ABCB - Korge Didahulukan,Makanan Diutamakan

Last weekend,for the third time in a row,I've missed another ABCB Family Day..I've been told that there were around 200 people attended the Family Day this time around..Danggg,time aku takde laa ramai orang boleh turun..huhu..My Family Day is usually held every two or three years and if I'm not mistaken,last weekend's was the fifth one..

ABCB stands for 'anak beranak Che Bi'..Che Bi is the name of my late grandmother..She's well known in Pekan during that time with that name..Nama betul Arbiah..:-)..I called her 'Mak', like how most of us in the family do..That shows how close we were with her..Till today,I never mention her as 'arwah' Mak,cause she's still here,inside me all the time..and forever it will be~

Mak,with her first daughter (Mama),first cucu (my Kak Long),and first cicit (Hani,anak Kak Long saya)..4 different generation..

ABCB is the acronym used to describe my whole extended family..The whole clan..Believe me,it's BIG..and the best part of it- we are really closed to each other..:-)

During those days when I was a kid,we didn't have all this family day thingy..Sebab kami selalu berkumpul di kampung kitorg kat Pekan..Everytime during school holidays,we'll be sent over to Pekan to live with Mak,or tidur rumah mak-mak saudara yang lain..I was quite fortunate to be able to experience a 'kampung lifestyle'.. All of us,cousins will mengaji al-Quran with Mak,main hujan,kalau musim banjir main banjir,menyibuk time Mak Zah bakar sampah,panjat pokok jambu belakang rumah,kene kejar dengan angsa,kutip buah rambutan pakai galah,bagi ayam makan hampas kelapa,main kejar-kejar,tangkap berudu (berudu in English apa ek?),pegi main tikam kedai Nyah or kedai Haji bla..bla..bla..Bestnyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!haha..

But now,kampung pun dah jadi modern,people has moved over to some other places,kerja jauh-jauh, masing-masing busy,beranak-pinak etc..Time has become so limited for everyone to meet each other frequently..And pity those younger generations now,that they don't have the time and environment to play like how we used to during our days.. Budak-budak sekarang akan lepak main komputer,PS3 laa,Ipad etc.. So,the interactions between them becoming less and less..and a Family Day like this,is always important to keep the bonding strong..I was brought up with a very strong family bonds between us,and it has to be continued to the younger generation of ABCB..

They all looked soo sihat alhamdulillah..

We are not a rich family,tetapi kita juga bukan orang susah..What made us strong as a family is the love and our sense of belonging.. Kita tidak ada masalah berebut harta macam orang lain..Kita tidak bermasam muka lama-lama bila berselisih faham.. Kita tidak ada masalah dengki-mendengki sesama saudara..I've heard soooo many stories about other people's family yang berpecah-belah,siap ada yang berbomoh-bomoh lagi, and I thank Allah that it never happened in our family..I always pray that it will continue for the rest of our life..

Di hari-hari akhir Mak ketika hayatnya,saya bersamanya hampir sepanjang masa..There were times when there was only two of us..I talked a lot to Mak when we were together.. She's the most humble and caring person that I've ever met..I swear to God..Even when she was lying down,sick during her final days..Dia tau dia sakit,tapi dia tak nak dan takut dia akan menyusahkan orang..Sedangkan,saya hanyalah seorang cucu that will do anything for my grandmother..Mak asked me to be next to her bed most of the time until her last day..We had some private conversations together kadang-kadang..:-)..Moments that I will treasure till I die..~



Mak never worried about her health condition,she was strong..The only thing she worried about was her family.."Aku takut anak cucu aku nanti berpecah-belah bila aku dah tak ada nanti~",that's what she said..I know,I was there..So I believe that was her 'will' that everyone in the family have to keep in mind as a reminder forever..

All the younger generation now might have never met their grandparents,but we will make sure yang tunjuk ajar Mak tentang kasih sayang,hormat-menghormati dan adab-adab dalam berkeluarga akan terus menjadi ikutan dan pedoman dalam hidup mereka..

And today,I know Mak will be smiling if she see all these..She will know that we always try not to take things for granted..:-)

Happy Family Day ABCB!!!!~ Kudos to the organizers..Lain kali,reti-reti laa buat time gua cuti yaaaaaa.... haha!



Macam biasa nampaknya,diorg ni main rounders laa,galah panjang laa,sukaneka sume... Apatah lagi makannnnn,huhu..Keluarga saya memang kuat makann..Tengok lerr size masing-masing..Wakaka! Keluarga piranha laa katakan..hehe..Memang jangan harap gua nak tengok gambar makanan yang korang bagi..hehe.. Yahuuuuuu, memang 'tak' jelesss langsung laaa aku kat sini...hahaha...:-p

Uwarrrrrrgghhhhhhhhhh...;-(

Credits to Uji,Fa and tukang-tukang amik gambo yang lain..and Tenna..3 days and 2 nights activities,at one of the beach resorts,somewhere in my hometown,Kuantan..

Telematch,karaoke,mandi kolam,galah panjang,lucky draw,ginrummy,(betul ke eja ni..haha) dan macam-macam ada.."Rounders"-feveret kitorg ni time kecik-kecik..Main macam ala-ala softball gitu..huhu~

Kalau nak more details,and a different perspective of it,tengok my cousin's blog here-"Serendipity-abcbcd-2011-family-day.html".. She was there.. Yang takde nya cuma gua,Cik A kat UK and Pablo in Mexico..huhu..

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p/s: Al-Fatihah - untuk Mak,dan semua yang telah pergi meninggalkan kita..God bless ABCB~ And Happy Mothers Day to all the moms in the family too..:-)

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Ind-ONE-sia

Jika sebelum ini,biasanya kalau nak sambut New Year,mesti nak plan yang gempak-gempak..Nak Boxing Day kat London laa,Melbourne laa,Singapore,Hong Kong,nak shopping laa sangatttt kononnya..huhu...Pastu nak countdown on the New Year's Eve kat Amsterdam laa,Paris laa,New York laa,apa laaa dan macam-macam tempat lagi..Cakap mesti lebattttttt..huhu!Paling cikai pun at least lepak Bukit Bintang,or The Curve main spray-spray orang..

The truth is,I celebrated New Year only twice in my whole life..New Year has never been a big deal for me..Not even that Millenium new year in 2000..1st of January usually is just like all those normal days..

Tapi kali ini,ianya berbeza...This year,there wasn't any plan too..But guess what??..This time,the new year turned out to be one of my most memorable new year..No Amsterdam,no Bukit Bintang,no Singapore,no party but this time I went to a place called Jember,East Java...Gua pun tak pernah dengar tempat ni..huhu..It's 4-5 hours drive from the city of Surabaya..This time,it's not a vacation..It's kinda 'reality check' on my life.. Kali ini,tahun baru saya dimulai dengan menyelami kehidupan masyarakat kampung di tanah seberang..:-)

Mbak Atin,asal dari Jawa Timur,has served the family as our maid for the last 4 years..She wanted to go back home because of some family matters.. But then,there were some complications (panjang ceritanya).. So,my sister decided to follow her back to Indonesia to make sure everything is ok..Lalu saya pun diambil menjadi bodyguard-cum-cameraman mereka..heheh!Lu jangan ingat senang kerja ni wei..Cuba imagine,pegi Indo just 2 days after the final bola AFF aritu..Silap2 gua pun kene naik kereta perisai tauuuu..Tapi sebab muka gua ngan muka Bambang pun tak jauh mana,muka ala-ala Jakarta gak,so things shud be fine laa kut..hehe!

Jadi dari situ,bermulalah sebuah perjalanan...Indonesia,rupa-rupanya adalah sebuah negara yang banyak mempunyai rahsia kehidupan..

Land of Risk

Dalam perjalanan ke Jember,kami diberitahu bahawa Gunung Bromo,an active volcano,baru meletus 3 hari sebelumnya,(-last eruption of Mount Bromo took place in 2004 and killed two people) and a potential volcano eruption might take place at any time.. News kat sini- http://www.suarakarya-online.com/news.html?id=269195 ..Kalau meletus,kata mereka debu volcanic tu akan sampai ke kampung yang kami akan tinggal,which is around 100km far from the mountain..Hmm..tak tau nak react macam mana..Because we never experienced that in Malaysia kan..Tapi cara diorang cerita tu macam rilek2 jer,so kitorg pun rilek gak aaa.. Takkan kita lak nak cuak lebih..So buat dek jer ler..huhu..

Lapindo

from our view

Then,on our way jugak,kami ditunjukkan satu kawasan seluas 450 ekar,lebih dikenali sebagai Lapindo,yang tenggelam oleh lumpur volcanic..It is the biggest volcanic mudflow in the world,created by the blowout of a natural gas..Bayangkan,satu bandar atau boleh kata satu daerah,abis tenggelam dengan lumpur panas menjadi sebuah tasik besar...Abis semua sekolah-sekolah,sawah padi,pasar,kedai-kedai,kampung-kampung semua.. Yang tinggal sekarang hanya nampak atap kilang-kilang dan bangunan-bangunan yang tinggi sikit..Exactly from the place we stood,we can see the hot gas blowing out clearly..This tragedy just happened in 2006,and it is expected that the mudflow will continue for another 30 years at least..Insaf gua sekejap..~ God bless those victims...Aminnn..~

dangerous,but still jadi tempat tourist

Land of Pure Hospitality

After 4-5 hours journey,we arrived just before maghrib in kampung Kak Atin,dikenali sebagai Desa Patemon (bukan Pokemon ya..),near Tanggul,30kms away from Jember.. On the way,lalu kampung Inul Darasita,tapi tak pegi laa umah dia..kalau tak,dah sah2 gua stay situ,tak jadi pegi kampung Kak Atin..huhu!..Anyway, sampai jer kat kampung Kak Atin,orang kampung dan sedara mara dia dah duk menunggu datang sambut Kak Atin,kitorg pun join semangkuk laa..huhu! Dan seterusnya we stayed at their place for 3 days and 2 nights..:-)

Sudah lama sebenarnya saya tak merasai kehidupan begini...Kampung life..A basic life..Jadi,adapting to a kampung lifestyle sepanjang 3 hari tu is a must..I have to take care of a few things..Makan,pakaian,tingkah laku, percakapan dan sebagainya..Sebab kita mungkin majikan di Malaysia,tapi di situ,saya dan Kak Ngah hadir sebagai tetamu..Adab sebagai tetamu perlu dijaga..:-)

This is my first time experiencing the kampung lifestyle in Indonesia..Frankly speaking,I do think that sometimes I need to experience this kind of things once in a while in my life..Kadang-kadang,oleh sebab kita leka dengan kesenangan dan kemewahan,kadang-kadang kita lupa pada kehidupan-kehidupan yang basic..Kan??

Mandi air sejuk,no iced drinks at home,no air-conditioning,no vehicle of transportation of our own,no internet,no handphone lines,no cable tv,no piped water,no Gucci,no Armani,no computers,Ipad,Blackberry or whatsoever..Those branded things has no value here..

And the best thing is,not having those things above is not a problem at all..:-)..Life is good..

Saya juga first time experience seeing the life in pesantren..Di kampung kak Atin ada sebuah pesantren yang terkenal di Jawa Timur,especially dalam bidang ilmu falak..Ada banyak ulamak-ulamak terkenal di Indonesia yang mendapat pendidikan awalnya di sini..Orang Jawa Timur memang agak kuat dari segi keagamaan.. At least setiap 200-300 meter,mesti ada surau di mana-mana pelosok..Rasa macam wartawan 'Majalah 3' pulak time gua pergi situ..huhu..Saya ditemani Saiful,seorang ustaz muda berjalan-jalan di kawasan sekitarnya, sambil diberikan penerangan tentang kehidupan di pesantren,sejarah dan asal-usulnya..Sementara kami sibuk mengambil gambar dan berbincang mengenai pesantren tersebut,si kecil Nadiah pula,tidak boleh lekang dari saya..

Saiful mengajar budak-budak mengaji tiap-tiap malam..

Si Nadiah ni pulak panggil gua Om Azrul...hehe! She's a very smart girl,who can answer every single questions that came out of me..Mesti nak ikut ke mana-mana saya pergi..Siap ponteng sekolah sebab nak ikut hantar kitorg balik ke kota Surabaya on our last day there..She's the same age with my niece,Nana.. According to the locals here,the fees for school is very expensive..In fact,more expensive than Malaysia..They have to work hard to make sure their kids can get into school every year..Itu belum masuk belanja buku dan pakaian sekolah..Kerajaan tidak mampu untuk memberi bantuan kepada semua kerana rakyatnya terlalu ramai..I am gonna make sure that Nadiah get everything she needs to be in school.. It's gonna be a pity if a girl as smart as her couldn't get the chance to excel and get a proper education..The father died in an accident not so long ago..Comel budaknya..

cheerful Nadiah

I really enjoyed my days in Patemon...I got a traditional massage from one makcik kampung sampai merah satu badan,dapat mandi hujan,makan tempe tiap-tiap hari,hisap Gudang Garam,mandi kolam air bukit,naik beca,sawah padi,duduk bercerita pasal bola final dengan orang-orang Indonesia (Safee Sali adalah Malaysian yang paling popular di Indonesia sekarang,selain Upin&Ipin..huhu..),dan macam-macam lagi,etc.. Hilang rasa nak pegi Bali dalam 3 hari tu..FYI,Bali is just 5 hours (by car + ferry) from Jember..Dah dekat sangat...

Also,lepak-lepak with some of them who used to work in Malaysia,listened to their stories..Bad and good experiences.. Malam biasanya lepas sembahyang maghrib berjemaah,makan,then tengok sinetron-sinetron terkini kat RTCI (kat Malaysia tak kuar lagi), pastu minum kopi,either at home or warung tepi jalan,tengok-tengok cewek.. Ada gak yang cun,tapi tengokkk jer lerrr..huhu..tak berani aku buat pasal..

Then after 3 days in Jember,baru kitorg ke Surabaya..I just got to know then that Surabaya is actually the 2nd largest city in Indonesia,after Jakarta..Punya teruk knowledge aku..huhu!..We stayed in the city for 2 nights in a lovely hotel that was built during the Dutch occupancies in 1910's..Driver taxi cakap hotel tu berhantu,tapi buat tak reti dah lerr..dangggg!..Surabaya was tooo big,takleh cover in 2 days..Jadi masa 2 hari tu dipenuhkan dengan lepak dua shopping malls sahaja..Tak berjalan ke mana-mana pun..They said Surabaya is an industrial city,so we were assuming the same thing..

But eventhough it's a big city,I still met some nice people during my stay there..:-)..Watched Gita Gutawa's movie "Love in Perth" on my last night in Plaza Tunjungan.. Will write a review about that movie soon..

Overall, I think Indonesia is a very nice country with plenty of exciting stories.. Would definitely find any opportunity to explore the beautiful land more and more in the future.. There are so many things to be seen and learned from Indonesia and the people.. Culturally,spiritually,socially and what I love most,..politically...

-Love for Indonesia-

Pray for Indonesia

No more assignments,no more things to do,except for waiting for the exams to come..I'm taking a few days off before starting my revisions for the upcoming finals..

Banyak perkara berlaku akhir-akhir ini..Antara yang paling menyedihkan adalah tsunami di Mentawai, dan juga letusan gunung Merapi di Indonesia..Ternyata,kita tidak mampu melawan kuasa yang Maha Besar..Secara tidak langsung,kita diheret mengenang apa yang berlaku di Acheh,few years back...Al-Fatihah..:-(

Kali ini,saya tidak mahu mengkritik..Dan bukan juga mahu mendabik dada..Cuma ada beberapa perkara menarik yang saya rasa patut kita renungkan..Kita bersyukur perkara-perkara seperti ini tidak terjadi di negara kita..We are blessed..dan untuk itu,kita wajib bersyukur..

Bukan mahu mengungkit,tapi cuba renungkan..Samada rakyat Malaysia,atau Indonesia sendiri..Teringat tidak berapa lama dahulu,dan masih berterusan sampai sekarang,tentang beberapa perkara yang memanaskan hubungan antara Malaysia dan Indonesia..Bendera kita dipijak,rakyat kita mahu dihalau,kedutaan kita dilempar najis..Sweeping Malaysia,Ganyang Malaysia..Kita terasa..Sama seperti terasanya rakyat mereka..Cuma bezanya,kita tidak membalas..Which is a good thing..Biarpun ada yang mengatakan kita lemah,tapi kita sebenarnya kuat apabila bersikap lebih matang..

Hari ini,kita melawan slogan 'Sweeping Malaysia','Ganyang Malaysia',dengan slogan 'Pray for Indonesia'.. Kita lawan dengan menghantar pasukan perubatan,bekalan makanan dan sebagainya..Kita berkongsi kesedihan..We don't care about those provocation anymore..Apa yang penting,kita bantu mereka yang dalam kesusahan..Bergaduh tidak akan membawa kita ke mana-mana..Insyallah,kalau kita ikhlas membantu,tiada istilah ganyang mengganyang lagi satu hari nanti..Sampai satu hari semua orang sedar apa yang berlaku, hanyalah salah faham..Sampai satu hari kita faham bahawa blaming anyone would not solve any problem..

Sejak kecil,saya diajar oleh keluarga untuk tidak membalas keburukan dengan keburukan..Biar orang buat jahat dengan kita,jangan kita buat orang..Prinsip ini,mungkin buat kita nampak lemah,dan senang dipijak kepala..Tapi pada hakikatnya,prinsip ini mengajar kita erti kekuatan..Bukan menjadi hak kita untuk menghukum sesama manusia..Semua orang melakukan kesilapan,termasuk kita..Apa yang penting,kita sentiasa memberi peluang untuk seseorang memperbaiki diri..Salah faham tidak perlu hingga membawa kepada kehancuran sebuah perhubungan..

Jadi,inilah peluang kita..peluang kedua-dua pihak..I hope after this,no more Ganyang or what so ever...

And for that...let us all together,PRAY FOR INDONESIA~

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~Dedicated to a dedicated sister..

It was Raya month,and I didn't have a lot of time to update my blog..
Now,it's back to reality..Me and life..

Dr. Azita to be

Later today,my 3rd sister,Azita or better known as Cik A,will be flying off to U.K to further her studies,doing Ph.D in Bristol..Among all my siblings,she's the most hardworking that I know..She is an example of my parents,combining both character,hardworking and dedicated..Last month, my elder brother just completed his Master Degree in Harvard,and now it's my sister's turn to make my parents proud..


Being sons and daughters of a pair of educationist,we have always been encouraged to pursue our studies as higher as we can..It's not easy though..yet,they have made it..and here I am,still struggling..I am very proud of my siblings,as they have always made my parents proud and happy with their success..Somehow,it is kinda pressure for me sometimes to deliver,as I was very promising at my young age, trying to beat everyone in the family intellectually since school..But I'll keep on fighting my fate,that's for sure..Giving up will never be my chosen words in life..

Sir Bad with beloved n besties

Education is always a priority in the family..All of us was sent to the boarding school when we were still in our early teenager years except for my younger bro..My father became a teacher since he was 15,before Merdeka,teaching students all around the kampung during those days when education was not even a must in the society..My mother used to be an English and discipline teacher during her days..But strangely enough, none of us follow their footsteps becoming an educator..Cik A is the closest as it can get..She involves in e-Learning, although I don't really know what it is,it must have something to do with education..Some of her researches and projects will involve children education in those islands in the Mediterranean Sea..

Proud Bah n Mama:-)

So,Kak A,all the best with your studies~Take care of yourself and make us proud..First doctorate candidate in the family,hopefully others will follow your footsteps next..Err.maybe me,who knows..hehe..Hey,I nearly went to MIT too..so don't write me off yet okayyy..;-)..Have a safe journey sis~Love you..I'll make a surprise visit very soon..Jumpa di sanaaaa..

Click HERE to get Cik A's professional background..

Balik..Kampung..Raya..Eve

Lagi beberapa hari nak raya.. Semalam Nik kitai gua sebab tak balik Perth..haha! Dah menduda,balik kampung sendiri laa nampak gayanya..hehe..

tumpang kete baru Hadry tahun nih..

I have a big family..So raya is always quite special..Especially this year,cause raya will be celebrated on my family's side in Pekan..We use a rotational system..haha..Next year,belah mertua dia orang pulak..So,this year everyone will be around and available..My elder brother just came back from his studies in the States..My other sister,meanwhile,is going to UK for 3 years at the end of this month,so this is a rare chance for us to have a complete set of Cikgu Jabbar's family, after long,on the first day of raya..Therefore,I really have to go back for raya this time..huhu..Good excuse huh?;-)..hehe..Dengan menggunakan alasan tu, maka dapat laa gua balik tahun niii..haha..