Salam Ramadhan

Today we completed one week of fasting. Alhamdullilah it had not been difficult at all for me despite some 16 hours of fasting each day. A friend complained that the older he gets the more difficult fasting is for him. On the contrary, the older I get the easier it is for me to get through Ramadhan. And I always feel so peaceful and more blessed during this holy month. So unlike during my younger days when it would be terribly easy to loose my cool when fasting.

The easiest Ramadhan I ever had was in New York in 2000 and in Hawaii in 2004. I was in New York for a 4-month assignment and fasted almost a whole month before flying home for raya. Ramadhan was in December, and imsak would be about 6 am and breakfasting just before 4 pm! It was so easy - I would leave my meeting to break fast and then join in again. And I had the whole evening ahead of me like any normal night. In Hawaii Ramadhan was in October/November, and imsak was just before 6 am and breakfasting also before 6 pm! Also plain sailing. I remember even going to the gym every other night after Isyak during the whole month of ramadhan. And when I went home after that three months stint in Honolulu, my doctor said my medical tests produced the best results he ever recorded, and that Hawaii must have been really agreeable for me! Indeed!

Next week my American colleague has invited me with other Muslim colleagues for iftar at his residence. This has become tradition with the Americans as a sign of respect and solidarity with Muslim colleagues during the holy month. A prayer room is provided for those who wish to perform the prayer. I hope I will not be caught again like last year, when without notice and least expected I ended up as the imam leading the Maghrib prayer!

A VERY BLESSED RAMADHAN TO ONE AND ALL!

Art Exhibition - TAMPANNYA BUDI/The Beauty of the Malay Intellect

Our former Prime Minister The Honourable Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had just awhile ago officiated an art exhibition in the Balai Seni Lukis Negara/National Art Gallery entitled TAMPANNYA BUDI/The Beauty of the Malay Intellect. I am extremely honoured that my painting below was selected to be exhibited as well, together with works of well-established Malaysian artists.

I was requested to accompany my painting with a traditional Malay pantun, which I had some difficulty with as my painting was abstract. Anyway, with the help of a friend I came up with the pantuns. But I have to confess that that the pantuns do not really reflect what I feel for my painting. What is a true reflection of the painting is poetry below which my dear friend Randhir in Melbourne composed after seeing the painting, with some editing by me. Thanks Randy, I absolutely love it!Heaven opens its door but for a moment
Lo a swirling of colours
blending in a spectrum,
of vividness beyond imagination
It is my gift,
from whence you know not where,
and for now you know not why...
In this brief moment,
a gift descends for all mankind
Here are your colours,
transform them if you can....
In the east, the sun is rising,
the clouds rise in a thinner mist,
and seem to touch the very sun,
that dominates over all my creation,
moving across your domain,
painting your world in forms beyond comprehension...
I am the Maker!
I gave you the palette a million years before.
I gave you the blues of the oceans,
the greens of your forests,
and textured your landscapes in ways
you can never dream of
I gave regal roses for manicured gardens,
that stand proud and adored,
Clusters of lavenders that cover your valleys in purple haze
Golden marigolds and simple daisies of the meadows
I brighten the end of your Winter
with the splendour of a daffodil show
I give you mystical orchids that hide in forests shadows,
in forms elusive, that sprays your senses with perfumes wild.
Here from my heavens,
a gift!
A myriad burst of colours...
See what you can form or find
Do with them what you can,
but never will they be like mine!

Liechtenstein luncheon, Winterthur dinner

The Principality of Liechtenstein is a tiny, landlocked country tucked away between Switzerland and Austria and with mountain slopes rising above the Rhine valley. It is the smallest German-speaking country in the world with a population of 36,000. Much of its wealth is based on its status as a low tax haven. Around 75,000 companies have their nominal "letter box" offices in Liechtenstein, where business tax rates are very favourable. With an area of 160 sq. km/61.8 sq miles, Liechtenstein is the fourth smallest state in Europe. Despite its size, the country can look back on a very eventful history of rapid development, from an agrarian country to a highly industrialized state.

Yesterday 15 August was Liechtenstein's National Day. I was invited to a traditional buffet luncheon in its capital Vaduz at a beautiful rustic restaurant atop an abundantly fruiting hillside vineyard with a lovely view of the landmark castle.Our hostess whispered to me that she has just spent a week's holiday in Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu and she was aesthetic about it.

It was a hot sweltering day and we enjoyed the generous buffet and good company in the restaurant covered patio surrounded by rows of vines. I asked a young lady opposite me what she wrote as her nationality on embarkation cards during her travels and she gleefully said ' Liechtensteiner!' Quite a mouthful and there had been occasions when she was asked where and what country that was!!

The event lasted nearly 3 hours and I made my way back to Winterthur in that sweltering heat - some two hours drive. I was there the night before for dinner with Guna, a very successful Malaysian who had lived there some 30 years. Guna, his Swiss wife and two teenage sons (he had another son living in KL and one in Norway) lived in a nice house with a beautiful garden at Winterthur's highest residential; his house had on one side a sweeping view of the city and the other a beautiful hilly meadow leading to a forest. His charming wife Ursula loved white roses and the garden was full of them, as well as white hibiscus. I told Guna I could only dream of living in a place like that!

Guna took me to an excellent Indian restaurant, with Ismail who had come all the way from Denmark to cook Malay food for Guna's 50th birthday party the following night. Ismail had lived in Copenhagen for forty years, even after his Danish wife passed away eleven years ago.

Guna insisted I come back for his birthday dinner after my lunch in Vaduz. I had promised to join Patrick and Alfie for an early dinner in Zurich. And it would be a bit too much of travelling; I had a hotel room in Schaffhausen some 48 kilometres away, and would have to drive to Vaduz about two hours away next day and then return to Winterthur, another two hours drive! But I enjoyed Guna and Ismail's company and agreed to come for the dinner. I was also curious about Ismail's cooking!

It turned out to be a most pleasant event. There were were some 60 people, plenty of food (rather pedas for my taste though) and drinks, live music courtesy of another long-residing Malaysian, Edmund. And above all plenty of goodwill from the many Malaysian friends of Guna - those who had been living in this country for many years (and their family and friends). When it got dark Guna and Ursula led their guests to dance in the street. It was a first for me!

I was glad to spend almost four hours at the party. And then it was another two hours drive home. Thank God for Yocki's cool, steady driving and 70 minutes of Kris Kristofferson songs. I arrived almost midnight and one of my two boys was not even home yet from his outing in Luzern!

Hazizah's garden

Yesterday, my staff and I were treated to a very lovely lunch by Hazizah and Peter (and son Andrian,another son Johannes was unwell) in their beautiful garden. It was so pleasant we stayed more than five hours! Hazizah had a way with her garden, tending to it lovingly and getting masses of flowers and fruits - apples, pears, grapes and all sorts of berries - from it each summer. She planted flowers everywhere, on balconies, window sills, on the ground and in pots. When we left all us were given a bag of pears from her abundant fruiting trees; and soon the apples would be ready too. Last month she gave my cook kilos of raspberries which he made into jams. I really enjoyed the occasion. Hazizah and Peter are really wonderful people. Retired Peter wants them live in Malaysia for good from next year and Hazizah would be sad to leave her Swiss garden! I remember at last year's similar lunch, in the course of out conversation Hazizah said to Peter (jokingly I presume) should she die first he was welcome to marry another woman, to which Peter replied (rather sweetly and touching I thought) that the woman must be another Malaysian!

A Swiss brunch and fireworks on a lake

Saturday 1 August was the Swiss National Day. I was invited to a brunch at a farm. It was a beautiful sunny day and our hosts provided the typical Swiss fare of rosti, cold cuts, cheeses and breads, coffee, tea and juices. A band played typical Swiss music and a horse cart was on hand to take us around the beautiful farm.

In the early evening, while the sun was at it's blazing peak I drove to Payerne and joined my friend Stephane at his beautiful golf club which used to be his family farm. We drove to Cheyres, one of the many scenic towns on Lake Neuchatel. There were so many people enjoying the lake and the exceptional warm weather and waiting for the evening's festivities. Stephane had his personal boat anchored at the marina there, supposedly one of the biggest lake marinas in Europe.

From there we sailed to Neuchatel. And I had never seen so many people in that lovely small town, enjoying outdoor meals. We managed to get a table too and had our dinner. By the time our dinner was over the crowd had really swelled especially all along the lakefront and we had some difficulty getting to the boat. We then joined the many boats floating on the lake to wait for the big moment when the fireworks would start. In the meanwhile we could see other fireworks from the other lakeside towns like Estavayer-le-Luc, Yverdon and Cheyres. And when the Nuechatel fireworks went off it was really something! Stephane said it was the biggest fireworks in the region.

Back in Cheyres, the party was still on with food and music under tents and under open sky! Stephane decided to sleep in his boat and I made my one hour's drive back home through the villages before joining the highway.

It was probably the warmest, sunniest day we have had for a long time and just as well as the following two days it was grey, rainy and cold all over again....

Farewell to thee Yasmin Ahmad (1958-2009)

Yasmin Ahmad passed away on 25 July 2009 after suffering a stroke. Al-Fatihah …….

What a loss for Malaysians and for the Malaysian film industry particular.

Yasmin’s sudden departure at 51, when she had so much to live for and so much more to give, was a renewed jolt for me of how brittle life can be...

I first met Yasmin in 2003 at a launch of one of Mercy Malaysia’s new project by Datuk Dr. Jamilah Mahmood (now Tan Sri ). We sat at the same table and I remember her introducing herself when I joined the table.

I had known of Yasmin through my dear friend and former housemate Ali Mohammed. They were both working at Leo Burnett, and Ali used to tell me about their antics at work. And of course I had seen and enjoyed Yasmin’s creative works through her famous commercials for Petronas etc, especially for the Hari Raya and other festive occasions.

When her first feature film ‘Rabun’ had its premiere at the Dewan Bahasa Auditorium I attended it. Yasmin was there too and made an opening remark.

When she won the Grand Prix for Best Feature Film and Special Mention of the Generation Award at The Berlin Film Festival 2007 for ‘Mukhsin’, and a string of awards for the precious ‘Tan Hong Ming in love’ commercial, I smsd her my congratulations and asked if she could send me the vcd of ‘Tan Hong Ming’ to be shown at my reception which she obligingly did.

‘Mukhsin’ was also chosen as the closing film for the Fribourg Film Festival. I attended the showing with a large group of Malaysians including students who had come all the way from Stuttgart and Munich. It was a full-house and many people were turned away as they were no more tickets left. I smsd Yasmin that there was a rapturous applause at the end of the film and she was pleased.

Last year “Muallaf” was invited to the Locarno Film Festival and I was invited to its premiere . Unfortunately on the same day I had an official engagement in Liechtenstein and it was just too much effort to dash off from Vaduz to Locarno (some 3 hours drive) to catch the showing. Yasmin had earlier on smsd me (jokingly) if I could find sponsors for the two young actors of the film to attend the Festival. She could not as she was shooting Talentime at that time

Later, in October when I went back to Kuala Lumpur for a short holiday I stayed at a friend’s apartment in the same building where Yasmin lived. I met her one day at the guard house and we had a chat. She was philosophical about ‘Muallaf’ not being able to be screened in Malaysia. I asked her if I could have a dvd copy of the film and she said she did not own the right to it anymore. She invited me to a private preview of ‘Talentime’ the following week but I was going home in a few days time already.

I am grateful to have this small rapport with this beautiful and talented person, Yasmin Ahmad. She loved our country and its diversity so much and wanted to give as much back. But to quote a line from one of her movies, ' how do you love something so much that does not love you back...'.

By all means she was a very friendly and modest person with no airs. I have yet to see ‘Muallaf’ and ‘Talentime’ but I think ‘Sepet’ will always remain my favourite film of hers, and all those funny and heart-warming/wrenching commercials of hers.

Yasmin Ahmad, rest-assured you will be much-missed and long-remembered.
May Allah S.W.T. bestow His abundant blessings upon you. Amin

Note: Mercy Malaysia will soon be launching 'The Mercy Malaysia-Yasmin Ahmad Children Fund', an initiative of the outgoing head of Mercy Malaysia Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood who was Yasmin's best friend in memory of Yasmin's love for children.

The solitary violin player

After a grey cold Saturday, the sun came out full force today though temperature was only in the low 20s. Still blinding bright at 7.30 pm! The rock concert revellers in the Gurten hill nearby must be having a field time today, the last day of the local annual rock music festival. They had a very wet, rainy start Friday night and yesterday it drizzled off and on. I woke up at 2 am this morning to go to the bathroom and the music was still blasting away. How unusually sporting of the neighbourhood to allow this!

In the late afternoon I visited the annual 2-day Asian Fair and left after 15 minutes - it was the same old thing I had seen in the last three years, dominated by Thai food stalls (extremely popular I have to admit). And next week a 2-day annual Thai Food Festival, and Chaiyong has invited me for a buffet lunch. The Thais have really stamped their mark here.

I went to the old town for an hour's walk in the pleasantly uncrowded ambiance, which was far from the usual. Almost at the end of the hour I heard beautiful haunting violin music in the air of Schubert's 'Ave Maria', a favourite of mine. The music led me to a solitary young violin player, standing in the empty passage of the Zytglogge tower, where the city's landmark clock was. I dropped a coin in his violin box and took some photos.

When he finished playing I walked on, and that's when he started playing another one of my favourite piece , Cesar Frank's 'Panis Angelicus'.

Barely half a minute later I was engulfed in a large group of some 50 elderly and rather animated Japanese tourists! Well, was I glad they were not around when the young man was playing 'Ave Maria'....