Madinah oh Madinah

I have a soft spot for Madinah. The 9 days a spent in Madinah were wonderful except for one small incident which I shall narrate now.

It was about 5.45 a.m. and I had just left the Prophets Mosque after fajr prayers. I walked in through a side lane and stopped in Movenpick coffee stall to buy me a cup of coffee and a cup cake before meeting my wife for real breakfast.

As a walked out of the crowd at Movenpick, I felt the side pocket of my jeppa a little light. I immediately checked my pocket only to realize that I have been picked. My wallet with slightly more than 300 Saudi Riyals had gone missing. Not so much the money but I had my credit cards, Identity Card and Driver’s license in my wallet. For once I thought that I will not be able to see these important documents anymore. With thousands of pilgrims making their way towards Movenpick, anyone in my position will think alike.

All I could do at that moment was to say a short prayer seeking divine intervention. And guess what? From the thousands walking the lane, I managed to single out a young Afghan, chased him, caught up with him and gave him a hard hit on his back. The young Afghan turned around, annoyed but at the same time gave me signals to body check him. I did but found nothing.

I looked around only to see a group of Indonesian pilgrims surrounding him as if waiting for my signal to bash him up. I had never been as embarrassed in my life as I was at that moment.

Suddenly, to proof me right, a shop keeper came out of his shop, tapped me on my shoulder and pointed his finger at my wallet lying amongst items displayed in his shop. The shop keeper pointed at the young Afghan as the culprit. The Indonesians immediately sought my permission to trash the Afghan up but I told them to hold until I check my wallet to see if the contents were intact. Every item including the money was intact and I told the Indonesians to let the Afghan go.

As I was smiling ear to ear, a group of Turkish pilgrims came to me and asked me how I managed to identify the Afghan from the thousands walking the lane. My simple answer to them – ALLAHU AKHBAR (GOD is great) which was followed by a thunderous similar roar from the Turks. And now I repeat ALLAHU AKHBAR. Have faith and ALLAH has HIS plans. Rest assured ALLAH will never let you down…

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I seek temporary leave

I sincerely apologize for not having updated this blog for sometime now. The truth is that this blog will not be updated for until at least the end of 2009.

I have been rather busy in office as my partner has been and still is on maternity leave and I have been commuting from Raub to Penang to supervise renovation works now being carried out in my soon to be launched Penang branch office.

I am also, at this moment, making last minute preparations for Haj pilgrimage. GOD willing.

I nonetheless, promise to post interesting and fresh stories once my partner returns, my office in Penang is set up completely and upon my return from the Holy land.

In the meantime, I take this opportunity to wish "eid mubarak" to all my followers.

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Speaking in schools

I elected to stay away from the demonstration for the abolishment of teaching mathematics and science in English. I am not against this particular government policy and neither do I support.

I have elected to do this posting in my personal blog rather than in my political blog lest I be accused of politicizing the language issue. I do not have any intentions of doing so.

Why am I harping on an issue that is dead and gone? The government has decided to scrap off the teaching of mathematics and science in English, so, why am I making my stand at this stage? To me, the issue is not dead. It will not die until 2012. Atleast, that is what Mr. Minister of Education had said. Again, while the government may have intentions to scrap that one issue, another bombshell was recently dropped on us - this time, making English compulsory in schools.

Should English be made compulsory in schools? The whole idea is actually very simple. I always ask myself one question – is it a sin or a crime to master a foreign language? I am tri-lingual and I have no problems with that. I speak Hindi when I am in India. English when in English speaking countries and Malay, when I am in countries where the national language is Malay. I am now industriously learning Japanese and Arabic.

The issue however, is, - are we ready to make English compulsory? Or will Mr. Minsiter of Education again stand up and say - we may have made a mistake. From where I stand, I feel that the government ought not rush as we do not have qualified persons to teach English in the English language. Period ...

I was watching the International Tilawah Al Quran on TV last night and to my surprise the commentator was speaking horrendous English. Was the commentator the best we could offer? I suppose the slot was telecasted all over the world or at least to the countries that participated in the assembly. I am sure listeners were having a jolly good time laughing at our product. In simple terms, majority of the younger Malaysian generation does not have good command of the English language.

It is not that we do not have good English commentators. Mahadzir Lokman is a good example. I am sure there are many more out there. These are the old school of thought. They are from the school were every subject, except for Malay, was thought in English. We, the old school, have the ability in speaking good English but the younger generation?

There is no denying that we want our younger generation proficient, in not only the Malay language, but in other languages too. However, if the teaching generation's English is going to be like that of the commentator, I really feel we should forget about the idea, atleast for now. We really do not have the resources and the infrastructure to pursue this issue.

Just look around you. Do you find the teaching generation available today able to teach English? I doubt it. Their command of English is at the lowest. Every sentence uttered by this generation is grammatically wrong. They are from schools where the medium of instructions were never in English. How would one expect a non English speaking person to teach English? However, it is happening in schools today. English is thought in the Malay language. I am surprised with the ingenuity of the teachers who are able to teach English in Malay. Beats me.

While I appreciate the fact that English is important, the future of our younger generation is also important. Do not spoil the future of the younger generation by teaching them things the teachers themselves do not know.

Maybe in 20 years time, when the now young generation has gone through the acid test and have taken control of the English language, English can be made compulsory. Now? We are not ready, believe me.

For the sake of mentioning. I was in the Court of Appeal the other day. The Honourable Gopal Sri Ram made an Order in the following terms - "I Order that the deposit be cheated ....". This young lawyer was blinking. Deposit be cheated? I suppose that was the question playing in his mind. What on earth does this Order mean?

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Do work

How would you feel if you are reminded by your host to remove your shoes before entering into his house? Isn't it a norm in Malaysia that we remove our shoes before entering someone's house?

How would you feel if you are told by your host to behave when in his house? Isn't it normal for one to behave when in someone's house? Do you need to be reminded of something natural?

Likewise, how would you feel if you are reminded that you need to work once you are in your office? Does it not follow that you are paid to work? Has it now become obvious that those employed in the Judicial Department are paid monthly wages for not working?

You may ask, why all these questions all of a sudden? Actually, these questions are not all of a sudden. For the past year or so I have been asking myself - is there a real necessity to remind all those who enter the Court premises that they are there to work?

For those who frequent the Courts will know what I am talking about. Large banners hang at the entrance of all Court premises with the word "buat kerja" (do work). These banners glare at the employees each morning as they enter the main gates, even before they can punch their cards.

Employees? Why am I limiting myself to employees? What about the Magistrate's, Sessions Judges and High Court Judges. They too use the same entrance and therefore, they too are reminded each time they pass by.

I am not sure if the same banners are displayed at the entrance of Putra Jaya. I did not realise the last time I went there. However, if the banners are there, then the warnings are also meant for the Court of Appeal Judges and the Judges of the Federal Court.

Is this an indication that all those who work in the court premises are not performing? Your guess is as good as mine.

Anyway, buat kerja !!!!!!!

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The wonders of Surah Al-ikhlas (Final)

Please feel free to try out the, sort of rituals, stated in the below 9 series. However, you must, before reading or reciting Surah Al-ikhlas, read the opening phrase - Bismillahir rahmanir rahim.

It happened in Makkah, one day, where someone had a dream that he saw hundreds of pigeons flying above Makkah city. Surprisingly, non of the birds had heads. The following day the dream was brought to the attention of a person who had the ability to translate dreams. The translator said - "perhaps you religiously recited Qul Huwallahu Ahad but did not begin the recital with the opening phrase - Bismillahir rahmanir rahim".

Bismillahir rahmanir rahim has 19 alphabets, as many as Angel Zabaniyah, the guard in charge of hell. Therefore, whosoever reads or recites Bismillahir rahmanir rahim before commencing anything permitted in Islam, he will be protected from Angel Zabaniyah.

Surah Al-ikhlas is a short quaranic verse and the transliterated version is thus: -

Qul Huwallahu Ahad

Allah Hu Shomad

Lam Yalid Walam Yulad

Walam Yakullahu Kufuwan Ahad

Try out and rest assured you will not regret.

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The wonders of Surah Al-ikhlas (Part 9)

Al-Baihaqi from Umamah Al-Bahili reports a Hadis that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was heard saying that when the Prophet (pbuh) was in Tabuk, Angel Jibril came to the Prophet (pbuh) together with 70,000 other Angels and said "Messenger of Allah (pbuh), look at the possession escorting the remains of Muawiyah from Tabuk and see that it is escorted also by Angel Jibril and a hugh number of other Angels".

Having noticed the possession, The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said "Jibril, why is it that Muawiyah is afforded such high standing?".

Angel Jibril replied "He is afforded such ovation because he recited Qul Huwallahu Ahad every day while standing, while sitting, in ruku' and while walking.

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The wonders of Surah Al-ikhlas (Part 8)

Ibnu Abbas reports a Hadis that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was heard saying "when I was ascending upwards the sky, I saw the throne of Allah (arasy) resting on 360,000 corners (sudut) with the distance between one corner and another about 300,000 years of journey. 12,000 deserts were seen under each corner and the length of each desert being the length of sunrise to sunset. In each desert I saw 80,000 Angels reading Qul Huwallahu Ahad".

After reciting Surah Al-ikhlas the Angels said "Ya Allah, we assign the rewards of this recital to everyone of those who read Surah Al-ikhlas, be they men or women".

The followers and friends of the Prophet (pbuh) were shocked upon hearing what the Prophet (pbuh) had to say and the Prophet (pbuh) asked "are you all shocked, my friends?". The Prophet's (pbuh) friends and followers answered "yes, indeed we are".

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) continued "In the name of Allah, in whose hands I am, Qul Huwallahu Ahad is written on the wings of Jibril. Allahush Shomad, on the wings on Mikail. Lam Yalid Walam Yulad, on the wings of Izrail and Walam Yakullahu Kufuan Ahad on the wings of Israfil". Thus, whosoever amongst my followers read Qul Huwallahu Ahad, they will be awarded rewards equivalent to those who read the Taurat, Injil, Zabur and Al-Quran".

The Prophet (pbuh) again asked his followers and friends, "are you all shocked, my friends?". The Prophet's (pbuh) followers and friends answered, "yes, indeed we are ".

The Prophet (pbuh) proceeded on and said "In the name of Allah, in whose hands I am, Qul Huwallahu Ahad is written on the brows of Abu Bakar Shiddiq. Allahush Shomad on the brows of Umar Al-Faruq. Lam Yalid Walam Yulad on the brows of Usman Zin-Nurain and Walam Yakullahu Kufuan Ahad on the brows of Ali As-Sakhiy.

Thus, whosoever read or recite Surah Al-ikhlas regularly will be awarded the rewards afforded to Abu Bakar, Umar, Usman and Ali".

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The wonders of Surah Al-ikhlas (Part 7)

Anas bin Malik reports a Hadis that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was heard saying "whosoever reads Qul Huwallahu Ahad once, he will be blessed.

Whosover reads the same twice, he and his family will be blessed.

Whosoever reads it thrice, he, his family and his neighbours will be blessed.

Whosover read Surah Al-ikhlas 12 times, Allah will build 12 castles for him in heaven.

In the event Surah Al-ikhlas is read 100 times, the reader's sins (dosa kecil) for a period of 50 years will be pardoned except sins which are acquired as a result of blodshed and over property.

If Surah Al-ikhlas is read 200 times, the reader's sins for a period of 100 years will be pardoned and whosoever read Qul Huwallahu Ahad 1,000 times, Allah will, before the reader's death, show to him or give the reader visions of his place in heaven.

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The wonders of Surah Al-ikhlas (Part 6)

Anas bin Malik reports a Hadis that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was heard saying - "whosoever reads Qul Huwallahu Ahad 10 times, Allah will build a castle in heaven for him. Whosoever reads it 20 times, Allah will build for him 2 castles in heaven. Whosoever reads the same 30 times, Allah will build for him 3 castles in heaven".

Umar bin Khatab responded by saying "Messenger of Allah (pbuh), if that is the case there will be plenty of castles for us in heaven".

The Messenger of Allah responded by saying "Allah is wider than that". Meaning - in so far as Allah is concerned, the number of castles is immaterial and building them is a simple task.

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The wonders of Surah Al-ikhlas (Part 5)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said "whosoever reads Surah Al-ikhlas to a sick person who eventually dies, his corpse will not smell foul when in his grave".

Yet there is another hadis which says that there will be no ill words spoken against the deceased while in his grave, the deceased will not experience the narrowing of his grave and the Angels will carry the deceased with thier wings to cross shiratol mustaqim till he reaches heaven.

It is also reported via Hadis by Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had said - "whosoever reads Qul Huwallahu Ahad (Surah Al-ikhlas) 50 times, his sins for 50 years will be pardoned.

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The wonders of Surah Al-ikhlas (Part 4)

One day while the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was sitting in a mosque in Madinah, a group of Muslims brought a body of a fellow deceased muslim to the mosque for purposes of performing his final rights and to be prayed upon.

When Prophet Mohammad's (phuh) followers and friends requested the Prophet (pbuh) to perform the final rights and to pray upon the deceased, the Prophet (pbuh) asked "is this person leaving behind debts?" The Prophet's (pbuh) friends and followers answered "Yes, he leaves behind a debt of 4 dirhams".

The Prophet (pbuh) responded to his followers and friends and said "I will not perform the final rights and pray upon a person who dies leaving behind debts. As such you are to perform the final rights on him".

At that very moment, Angel Jibril arrived and said "Mohammad, Allah send his salam to you and I have been asked to tell you that Allah commanded me to appear in the form of this deceased person and pay on his behalf all his debts. Stand up therefore, and perform his final rights and pray upon him as Allah has already pardoned him. Whosoever, joins in to perform the final rights and pray upon the deceased with you will also be pardoned by Allah".

Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) asked Angel Jibril "Hai Jibril, where from did this person get this honour?".

Jibril answered "he is honoured because he recited Qul Huwallahu Ahad 100 times a day without fail".

The verse Qul Huwallahu Ahad or Surah Al-ikhlas, contains within it, the characteristics of Allah and also praises. This Hadis teaches us that Allah will settle the debts of anyone before his death if he reads Surah Al-ikhlas 100 times a day.

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The wonders of Surah Al-ikhlas (Part 3)

One day a man confided into the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) complaining how hard a life he was living. This man sought the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and requested that he be thought a simple ritual that he could practise so that his difficulties and his life burden can be lifted.

In response, The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) urged the man to offer his salam and read Surah Al-ikhlas 3 times each time he entered his house. In the event he returned to an empty house, he was asked to offer the salam to The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and while entering the house, he was asked to read Surah Al-ikhlas 3 times.

The man returned home and practised what he was thought, and to his surprise, not only his situation (rezeki) became better but also the situation (rezeki) of his neighbours.

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The wonders of Surah Al-ikhlas (Part 2)

Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said: -

“Hai Aisyah, don't you ever sleep before you do 4 things: -

1. Read the whole Holy Quran;

2. Make all Prophets to stand by you and protect you on Judgment day;

3. Make all mukmins agree and be with you;

4. Perform your Haj and umrah."

Having said such, Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) went to perform his prayers and Saidatina Aisyah remained in her room. After Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) had completed his prayers, Saidatina Aisyah said: -

"Messenger of Allah (pbuh), your ransom be my father and mother, the request to peform 4 things before sleeping cannot be performed by me".

Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) smiled and said -

"when you read Qul Huwallahu Ahad 3 times, it is as if you have the read the whole Holy Quran. When you offer the selawat to me and the Prophets before me, we will bless (syafaat) you on judgment day. And when you ask for the forgiveness of all mukmins, for sure they will all agree and be with you. When you read Subahanallah, Walhamdulillah, Walaillahaillallah, Wallahu Akbar it means to say that you have performed your Haj and Umrah".

In assence, this Hadis suggest that all Muslims, must, before sleeping read -

1. Surah Al-ikhlas 3 times

2. Offer the Selawat to Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and all Prophets before him is this form - Allahumma Sholli ‘ala Sayyidina Muhammad Wa ali Muhammad wa’ala jami’il anbiyaai wal mursalin;

3. Ask to be forgiven all mukmins by way of a doa (prayer) in this form - Allahummaghfirlil muslimina wal muslimat, wal mukiminina wal mukminat 3 times .

4. Recite Subahanallah, Walhamdulillah, Walaillahaillallah, Wallahu Akbar Wala haula wala quwwata illa billahil ‘aliyyil ‘adzim 3 times.

God willing, you will be protected in this world and in the hereafter

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The wonders of Surah Al-ikhlas (Part 1)

Surah Al-ikhlas, a short verse from the Holy Quran, can do wonders to those who regularly recite it. Before I embark on explaining the many wonders of Surah Al-Iklhas, allow me, by way of recitals, to rewrite the other names, by which the verse is also called: -

1. At-Tafrid.

2. At-Tajrid.

3. At-Tauhid.

4. Al-Ikhlas.

5. An-Najat.

6. Al-Wilayah.

7. An-Nisbah.

8. Al-Ma’rifah.

9. Al-Jamal.

10. Al-Muqasyqasyah.

11. Al-Mu’awwidzah.

12. As-Shamad.

13. Al-Asas.

14. Al-Maani’ah.

15. Al-Muhtadhar.

16. Al-Munfiroh.

17. Al-Baroah.

18. Al-Mudzkiroh.

19. An-Nuur.

20. Al-Insan.

Anas bin Malik's in his Hadis reports that Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) had said: -

"whosover reads Surah Al-ikhlas once, it is as if he has read 1/3 of the Holy Quran. Whosoever reads Surah Al-ikhlas twice, it is as if he has read 2/3 of the Holy Quran and whosoever reads Surah Al-Ikhlas thrice, it is as if he has read the whole Holy Quran. Whosoever reads Surah Al-ikhlas ten times, Allah will build for him, in heaven, a house made of red ya'kut"

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Die baby die

10 minutes of pleasure and a life time of misery. Yes, that is what you get for indulging in illicit sex.

Day in and day out, we read in the newspapers and hear over television, teenage girls abandoning their new born in waste bins, at door steps of mosques and other houses of worship. Some are thrown into toilet bowls. Some are found with umbilical chords still intact. Their little bodies sore from bites by insects and wild animals. Some wrapped in old newspapers and the “lucky” ones in sheets of cloth.

Gone are the days, when we sweated cold sweat when asked to sit beside the opposite sex in our classrooms. Today, teenage boys and girls not only sit beside each other, they tend to sit on each other. Walking home from school, holding each other’s hand is a common sight.

We knew Malaysians, all this while, as a conservative society where sex within marriage was the norm and sex without, shunned. Today, sex without marriage is the in thing. Malaysians are no longer conservative. They indulge in whatever they fancy.

I do not, here, intend to discuss what steps teachers and parents ought to take to overcome teenage social problem or what teachers and parents ought to do to overcome baby dumping problem. What I intend to address here is - how inhumane young parents can become. How a girl, after bearing a baby for 9 months, deliver, and then dump the baby without any remorse.

I have, in my home, some Persian cats. When little kittens are born, I sit by and watch how the mother cat behave. The mother cat will, at birth, lick the kittens till they are clean. Thereafter, from time to time, lick the little ones as if bathing them. The mother cat will ensure that the kittens are milked regularly. Try picking up the kittens in the presence of the mother cat and be ready to be scratched. Take the little ones out of the cage, like I always do, and you will hear the mother cat calling as if she already miss the kittens.

If a cat can love her kittens so much, what have we got to say about men in general? Men are said to have dignity and at the same time are supposed to have high moral values. How come men have brought dignity and morality lower than that of animals? What has gone wrong with our society?

Fine, you made a mistake. You should not have succumbed to lust but you succumbed anyway. Fine, you wanted to know what sex is all about and you found out. Fine, you needed, say, 10 minutes of pleasure and you got that. Do you, after birth, punish an innocent baby for the mistake you made? For educating yourself the finer points of sex? For, at last, finding out what pleasure is all about?

From the religious point of view, the young mother and the young father sinned and for that they need to repent. What sin did the baby commit to deserve death? Why should someone not love a baby who is born out of wedlock? A baby is a baby, immaterial of whether she is born after marriage or before and this baby deserves love, warmth and care.

Sometime when I sit and watch my Persians, I wonder – why can’t men be like my Persians? They love their kitten like nothing else matters. And mind you, the father cat is never around and most of the time I don’t even know who the father cat is. Even than, my Persians have never dumped their kittens at birth.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting that young girls should go around and get themselves laid till pregnant. What I am suggesting is – try staying away from illicit sex. However, if you have made a mistake, don’t punish the baby till death. The baby deserves to live. Give the baby away for adoption and repent your sins. There are so many married couples out there who for some reason cannot have their own babies. Hand your baby over to these couple and rest assured that the baby will be well taken care of.

Killing is not the answer.

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Hypocrites, thats what we are

Let us for once be frank with ourselves. How many of us can sincerely say that he or she has never broken the law or any rules or regulations. None, I suppose.

I’ll give you a classic example – rubbish. We have bins placed by the local authorities at strategic places to enable citizens to throw their rubbish but do they use these facilities? They don’t. When I say “they”, I mean the typical Malaysian, which, invariably, includes me.

Frankly, I have sat at bus-stands smoking and as the bus approach, I just throw my cigarette butt on the floor even when there is a bin placed about 2 feet away.

Another classic example, will the Raub Court premises. There are sufficient stickers displaying the “No smoking” sign yet, every Tom, Dick and Harry is puffing away. To add insult to injury, the puffing is done with the signage starring at the smokers. Guess what? Those smoking in the court premises are mostly court staff, prosecutors and lawyers – the same people who are supposed to uphold the law. You guessed right – most of the time the signage stares at me.

What about domestic rubbish and waste? We are asked to place bins outside our premises and ensure the rubbish is properly tied in rubbish bags and placed inside these bins. What do we do? We tie the rubbish in rubbish bags and place them outside the bin. We even throw rubbish at the foot of signage that reads “Jangan buang sampah disini – denda RM500.00”.

What surprises me is that, these same people, who break laws in this country, behave very well in other countries. For example, when I was in Madinah, smoking outside the gates of the Prophet’s Mosque, some Arabs shouted – “haram, haram” at me. I immediately threw my cigarette away and from that moment, refused to smoke other than inside my hotel room.

In Singapore, I have seen Malaysian not smoking when they are walking the streets. I suppose they fear that they may litter the streets with their cigarette ash. Likewise in Japan, no Malaysian will smoke other than at designated booths. No Malaysian will throw cigarette butts or tissues out of moving cars in Singapore or Japan like they habitually do in Malaysia. All rubbish is thrown into rubbish bins.

Some blame enforcement. They say that the enforcement officers are not carrying out their duties diligently. They do not reprimand or summon when they see someone breaking the law and/or rule. Do we really need enforcement officers breathing down our necks all the time? Do we need to be reminded as to what is right and what is wrong when we can intelligently make the distinction in other countries?

At the end of the day, we can ask ourselves one question, stringent enforcement or not, what is our problem? Are we habitual law breakers? My short answer will be - No!!! We are not. If we are, obviously we will also break the laws of other countries but we religiously do not.

Do we therefore, consider ourselves hypocrites? Breaking laws in our own country and instantly becoming law abiding citizens in another country. To a certain extent, we are – like it or not – whatever our excuse.

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Judge me not

If you noticed, in my last posting I signed off by saying “don’t judge me before you know me”. Likewise in my profile, I stated “judge me only if you know me, otherwise keep mum”. These 2 phrases were coined by me for a reason. Most of us would have heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover”. All three phrases, albeit in different words, mean almost the same. Its a matter of language gymnastics.

In today’s “dog eat dog world”, everybody seems to have something to say about the person sitting next to him. Is it really necessary to pry into someone else’s life, just for the sake of it? Have we got nothing better to do? Why do we talk about other people’s backyard, when ours itself is dirty? Why judge a person when we cannot accept others judging us?

There are times when a judgment passed against another person can backfire. So why take the risk?

Just for the sake of mentioning. About a month ago, a friend of mine told me that there is a story being passed about me, by a resident in my Taman, that the way she looks at it, I am the poorest lawyer she has ever seen.

Fine with me – but where does it hurt her? Did she check my bank balance before making the statement? How does she know that I am the “most poor”? Is it because I live a modest life? Is it because I live in a small rented house and drive a 5 years old Wira? What right has she to make the statement? In other words, what right has she to pass judgment on me, when she hardly knows me, or shall I say, don't even know me?

I told my friend that the statement does not matter to me. In fact I am glad that in the sight of some people I am poor but amongst those who know me, they know my financial standing. Did the Prophet (pbuh) not say, don’t live a lavish life? Is it wrong if I elect to practice the sunnah?

I must confess that I am not rich but neither am I poor. My family and I live a happy life and my only daughter gets what she wants.

It so happened that a week after the judgment was passed on me, I bought a BMW 328i. No … I did not buy the BMW because I was hurt. In fact I did not even know there was this story about me being mongered. I bought the BMW as early preparation for my daughter who will be going off to Kuala Lumpur to study next year. She told me that she wanted to drive a BMW to college and so I bought her one. I saw the price was reasonable, so I took it home.

My buying the BMW was the reason why my friend told me the story about the gossip being mongered. My friend was having a good laugh since my timing was perfect. I thought otherwise.

Had I known about the gossip, I would not have bought the BMW, lest I be accused of trying to negate the gossip. But again, my response was - who cares. I live not for others but for my family and me.

After I had purchased the BMW, my friend’s missus had to add insult to injury, by telling this gossiper that I will soon be shifting from my rented house to my banglo which is now pending approval of plans. She told her that it is only a matter of time the contractors will start on the building. And to put the final nail into the gossiper's coffin, my friend's missus also told her that she was shocked when she saw how huge and beautiful my house is going to be.

After hearing that, both husband and wife, now try, as much as possible to avoid me. I suppose they feel wrong and guilty in making the negative judgment. Perhaps they realized now that they should not have made the judgment against me.

The moral of the story – is it worth judging someone you don’t know to the extent that you fear even going out of your own house just in case you bump into the person you tried to smear? I don’t think it is worth its while. So stop gossiping.

Why don’t we just take care of our own backyard instead of taking care of our neighbour’s …

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Come, get to know me

I was born in Kuantan, Pahang Darul Makmur as Mohan Singh. My paternal grand parents migrated to Raub from Punjab. Please don’t ask me when. The Sempalit Police Station (now used car show room) once belonged to my grand dad and was acquired by the Government and converted into a Police Station. The only thing good about the acquisition is that the government did not renovate or modify the structure. The original structure was maintained until as recently as 2008 when the station was converted to a used car show room.

I remember, sometime in the late 60’s, my sister and I went to the station for permission to pluck some mangoes in the compound and to our surprise, the policeman on duty told us that we don’t need any permission because the tree was planted, not by them but by my grand dad. The tree was therefore as good as ours as it was theirs.

My dad was a government servant and served in various government departments in Raub. His last posting in Raub was as head of the registration department. He was Senior Cambridge qualified and used to serve as a 2nd class magistrate in Raub and Kuala Lipis. In 1954 he was transferred to Kuantan where I was born in 1957. I am the youngest of 9 siblings. 11 actually, 2 died at birth.

Sometime in November, 1959, my dad was transferred to Ipoh. From my mum’s narratives, my dad went to Ipoh alone and before leaving, informed my mum that he will uproot the family from Kuantan once accommodation in Ipoh is available. Till then, my dad stayed in a Hotel in Ipoh. A few days after he left for Ipoh, my mum got news that my dad had died as a result of a fall from his hotel room. I was 22 months old at that time and my dad 39. To be frank, I don’t know my dad and I don’t know the kind of love he showered on me.

From 1959 till 1961 our life was nomadic. Moving from Kuantan to Taping, from Taiping to Bangsar and from Bangsar to Batu Gajah. I don’t remember Taiping and Bangsar, but yes, I have some sweet memories about Batu Gajah. Sometime in 1962, we moved back to Raub. This time for good.

In 1964 I was enrolled in Mahmud Primary School, Raub and finished 6 years of primary education in 4 years. Studied in Dato Shahbandar Hussin lower secondary school for 2 years and thereafter, Mahmud Secondary School Raub till 1973. I was hardly 16 when I finished my MCE (now SPM).

Too young to be employed permanently, I did odd jobs wherever I could. In estates, electrical shops, plumbing and you name it. It was only in 1979 that I was offered a job as a process server in a legal firm (Gill & Tang) in Kuala Lumpur. I was recommanded by my cousin, the late Karam Singh Veriah. Maybe some of you remember him as a great man while some will remember him as a menace. To me, he was a great guy.

I suppose, Mr. P S Gill (my mentor in civil litigation) saw some promise in me and within 1 year I was promoted to the post of a clerk entrusted to prepare court documents. It was from here that I started showing interest in law. In 1984 I was a chief clerk with the legendary Mr. Manjit Singh Dhillon (my mentor in criminal litigation) and thereafter, I did a short span with an old friend, Dato’ Othman Hashim, where I picked up and familairised myself with foreclosure proceedings.

I resigned from the legal fraternity in 1988 to pursue a carrier in auctioning. I was licensed to auction in 5 states. While carrying out business as an auctioneer under the name and style of Harris & Co, I started attending night classes at Goon Institute Kuala Lumpur, reading law. That was in 1995. After 2 years in Goon, I uprooted my family to Chelmsford, England to complete my final year in law studies. I graduated in 1997 and was admitted and enrolled as a advocate and Solicitor of the High Court, Malaya in 1999.

You can see that I am a self made man. Unlike some, I was born with no silver spoon in my mouth and no handouts from anybody. No grants, loans or scholarships from the Government agencies. I struggled and strived and achieved my dreams.

Before I forget, in 1983 I embraced Islam and became known as Mohd Harris Abdullah. In 1984 I married my wife, who also hails from Raub. We met in Kuala Lumpur. In 1993, we had our first child and to our horror was also our last. Nur Diana Khan came to this world after 9 years of our marriage.

From 1979 to 2006, I lived and worked in Kuala Lumpur. In 1998 I commenced practice in Kuala Lumpur under the name and style of Mohd Harris Mohan & Partners. My very own firm. In October, 2006, I converted my firm from a sole-proprietorship to a partnership known as Harris & Zakiah. In December, 2006 I resigned from Harris & Zakiah and handed over the firm - lock, stock and barrel to Zakiah and moved to Raub. In January, 2007 I commenced practice in Raub under the name and style of The Law Office of Mohd Harris.

My mum passed away in September, 2007. She is until today remembered as the walking lady of Bukit Koman. Yes, my mum, for health purposes, walked every day to and fro Bukit Koman and Raub.

Many in Raub do not know me. I was labeled a newcomer trying to sabotage established firms in Raub. Maybe after reading this, you will be able to paint a real picture of me. I am a third generation Raubian and my daughter, fourth. I am no newcomer to Raub. I was walking the streets of Raub even before some of you were born. I have laughed, cried, suffered, sweated, and had good time and bad times in Raub. Raub is where I belong. My soul is at peace in Raub.

Don’t judge me before you know me. Get to know me – I may be reserved but not as arrogant as some think I am.

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Announcement

Hello everybody.

This blog was launched by me today. It will include postings touching and concerning daily aspects of life, not necessarily mine. One thing for sure - I will not indulge in politics. If politics is what you are looking for, please browse - http://www.pkrraub.blogspot.com/. This blog is also managed by me.

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