Monday, December 28, 2009

Southwestern Adventure - Riders' Lodge, Kulai

We decided to focus on the south western side of the peninsula to spend our December holidays ...departing on Saturday, 19 December 2009 and returning on Wednesday, 22 December 2009. Our journey took us another 1000 km covering Johor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan.

We jumped onto the car at about 10am after fetching AP in Ampang, targetting to reach Kulai at about 2pm. What is there in Kulai???? We were heading for the Riders Lodge, a resort in Sedenak that offers horse related activities. We stopped for rests at Ayer Keroh and Machap before exiting at Sedenak toll then heading towards Kulai before turning left to Sedenak and eventually the lodge at around 2pm.

Our first thought....pretty nice, unique, surrounded by palm oil trees, frequented by mainly foreigners and Singapoerans and built for horse training and riding. It is owned by Australian married to a Philipino, very nice couple and personally entertain guests. The place is a big manor house with 27 rooms and is located next to the Legend Golf & Country Resort. Upon arrival, we checked in for a bed & breakfast package which cost us RM348 per pax. After a short rest, the kids went for their riding lesson for beginners. The lesson was for an hour and we were charged RM123.90 per hour. If you stay at the lodge, then you are entiltled for a 10% discount.




Dini was on Super Force but the horse was not in the right mood that day that she was asked to ride Sara Bego. Faiz and Thaqif were on Matilda and Impiana, both were nice to them. After selecting the horses, the trainer, Tara, an Irish began training the kids on how to handle and control the horses. It is not as easy as it looks. I used to ride when I was a kid, my father is a professional polo player with Pahang Royal Polo Club and I was taught how to ride when I was 10. After one hour on the horses, the kids learned how to ride. Tara told us that it would take a couple of lessons before they can learn troting.



That night, we went out to see Kulai. It's quite a big town and we were surprise to see two hypermarkets, Tesco and Giant. We were told that Singaporean shops at this Tesco. We had our dinner at Azlan Tomyam and it was satisfactory. When we return to the lodge, it was so quiet that we fell asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, after being served with farmhouse breakfast, IQ and Thaqif went for a ride. They have selected Impiana and Matilda. Dini and Faiz still suffered pain from their lesson yesterday. This time, they were trained by Sunnell, a lady from South Africa. Riders Lodge offers variety of riding packages. You can go on a guided trail ride at the palm oil plantation nearby or join their riding camps. That can be interesting. You can find out all about the lodge and the riding activities from their website http://www.riderslodge.com.my/index.htm.


We will definitely come back for more riding lessons. The place is nice and quiet, good for a short break. Thanks to Seanette and Agnes for their country home hospitality.


Friday, December 25, 2009

PMR Result - The Rainbow


Yesterday was another day that we have been waiting for anxiously. The release of the PMR results. This time it was not as bad as waiting for the UPSR results at the school. Dini just called MTS to find out what she gets. The day started as usual and before I left for work, I took her for breakfast, her favourite nasi lemak ayam goreng kampung untuk hilangkan darah gemuruh.

Everything went as usual until after 10am when I started to receive calls and 'sms'es from friends either informing me of their kids' results or asking about Dini's. It was only around 11am that Dini frantically trying to get me to break the news. I finally managed to talk to her when I called the house. She was overjoyed when her teacher called to inform that she got 9 straight As.

We later found out that 45 students in MTS obtained 9As and another 44 students with 8As from a total of close to 200 students. I thought that was a great achievement for students who not just studied the PMR subjects, but also learn another 10 religious subjects plus hafazan.

I salute the teachers and ustaz/ustazah who taught them. Good news from this part of the world don't always make it into the mainstream media....but then Maahad Tahfiz type of schools also did very well in Trengganu and Pahang.

Later in the evening, we all went to Nyang's house to celebrate her 90th birthday. It was a double celebrations when the Gombak clanners celebrated Nyang's birthday together with Dini's success in PMR. Thanks to Noni and Aunty Pit yang bertungkus lumus memasak for the occasion. It's been a while since the last gathering of Gombakclan. This year, we did not plan any trip to celebrate Nyang's birthday, just a little celebration at home. Selamat hari lahir yang ke-90 Tok/Nyang...semoga bertambah panjang umur dan hidup mendapat rahmat dan berkat.

We are grateful to Allah swt for granting this success to Dini and to all her teachers, ustaz and ustazah at MTS, Malkit and Durshan (Dini's tuition teachers), THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for your support, guidance and confidence that you all have in Dini. Our heartiest congratulations to Dini's friends at SKTS and MTS for their achievements. To those whom did not quite make it, there's always rooms for improvement. The journey is still very long and winding.

Special thanks to Tok Abah and Tok Mama yang bersusah payah menguruskan hal Dini di MTS, berulang alik ke Tanah Merah hampir setiap minggu dengan bekalan makanan yang tak pernah putus dan menghantar Dini ke airport. Berkat doa Tok Abah, Tok Mama, Tok Wan dan Tok yang berterusan, harapnya Dini akan terus berjaya.

To Dini, what can we say...thank you for giving us the "rainbow". We are so proud of you. We hope that you will continue to work hard and achieve your ambition in life. We love you Kakak.




Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Still in Dilemma....Part 3

We have been busy lately especially over the last weekend. We received a call from Ustazah that Faiz has been offered a place at Sek Agama Menengah Muhammadiah at Sabak Bernam ("SAMMPS"). We have not heard of the school but through googling, we found out that it is one of the good schools under JAIS. I was impressed with the school's website (http://sammps.wordpress.com/). It has all the info you need to know about the school. The list of students being offered a place for next year together with thier results and "Jadual Balik Kampung"!!They even have lists of occupants for their dormitories for next year! Tak sangka sekolah agama pun so advance.

Last friday, we decided to go to Sabak Bernam and have a look at the school. We were totally impressed (again!) with the infrastructure and the facilities. It has two school blocks, a big hall, a madrasah and a huge compund and a football field. Even the dinning halls are separated between banin and banat. The only set back is that the school does not offer tahfiz. Otherwise, we would have considered it even though the journey to the school was long and winding. Sabak Bernam is a nice and quiet town, a good and condusive place to study.

Although Faiz has received an offer from IQKL, he is still hoping that he will get a place in MTAQ. That was his first choice. To us, it is already a blessing that he was given the opportunity to learn tahfiz at IQKL. There must be reasons for what Allah swt has given to us. What we think is best for us may not always be right. Only Allah swt knows and may we be guided by Him in all our decisions.





Sunday, December 13, 2009

Korban 1430H - Kg Dewan Besar, Labok, Kelantan





Hampir setiap tahun kami akan pulang beraya di kampung sambil menjalani ibadah korban.Walaupun terpaksa mengharungi perjalanan yang memakan masa berbelas jam, tapi kami tetap pasrah semata-mata untuk berkumpul bersama ahli keluarga yang lain. Tahun ini, kami bertuah kerana balik pada awal pagi hari raya agar terlepas dari kesesakan lalu lintas yang boleh dikira agak dahsyat.

Kebiasaannya kami akan mengadakan korban di kampung Tok Abah di Kg Dewan Besar, Labok, dalam daerah Machang. Rumah asal ini sekarang diduduki oleh adik Tok Abah ie Abdul Rahman (budak2 panggil Tok Mae).Kedudukan yang strategik dengan rumah di tepi sungai (Sungai Bagan) membuatkan korban lebih mudah dijalankan. Pada hari Sabtu, 11 Zulhijjah, kami awal2 lagi sudah bertolak ke Labok dari Kuala Krai...pagi yg dingin dan indah. Dua ekor lembu telah dibeli oleh 14 ahli keluarga untuk dikorbankan pada tahun ini. Sememangnya anak2 Tok Abah memang pakar melapah daging kerana hampir setiap tahun kami melakukan aktiviti yang sama. Tapi tahun ini agak malang kerana dua orang mengalami kecederaan luka di jari...satu yg terhiris tangan sendiri dan satu lagi yg tercocok pisau orang lain!

Setelah lembu disembelih, kami beramai2 memproses daging dari melapah hinggalah ke kuali untuk digoreng. Kami bergotong royong beramai2, ada yang melapah, ada yang memotong daging, ada yang mengapak tulang dan tak kurang yang memasak. Faiz dan sepupu2nya sibuk membasuh perut lembu (perut "towel" & perut "kitab") di sungai (of course, isi perutnya terlebih dahulu dibuang di atas tanah). Faiz memang dah dapat kontrak basuh perut lembu setiap tahun tapi Thaqif masih takut2.


Daging yang telah diproses dibahagikan kepada 7 bahagian sebelum diedarkan pada orang2 kampung. Sebahagian digunakan untuk memasak untuk makan tengahari setelah penat bekerja. Antara menu wajib ialah daging goreng, sup atau kukoq tulang/gearbox, masak asam perut muda dengan limpa, acar mentah, ikan kering dan sambal. Memang mengancam, satu pinggan memang tak cukup.

Sambil orang dewasa sibuk menguruskan daging korban, kanak2 pula mengambil peluang mandi-manda di sungai. Air sungai pula agak banyak & bersih kerana baru lepas banjir, memang seronok main sampai ada yang menangis bila disuruh naik. Yelah, bukan selalu dapat mandi sungai tambah2 yang duduk di KL. Lepas mandi, semuanya tak sabar nak menjamah makan tengahari yang sedia terhidang kerana masing2 sudah kelaparan. Kami makan beramai2...ramai sanak saudara berdekatan juga datang kerana Ayah Su juga mengadakan kenduri kesyukuran. Setelah selesai solat zohor, kami semua berangkat balik dengan bekalan daging untuk diagih2kan.

Selain dapat menjalankan ibadah korban yang dituntut agama pada mereka yang berkemampuan, kami juga dapat berkumpul bersama2 dan mengeratkan lagi silaturrahim yang sedia terjalin. Semoga aktiviti seumpama ini akan diteruskan oleh generasi2 muda demi mengukuhkan lagi ukhwah.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Our Dilemma Continues....Part 2

Our search did not stop at IQKL. Although we know that the chances for Faiz to join his sister in MTS is rather slim, we nonetheless submit his application to be admitted into any one of the controlled schools under Yayasan Islam Kelantan (YIK). There are four "sekolah kawalan" under YIK. MTS, Maahad Tahfiz Al-Quran Wal-Qiraat (MTAQ), Maahad Muhammadi Lelaki and Perempuan, MMP and MML.

The applications for these four schools increased every year but the places remain limited although MTS has opened two branches for the boys in Kok Lanas and Berangan. They can offer only 240 places against more than 800 applications received. We know right from the start that Faiz will not stand a chance to join Dini. Our next hope would be at MTAQ as MML does not offer tahfiz and is not a fully boarding school. The last time we were there during Aidil Adha, we struggled to submit the form to Faiz's ustaz who is in Tanah Merah. It took us five hours just to send the form when on normal days, the journey would not take more than two hours. We were determine to give it a go as learning tahfiz in Kelantan has been our number one priority and Faiz's first choice.

MTAQ is located at Pulai Chondong and was set up in 1992. This was the first school established by YIK after Kelantan fell into the Opposition's hand and it was Tok Guru Nik Aziz's noble intention. Thus far, it has produced more than 400 huffaz around the country and they are in various profession. The special thing about MTAQ is its curriculum. Unlike MTS, they learn another important aspect of the Quran which is Qiraat. Because of that, the students do not sit for PMR. Instead, they will take SMU (Sijil Menengah Agama) and SMTQ (Sijil Menengah Tahfiz Quran) when they are in Form 4 and SPM in Form 5.

While waiting for the SPM result, they will remain in school to prepare for another exam i.e STTQ (Sijil Tinggi Tahfiz Quran) in June. STTQ received recognition from Shoubra Al-Azhar in 2005 and MTAQ is the ONLY school in the country that has obtained recognition from Shoubra. Infact, many universities in the Middle East recognised their curriculum evidenced from the number of students admitted to these universities in the last few years. In 2009, 134 of their ex-students studied in Egypt, 11 in Arab Saudi and 11 in Jordan. Of course they were some in UK, US, Australia, Ireland, France and Yemen. About 200 of their ex-students pursued their education at the local universities majority in the IIUM and UM.

Why MTAQ? All the ustaz that taught Faiz and our other children "mengaji" graduated from this school since at that time, MTS was still not around. They are Ustaz Nuri, Ustaz Zamri, Ustaz Fazrin and Ustaz Fatihi and they are all Al-Hafiz. They taught our children when they were studying in IIUM pursuing professional and religious courses. Since the inception of MTS, the demand for MTAQ slowly reduced as people are more inclined to get their kids to take up Science. MTAQ also offers science subjects to those interested. We were told that MTAQ has been awarded for at least 5 years "Sekolah Cemerlang Negara" under Religious Schools Category having obtained 100% in the SPM with 40% to 60% of its students obtained Gred A in all the subjects. It is just a pity that this success was kept in abeyance from the public knowledge.

We are hoping that Faiz's application will be considered and until such time, we shall continue praying that Allah SWT will grant him the opportunity to learn Al-Quran and be guided by it all his life, insyaAllah.





Thursday, December 10, 2009

Dilemma....Part 1

We are in dilemma right now. We are still thinking and looking for the right school to send Faiz. He wanted to follow his sister, to study in a religious boarding school and learn tahfiz. With his UPSR results, entry into these type of schools is getting tougher and challenging! The demand for these schools is getting overwhelming and people doesn't mind paying for the cost and fees just to get their children in.

We had a few schools in mind, integrated curriculum with tahfiz (whether as part of the curriculum or just as option). Al-Amin, Al-Hiraq, Al-Hikmah, Maahad Integrasi Tahfiz Sains & Teknologi (MTIST), IQKL to name a few. To our dissapointment, after the result was announced, Al-Amin and Al-Hiraq already stopped accepting new application. MTIST too had overwhelming applications that they only consider applications with 5A and Mumtaz in PSRA. So, what's left now?

IQKL (Institut Al-Quran Kuala Lumpur) set its minimum entry level at 4a1b. Nevertheless, we went to the school last saturday to submit our application. They held a walk in interview on that day and we were there to try our luck. IQKL was established 13 years ago and it started of as a madrasah and later moved their operation into a bungalow lot at Pinggiran Taman Tun Dr Ismail as a proper secondary school with tahfiz. Last year they moved into their new building sponsored by a well-known foundation. We were impressed when we first set our eyes on the school. Although it is not big and with limited compund, it has all the necessary facilities. When we went there on saturday, we thought we stand a good chance but to our surprise the place was pack with parents and their children, all with the same intention as us that we ended up parking our car outside the school compound!




The interview process started with a written test where the kids are required to answer a few general questions in "jawi". They are given 20 minutes to complete the test. Thereafter, they will be called one by one to test on their tilawah and tajwid. This stage is critical to see their skill in reciting Quran in the right manner. They can't proceed to the next stage if they fail at this stage. The next stage is hafazan where the kids are given half an hour to memorise four ayat or approximately half page of the Quran. They will be place at the musolla to memorise and later called to recite (tasmi') in front of the ustaz. Alhamdulilah, Faiz managed to get through all the stages satisfactory. Many left with dissapointment after the second stage.


While the kids struggled to go through the interview process, the parents were briefed by the Principal (Mudir) on IQKL. We were impressed with Puan Azimah, the Mudir who gave the presentation to us in English! She looks committed and the way she speak tells us that she knows her stuff at her finger tips. I later found out that she previously worked with IBM, no wonder. She has been teaching at IQKL for quite some time and when the school was corporatised, she was offered to take the lead. With the set up and presentation so way forward, I personally felt that this is the modern way of learning where you acquire knowledge to live in this world and prepare yourself for hereafter.

They have places for about 56 students and Puan Azimah told us that they will accept those with 4a1b and 5a who did well in the test. They will only consider 3a2b if there are places available. We know Faiz has done well in the test and we leave it to Allah SWT to determine whether Faiz will be selected to be among the millions of Huffaz in this world who preserve the verses of Quran. Please pray for him. More info at www.iqkl.us or their blog at www.iqkltahfiz.blogspot.com.

Our search for the right school for him continues...in Part 2. Stay tune.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Aidil Adha 1430H...Part 1

Aidil Adha 1430H tiba pada waktu bulan Disember.... pada waktu musim tengkujuh, musim hujan dan musim banjir, namun sekitar 8 - 13 Zulhijjah, hujannya berhenti, banjirnya surut, langitnya terang dan paginya dingin berkabus... cukup baik untuk sambutan hari kebesaran Islam ini.

Secara tradisionalnya, sambutan di Kelantan dikenali dan diakui lebih meriah dan lebih bermakna...mungkin ada benarnya. Kami juga tidak kurang excitednya untuk balik kampung lagi... lebih seronok agaknya dengan mobil baru (milik syarikat!).

Namun disebabkan kerja dan cuti yg terhad, kami cuma boleh berangkat pada hari Khamis malam Jumaat menuju tol Gombak. Trafik sungguh sesak dan kami terpaksa berpusing balik untuk mengisi minyak penuh. Setelah lebih 30 minit membeli bekal, kami mencuba lagi...kali ini trafik lebih sesak lagi but what choice do we have??...tempuh juga la. Kelajuan cuma 10 - 20 km/j dan kami tiba di Genting Sempah setelah 1 setengah jam!!!

Jam menunjukkan waktu 11:30 malam.....'pukul berapa kita nak sampai ni????' dan setelah berbincang kami membuat keputusan untuk balik KL dan tidor!!! On the way down, we saw what was behind us.....every inch of the highway was filled with cars & lorries!!! So at 12 midnite, we were in our beds!!! Kami akhirnya bertolak balik ke Kuala Krai pada pagi 10 Zulhijjah ie pagi Raya dan perjalanannya cuma mengambil masa 4 jam... banyaklah bukti2 yg menunjukkan keadaan yg sangat sesak pada malam tadi di sepanjang jalan.....so we thought it was a good decision.

Kisah kesesakan jalanraya di Kelantan dan jalan2 menuju Kelantan sangat kritikal terutamanya jalan Kuala Krai - Kota Bharu, a stretch of approximately 60 km which can take up to 4 hours travel time by road at peak times...namun ianya tidak mendapat perhatian dan tindakan yg sewajarnya dari pihak yg berwajib...ianya terus menjadi mangsa politik....jadi orang Kelantan terpaksalah mengharungi keadaan ini tiap2 kali cuti Raya.....ok, ok... we leave it out for a different venue.

Kami tiba sebelum solat Jumaat, just nice...if we had continued our journey last nite, we (especially the driver) would be sleeping right now!! After solat Jumaat, we had lunch at Tok Su's house...standard Hari raya Haji menu ie nasi putih panas, daging goreng, sup tulang, sambal pedas and ikan kering....awesome!!!! Tak cukup satu pinggan, mesti kena tambah. Daging2 korban adalah dari keluarga Tok Su yg telah menjalankan ibadah korban pada sebelah paginya. As for us, we will do it on Saturday 11 Zulhijjah.

Kisah 11 Zulhijjah 1430H seterusnya....

Saturday, December 5, 2009

"Aku Sepasang Kasut"

Minat Thaqif pada MJ masih belum pudar! Kami ingin berkongsi hasil nukilan Thaqif dalam Peperiksaan Penulisan akhir tahun yang baru berlalu di mana Thaqif memilih tajuk "Aku Sepasang Kasut".

Aku sepasang kasut. Namaku MJ Shoes. Asal usulku ialah dari kilang di Los Angeles. Aku diperbuat daripada kulit lembu.

Pada suatu hari, aku dihantar ke Malaysia. Aku dibawa oleh lori yang membawa banyak kasut. Aku dihantar ke sebuah kedai yang bernama Pavillion.

Pada keesokkan hari, ada seorang pemuda yang membeliku dengan harga RM1,000.00. Nama pemuda itu ialah Thaqif.

Pada suatu hari, Thaqif membawaku berjalan-jalan di Pavillion. Dia membeli sepasang kasut baru. Aku tidak diperlukan lagi.

Pada keesokkan harinya, kasut barunya terkoyak dan ketika itulah aku diperlukan semula.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Thaqif Birthday Bash - 21 November 2009

It's been a while since our last posting and a lot of things have happened since then. The weekend after the UPSR results were announced, Thaqif celebrated his birthday with Ewein and Afif. It was their birthdays and Thaqif tumpang sekaki! Aunty Milie has been kind enough to invite Thaqif to join the Birthday Bash at KFC located at AEON Wangsa Maju.

Other than the Gombakclanners and Ewein's close relaives and friends, we invited Pak Ngah and family to join us. The kids had real fun with the games and the presence of Chicky. The parents enjoyed the kentucky fried chicken...sehingga menjilat jari!

Thaqif received lots of gifts and angpow. We bought for him the official merchandise of Michael Jackson "This Is It", the t-shirt, note book and DVD of his concert in Bucharest way back in 1992!

Happy Birthday Thaqif and Ewein (9th) and Afif (3rd) and a big thank you to both Aunty Milie and Uncle Eezan for the invite. Tahun depan ajak lagi ya.






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