D.U.K.A.L.A.R.A. A Tragedy

The Accident

What I have been worrying all these while happened at last. It was at KM50 Gerik-Jeli Highway as I was negotiating a corner in the rain. I was doing around 60km/h as it was quite a sharp turn when suddenly I lost control of the car. The backside of the car slid so I instinctively pressed the brake. The slide continued drift-like which turned the car towards where I was coming from and ended in the drain. Luckily there was no oncoming traffic for I was with my wife and three children.

Quickly I turned my head towards the passenger seat. My wife was shocked as she was asleep with my youngest child on her lap. She recited the Almighty's name over and over again. Then I saw my two other children at the back of the car, crying. They seemed okay and I sighed, relieved. I also saw the condition of the car - the engine was still running, the windscreen was still intact, but the window at the backside of the car was cracked. 

As we were coming into terms about what had just happened, there was a knock on my door. I rolled the window down and saw a man asking if we were okay. Then he ordered us to quickly come out of the car because the place was quite dangerous as there could be other cars crashing into us.

We grabbed everything we could think of: handbag, phones and laptop bag. As we were walking towards a restaurant on the other side of the road, my wife informed me that her phone was missing. After I seated them on the chairs, I dashed towards the car again to search for it. It was a failed attempt as it was quite dark already. I took a bag which was at the back of the car, searched for my wife's apartment parking card and returned to the restaurant.

The man, who we later knew as the restaurant owner, was worried as I had been quite a while inside the car. He said there was once a double crash happened at the very same place. The first victims barely got out into a safe place when another crash happened. His restaurant also got rammed into many times, so as his Iswara car parked in front of it. He and his mother were quite helpful to us during the ordeal. He called his friend who tows cars and his mother made us some drinks. Then we chatted while waiting for the towing truck to arrive.

When the towing truck arrived, I faced a dilemma whether to tow the car to Tanah Merah, or to the workshop in Taiping as suggested by the towing truck driver. After some time pondering upon the pro and contra of the possibilities, I finally decided on placing the car at his workshop. It was a panel of Takaful Malaysia, so I should not worry to much.

Before we towed the car out of the drain, I searched for my wife's phone once again. I found it under the passenger seat and put it inside my pocket. We took around 15 minutes to finally get the car on the truck. I was sad to see the condition of the car, but I could not do anything anymore except from wishing that I could drive it again soon. 

We said goodbyes and thanked the owner of the restaurant and his mother before riding the towing truck towards Gerik police station to report the accident. It was an uncomfortable hour-and-a-half ride as all the six of us including the driver sat inside the truck as the car was too dangerous to sit in.

The report was smooth and the policeman in-charge was friendly. The truck driver took us to a hotel which he already called on our way to the police station. After taking the rest of the things from the car, we checked into the hotel to rest.

The next day, I bought some clothes at the morning market before buying roti canai for breakfast. At 9.30, my wife's friend who was teaching in Gerik came to help us. She and her family brought us to their home while waiting for our bus ride which was scheduled at noon.

We finally arrived at Tanah Merah at 6 in the evening.


D.U.K.A.L.A.R.A.

It was a matter of time before we finally involved in an accident. We travelled from Kelantan to Penang and vice versa a lot of times since 2013. We could not help it as we are teaching in two different states. My wife's application for a transfer to Kelantan is not approved yet, so we are still living separate lives. This is what the government dubbed 'DUKALARA'.

Personally, I am not against government's transfer system. I know it is hard to actually find the right balance between the demands, but if done correctly, you might find the way. However, everybody must follow the system, notwithstanding you are a known personality or a boy next door. When there is a queue, you enter the queue, not cutting it by using any means possible. This will take somebody else's rights and for me, it is really intolerable.

   

Where to Deliver My Next Baby?

I'll be having another child. Like the previous two, my wife starts urging me to search for a place for the delivery. She makes it a point to have a female doctor delivering her baby as the experience for our first born was uninspiring. It was in a government hospital and she was alone for I was not granted the entry thus denying the chance to savour what should have been our most memorable moment.  

Searching for a good delivery hospital with female doctors in Kelantan is like searching for a needle in a haystack. There are only a few to choose from, and they are quite pricey especially if you need a surgery. 

One of them is Pusat Perubatan An-Nisa where my second child was delivered by Dr. Roseliza. It has wards and rooms for post delivery care, and the air conditioned room we were in was quite cozy with toilet and LCD screen inside it. The price for normal delivery is around RM2000, so, you can consider it reasonable. You may get more information here, but pardon me, it is not their official website which is 'under construction'. 

Our third child was born in Rumah Bersalin An-Nur in Kubang Kerian. It looks old but my wife liked it very much, most of it due to the friendliness of Dr. Siti Nurrochmah and her daughter, and the way they delivered the baby. She even asked me to cut the umbilical cord, which I happily did. Sadly, it does not have any website apart from a Facebook page, so, I cannot give you any more than that. 

However, due to some problems, we cannot have our latest baby in any of the above mentioned places. After some deliberation, we come to the conclusion that Rumah Bersalin Lily is the place. It fits the bill as the delivery will be done by Dr. Wan Malihah, who seems quite nice. The drawback is that the place is in Pasir Mas, which is around 20 kilometers from our house, so we should carefully plan our departure to prevent any delay. 

I am hopeful to see my baby being safely delivered.

UPDATE: It was Rumah Bersalin Lily after all. 30th August 2016 at 3.11 a.m. 
 

Book Review - Yesterday I was a Doctor

Title : I want to tell a story : Yesterday, I was a Doctor

Author / Publisher : Mohd Nazir Mohd Nazori
Pages : 155
Price : RM10.00
ISBN : 978-967-12789-0-1

I bought the book at his parents' house on 20th Oct 2014. I started reading it at 6.15 p.m. that day and I finished at 2.15 a.m. the next day.

About the author 

He is my cousin's eldest son. I heard about his ordeals but never really know what happened until I read this book. I think I was also in the time period mentioned in the book when I went to the state where his then workplace is situated because my wife was posted there. I stayed at his in-laws house for some days during which I was in touch with him for quite some time. I have heard about his problem from my mother but I never really asked him about it because I was engrossed in searching for my wife's accommodation. Luckily, I was not mentioned in the book as an antagonist, much to my relief. 

For me, he is quite a nice and soft-spoken guy. He really respects the elders, based on what I perceive whenever we meet, especially towards his aunt (my mother). I never really saw this coming as I have always regarded him as a good achiever, being the eldest son of an architect and a lecturer. 

About the book

It is written in the story-telling style, using first person narrative. The foreword was written on my birthday, which really pleases me a lot. Nobody's name is mentioned in the book, which actually preserves the animosity of those involved. The cover is artful enough and it complements the title. It has ten chapters, all of which are unevenly written in terms of page allocations. It targets mainly those who experience the same problem - depression - with the hope that it will help them to deal with the problem properly. 

Personal comments

As I am teaching English, I could not help noticing the grammatical mistakes. I could find at least three reading the Acknowledgement alone, not to mention the whole book. However, I understand that this is a personally published book, which is surely not including some professional proofreading, so I will neglect the errors and focus on the content. His vocabulary is wide though, arguably wider than mine, and it is understandable considering that he was in the United Kingdom during childhood and continued his study there after the SPM. 

In terms of the physical side of the book, there are some flaws. The cover, in my humble opinion, should have the title written on its spine, which will be of some help when the book is stored on a bookshelf. Furthermore, there is no content page, so I had to browse the book page by page to count the number of chapters. On the other hand, the book should have a page where the author explains all the jargon used in the book, as I struggled to understand the meaning of MO, HO, CBT or PSY, just to name a few. To be fair, the author tried to explain some of them using side notes.

The content of the book is basically easy. It portrays the author's life story starting from the time when he remembers it until the ultimate defining moment of his resignation. I really learned something new about this particular cousin of mine, and would relish the chance to meet him again after becoming an author. I agree that the topic of depression should be discussed more deeply and the the sufferer should be treated more fairly before any judgment could be made.

I salute his decision of not mentioning any names in the book, but I personally think that his name should also be hidden under a pen name because nowadays we can trace anything based on the tiniest piece of information. In this particular case, somebody may dig up even the name of the hospital where the event took  place.    

Conclusion

I really enjoyed reading the book and would not stop short in recommending this to everybody, especially those main target readers. To know more about the book, click here to visit the page dedicated for it. 

Selamat Hari Raya!

1435 Hijriah (2014 A.D.) - We celebrated the eve of Hari Raya this year in the car, queuing among the many cars at the Pasir Hor junction on our way to Tanah Merah. It was a really long queue starting from the SMK Padang Enggang towards the traffic lights. We were there from 11.30 p.m. until 2.30 a.m.! I was not a fan of jumping queue, but was very incensed when the left lane moved while the lane I was in did not move even an inch. The driver of the white Myvi in front of me lost patience and took the left lane, prompting me to do the same. However, I waited for another five minutes before actually took the left lane when it appeared that the car directly in front of me (previously there was the white Myvi) was not moving. I overtook it, glanced into it, and gasped when I saw that the driver was leaning back towards the seat with his mouth opened! Shocked, I did not honk my horn to find out whether he was asleep or even worse, fainted or dead! I did look into my rear-view mirror 300 metres afterward to ascertain whether the car moved or not, and I saw that it was still there. I really hoped that the driver was okay.

The first day of Hari Raya was not joyous. My wife's eyes was red and we just stayed at home. Then another queue at the Salor roundabout ensued before we took the old Salor road to stop for 'Asar prayer. We went to a 24-hour Polyclinic at Kota Bharu to buy eye drop. I was quite surprise because the doctor and the staffs were Malays, and they were wearing their Hari Raya clothes.

This morning, my lovely daughter was up early, so we decided to go for a walk at the beach. I started my car and drove to Pantai Senok. On the way, we stopped and bought some breakfast meals. We were flabbergasted to see crabs and  'serati' (a type of duck) were on the menu!. My wife, of course, bought the crabs and preferred the 'serati'. We ate the breakfast at the beach. It was really a beautiful scene. My wife's eyes were better than yesterday and hopefully, we would be able to visit some relatives today.

Can you believe this is breakfast?

'Afaf and Ummi were having a walk at Pantai Senok

'Afaf wrote on the sand

  

SELAMAT HARI RAYA!

 

'Afaf, Please Speak to Me Quickly, Ya?

My dearest 'Afaf, who was born on 21 October 2012, has just acquired a pair of canines (dental anatomy can be read here). She still cannot speak but for several words which I cannot fathom the meaning - 'becebecah', 'bejebejik' etc. This makes me search for materials related to language development in children in order to make sure that she is on the right track. 

In www.talkingpoint.org.uk, a child at the stage of 12 - 18 months old usually will:

• Enjoy games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake and toys that make a noise. 
• Start to understand a few simple words, like ‘drink’, ‘shoe’ and ‘car’. Also simple instructions like 'kiss mummy', 'kick ball' and 'give me'.
• Point to things when asked, like familiar people and objects such as ‘book’ and ‘car’.
• Use up to 20 simple words, such as 'cup', 'daddy' and 'dog'. These words may not always be easily recognised by unfamiliar adults.
• Gesture or point, often with words or sounds to show what they want.
• Copy lots of things that adults say and gestures that they make.
• Start to enjoy simple pretend play, for example pretending to talk on the phone.

 'Afaf really likes to pretend talking on the phone, even though she is holding a toy car in her hand. She can also point to ummi, abi, 'Ammar, tokma etc. when asked and to something she wants, such as her milk or for a piece of whatever we are eating in front of her.

Hopefully, she will progress well. As Muslims, we can also recite the necessary prayers to help in our children development. www.mamapeduli.info suggests reading Surah Taha, verses 25 - 28: 

New Year Resolution. Cliche, Isn't It?

New Year always makes me anxious. Unresolved past year resolution always haunts me at this time of year. I don't have to keep telling you about it; you can clearly read it at the upper left hand side of this blog. 

Apart from that, there are several things that I want to do this year.

1. Reorganising my finance. 

Currently, I am very dissatisfied with my cash flow. I have to sort out the things that are really important to

me from the things that can really be dismissed. This includes stopping the usage of my second credit card and cutting any unnecessary expenses. If I can gain some side income through chess coaching or tuition, it would be awesome.

2. Documenting my tasks.

At school, I am given the tasks to organise teachers' class schedule, keeping students data, coaching school chess team and supervising school chess club. I teach 4 English Language classes. Outside the school, I am the Technical Chairman of Tumpat district chess and the secretary of Kelantan State Chess Association (Persatuan Catur Negeri Kelantan or PCNK). All these tasks need to be properly documented in systematic filing so that I get clear indication of the things I should do throughout this year.

3. Strengthening chess skills.

I play at chess.com almost everyday, but that is not enough to keep me updated on the new development in chess. I am thinking of reading some new materials and involving in strong tournaments which can really flex my chess muscle. With the proposal of a chess centre in Kota Bharu, I will surely get to play some strong PCNK members from time to time to keep me updated on the current chess theories. 

4. Upgrading knowledge.

My reading time lessens year by year. It is hard for me to really find time to have a good read. Luckily I subscribe to Reader's Digest which brings a lot of good information each month. However, I must read more to become more learned, and this can only be done by scheduling fixed time for reading. I think reading just before going to bed would be great.

5. Spending quality family time.

For your information, I am staying with my son while my wife is stationed far away and my daughter is living with my in-laws. Thus, finding time to be together is quite hard, and if there is so, it should be enjoyed thoroughly. So far, my wife always returns during weekends where there is no school task, and we would be doing something useful to make up for lost time. I really envy those who can stay together as family and hope that my time will come, sooner rather than later. 

     

SAFE MALAYSIA

There are at least 23 cases of gun shooting all around the Peninsular Malaysia from 1 April - 31 July (New Straits Times, 1 August 2013), many of which are in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Thus, people are already looking at how the government should tackle this problem in terms of the legislation and how the police should tackle this problem in terms of safety measures. Some of them said that the abolition of certain laws are the root of this matter while the other turned their heads toward the police and said that the people in blue uniforms are responsible for not having the proper mechanisms.

I, however, look at it from another perspective. Education wise, these bandits will probably not become shooters, or involve in any crimes for that matter, if they have proper education. By this I don't only mean what they had learned at school, but what their parents taught them at home also. Think of who might they become if their parents really show them the right way to behave? And think of what they might be doing instead of shooting somebody if they had learned something useful at school? 

In order for these two education systems to function effectively, proper familial institution must be stressed upon. Sadly though we do not emphasize enough the importance of having a functional family in our modern society. Can you imagine a child living with only one of the parents having proper love and care when the mother being stationed far away from the father and the child must choose with whom he should be living his childhood days when learning is all that he should be doing? 

My humble opinion is that the authority should do anything they can to make sure that familial institution does not suffer when governing their human resources. If both parents are government servants, they should be stationed not more than 50 kilometres apart so that they can agree upon the middle ground in which to build their home and raise a happy and functional family. This will surely leads to a healthy society which in turn will together build a powerful nation where everybody can contribute something according to their expertise. 

Sharing my view on this matter is the newly appointed Kelantan Chief Minister, Datuk Ahmad Yakub when he passed the law of 'Mesra Keluarga' on 31st July 2013 in placing the state government servants together so that both will benefit which he believes can improve their productivity. 

I wonder when will the Malaysian government pass this kind of legislation towards its servants? 

    

Thank You, Readers!

These past three months I've been very idle because I was busy finding the balance between these completely different persona which will definitely be taking some of my precious 24 hours each day:

1. God's servant

This is definitely the first priority to every living soul who believes that his or her life is governed by a higher deity.  

2. Family man

 I'm a husband, a father, a brother and also still a son. There are so many love ones who are under my responsibilities, and all of them need me in their lives. I have to help my wife catering for our lovely son and daughter. I also have to be a good son by helping my mother if she needs any. As the oldest brother, I must also show leadership so that they can look up to me before being able to stand on their own feet. 

3. English language Teacher

This is a paid persona, so I must do my best to be a good one. Preparing lessons for multiple intelligences is not an easy task. It takes a lot of time, knowledge and also money. Being under a stewardship also requires me to do any given tasks wholeheartedly. Currently, apart from teaching English to form 4 and 5, I also upkeep the students personal data in the system, supervise the usage of the audio visual room and coach the school chess players.

4. Chess enthusiast

Chess is my hobby. Everyday I train by playing some online games or read chess books or solve some chess puzzles. Usually, I just allocated an hour of my time for chess, but I add some more hours during weekend. True, I can never be more than I am now, a FIDE rated player, but it is enough for me. I also allocate some time to coach my school chess players and write chess bulletins.

5. Football fan

I am an ardent fan of Liverpool Football Club (LFC) and also The Red Warriors (TRW). Weekends are always awaited with passion and eagerness. Usually, both teams seldom disappoint me but sometimes when they do, I always accept the result with open hands. I know that LFC are not the strongest team in their league right now, but I surely hope that they progress each year. Even TRW are always drawing their games, but I still hope that they start winning sooner rather than later.

6. Blogger

As you can see, this is the last of my priorities now. So, do not expect regular posting. I am not the type to copy and paste other people's post, so in order to write a good post, I surely have to find a really good time and materials.

Nevertheless, thanks for reading my posts.

Happy Birthday, My Darling!

Here is a wish from class 4Arif especially for you.

Happy Anniversary, My Love!

It was our fifth anniversary, and to make it memorable to you, I took you to the place where you have been itching to go for a long time - Bukit Tinggi. I hope you had a great time there. It was indeed a very beautiful place with nice views and cool climate. The Colmar Tropicale was fantastic, the service was warm and spending time with you there made all my problems go away. We took so many pictures, all of which were very scenic. Remember when there were only two of us at the tower? It was the happiest day of my life! Unfortunately, I was unable to take a picture of you in the Kimono because of the rain at the Japanese Tea House, and was unable to let the artist draw our cartoon because he was not there the next morning. All in all, I would like to wish you

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MY LOVE!

Moon Eclipse...

... as seen with my wife's camera on 10th December 2011 at 8.15pm (just starting). The picture below shows an experiment my friend made using the eggs during the full eclipse.

I Am Crazy...

... sometimes. Not in the true sense of the word, but just having fun in a crazy way. It was during the journey home from KL. The time = around 9 p.m. The venue = approximately 1 km after the Kechau Petronas. I stopped my car in front of a house and I snapped this picture.


In case you are wondering what I was referring to, look at the mileage odometer.

Happy Eid Qurban 2011

My extraordinary feat for this year's Eid:

Car: Toyota Avanza 1.3 (manual)
Distance covered: 1211 km
Inside the car: 20 hours
Outside the car: 4 hours
Total nap time: 1 hour 15 minutes


Friday (4 Nov 2011)

4.15 am - Departed from my house at Kota Bharu.
5.00 am - Stopped at SMK Keroh.
6.30 am - Prayed Subuh at RNR, Gua Musang.
7.15 am - Had breakfast at Gua Musang.
7.45 am - Stopped at Gua Musang Petronas for gas.
8.15 am - Stopped at Chegar Perah for a 15 minute nap.
10.00 am - Stopped at Kechau.
12.00 pm - Stopped at Aunt Yati's house in Taman Melawati. Departed 40 minutes later.
1.30 pm - Arrived at UKM. Departed 45 minutes later.
2.30 pm - Prayed Zuhur/Asar at Bangi. Had lunch also.
4.00 pm - Arrived at UM. Departed 20 minutes later.
5.30 pm - Stopped at Bentong Petronas for gas.
6.30 pm - Stuck in traffic at Bentong. Made a U-turn for Terengganu.
8.00 pm - Stopped at RNR Gambang for Maghrib/Isha' prayer and dinner.
12.00 am - Took an hour nap at a petrol station somewhere in Terengganu.

Saturday (5 Nov 2011)

2.45 am - Stopped at Jerteh Petronas for gas.
4.15 am - Arrived at Tanah Merah home.

An Enjoyable Trip

"Come on everybody! Wake up! I want to see all of you in the car at 8.30 sharp, or else..." I commanded.

That day, we planned to visit the famous Crystal Mosque at Terengganu, and on our way home, stop at La Hot Springs. Everybody was ready, including my 3-year-old son, 'Ammar. He was anxious as to where I would take him.

"Where are we going, abi (father)?" he asked.

"We are going to Terengganu. You've never been to Terengganu, haven't you?" I explained, and whether he understood my explanation or not was not that important.

"Yeay!" he exclaimed, happily.

As promised, the five of us departed at 8.30 a.m. We stopped for our breakfast at Machang, near the traffic light. As the driver, I had a heavy breakfast, eating Nasi Dagang with grilled drumstick, while others only had roti canai.

Half an hour later, we continued our journey. The signboard showed that Kuala Terengganu was 144 kilometres away, and it took us approximately 2 hours from where we had our breakfast that morning, to reach our destination.

The journey was very enjoyable. We travelled through Pasir Putih, and when we entered Terengganu border, we could see remarkably-designed mosques throughout. We all gasped in awe, because the mosques looked very clean and beautiful. They were very different from the mosques in Kelantan, where the designs and the beauty were not that apparent.

Arriving in Kuala Terengganu, I had no problem in finding the whereabouts of the Crystal Mosque because we could clearly see it from the bridge. It was situated near the riverbank, and was surrounded by many structures, especially the Convention Centre and the replicas of the mosques from around the world in the Monument Park.

First, we took some pictures at the Crystal Mosque compound. There were many people there; some of them were taking pictures also, while others were having a programme inside the mosque. 'Ammar was very excited, posing and asking me to take his pictures in front of the mosque.

Then, we entered the Monument Park. It was captivating just to see the smaller scale replicas of the most beautiful of mosques and monuments from around the world, among which were al-Haram and al-Nabawi Mosques (both were situated in Saudi Arabia,) al-Hambra Mosque (Spain), and the Taj Mahal (India).

While in the park, 'Ammar saw pupils getting on the tram unceremoniously from afar. He said, "Abi, I want to ride the tram". "We can't, my dear son. We don't have the tickets," I replied.

I was taking my camera out and starting to take the pupils' pictures when I heard them calling, "Sir, come with us!. Sir, come with us!".

It was then I realized that they were actually pupils from my school, who were travelling with the teachers in a three-days-two-nights tour of Terengganu. And luckily for 'Ammar, he had the chance to enjoy a free tram ride after all, courtesy of the group tour.

After spending a couple of hours in the park, and taking pictures at all the monuments and mosques, we decided that it was time to go. But, we cashed in the vouchers given to us at the park's cafe and its souvenir shop.

It was already 5 p.m. when we got out from the place. After some discussion, we came to the conclusion that there was not enough time to continue our plan with the La Hot Springs. Thus, we found a place to stay in for the night, and would carry our plan forward the next day.

Aquaria

How long does it take for a group of piranhas to finish off their meal? This and many other marine-based questions will be answered in the Aquaria situated beside the KLCC. There are many kind of fishes on display, among them the large Arapaima, the giant sharks, and the huge ray. You can also see the fishes being fed by the divers at the Aquatheatre. But, the piranhas are being fed separately, for they live in separate aquarium. Therefore, make sure that you enter during the feeding schedule for your utmost pleasure, so that you get your money's worth.

And remember also to bring your finest camera, because once inside, no flash is allowed. ENJOY!

For more information, click the official website here.

Mum is covering her face during the fogging

MY NEIGHBOURHOOD HIT WITH DENGUE

My neighbourhood, as recently as last week, had been fogged following a confirmed case hitting my neighbour's daughter. My advice:

PLEASE OBSERVE CLEANLINESS
BECAUSE IT IS A PART OF OUR FAITH

Some interesting facts:

Poster kesihatan: Penyakit Denggi

Denggi: Kelantan kedua tertinggi selepas Selangor - Sinar Harian

Wabak demam denggi semakin serius di Kelantan - Mstar.com

SALAM IDUL FITRI

We wish you a prosperous and happy Hari Raya

One Evening at Parkson, KB

I was hurrying to get out of the mall with my wife and son when a salesman offered me a free souvenir. I knew if I took it, I had to listen to him for at least five minutes or so, and I was rushing for the Maghrib prayer. Nevertheless, I took it anyway (it was a mug) and he started:

Salesman: How are you, mister. Do you have a minute?

Me: Well, I'm rushing for Maghrib prayer. Thanks for this mug. It is free, right?

S: It won't take long. I just want you to write your name here, so that we know in our record that you already take the souvenir. One only for a person.

M: Okay (I wrote my name, but stopped before writing other details). Do you need all these details?

S: Just for the record only. In the mean time, can I promote you our product?

M: I told you I'm in a hurry.

S: It will just take 5 minutes of your time.

Before I could answer, he continued.

S: I want to tell you that by taking the souvenir, you are entitled for these two tickets. Open them. They will show you what you win among these great products. Or they could be cash vouchers.

I opened them. One RM100 voucher and the other showed two products - an air purifier worth RM4+++ and an oven worth RM2+++. It also had RM100 voucher written at the corner. I gave them to him.

S: Did you just win these two products? Well, I have to call my manager because normally only one product per ticket.

He promptly called his manager and gave me his phone. The manager confirmed with me that the ticket was redeemable.

S: You are so lucky. You won these two products (pointing at the oven and the air purifier) and also RM100 cash voucher.

M: Okay then, give them to me. I really got to go now.

S: But you have to use your RM100 for another of our products. You can choose from here (showing a catalogue of electrical products worth thousands RM each).

M: Can't I use the voucher another time. I really don't have time now.

S: No, you must use the voucher now. Or you will lose these two items (by now his assistants put two big boxes in front of me). You can bring these home now, plus the one you are going to choose. But first you have to choose which of these items you want to use the voucher for.

He continued by showing some calculations on how I saved around RM6+++ to acquire the three products. He also compared the prices with other items from other known brands and bloated that his products were much better. He stressed that the payment will not be in cash, but in monthly installment, as low as RM50 per month. Unknowing to him, I also made my own calculations, and concluded that it was not worthy. So, I politely declined.

M: Well, in that case, I'll pass. Thank you anyway for all the information.

And I left him murmuring and chatting with his assistants, presumably about how stupid I am to pass the opportunity. However, I knew I made the right decision, because I sincerely believed that all the three products combined together are not worth thousands. I didn't mind because in the end, I got a mug and they got nothing.

Family Outing

We were at Taman Indera Petra again. This time, there was a train ride. It took only RM2 per person ('Ammar was not counted because he is only 2 years old) to take the train ride. It didn't matter that the train only went in circles, but it was satisfying for 'Ammar. Of course, after an hour in the pool, that was. Then we played the slide before we went off to Euro Fun Park just behind the TESCO. This is the first day of the park, and we went there just before the sunset, so there weren't many people just yet. Entrance fee was RM3 per adult and no charge for 'Ammar. Inside there were many games to excite the visitors such as the Euro Wheel, the Challenger, and the Haunted House. A token was worth RM2, and to play each game we needed at least 2 tokens. 'Ammar wanted to ride the mechanical horse, worth 2 tokens for the rider, and 1 for those who accompanied him. Next we rode the Euro Wheel, worth 3 tokens per person, accumulated to RM12 minus 'Ammar who rode free of charge.

Taman Indera Petra, Kota Bharu

Yesterday I took my wife and son to Taman Indera, a water based park located beside the Kota Darulnaim. It is not as big as Tambun or Sunway Lagoon, but just for fun with your kids, it will do just fine. There are swimming pools of different sizes and depths, suitable for kids and also adults. There is no entry fee for the kids, but if you are escorting them you will be charged RM1. However, if you are 13 years old and above, planning to dive in yourself, you have to pay RM5.