Bayar Bang...

 

"Barangsiapa yang mengambil pinjaman dengan niat melunaskan, Allah akan memudahkan pembayarannya dan dengan niat melesapkan, maka Allah akan membinasakan orang itu".

 

Kome nak tahu petikan ayat Al-Quran itu tertulis kat dokumen mana? Tetiap bulan aku dapat dokumen ni. Dokumen ni pulak, siap kata:

 

UNTUK MENGELAKKAN ANDA DAN PENJAMIN-PENJAMIN ANDA DARIPADA DISENARAIHITAMKAN DAN DIKENAKAN TINDAKAN MAHKAMAH, SILA PASTIKAN JUMLAH YANG PERLU DIBAYAR DALAM 21 HARI DARI TARIKH BIL.

 

Giler ganas punyer ayat kan? Memang sound ada macam desperate sikit. Agak2 bank mana lah yg agak desperate ni kan? Takkan lah bank kot, dah tentu every year all banks akan declare diorang UNTUNG bersih juta2 punye, kecuali bank yg bermasaelah la. Tapi insya Allah ler kalau pinjam bank memang akan bayar promptly. Tapi surat ni standard aku dapat setiap bulan. Ayat tu pon ayat pre-printed, maknanya ada ramai orang yg ambik sambil lewa dan tak bayar le nih. Kes hampeh.

 

Hah, bila aku pegi jumpa AzizCfP, dia pun kata, kalau hutang yg ni, hang bayar kemudian pon takpe, sebab dia takde interest. Kita mesti dahulukan hutang2 yg ada faedah tinggi dulu. Yg tak dikenakan faedah ni, hangpa buat last sekali. Jeng jeng jeng.........pinjaman untuk belajo lah. Bila dah kerja, buat2 lupa pulak nak bayar balik yer.

 

Actually aku dipinjamkan kira2 RM140,000, tapi sebab aku dapat meet criteria OK, aku kena bayar balik 25% jer. Maknanya RM40,000 lah. Banyak jugak tu. Kalau nak pegi melancong, boleh pegi Europe 4 kali. Kalau nak beli rumah, boleh buat downpayment, so bulanan installment rendah sikit. Kalau nak buat downpayment kete, agak2 dapat Mitsubishi Grandis baru tu, boleh lah dapat installment tak sampai RM1k sebulan. Payah nih. Aku pernah tulis surat rayuan untuk tukar pinjaman ni jadik biasiswa, tapi dia reply cepat jer. TAK BOLEH. Nama saja Pinjaman Boleh Ubah, tapi tak ubah. Ubah tu maksudnya turun jadik 25% lah, bukan FREE terus. Aisey....

 

Ada org kata, beruntung lah sebab kena bayar balik 25% jer. Alhamdulillah. Duit yg aku bayar ni, kerajaan akan guna untuk mensponsor pelajar lain. Iye ke? Ada rasa sangsi, tapi we only have power over what we can control. For the rest, every one has his or her own Malaikat Raqib and Atid, so sendiri mau ingat....

 

JPA ni start pre-printed ayat Quran tu aku rasa tahun lepas. Statement ni pulak, dia siap tulis hanya akan diberi pada pembayar yg konsistent. Yg tak bayar tu camne ek? Takkan terlepas kot? Aku dulu ada jugak pernah terpikir, mana lah tahu kan, kot2 Abdullah Badawi ke, Najib ke, nak bagi pengampunan beramai-ramai, kes lepas la nih....dulu ada jugak letak harapan menggunung mcm ni. Manalah tahu, dah nak dekat pilihan raya, tetiba JPA keluarkan warta:

 

"ATAS SEBAB KERAJAAAN MALAYSIA PRIHATIN DENGAN NASIB RAKYAT, MAKA DENGAN INI SEMUA PINJAMAN PELAJARAN JPA YANG TIDAK BERBAYAR AKAN DIKIRA SEBAGAI TERHAPUS."

 

Huh, agak2 akan berlaku ke? Dah Idris Jala share kerajaan akan bankrap kalau teruskan subsidi, inikan pulak ko nak mintak halal ye. Jawapannya HAMPEH.

 

Hutang tetap hutang bang. Tak bayar sekarang, kena bayar jugak later. So sementara masih bekerja nih, ko bayarlah ye. Itu je lah nasihat aku. Tak yah ada harapan palsu nan rapuh di tebing sungai untuk mintak kerajaan halalkan. Takkan dapat punyer lah.

Fauziah Latiff Tears in Gaza

OK first, I read about the 90's sweetheart singing sensation going off to Palestine to do something meaningful in last week's newspaper. I just tried to do my speed reading skills, just by reading the subject title and skimmed through the text. I did not know for sure was that she wished to go someday (meaning, just her simple wish) or that was she really seriously going. Come on you guys, Fauziah Latiff, used to be married to a very rich man, used to stay in London, etc. What had got into her?

 

Then in the last few days Buletin Utama TV3, there she was in the prime time television broadcasted from Gaza. She was wearing a scarf with her clean face no make up and what not and I could spot her joy and overall satisfaction by being there, right at Ground Zero. I reckon they must have had finished distributing the goodies to the needies. She was surrounded by other Malaysian volunteers, from all races. She was saying something like we should all be grateful, that she spotted children with their eyes full of hope, despite their homes, schools and other facilities being destroyed. The children persevered. And suddenly she could not hold back the tears. Awww....that one moment really touched me. This is real suffering. Despite their life's being ruined by the condemned you-know-who nation and race, the citizens especially the children, still have hope, that someday their country and the soil that they stepped on everyday must be protected at all cost. I'm not moving, they may say all the time. You can do whatever you want, expanding your claimed soil out of my country, but I'm staying. It's a jihad. Yes, they should. If they were to stop and surrender, we all know that the doomsday is going to follow next. It is all cited clearly in the Quran.

 

I'm sure Gee must feel that her life and view towards things in this world would have changed after this. Whatever happens to you, no matter how hard and difficult and heartwrenching she must have gone through before, is nothing compared to what the Palestinians have to endure, up to the end of this world. Kudos to Gee who took up this challenge. I wonder what prompted her for this life-changing journey. Alhamduillah she got the chance, and hopefully came back with an aura to attract more celebrities to go there.

 

I should list Palestine as 1 of my 7 wonders of the world.

Ramadhan Blues

With the fasting of Ramadhan, suddenly I have so many ideas to write about. I will try to find time to write down my thoughts.

 

First, about my friend who felt "sentap" when the girl circa 18-years old called her "makcik" while she's looking for the right "kuih" to buy at the Bazaar Ramadhan. Well, she's only 35, used to be my classmate. At this age, women generally are at the peak of their life, but the feelings still majority lie in feeling between the age of 25-30. So for that girl to call my friend "makcik", I could truly understand my friend's frustration and disgust. Besides, she's still single. Then she started to wonder, "Do I look that old?". It's hard to swallow that yes, you are half way through life, but at this age, I still want to be young. I read a fashion tip in a magazine that says, when you are at the age of 30 or 40, you can dress to make you look young, but never ever dress like the 20-year-ol's. This will only shows that you desperately want to look young, but the look on your face already shows that hey, you're way pass that age. So, kenalah sedar diri sikit. Dress elegantly, to suit your maturity and wisdom.

 

In the first morning of sahur, the moment of waking up at 4.30am to prepare food for husband and daughter, suddenly I felt like it was a slight burden. There you are stuck at 4.30am to prepare food for the whole 1 month - regardless whether you yourself are going to fast on that day. Then while taking out the food from the fridge, and turning on the flame, I realized that my mom has been doing this all her life. What did I do normally? I just woke up and tadaaaaa.....rice on the plate, drinks at side, ready to be swallowed. Usually around 5.00 to 5.15am. Finished the food, wash my plate and that was it. I could even catch some more sleep right after sahur while sitting on the couch. Well, that period of easy life has long gone. Now, I am responsible to wake up and do all that stuff that I used to dread. In the morning at 430am life is apparently very quiet. I gives you chance to ponder deeply, why the heck am I up at this hour to do cooking. Then some kind of melodramatic feelings would absorp into you such that you would feel the serenity of the wee hours. Enjoy the calmness, quietness, away from daily bustle at the kitchen. Then it came. Suddenly you would feel that this is what "isteri or ibu solehah" need to do. That kind of feelings that comfort you to say that - this is it - this is what you have to do as a muslimah, to prepare food as sahur for the family, so that your Ramadhan will be more barakah, and insya Allah it will bring you happiness, while cooking and while seeing they're eating and while cleaning up after that. Perhaps this little effort of sacrifice may be a burden at one moment, but at another moment, you will feel relief and actually enjoy doing it. This is like a strata of acceptance level I would say. Denial - Understand - Accept - Commit. Talk about trying to relate concepts learnt in classroom training to daily life.

 

The TESCO clubcard has driven me crazy. They always send me these little coupons that make you desire to visit their store even though sometimes there is no need to go, just because the coupons are so enticing! The diapers, the milk powder, the eggs, the cultured drinks, all those are high consumption items in the house, and they have successfully applied the concept of psychology to drag your heart and mind to pay a visit to their store. And they have limited lifespan. It makes you feel stupid if you don't go. The discount is just so great. This coupons thingy reminds me of life in the States. Everyhting is coupon-driven. Talk about enticing customers from their home to rush to the store. I have to control myself, horribly, since I would pass their store daily on my way to and from the office.

 

It's time to leave. I'm doing an interview for my group projec for MDP. *SIGH*...

A Different Ramadhan

This year Ramadhan brings some kind of a different feeling. If my late sister-in-law were to know that last year's Ramadhan would have been her last Ramadhan, certainly she would do things differently. Then when I reflect on myself, if this is to be my last Ramadhan, what are the different actions I need to take, what if? No one has the answer. That's why Nabi Muhammad S.A.W. said that a smart person is the one who always remember that death is very near, anytime. Very near indeed.

That is why also there are verses in the Quran which says that humankind would ask to go back to the world to do good deeds, after their death, to which Allah says - Nay, it'll never happen. Sometimes I have to keep myself reminded that on daily basis, what if this is my last day? What would I be leaving behind? One thing for sure, settle all the debts as fast as possible. That reminds me I still owe JPA some RM18k more to go, that's like half way through only. Then you have to forgive and forget. Keep your heart clean, do not keep any intention to pose revenge on anybody, that'll only make your heart bitter and absorb your internal strengths slowly. Lastly, be good to people closest to you. Your spouse, children, parents, parents-in-law, family members, neighbours, colleagues, staff, bosses, and strangers. If you cannot touch everyone's life, at least make a difference to someone. He/she may mean nothing to you, but you maybe the world to that someone.

Yesterday I went onboard VLCC Idemitsu Maru. I vowed to enter the tank where there was an incident, but the moment I stepped one foot, I felt some kind of aura....hoho...this is not good....seram sejuk tetiba makcik....it was a 30 feet tall tank, for storage of crude on voyage. The smell was just killing me. When I saw all those people working inside the tank, my goodness, thanks to Allah we are born in Malaysia, having this great wealth and opportunity to work while improving our health and lifestyle. The tank was deep, dark, smelly, and you have to do works inside there - I just cannot imagine. That's why only foreign workers want to go there. They have to do it since they have no choice. Either struggle to make up a living in this condition, or go back home and suffer. Poor those workers. It just made me feel that English language should invent a better word for "gratitude". Alhamdulillah version in English, anyone?

Today marks Husna's first attempt to fast, she's 6 this year, it is high time already. I woke her up at 5.ooam just now, at first she was saying "Ngantuklah...", then I tried to pacify her. "Look, tomorrow you cannot eat and drink during the day, so you better eat something now". Even from last night, she kept on complaining that "kalau tak makan, nanti boleh mati". Then I told her Ayah and Mama tak mati pon....I also told her that she cannot get angry at people, and to speak less words. She still wonders how it would feel like not being able to eat and drink. Well, she did ask whether she can drink only, sorry girl....try nak uji pulakkk...yg puasa boleh minum jer tu kalau tak silap agama hindu saja. Kalau tak silap la.

Hence, for this year Ramadhan, may Allah grant His blessings to all of us. AMIN.

The Mindboggling Solution to Pelajar Hamil & Kahwin Bawah Umur

Menteri Besar Melaka Datuk Ali Rustam nak wujudkan sekolah khas untuk pelajar-pelajar perempuan yang hamil dan jugak benarkan budak sekolah kahwin supaya dapat anak yg halal, instead of yg haram. Berpinau jugak ye fikiran kita nak absorb mende nih. I don't know about you, but for me this is a disaster.

 

Sekolah utk pelajar hamil - kok malu tak kalau ko masuk sekolah tu? Sekolah ni dalam hutan ke, kat tgh bandar ke, kat dalam Zoo Melaka ke, Datuk nak letak mana lokasinya? Parents pulak, nak hantar sekolah tu? Ke ramai yg dah tak mengaku anak bila such case were to happen? Pening kepala aku memikirkan details of this suggestion. It is so mindboggling to think about its short term and long term implications. Alasan Datuk, supaya anak2 halal ni boleh dijadikan anak angkat yg lebih bagus, sebab dia halal. Sedangkan yg haram pon org berebut, apa lagik anak halal kan. Then the mothers can kahwin after that and continue their schooling. Kok boleh belajar lagik ke ko?

 

Kahwin bawah umur - Datuk kata kalau tahu bab kahwin sebab nak halalkan s**, sure org tu tahu pasal tanggungjawab. Aisey Datuk, apsal lah cakap pasal the "T" word tuh???? In the first place, kalau dah terjebak kat situ, membuahkan benih, dah sah2 ler bebudak tu tak pernah terpikir about tanggungjawab. Sedangkan berapa ramai kes org dewasa yg dah kahwin tapi lupa atau tak tahu langsung apa tanggungjawab mereka sebagai seorang suami atau isteri, inikan pulak budak hingusan....boleh nampak hingus masih meleleh takde org nak tulun kesat Datuk.

 

Idea aku senang je. Datuk ada cakap pasal mengembalikan mereka ke ajaran agama, why not negeri Melaka amalkan sistem UNDANG2 & SYARIAH ISLAM mcm kat Arab Saudi? Sebat 100 kali. Buat kat Jom Heboh ke, sure lepas ni takde lagik kes. Abis cerita Datuk. End of story. Taklah berpinau kepala aku fikirkan idea solution Datuk, and buang duit rakyat nak tanggung bebudak ni.....poning den....

MDP-31 in Memory

Management Development Program - batch 31, PERMATA, Bangi, Selangor, 15 - 30 July 2010.

Original intention - to build knowledge and capabilities of leaders in Petronas group of companies and enhance network among the participants.

Key take aways - lots of drama in class, at the dinner table, in the karaoke room, at the tennis court, in the gym, at the lobby while hanging outs and of course, one nite out to enjoy sate Samuri. That's the best for me.

Macam-macam cerita kelakar lah....ada orang bet among them aku ni dah kahwin ke belum, ada orang siap siasat sama ada aku dah kahwin, sebab dia nak bukak cawangan ketiga from Malaysia sebab 1st one is Sudanese, 2nd one is Yemeni and third dia nak carik Malaysian. Memang lawak betul lah. This is the kind of craziness you would get when you put a bunch of 30 and 40 somethings in class for 2 weeks and expect them to study. Minds can go crazy if they are not deviated at this age.

I got to know more about the Petronas businesses in the group. I got to meet a bunch of good people and I think I can strike quite good chemistry with a few people. Good chemistry can be dangerous, but as long as you can contain it, no problemo. Kita pegi makan n karaoke kat bilik khas PERMATA tu ramai2 dah kira oklah tuh...Just imagine, we were separated from our families for days....of course some kind of close relationship building is inevitable. It's purely on professional basis afterall.

The moment I got back, one of the bosses asked me, "Tell me there's something new you learned from that course". Well, it's more like a refresher I said. But I like the chance to build network with other staff from Petronas. That's a rare chance for me since being stuck at this new department, with all those daily issues, a very very fat chance that I often get to go to such "away-from-office" kind of enjoyment.

I got to play tennis and ride bicycle..yayyyy...it has been ages.....PERMATA for me is a perfect place for attending course. The facilities are superb - the network, the gym, the sports complex, the karaoke room (oh...aku dapat nyanyi lagu Gerimis Mengundang...best nyer...) the computer facility and the food - so much variety....sometimes had masakan kampung, masakan india - naan and tandoori, sometimes had spaghetti, had also yong tau foo type like Johny's style, had the Chinese type dinner, mcm2 lah...and the final night, they served barbecue. That was simply great. Agaknya sebab kalau kat company aku sekarang, jgn harap nak dapat such lavishness....if according to Petronas staff, they all dah muak beb. Tapi memandangkan aku adalah gadis kampung dari Pasir Gudang, jarang dapat makanan mewah, aku rasa food tu semua sangat special. Well, bila dah biasa, rasa biasa lah. Bila tak biasa, kita rasa lah macam LUAR BIASA....kesian aku dan kawan2 aku kat Pasir Gudang tu....

Tapi yg tak bestnyer, ada group project work. Ni tak siap lagi, nak kena hantar in 6 weeks time. Lepas tu ada presentation la pulak in January....cabarang sungguh....

Bila Tujuan Tidak Jelas..

Satu hari di KLIA, seketika aku turun dari escalator selepas pemeriksaan keselamatan, aku berdiri di belakang seorang wanita, in her 20's. Pakai tudung ala scarf, yg agak pendek. Then rambut dia kat belakang terkeluar sikit.

Aku (dgn niat baik amal makruf nahi mungkar): Kak, rambut terkeluar dari tudung.

Cik Adik (sambil menjeling dengus kepada ku): Rambut saya memang panjang.

Aku (dgn rasa amat pelik) : Nak pakai tudung ke tak nak?

Cik Adik - cuba membetul-betulkan tudung pendeknya itu sambil menguis-nguis rambut yg terkeluar.

Apa punye pelik daaaa....kalau nak pakai, buat lah pakai betul2. Kalau rasa belum bersedia, hah apa lagik...bukak je la....buat confuse org bukan Islam jer kome ni laaaa....ini mesti kes terikut jugak si Idola ala ala Diva yg nak kena serang tuh....CTKD...mcm2 hal la diorang ni bila dah kaya dan ternama....

So moral of the story, wear it nicely when you are really ready. Tengok mcm kawan aku si Yatie tu, steady je free hair. Nanti satu hari aku doakan dia dapat hidayah dari Allah, insya Allah hajat dia akan termakbul. Mende ni tak boleh paksa beb.....