergianmu kami ratapi
Doa buat mu sentiasa mengiringi
Semoga roh mu sentiasa di rahmati
Dan di tempatkan bersama sama insan insan suci

Kenangan bersamamu dihati kami kekal abadi
Semoga Allah mengampuni segala dosa ibu bapa kami
Dan sesungguh nya ibu,
Kaulah serikandi kebahagian kami

By,
Ridzwani Abdul Samad
for Allahyarhamah cousin NENG ABDUL RAHMAN

Khadijah Ibrahim- A Lifetime Achievement Award

Khadijah Ibrahim was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by Berita Harian and TV3 at their recent annual award event. Congratulations Datuk! Wow, after only over 30 years in the business! I wonder what Sharifah Aini think of this - she's been in the industry much longer than that and had received many awards and accolades but I do not remember her ever getting a 'lifetime achievement' award. Khadijah is probably the first recipient of such an award.

Anyway, all praises to where they are due. Khadijah Ibrahim is in fact a great singer and entertainer with a very pleasant personality and a very acute business acumen. She had always been consistent and she's one lady with brains. And she really can cook!

I first heard Khadijah's voice in 1978 at the then Jaya Puri Hotel (today the PJ Hilton) when she was at a very tender age performing at a dinner show, after the release of her first album. I was straightaway impressed by her singing and her voice.

I got to personally know Khadijah in 2003 when she was invited to sing the NAM theme song at the opening of the Conference. I was asked to oversee the rehearsal of that event and I made a few suggestions to her and the choir accompanying her. She later approached me when I was heading the OIC Conference Secretariat for some form of participation but there was nothing relevant for her.

She once invited me to dinner at her apartment at Setiawangsa, and my God what a dinner it was! I swear there were more than 20 dishes lined up in two rows on her dining table - all cooked by her. And there was only me and Harris, our staff from the New York office who was on home leave (she and Harris used to duet at shows in New York and apparently they wanted to set up a restaurant there but could not find a premise). She shrugged off my incredulity at the number of dishes and said she merely wanted me to sample her cooking! And I can vouch what a great cook she is! She even packed me a variety of cookies she made to take with me for my trip to Morocco and Tunisia the next day (I gave them to my colleague in Rabat and he was thrilled to know that they were made by the great singer!). While we were having dinner she received a phonecall and it was from her great singing partner Ramli Sarip. Their 1989 duet number ' Ku Miliki Bayanganmu' is my all-time favourite.

The last time I met Khadijah was in January 2007 when she led a powerful singing quartet consisting of herself, Ning Baizura, Syafinaz and Esther Khoo at the Gala Night of the 2007 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland which Malaysia hosted. It was such a great performance by the foursome and Khadijah was in her elements interacting with the appreciative strong international crowd. Indeed they made Malaysia proud.

Once again, congratulations Datuk Khadijah Ibrahim! May you continue to shine in your illustrious career.
See video : http://youtu.be/ra13nkHckNE
                  http://youtu.be/fBnjBjZEe9w

Meniti Pelangi Mencari Mimpi

Sepanjang perjalanan meniti kehidupan
Kucari mimpi mimpi
Tak pernah ku temui
Umpama pengembara
Ku hadapi segalanya
Walau sering terkecewa

Sekali ku melangkah
Aku kan terus melangkah
Biar pun ku sedari
Ku meniti pelangi
Kerana keindahan warnanya mempesona
Kelabu pandangan mata

Lingkungan warna warna indah
Biar seketika
Pelangi di langit yang muram
Menasyikkan
Sejenak ku biarkan diri melayani hati
Mencari mimpi mimpi indah
Sia sia,
Seumpama pengembara
Terpedaya

Kerana mimpi
Hanya mimpi..... Driving home as it was getting dark a few days ago I heard this song from the 80s hauntingly sung by Azlina Aziz. I had always liked the song and the way Azlina sang it. And I had in the past thought the lyric beautiful and meaningful. But today on reflection, I think the message of the song is rather negative - threading on a rainbow seeking meaningless dreams which will never come true just as the rainbow will surely disappear.

Well I beg to disagree. A dream, however frivolous is the start of everything. I have fulfilled my dreams, not all but most. And I will still dreams on (or have ambition and entertain hope) and strive to achieve them. What is life without dreams and hopes . And after all, God is so great, you need to only ask Him, pray for it and work towards it and always be grateful for what you get, Insha Allah.
See video : http://youtu.be/dOhbRmdN1hs

Homecoming Prologue

Salam and greetings!
Thank you to those who urge me to continue blogging. I will do my best, it's difficult with no pc yet at home.

Twenty four days today since my final homecoming. I feel generally well though I am still trying to get used to the heat and humidity, the noise, the crowd and traffic. The last one week had been a pleasant respite from some of that due to the Chinese New Year holidays, though the weather had been exceptionally hot!

At this point I will say that I don't like Kuala Lumpur anymore! The far distances between places is such a bother for me. I hate all the disproportionate tall buildings, haphazardly popping out at every turn of your head. I hate the bumpy roads with bad, worn out surfacing and holes you find everywhere, even around so-called 5-star buildings and zones! I hate the disorderly state of things, rubbish by roadsides and buildings. And all those illegal advertisements being hung and posted everywhere, on lamp posts, walls, on street corners, on trees and even on road signs, everywhere! What are you doing about this Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur!!! And yet things seem to be normal by every one's standards but mine!

After the tranquil silence of Switzerland, the constant noise in KL is something I find hard to get used to. Fortunately where I live it is quiet except there is a renovation work of a house behind mine, and when the neighbour's dogs bark and when there are deliveries to houses around me. Then there are these 'migratory' birds that are currently on a long 'stopover' in this region that make this awful noise for long spells especially early in the morning and during some part of the day.

Alas, I am home. This is my country, my home where I belong. I must just get used to it all, Insha Allah.

On the plus side, I have been extremely well-received by family and friends, with non-stop series of dinners and lunches. And there are many still I have yet to contact and meet. And I must say that all the services I have availed myself to so far had been good, exceptionally good, better than I remember them to be. Must be the KPI thing the government is pushing so hard. Well done Malaysia!

Yet on the other hand it is hard to grasp the fact that most everywhere I went I was always served by a foreigner - Indonesian, Nepali, Bangladeshi, Mynmarese, Cambodian, Pakistani, Filipino, mainland Chinese, etc etc and the list goes on. Where do we go from here and where does it all end eventually!!! Are Malaysians are so spoiled, they can't do anything themselves anymore!

Yes I am home again in my beloved, somewhat extraordinary, rather overboard of a country where everything 'CAN' - Malaysia Boleh ma! I do wish that some things are 'TAK BOLEH' and Malaysians learn more from what are beyond our country's borders and our own mindsets.What a fortunate lot we Malaysians are to have so many good things that some other countries can only wish for. And that's the problem. We take things so for granted and along the way we lose some essential and important things.

Yes indeed, I am home and I will make the very best of my life here, syukur Alhamdullilah.

Goodbye Switzerland...

Almost exactly four years ago (in two days) I arrived in this wonderful country on a cold, dark morning to a completely snow-covered ambiance. After over an hour’s drive we arrived at the capital city and checked into what is until today the city’s only 5-star Hotel. I did not like the cold, old-world ambiance of the extremely formal hotel and only after two nights (I was booked for five) moved out and into the house which was in fact ready and waiting for me. The house was very modest by most standard but it was a reflection of Swiss modesty, subtlety and lack of ostentation. It was, however, in the best part of the city, and had an enormous mature garden and a small pool (more for splashing in than for swimming). I remember my domestic staff happily taking photographs standing on that frozen water in the middle of the pool.

As it turned out, the small modest house hosted scores of formal and informal dinners and lunches, and garden parties and a practically endless succession of house guests throughout my four years in it. Indeed, wise people say it is the 'berkat' (blessing) of the house.

Well the scene today is just as it was four years ago - snow, frozen pool and all.The cycle is now complete, and in two days I will leave Switzerland for good. Today I celebrate my departure (and my birthday) with my loyal staff and close friends of 'The Firm'.

I leave with a happy and content feeling that I have had a good, if not excellent four years here. I have done my job to the best of my ability and the fact that I stayed on for four years speak for itself. And there is nothing more wanting on my part from Switzerland. I had partaken all the best I could possibly from this small incredible country of practically the best of everything (and, oh yes, I did finally buy the newest model Rolex Oyster Perpetual as a farewell gift to myself – my last souvenir from Switzerland, indulgent as it may be). And as if to indeed close the circle I was officially honoured to a farewell luncheon yesterday at the very hotel where I began my life here.

Will I miss Switzerland? Not really, I do not really miss anything I leave behind and I always look back to the happy memories of the place I leave. But I will never hesitate to tell people what a great place to live in Switzerland is. Indeed it has the best of everything and the people work hard for it. And they are modest, polite, friendly, hospitable and very correct in everything they do. And I especially like the egalitarian way of life they religiously adhere to. I will most probably miss the cheerful excellent service the shops, restaurants and any other establishment provide here and how people always almost unfailingly greet me everywhere.

Now I go home to Malaysia for good, and my overseas assignment days are finally over after over 21 years living abroad in eight countries. I still look forward to travelling, though I tell myself not longer than 5 hours flight one-way! Switzerland and all the other seven countries I have lived in and the countless countries I have travelled to and visited in the last 35 years will provide me with ample good memories for the rest of my life. What a fortunate and blessed life to have had these opportunities! Alhamdullilah, Alhamdullilah, Alhamdullilah! About this time too, four years ago in a crowded tent in Mina at the end of our pilgrimage ritual, just before we headed back to Mecca after our two weeks of performing one of the compulsory tenets of Islam, our ustaz made his farewell speech and doa (prayer) to our group of some fifty pilgrims. He also made a point to mention that I would be taking up an assignment in Switzerland immediately after returning to Malaysia and that he and the other pilgrims prayed for my success and well-being. Thank you ustaz, and my fellow pilgrims - I believe Allah had graciously answered your prayers for me! Alhamdullilah!

When one door closes, another one opens. I look forward to a new chapter in my life. Perhaps a calmer and modest, or an even more exciting and challenging one, who knows. I am ever ready for anything.

This will probably be my last entry in this blog. I have enjoyed indulging in it and Switzerland provided me with much time, occasion and facility to write. But I have very little patience for the notoriously slow Internet service in Malaysia. But then perhaps even that could improve in time – after all life is full of surprises.

Thank you for reading my blog. Good bless.

The "Swiss" Firm

Members: Rus, Rosli, Mas, Mira, Eva, Kamaruddin, Ramli, Gunawan, Yocki, Nordin, Hafiz, Meor.
Acknowledgement: Thank you all for your warm unwavering and efficient service and support. God bless.

Sunday Outing - Geneva, Evian & Montreux - and of representing Johor.

I woke up to a bright sunny day. However, just after a few minutes drive from my house it was misty and grey most of the two-hours drive to Geneva where my friend and colleague honoured with a farewell lunch. His entire staff was there with their families.It was a very pleasant occasion with good food and a warm and cordial atmosphere. The dozen plus children were oblivious to the cold and had a rousing time playing on the veranda overlooking Lake Geneva. For the ride home I decided to have a final drive through France, whose nearest border was just a short distance from the house. It was a pleasant drive through quaint villages and finally through the beautiful city of Evian facing the lake. I saw some people queuing to collect water from an old fountain. If they only knew how much Evian water costs in Malaysia. It was already dark when we reentered Switzerland near Montreux and drove through the well-lit, glittering beautiful lakeside city. I always like Montreux especially in Summer when the lakeside promenade is so beautifully coloured by masses of many variety of flowers, and the clear blue water of Lake Le Man framed the view of France on its other side. I had many smses throughout my drive. Idah called from London to bid me a good journey home and a promise to meet up in JB in April. She and hubby Alam alternate living with their daughters in UK and Holland, and after April hopes to follow the family in Holland to Saudi Arabia where son-in-law is being assigned. Little Aidan will have to get used to the heat!

And of heat, Hoong Po smsd from Canberra also to bid me a good trip home, complaining it was 36 degrees Centigrade there. A similar farewell message from Fawzia in Copenhagen. Ah Yong smsd to thank me for a book I bought her and to remind me of the two Raphael Scott Ahbeng's paintings she had asked me to acquire.

Nephews Amat and Chen both smsd that their father (my dearest departed sister's husband) was not well and was admitted in hospital in Kemaman. Another fried smsd that his mother is finally out of hospital and asked me to say a prayer for her. Surely!

My young charge smsd me my new mobile number he had registered for me in Malaysia. Also to informed that he and my brother Wes and wife had cleaned up and spruced my house in KL (which had been vacant for six months), now all ready for me to reoccupy.

Cousin Wan J smsd that our family's 'Family Day' (in honour of our long-departed grandparents)in JB scheduled for 15 February would now be postponed due to the recent demise of Almarhum Sultan Iskandar (may Allah SWT bestows all blessings upon his soul). I will never forget what Almarhum told me when I paid my courtesy on him (mengadap) before my last two overseas assignments - that I was not to just be representing Malaysia, BUT also Johor!

Another four days and I am in motherland, Insha Allah!