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. 
 

Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat

Tuan Guru Dato' Bentara Setia Haji Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat (10 January 1931 - 12 February 2015), is a name almost everybody, including myself, would never forget. However, it seemed that almost everybody, excluding myself, had the chance to pay him the last visit. I had to drive in the opposite direction the day of his funeral. A lot of cars were heading towards Kelantan that day when I was heading towards Penang. Only Allah the Almighty knew what was going inside my mind that red-letter day.



He was the Chief Minister of Kelantan from 22 October 1990 to 6 May 2013. His health became worse after he stepped down from the office and he subsequently died because of prostate cancer on 12 February 2015 at 9.40 p.m. He was buried near his house at Kampung Pulau Melaka, witnessed by more than 10,000 people including the Prime Minister, Dato' Sri Haji Mohammad Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak.

Some said that there was cloud hovering over during the funeral:

He left behind a spouse, Tuan Sabariah Tuan Ishak, and 10 children :

1. Nik Aini
   
2. Nik Umar
3. Nik Adli
4. Nik Abdul Rahim
5. Nik Mohd Abduh
6. Nik Adilah
7. Nik Mohd Asri
8. Nik Amani
9. Nik Amalina 
10. Nik Asma' Salsabila

Let us recite Al-Fatihah and pray that Allah bless his soul.

September Test K-BAT Questions

These questions need to be answered using a little bit of thinking, which is quite a luxury among students nowadays. 

Alina had just arrived home from attending a job interview. She felt utterly miserable. 

1. Why does Aline feel this way?
- She did badly in the interview.

2. Why do you think so?
- She felt utterly miserable.

Jack finished reading a book. He jumped at the slightest noise and dared not sleep alone in his room.

1. Why does Jack feel this way?

- He was scared.

2. What is the book about?

- The book was about ghosts.

3. Why do you think so?

- He jumped at the slightest noise and dared not sleep alone in his room. 

Father came in from the garden. His hands were full of dirt. He was sweating profusely. He finished two big glasses of iced lemonade. 

1. What was father doing?

- Father was gardening.

2. What was the weather like outside?

- The weather was hot outside.

3. Why do you think so?

- He was sweating profusely.

When Mr. Jones opened the front door, he saw the sitting room was in a mess. The drawers of the cabinet were pulled out. Some chairs were overturned. A few keys were on the floor. A fifty dollar note that Mrs. Jones left on the dining table together with the electricity bill was missing. 

1. What had happened?

- Someone had broken into Mr. Jones house.

2. Why do you think so?

- The drawers of the cabinet were pulled out. Some chairs were overturned. A few keys were on the floor. A fifty dollar note that Mrs. Jones left on the dining table together with the electricity bill was missing.

Ali looked gloomily out of his bedroom window. He saw a few of his friends were flying kites in the field. He could not join them. His mother would not allow him to do so.

1. What was wrong with Ali?

- He was sick.

2. Why do you think so?

- Ali looked gloomily out of his bedroom window. He saw a few of his friends were flying kites in the field. He could not join them. His mother would not allow him to do so.

There is a real need for medical staff to be placed at all NS training centres. If an emergency occurs, who is there to give the initial treatment for any injuries or accidents? Now with 700 to 800 trainees in each camp, who is qualified to treat or provides the necessary first aid that may save a person's life?

1. Why is there a need for medical staff to be stationed in NS training centres?

- They are needed to tend to emergency cases.

2. What probably led to the writer's appeal for medical staff?

- Probably there had been some trainees falling ill at the training centre.

3. Do you think the writer is against NS training?

- No, she wants the trainees to be well-looked after in case they fall ill.

4. What would be the role of the medical staff at NS training centres?

- Their role is to give initial treatment for any injuries or accidents.

 

Edu Ria at SMKCE featuring Kecik TRW

Learning should not only be done inside a classroom; it is actually best to learn outside the classroom. There are lots of things which can be learned - interacting with people, business and marketing, and information gathering from various sources are only to name a few - and all these cannot be found inside a classroom full of broken chairs and desks. 

Edu Ria (or Education Enjoyment in English) is the sort of programme organised by SMK Chabang Empat which allows the students to implement the theories they have learned through the interaction at the stalls, exhibition booths and also through segments on the Dewan To' Beta stage.

To top it off, the school invites one of the members of The Red Warriors, Mr. Wan Zaharulnizam or Kecik, to meet the students. It was a golden opportunity for the students to meet their favourite player, and boy they really took it. Kecik was surrounded by the students from the moment he entered the school premise until he left an hour later. They took the opportunity to take pictures with him and asked for his autograph.With a smile on his face, he professionally interacted with his fans and they really loved him. 

The teachers were also starstruck, and I was one of them. Luckily, we had more opportunities than the students to take pictures with him. I was the first one to greet him when he arrived but I took pictures with him only half an hour later inside the school office. 

In a way, I am at least equal to him. He is the state football player and I am the state chess player. However, chess is not popular in Kelantan compared to football, so the admiration for him and The Red Warriors is more and the admiration for me and The Red Knights is virtually non-existent. 

Maybe it is the difference between a professional player and a semi-professional player. Luckily for the football players, they got out of the semi-pro label in the 1990s and only God knows when the chess players can be professional players in Malaysia.

Kecik in action

Me in action

Some pictures taken from the event (if you want these pictures in high resolution, do come over to my desk):

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? 

    

Esok (12 Jun 2011) Kelate CUTI!!!!

Praise be to Allah, for He Who bestow upon us a very understanding MB in YB Tuan Guru Haji Nik Abdul Aziz bin Nik Mat. And to further endorse his profile, he has made a very resounding announcement by giving a day off for tomorrow, Sunday 12 June 2011. This is, in his own word, "to make sure that the Red Warriors supporters can drive safely home".

So, will this be repeated every year? I SURELY HOPE SO!

Thanks, MB.

Source here : http://www.facebook.com/nikaziz

This picture is for illustration only

Red Warrior Stadium

Non-Kelantanese, stay away from this post. Kelantan's football has been on the rise nowadays. The 'Red Warriors' are the heroes, the heart and soul, of most Kelantanese, if not all of them. Whenever they play, wherever they play, the stadium will be full. Even more so if they were playing at the Sultan Muhammad IV stadium, a host for approximately 30,000 fans, we could see a sea of red flooded it. Built in 1967, this stadium could no longer bear the burden of having to cater for the maximum capacity, thus a call for a new stadium with a larger space has been made. Accordingly, the Menteri Besar of Kelantan has announced that a new stadium with the maximum capacity of 40,000 will be built in Pasir Putih.

Now, it will be further away from the capital, but if you are a true fan, a little travel would not bother, wouldn't it?

Kelantan 3 - Selangor 0

Simply outstanding. Breathtaking. I was simply out of superlatives to comment on Kelantan's play this evening. All the goals were beautifully taken. The first goal came out of nowhere, but credit to Norfarhan for his effort.

The second showed that Akmal Rizal still has the talent in him which made him one of the feared strikers in Malaysian League. Oh, and what a good ball from the captain.

The third one was simply the icing on the cake. It surely calmed my nerves after Selangor seemingly got a grip of themselves with their bold subtitutions. Once again, Akmal Rizal was at the centre of things, squaring the ball to Badhri Razie to slot it home. Bravo!

See you in the semis, Kedah!

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

New Sultan Kelantan Proclaimed

The is only one thing in my mind when the new Sultan of Kelantan was proclaimed yesterday - Are we still going to have two days off for the Sultan's birthday? We have had our holidays on the 30th and 31st of March every year, but the new Sultan being born on Oct 6 raising the question in some, if not all, of the Kelantan people. Nevertheless, congratulations to Sultan Muhammad Faris Petra for the proclamation, and I will support you all the way, as well as wishing you a successful reign.

Daulat Tuanku! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!