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What is your purpose of life?

Dia berkata “saya nak kerja sehingga I gain millions of dollar in life!”

Adakah dia akan bahagia apabila cita-cita ini tercapai?

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Sebuah keluarga terpaksa makan siput babi kerana kemiskinan. Namun hubungan mereka masih bahagia berbanding mereka yang “gain millions of pounds per year”. Mengapa?

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Dulu saya hairan mengapa ibu saya sering bertanya saya soalan yang sama setiap kali saya pulang ke kampung.

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Katakan anda sudah menjadi jutawan. Anda mahu menghitung nilai pengorbanan ayah dan ibu dengan wang. Apakah agaknya kata mereka?

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Kawan-kawannya menyebut “Itulah mak bapak pelesit!”

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Ya ALLAH, rahmatilah ayahanda dan bonda kami

Panduan ringkas solat hajat berdasarkan kitab “al-Azkar” tulisan Imam Nawawi disampaikan oleh Ust Zahazan Mohamad, UIA.

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The frenzied attacks that once shook Bali
Mazlan Nordin THE SUN

At stake now is its lingering reputation as an island paradise …

EXOTIC Bali is much in the news again for the wrong reason, following the recent bombings which killed 25 people and wounded some 140 others, including Indonesians.
They were repeats of similar attacks three years ago which killed over 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.
At stake now is its lingering reputation as an island paradise with its myriad art forms; its gamelan music, dance, shadow puppet theatre and manipulative dalang (puppet master), painting and sculpture of gods, demons and witches, kings and princesses, heroes and villains.
In Tampaksising, a palace designed by the late President Sukarno stands atop a hill overlooking a lovely centuries-old temple, built according to legend, in one night by a Hindu god. Village maidens used to bathe in the temple pool.
On all sides are hills of terraced rice fields and coconut palms, presenting a picture of pastoral symphony.
And at night, as a peasant said it: “One can almost reach for the twinkling stars.”
To the palace Sukarno used to go by special flight from Jakarta, to seek inspiration for his speeches to the nation. Bali was deemed to be part of the Javanese cultural cosmos.
It was said that Sukarno had been blessed with the Wahyu Chakraningrat, special powers from the gods whose wishes were commands to be obeyed without question.
Questions were raised, though, during a conference in Bali organised by the Press Foundation of Asia in August 1971.
It was attended by more than 110 newspaper editors and publishers from India, Japan, the Philippines, Hongkong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
One question in particular touched on the violence which erupted in Bali in the wake of the failed communist coup on Sept 30, 1965, which later led to the collapse of the Indonesia Communist Party and the fall of Sukarno.
As recorded later in The Dark side of Paradise (Cornall University Press) by Geoffrey Robinson, Professor of History, University of California, an estimated 80,000 people or roughly 5% of the island population, died.
Noting the views among academies that the political violence was “a historic aberration caused by lamentable meddling of outsiders”, Robinson adds: “The massacre has often been described, for example, as the consequence of a religiosity rooted in Balinese desire to rid the island of evil and restore cosmic balance.
“The frenzy with which it was carried out has been attributed to schizophrenic tendencies in the Balinese character and to a cultural predilection for going intro a trance.”
Question: Was it then a mass amok?
Going back further to past history, Robinson refers to the Dutch colonial tendency during its rule on the island: “Dutch policy had a strong elitist element or, more precisely, a caste bias.”An official decision “to uphold the caste concept, being the principle of Balinese society, gave rise to signs of frustration” among the people.
One such sign was the polemic over “caste privileges” which raged in the local Malay language newspapers Surya Kanta and Bali Adnyana in the 1920s.”
Of interest is the explanation in the footnote: “Strangely, the editors did not question the use of the Malay language as the medium for articulating this debate: their own paper was written entirely in Malay.
“It was the Dutch who, some years later, struck upon the idea of shifting the language of discourse to Balinese.”
As the cliche goes, so much water has flowed under the bridge since then.
Blamed now for the bombings of tourist areas in Bali is the Jemaah Islamiah, said to be an ally of Al Qaeda in this region.
Another question: Who then is the dalang?
Foreign pressures exerted on Indonesia to ban the movement have been set aside because of its positive contribution in education, philanthropy and other areas among the rakyat.
To all of which might be added A Poet’s Lament from Rendra, the renowned Indonesian poet. Some excerpts:
Oh God Most Merciful As I write this poem, the rain is falling and the night is all around me Bamboo bushes shake in the darkness, and large rain drops rush at my window, bringing new life and coolness to the earth Oh Allah, I see the greatness of the primordial world and all its secrets spread out before me.
How great You are, How beautiful You are Then, suddenly, I am shocked. I can see the trees in the forests of Borneo dripping blood The patchouli gardens in Aceh, with flowers shaped like bleeding wounds The waves of the ocean around Ambon turning red and becoming tongues of fire Tonight I do not hear insects singing I do not hear the birds calling to each other I hear only the rhythmic sound of the rain, formed into patterns from time to time as the wind beats on the window and the leaves of the trees And the sad cry of a wounded birdof-paradise, caught in the branches of a tree in the forests of West New Guinea Allah, I can no longer write about the beauty of the world The words in the philosophy books scattered across my table turn into severed heads Images of warm and friendly villages turn into uncertainty, as they surrender their faith and soul to slander As they lose their self-confidence Allah, our faith and soul as a people lie in tatters, spin in the whirlwind, and finally become the rubbish left behind by history. (Translated by Harry Aveling).
Composed by Rendra in his village of Kampung Rawa exactly a year after the end of Suharto’s 32-year rule in 1998, the poem carries a cautionary tale.

Pakistan rattled by aftershocks
THE SUN

MUZAFFARABAD: Pakistani troops struggled yesterday to reach remote villages cut off since the massive weekend quake, as powerful aftershocks triggered panic among millions of homeless and traumatised survivors.
Desperately-needed supplies were beginning to arrive in devastated northeast Pakistan, but not nearly enough to feed, clothe and shelter some 2.5 million people who have been sleeping out in the cold and rain since Saturday.
Stunned villagers were also pouring out of the mountains into the devastated cities of Pakistani Kashmir in search of aid, forced to leave behind their dead and injured in remote settlements where rescuers have not yet set foot.
“We are worried for them. We can’t reach them by road so we have to use helicopter,” said a Pakistani army colonel in charge of one of the units moving higher into the mountains.
United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said: “We’re still racing against the clock and we need to get more helicopters, more water, more tents and more money.”
Independent observers working in towns and villages now re duced to rubble have said the aid effort is poorly organised, with survivors left to fight over handouts from some 30 nations being delivered by truck and helicopter.
Pakistan raised the official death toll to more than 25,000, with 63,000 injured, but aid workers believe up to 40,000 have been killed. On the Indian side of divided Kashmir, the toll has hit 1,329.
The hardship has been compounded by a series of aftershocks, including a powerful tremor overnight which triggered panic on both sides of the heavily militarised Line of Control that divides Kashmir.
“It shook us out of our beds. We fled outside in panic,” teacher Muzaffar Wani said in Srinagar, capital of Indian Kashmir.
In Islamabad, thousands of jittery residents rushed out of their houses and began reciting verses from the Quran, and later in the day rumours of another imminent earthquake sent them out on the streets again.
Many buildings still standing after Saturday’s quake have been left in a perilous condition, leading to fears that further tremors could bring teetering walls and roofs tumbling down. ­ AFP

Oprah goes after sexual predators
THE SUN

NEW YORK: US talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, whose influence can turn the New York Times bestseller list on its head, is having a similar impact on the FBI’s most wanted list with a campaign to catch fugitive paedophiles.
Winfrey launched Oprah’s Child Predator Watch List, which features a round-up of the FBI’s most wanted sex offenders, last week, to almost immediate results.
Within 48 hours, federal agents had picked up William Davis, 33, in North Dakota follow ing a tip from two Oprah viewers.
“We were happily surprised,” said Rex Tomb, chief of the FBI’s fugitive publicity and public affairs unit.
Shortly afterwards, another absconding child molester, Niles Scott, 50, was arrested in Belize City, Belize, after a local woman recognised him from the show and contacted local authorities.
Scott was flown back to Cleveland, where he is awaiting trial on charges of molesting three boys.
The swift results were testimony to the huge audience Winfrey’s syndicated talk show enjoys, pulling in around 30 million viewers a day and reaching 112 countries.
“She has an enormous audience that cuts across most demographic boundaries and it has been tremendously helpful,” Tomb said. “We see this as an extremely beneficial development.”
Winfrey, 51, who was named the world’s most powerful celebrity by Forbes magazine in June, has sweetened her campaign by offering US$100,000 (RM376,000) of her own money for each fugitive brought to justice.
On Tuesday’s broadcast of the Oprah Winfrey Show, the talk show host handed over two cheques for US$50,000 (RM188,000) to the two women responsible for turning in Davis.
“This is the best money I’ve ever spent,” she said.
Winfrey, who was molested as a child, has devoted many shows to the issue of sexual predators, but her new campaign to publicise fugitives’ identities has taken her involvement to a new level.
“With every breath in my body, whatever it takes and, most importantly, with you by my side, we are going to move heaven and earth to stop an evil that’s been going on for far too long,” Winfrey said on her show.
Tomb said the number of calls received by the FBI’s tip line had spiked significantly since Winfrey launched the new watch list. ­

Deceased’s family mulls action against council

THE family of a painter who was killed when a lamp casing fell off a lamp post and hit him in Johor Baru last Friday is not happy with the explanation given by the city council, which had blamed the accident on a “strong wind”.
In the incident, Wong Fook Man, 41, died on the spot when the 4kg lamp casing struck him on the head on Jalan Sutera at 1.15am.
Wong’s kin do not believe it was an act of God and would get details from the weathermen if indeed there was strong wind in the area at the time.
Wong’s brother, Thien Lai, 45, told China Press on Wednesday that if the Malay sian Meteorological Services (MMS) can prove that there was no strong wind at the time, the family will sue the Johor Baru City Council.
He said the family is looking at the matter seriously as it believed the city council is trying to absolve itself of any responsibility over the incident.
However, he said he will find out more from the city council before resorting to legal action.
Thien Lai said even if the MMS’s records showed that there was indeed strong wind at the material time, he will still seek other opinions to find out what possible action he can take.
Following its report on Tuesday that the city council had put the blame on a strong wind, the daily received many calls from readers to express their disbelief over the council’s explanation.
Some of the readers said if the casing is firmly attached to the lamp post, even strong winds would not have caused the casing to fall off.
Meanwhile, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman openly criticised the city council and mayor.
Clearly upset over the incident, Abdul Ghani told Datuk Bandar Datuk Wahid Dahlan it should not have happened.
He said he hoped it was not because of negligence on the part of those responsible for street lamps in the city, which would be the city council and Tenaga National Bhd.
Apart from conveying his sympathies and condolences to the family, he said the family of Wong could make a public liability insurance claim against the city council.

Drug ring nipped in the bud, eight held

JOHOR BARU: Police have arrested eight people, including two women, believed to be members of a drug processing and trafficking ring active in the Johor Baru area since two months ago.
Johor police chief Datuk Mohd Amir Sulaiman said yesterday they were arrested in two separate raids conducted at Desa Tebrau, here last Tuesday, and at Taman Pelangi Indah, Ulu Tiram, early yesterday. Police seized two pistols, two luxury cars, three motorcycles and Ecstasy pills.
In the first raid, conducted at 11.30pm at a house at Desa Tebrau, police arrested a man, believed to be the ringleader, and two women and seized 254 ATS pills weighing 229gm, and a motorcycle. Five others, aged between 38 and 41, were detained in a raid at a house at Taman Pelangi Indah at 3.30am yesterday.
Police found two pistols ­ a Norrinco with seven bullets and a Colt ­ and 104 bullets of various types. Also seized were 805 Ecstasy pills, 799gm of Ecstasy powder and 1,972gm of ketamine powder, 18 iron rods, 10 sets of iron mould, three small funnels, a weighing machine, a compressor, a table lamp and a hammer.
Police also seized two cars ­ a Mercedes Benz and a Toyota Camry ­ and two motorcycles.
“Preliminary investigations found that the eight people detained were involved in processing Ecstasy pills which were distributed to entertainment centres in the city,” he said.
Mohd Amir said the eight would be remanded until Oct 21 for investigation under Section 39(B) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, Section 8(a) of the Firearms Act 1960 and Section 8 of the Firearms (Heavier Penalties) Act 1971. ­ Bernama

Company and four directors charged
by Maria J. Dass THE SUN

KUALA LUMPUR: A company and its four directors were charged in a magistrate’s court here yesterday with 26 counts of offences under the Companies Act 1965.
The offences include failure to submit the annual accounts a month after the first annual general meeting (AGM) and failure to hold an AGM 18 months after the establishment of the company.
P.K.P.M. Services Bhd and the directors ­ Nor Azami Ahmad Ghazali, 37, Sarina Mansor, 34, Saliah Ramli, 57, and Abdul Rahman Baba, 57 ­ were also charged with allowing the company to operate without a company secretary and for knowingly failing to record the names, nationality, addresses, birth dates, identity card numbers and designation of the company directors, in addition to failure to pro vide details of the company secretary and members.
They claimed trial to the charges under Sections 139(1b), 141(2)(a), 141(4), 143(1), 165(5), 158(1)(a) of the Companies Act 1965 .
Magistrate Azniza Mohd Ali fixed the hearing for Dec 13 and 14.
The company and its four directors were represented by Mohd Rashid Mokhtar. Narainasami Alagu and Azmil Harun prosecuted.

Two face RM14m forgery, theft charges
by Regina William THE SUN

BUKIT MERTAJAM: Two former Dell Asia Pacific employees claimed trial in a magistrate’s court here yesterday to a total of 14 charges of forgery and theft involving more than RM14 million while under the employ of the company in 2003.
Ng Chung Khoon, 33, a former manager with Dell, denied 10 counts of falsifying material requisition forms causing the company to lose RM11.98 million.
Ng is alleged to have caused Dell losses ranging between RM714,400 and RM1,786,000 on each charge.
He is alleged to have made alterations to the numbers on the forms with the intention of using the documents to cheat the company at its premises at Bukit Tengah Industrial Estate.
Ng faces another charge of stealing 33,000 pieces of certificates of authenticity belonging to Dell between April and September 2003.
Tan Boon Hoe, 31, a former technician, also denied falsifying material requisition forms causing Dell to lose RM2.42 million.
He faces another charge of stealing 5,000 pieces of certificates of authenticity belonging to Dell between June and July 2003.
DPP Muna Mohamed Jaafar asked the court to impound their passports and asked for bail of RM1 million for Ng, and RM100,000 for Tan.
Counsel M. Athimulan, representing both Ng and Tan, asked for much lower sums, saying they did not abscond from the country.
“When they left Dell, they were given a farewell party by the company … they never absconded,” he said.
“They resigned from the company in September and left to join the company in China for two years from October 2003 and had been scheduled to return here last Oct 5 after serving their contract.
“It was only in May 2004 that a police report was lodged by the company and the police went there on Sept 22 to arrest them. So there is no question about both of them having absconded.”
Magistrate Sharmila Abdul Samad set bail at RM33,000 for Tan and RM175,000 for Ng and ordered that their passports be handed over to the court.