My Untitled Eid

I am feeling this awkwardness right now. Awkward for not being with my family for Eid, although it is Hari Raya Aidil Adha and not Aidil Fitri. Unfortunately, I am not able to go back to my hometown this time around since Aidil Adha falls in the middle of the week, and work in the office demands for my attention more than anything else (baby pun tak macam tu ok!). I think this is the first time I am not together with my parents for Eid.

I always read the 'Salam Perantauan' section in newspapers, where Malaysians in overseas send in their Eid messages and photos to family and loved ones in Malaysia. Now I understand how they feel. It's not fun to be away from your loved ones during such festive and it is definitely not fun to be away from all the delicious home-cooked food served on the dining table. 

Nevertheless, I am very fortunate though to have such understanding parents. Love you both muaxxx! And I am pretty lucky to have my brother and sis in-law here in Klang Valley. So instead of celebrating Eid alone, I tumpang beraya with them and the in-laws :) It felt really nice, honestly. To me, they are not just any in-laws. They treated me as if I am like one of them, which made it even nicer. I can never thank enough for their hospitality. Terima kasih daun keladi :)

To all family members, friends and readers, I would like to take this opportunity to wish Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha. Semoga Aidil Adha kali ini membuka lebih ruang kepada kita untuk mendalami serta menghayati makna pengorbanan yang menggalakkan kita untuk melakukan lebih banyak kebaikan, InsyaAllah. I probably sounded like a politician but I really mean it from heart :) And it is best to say it in Malay hehe.

Salam Aidil Adha from both of us! Myself with the lovely but unwilling-and-hates-camera-flash-light niece, Cik Qist 

P/S: It is my mum's birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday Ibu! May you are blessed with greater health and wealth. I love you :)

The 'H' Bleeding That Suffers

Recently, I attended a charity dinner to support a cause - haemophilia. I received the invitation from a friend, which I thought of declining it at the very last minute. I was extremely tired from a whole day of household chores. However, the thought of my sister who came all the way from Johor to be together and support this event changed my mind. I finally decided to join in. Selalu post travel, jalan-jalan and makan-makan kan. Kali ni saja nak post yang bagi insaf sekejap.

The word haemophilia to me is rare but when someone explained that "oh yang itu luka tak elok-elok" or "non-stop bleeding", then only it make sense to me. Nevertheless, it never crossed my mind that it is caused from a serious condition. Haemophilia is defined as group of inherited blood disorders in which the blood does not clot properly. It is a type of bleeding disorder that is due to defects in the blood vessels, the coagulation mechanism, or the blood platelets. I googled for more information about haemophilia but found this piece of interesting info: many members of royalty in Europe inherited their haemophilia from Queen Victoria! Fascinating but maybe I should do more search on this for validity. 

Back to the story, the charity dinner was held with the purpose to gain more contribution from donors in support of Haemophilia Society of Malaysia's (HSM) activities and the patients. The Patron, YAM Raja Dato' Seri Azureen binti Sultan Azlan Shah graced the event at Royale Bintang Kuala Lumpur. Some of the photos during the event:

At the beginning of the event. The President of  HSM was delivering her speech

Video clip presentation on haemophilia in Malaysia

Singer Atilia entertained the guests during the dinner

Raja Dato' Seri Azureen  presented the donation to one of the patients

Raja Dato' Seri Azureen with all the patients and family members who received the donation

Overall, I believed the dinner achieved its objective as a number of kind individuals and organisations contributed their donation. Well, the dinner tables were part of it :) Raja Dato' Seri Azureen, through Yayasan Sultan Azlan Shah was kind enough to donate RM100,000 to HSM. So that added to the total amount of the donation.

Ok lari topik sekejap. I thought of mentioning interesting things that I noticed during the dinner. That was the first time I saw Raja Dato' Seri Azureen in person. So pretty! I love her blue outfit with crystal embellishments on it. Suits her well and the skin tone too. Hails from the Perak royal family, she has the role model persona in her and her sweet smile just say it all :)

Atilia was the entertainer for the night. She sang a couple of songs and her voice was very soothing indeed. I love her outfit too! The details of her outfit was well done I would say and the earth tone coloured dress matched her body size. Simplicity was the rightful theme and she rocked it on.  Alas, bila dia pusing belakang jer, terus nampak slack! There was this red striking, long-stretch zipper at the back and that was not flattering at all! Sayang, sayang but what to do. I didn't snap photo of that part, so I am not able to share it here. Luckily the front part of the dress was appealing. 

Ok coming back to the main topic, after the dinner, now only I am starting to understand what is haemophilia all about. 

From the outside, we may look at it as if nothing but deep inside the patients' heart, what do we know about their suffer? Still, I am amazed with their courage and strong spirit in going through
their life. I can see that their survival strength precedes some of us who are considered normal. 

S.A.L.U.T.E. to you people.

Perihal Baju Dan Malu

Petang beransur malam dan aku sedang duduk bersendirian sambil menikmati honey lemon tea di sebuah kafe di pinggir ibu kota. "Mana Azie ni?" desis hati kecilku yang sudah tidak sabar menunggu kedatangan Azie.

Aku merenung ke arah luar. Kelibat manusia yang lalu-lalang di hadapan kedai itu menarik perhatianku. Ada yang berjalan pantas dan terus, tanpa menoleh kiri dan kanan. Ada yang berpasangan sambil romantis berpegangan tangan. Ada yang berjalan dalam kumpulan, bergurau dan disusuli dengan hilai tawa yang riang. Tidak kurang juga, anak-anak kecil yang berlari serta merengek mahukan perhatian mama dan papa mereka.

"Macam-macam!" bisik hatiku melihatkan gelagat manusia-manusia kota. Aku tersenyum simpul. Sedang aku menghirup air, tiba-tiba aku terdengar suara yang aku kenali.

"Sorry sorry! I sampai lambat. Teruk betul jam tadi. Tak sangka pulak teruk sampai macam tu," jelas Azie sambil menarik kerusi dan duduk di hadapanku.

"It's ok. Ingatkan you tak jadi datang. I sikit lagi tadi dah nak balik," ujarku kepada Azie. "Sorry babe, nasib you tak balik terus tadi. I seriously need to talk to you about something," jawab Azie dalam nada yang hampir sayu. "What happened? You pun nampak macam tak happy jer," tanyaku kepada Azie sambil memerhatikan gerak tubuh dan riak wajahnya yang kelihatan kurang ceria, tidak seperti biasa.

"Am I too sexy?" tanya Azie kepadaku secara tiba-tiba. Aku  berasa janggal dengan pertanyaan Azie itu.

"You look fine to me, pretty as always. Kenapa ni? Did something happen?" soal aku kembali kepada Azie sambil cuba mengorek lebih lanjut. Aku bertambah musykil kerana Azie tidak pernah bertanyakan soalan yang sedemikian. Dia seorang yang happy dan confident. Jelas sekali sesuatu telah mengusik hatinya.

"Cuba you baca ni!" Azie terus mengeluarkan sehelai kertas yang dilipat kemas dari tas tangan jenama Coach koleksi Madison miliknya dan hulur kepadaku. Aku lantas mengambilnya dan terus buka untuk membaca isi kandungan kertas tersebut. Rupa-rupanya kertas itu salinan emel yang Azie print dari pejabatnya. Sebahagian emel tersebut berbunyi:

Assalamualaikum w.b.t. Saudari Azie...
Semalam dalam office saya perasan Azie pakai baju 
yang menampakkan sedikit bahagian belakang.
Terus-terang, saya rasa baju tu kurang sesuai untuk 
Azie pakai sebab menampakkan aurat Azie. 
Ia juga seolah-olah membuka aib kita kepada 
orang lain tanpa kita sedari.
...............

"Hmm..so ini ke yang buat you muncung hari ni?" tanya aku. "Mahu taknya? Of course la terasa! Kalau tak banyak pun, at least sikit mesti ada" luah Azie kepadaku.

"I feel you my friend, sabar," pujukku sambil menggosok bahu Azie.

"But you know what yang buat aku lagi terasa and bengang? We walked past each other in the office, and we even spoke about work and stuff yesterday. Yet, she didn't say anything to me! She seemed ok as if nothing happened. I pun tak rasa baju yang I pakai tu seksi pun. I rasa biasa jer."

"Still, if she thinks that it was too sexy or revealing, she could have just come to me and tell me nicely about it. I sarung jer blazer. Kalau orang tegur I baik-baik and ikhlas nak tolong, takkan la I nak marah tak tentu fasal. Ini tak, alih-alih jer dapat emel pagi ni sound orang terus macam tu!" luah Azie lagi dalam nada yang kecewa.

Aku memahami perasaan Azie. Terus aku teringat kisah lama yang pernah terjadi kepada aku beberapa tahun dahulu.

*****

One fine day, I walked to a nearby shop to buy some stationeries. I spent time looking for the items, paid the amount and decided to go back home when there was nothing else on my shopping list. On my way back, I remembered I passed by a girl who was of different race and religion from me. The energy felt pleasant at that particular moment. I continued walking and was twelve steps past her when she suddenly U-turned and stopped me. "What's going on?" I wondered to myself.

"Miss! Miss! Wait! I think your zipper is down!" she cautioned me with such concern and pity. I just froze when she said that. In a slow motion, I looked down in denial. I tried fighting the truth but I was killed by it. As shitty as it was, true enough, my zipper was down, down, down, down....

"Damnnnnnnnnnnnn! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I remembered screaming out loud, although just inside my heart. My heart collapsed, like how the twin towers of KLCC would collapse. Nobody could hear me. Nobody could understand what I was going through at that time.

However, that awful moment only lasted for ten seconds. Yes, just ten seconds. The rest of the time until today, I am totally grateful to that kind girl. I have never forgotten her for this until today although this had happened nearly 10 years ago. She could have just ignored me and let me be in embarrassment for the whole day, or in fact for my whole life but she chose otherwise. There was a humane side of her. She saved me from further humiliation and her quick action was just genuine and sincere. 

That is what I called a gem in a society. Do we see many kind of this people now? Do we?

Would you feel embarrassed or grateful if a stranger comes to you and tell you that your zipper is down? Image taken from www.bizarresigns.com

*****

"Hey you dengar tak apa I cakap tadi? You dah baca emel tu sampai habis?" kejut Azie yang mungkin melihat aku mengelamun agak lama.

"Huh? Oh sikit lagi nak habis. I baca sekejap," balas aku. Aku terus membaca bait-bait terakhir emel tersebut.

.............
Maaf kalau Azie tersinggung membaca emel ini,
saya cuma ingin menolong dan mengingatkan kita sesama umat.

Ikhlas daripada saudaramu,

XXXXX

Aku terus merenung sepi. Kosong tanpa hati.

First Time Landed In Sabah, Bah! - Part 2

Welcome to the second part of the story :) In the first part, I travelled to Kota Marudu for my work project. It ended very well and I was extremely pleased with the outcome. So I headed back to Kota Kinabalu (KK) and spent the time left there before going back to Kuala Lumpur (KL) the next day.

Before I forget, I was not alone from KL. I came with another two lady colleagues for the work project. When you have two ladies around you and all work done, what do you do? Shopping la! The three of us were in excitement and the images of pearls were playing in my mind (Sabah is famous for its pearls). "Can't wait! Can't wait!" my heart was pumping with joy.

In the meantime, we had a quick drive through in KK city. The uncle who drove us to Kota Marudu was kind enough to drive us around KK when we reached back to the city. He brought us to the top of a hill, which he said would enable us to have an overall view of the city.

From the top, I could see that KK is a rapidly-growing city with more skyscrapers, but yet at the same time, preserved its nature very well. I remembered when the air plane almost landed on the runway, I could see the beautiful dark blue ocean with fishes swimming around. That exactly reminded me of the ocean at the South Island of New Zealand. It may not be as beautiful as New Zealand, but it was still breathtaking! It was pretty awesome to be at the top of the hill and have an overall view of KK. It worked for me at least because it was a short trip and that was a 'short cut' to discovering the city.

The three of us met again for dinner and right after that, we walked to Kampung Air Night Market - where the ladies' night begins. There was nothing else in my mind at that time except for pearls, pearls and pearls! I've been longing to go to Sabah to buy pearl necklaces and accessories, and finally I was there to fulfil my desire.

We reached Kampung Air Night Market within minutes since the place was very near to the hotel we stayed. Before coming to KK, I was told to go to the famous Filipino market but when I arrived KK, the locals told me to go to Kampung Air Night Market instead because the price is cheaper, even for original pearls. So we heed their advice and poof! Kampung Air Night Market was right in front of us. Some photos of the market:

At the entrance of the market from main road

Bargaining time at one of the pearl stalls.  It was just pearls everywhere!

Honestly, there were many stalls selling pearls at the night market. The three of us had our eyes rolling. You know when you have more choices, it becomes even more difficult for you to choose. So we had a good three round of walks at the market and then only started bargaining.

I was at one of my favourite stalls and was browsing through the pearl accessories. I was holding a hair band and tried it on. The sales guy at the stall was smart enough that he quickly pointed out, "Haa cantik kak, nampak macam 'princess'!"  Pandai sungguh dia bodek. Princess la sangat kan. He was buttering me up with the princess-look compliment. I thought "Why didn't he say that I looked like Miss Universe too?". I smirked at his remark but oh well, it kinda worked. I bought that hair band in the end! We made our final purchases and then headed back to the hotel to sleep.

The pearl accessories that have become mine

The multi purpose hair band which can also turn you to a Princess or Miss Universe, if you know how to rock it. Or even as a bride, if you like. 

I woke up super early the next day and was out walking to the city at 6.10 am. Trust me, I have never been this crazy to do such thing. However, since I was told that I could see 'interesting things' when the sun rises, I braved myself to do so. In East Malaysia, the sun rises as early as 6.00 am or slightly earlier before that. "Nanti pergi la tengok ikan-ikan colourful yang dekat jeti tu, cantik tau!" a local resident told me. She said I could find different kind of fishes in Sabah, compared to Peninsular Malaysia and she mentioned that 6.00 am would be the best time to go to the seaside.

So there I was, walking around and looking for fishmongers nearby the jetty but I got lost eventually. I couldn't find those people and I could have probably missed them. I walked further and ended up at a morning market, with the fish market next to it! "I could probably find the fishes here," I thought to myself.

KK at 6.30 am. Felt like it was 9.30 am!

I entered the fish market and the moment I set my foot in, I realised that I was like an alien to these traders and sellers. With a camera at hand and a Burberry handbag on my shoulder, I could read their facial expression, "Jakun mana tak pernah masuk pasar ni!". Hmm yes uncles and aunties, I probably have entered a few times only to wet market in life, but that does not mean I have never entered into one ok.

I looked around and ahaa! I found the unique fishes that my acquaintance told me. Some photos of it:

Idontknowthenameofthefishespartone

Idontknowthenameofthefishesparttwo

Fish slayer at work! And the lady on the left, I think she just said "No fish, no business!"

Fresh seaweed from the sea

Some of the fishes caught my attention as I have never seen them before. I was even amazed to see how fresh seaweed look like. However, I didn't stay too long at the fish market since the smell got stronger. I seriously think the market needs a good floor-scrubbing. The comfy flat shoes that I wore? Well, I can say goodbye to it now since the smell is still there, although I have washed it! Nevertheless, the experience was purr-re-ciouss!

I walked further and discovered a night market lot. It was partially closed because they only open at night but there were few stalls open selling dried food and local snacks. I stopped at one of the stalls and browsed through the selection.

I asked the lady who managed the stall and she explained to me all the local and unique snacks that were available. She even let me tasted some of it, which was really nice. I, however, was attracted more to this:

Colourful dried seaweed

Dried seaweed! It came in three colours - dark green, dark maroon and off-white. The three types have different health properties, and I ended up buying the off-white one and the dark green one. The off-white seaweed is for skin health and the dark green seaweed is for healthier overall being. I couldn't remember what was the dark maroon seaweed for. 

After buying the snacks and seaweed, I walked back to the hotel since I had to prepare flying back to KL before noon. That concluded my adventure in KK. Overall, the experience I had at KK was wonderful, although it was only for a short while. I have promised myself that I will make a holiday plan here since I received many recommendations for places to visit in KK and other places in Sabah. That would be more satisfying and enjoyable.

Above all, I'm glad that I made new discoveries and new bunch of friends when I was in Sabah. That added to the delightfulness of this trip. Totally awesome.

Till we meet again, Sabah. And I can feel that it is going to be soon :)

First Time Landed In Sabah, Bah! - Part 1

I recently went to Sabah for the very first time, sweet! However, it was not for a holiday, it was for work. So I just had a quick walk through around the capital, Kota Kinabalu (KK) and also Kota Marudu within the 3 days and 2 nights stay.

Actually, this was not supposed to be my first visit. I should have visited Sabah 3, 4 years ago when I bought the AirAsia promotional tickets. But as you know, buying cheap tickets 6 months earlier does not guarantee that you will fly on that date, and that happened to me. As the date drew nearer, I had to attend to another important matter, and hence, I had to cancel my flight. Same thing happened to my Sarawak trip as well. Too bad, my tickets got 'burnt'! I had been to all states in Malaysia (Peninsular) except for Sabah and Sarawak. So I was very pleased that I had finally landed in Sabah, although for a short trip.

Anyway, I didn't start right away with KK when I arrived. I had to travel to Kota Marudu, which is 3 hours away from KK for my work - a Financial Inclusion project. Financial Inclusion has always been one of the priorities in the country, which would enable local communities at suburban and rural areas to make basic banking transactions at their convenience, without travelling far from home (far as like more than 50 km). To support this initiative, post outlets, convenient stores and qualified sundry shops are appointed to become the agents to provide the basic services on behalf of the bank. Of course, they had to go through thorough assessment and evaluation to qualify them to become an agent. Mana boleh main tibai buat je kan :)

I travelled to Kota Marudu by a shuttle van. Some of the photos during the trip to Kota Marudu:

The peak of Mount Kinabalu from far, surrounded by clouds. View from the nearest area to Kota Marudu. I snapped this photo from inside the shuttle while it was moving!

The kampung (village) houses, with paddy field lying ahead of it and the beautiful Mount Kinabalu as the background

We finally reached to Kota Marudu for the Financial Inclusion awareness event. The Kota Marudu community was lovely! They were really supportive and were present at the event. Some of the photos at the event:

Traditional dance by a group of students at the opening of the event. Very graceful and talented.

A young Sabahan reading interestingly on financial education and management. Way to go!

Kota Marudu community listening attentively on Financial Inclusion matters and Financial Education. Lovely people!

After the event, I happened to sit down with the community leaders for lunch and refreshment. They were extremely pleasant and I can see that they care deeply for their community. They had my respect when they told me that they are responsible for their community in ensuring security and welfare. They are always on their toes when there are issues and concerns, especially when it comes to banking and finance. They are the people that the community trust to channel their feedback and seek for advice on how best to solve the matter. R.E.S.P.E.C.T!

During the lunch and refreshment, two things caught my eyes - purple drink and corn! I was curious so I asked Encik (Mr) Mat, one of the community leaders, what was that purple drink? "Oh, itu air keladi bandung," he replied. "Hmm..jagung ni pulak?" I asked him further. "Dekat sini, jagung hasil tanaman paling banyak sekali, so selalunya kita serve jagung rebus kalau ada event kat sini," he explained more. 

The purple drink was a combination of yam and milk, and it tasted so good! I just loved it! I've never liked sirap bandung (rose syrup with milk) but the yam drink was just different. It suited my taste bud. Serving corn is a norm at Kota Marudu when they have events because corn is one of their main agriculture outputs. 

Encik Mat and the others were friendly and I knew how passionate they are when I heard the way they talked. Out of interest, I just asked what does the people in Kota Marudu and nearest area do for living. Encik Mat shared the interesting fact that 30% of the people are involved in fishery, 30% in agriculture and another 30% works in the office. It is quite a balanced division of percentage I thought, and Encik Mat concurred with me. 

The programme finally ended and I was pleased that this event had achieved its objective, thanks to Kota Marudu people! 

On my way back to Kota Kinabalu, I observed that on the left and right side of the road, it was full with more trees rather than development. I love trees and I love green for sure, but I believe Kota Marudu and other places in Sabah have great potential to be developed plus benefit its people in so many ways.

I finally bid my goodbye to Kota Marudu. I certainly hope to come back here again, and this time to see more development. 

Stay tuned for the more adventurous part in First Time Landed In Sabah, Bah! - Part 2 :)