The Kyushu Inspiration

Fukuoka Tower

Balancing the act

Balancing between two extremes is always a difficult task especially when we cannot divorce our preferences. This is true in all aspects of life, be it professional or personal, fair judgement is difficult to establish. Well, in the first place, the word fairness itself is difficult to define. It isn’t equality nor uniformity or impartiality. It has a lot to do with the purpose – the very reasons that we are involve in whatever we are doing – and the surrounding or reality that we are in. However, as always, human being prefers to be biased because it is the easiest thing to do.  Worst still, some are simply biased to the extreme, adhering to certain opinion or belief without even trying to put things in perspectives.

with Prof Kinoshita and Prof Hayashi

Lesson from Kyushu

What was said by Professor Kinoshita while we were driving on the streets of Fukuoka was right. We were talking about graduate education, research and its relationships. The amount of funding for research infrastructure and expenditures received by the host institutes that we visited was something that cannot be imagined by Malaysian researchers.  As I told him, after visiting the facilities, I was no longer human, for I have turned a dwarf.

However, when research with enormous funding is involved, the expected results are also sky high. In thriving through these endeavours, either intentionally or not, graduate studies may become “research centred” and not “student centred”. Students are asked to work very hard to produce meaningful research findings to satisfy the financers. The focus may always be the research objectives, with little regards to the learning process that the students are experiencing. In the end, they may end up being cheap intelligent workers.

Over the last many years, I have also come across with incidents where students were lured into working with some active researchers with so many sweet promises. As always, the beginning is often as sweet as the promise, but as time progresses, sweetness turned sour and the students were basically “dumped” by the researcher, in the name of searching for excellence. The good realationships once established were severed after three or four years of working together. If only the original intention was capacity building or providing education to the student, things would have been a lot different. This is  something that we academicians need to ponder as actions are to be judged by intention. That’s why Covey emphasised the habit “begins with end in mind”.

A Warm Welcome Despite a Light Snow

Lots of Smiles

This was my first visit to Japan, apart from a night stay in transit on our way back to America in the 80′s. I was fascinated by some of the cultures adhered to by the people that I met. Numerous greetings and bowing in some animated ways prompted lots of smiles. Similar to other parts of the world, Japanese society appreciates the contribution of the elders by giving discounts to travelling costs. But the Japanese extend that a bit further by giving discounts to restaurant bills and others (this may also be true in some other country). But what I am amazed is the facilities for the handicapped. It is common to have facilities in restrooms, public transport, or buildings, but the pavement in Japan provide guides for the blind, and it appears almost everywhere. They also took safety more seriously, a lot more than we Malaysian do.

Kepah Goreng Tepung, mmm.... not bad

The Steve Jobs Way

I purchased this book at KLIA a week before the death of a legendary business leader – Steve Jobs. I read it a week later after listening to the news. The book can be best described as “Steve Job in the eye of a friend”. The former Senior Vice President of Apple Computer and close colleague of Steve Jobs’s throughout his tenure, Jay Elliot takes readers on a remarkable tour through Jobs’s astonishing career.  Jay Elliot really looked up on his friend Steve, which can be well understood if you read his letter on the last few pages of the book.

In this book I discover one important lesson – another model of leaderships. It is a combination of being visionary but detailed and forceful but friendly. Direct and informal, he interfaced directly with the product team and followed the development with frequent review.  He is non-traditional and has strong liking on those with talents, especially those who have the passion on the product that they were developing. Once spotted, these talented individuals would be immediately engaged and later hired at whatever costs. The book covers the long path taken by Apple right from its inception through the era of Apple II to Macintosh, to ipod, iphone and ipad. There are many interesting stories in between success and product introduction in the Macworld.

Interesting quotes

Why join the navy if you can be a pirate?

Democracies don’t make great products–you need a competent tyrant.

Comments

I think this is a good read on leaderships, especially for those in management and leadership positions.

Don’t Delete Your Email !

Have you ever write a long email, only to delete it before sending it away?  Well, if you did, you are not alone.

A middle age academician with a PhD qualification went on in cycle – writing, deleting and rewriting his email, but short of sending. He was supposed to reply to some questions posed by a group of students.

Last weekend I was told a story where a young executive was about to voice out his opinion on issues debated by senior activists in a social & welfare based organisation. After writing his email, he decided to delete it.

A leader of an NGO once told me that he had wanted to write about certain issues to be circulated to his fellow members, but he kept on editing his email until the issue became almost irrelevant. He finally decided to delete it.

Why is this happening? To the senior academic, he was worried that his writing might be wrongly interpreted by the students, which may create other follow up issues. To the young executive, he was concerned that the tone of his email might be taken as insulting. To the leader on an NGO, he wanted to be sure that his email is well-understood.

Why is this happening?

This is a cultural issue.  We grew up in a society where the young should listen to the elders. We have been taught “terlajak perahu boleh diundur, terlajak kata buruk padahnya” which means that if a boat overshoot, it can be reversed, but if words were accidently spoken. The effect can be devastated. So, we tend to be careful. And it is good thing to do because an email is even more dangerous because it can even be misinterpreted and you have no way of correcting it if it is not replied.

Looking from another perspective, it is agreeable that today, email has become almost a necessity.  It is supposed to facilitate communications. Blackberry phone (haha I don’t have one) was developed by the University of Waterloo so that people can communicate wherever they are using email. Why?  Because we need a quick and cheap means of communication. In this modern world, it is almost a necessity.

What’s needed is simply sincerity and openness. If we can discuss issues with open hearts, why should we be worried about giving opinion?  For me, I prefer to be transparent because it is the easiest thing to do. You don’t have to pretend or to make so many adjustments. Just be yourself, but of course, while observing some ethics.

Giving opinion is part of syura (consultation). It can also serve as a nasiha (advice). Young or old, junior or senior – all should participate well in discussion for an organisation to move forward. So, my dear friends, the next time you have something important to say, email it away.

Don’t delete.

Confession of an Economic Hit Man

For a long time,  I’d wanted to write reviews of books that I read to trigger  those who stumble upon this blog to start accumulating ideas from facts and fantasies.  I have read variety of books – either on air or in hotel rooms during business trips or on later part of the days when my mind could not switch off from thinking – some with serious contents, others were clearly fictions to stimulate my imaginations. Confession of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins is my first entry on this category.

Summary

John Perkins writes, “Economic hit men (EHM’s) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillion of dollars. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as Empire but one that has taken on terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.”

It took a great deal of courage for the author to come forward with such a revealing book. It unveils many plots played by big corporations and their political masters to gain access to variety of strategic resources including decision making in targeted countries to satisfy their financial and political power craze.  The author wrote about some of his life experience as one of the EHM’s.

After graduation from Boston University, John volunteered for Peace Corps and was sent to Ecuador shortly after completing the training in Southern California. He was offered a position as an economist at Chas. T. Main Inc (MAIN), an international consulting firm that works for clients such as the World Bank. Without realizing what was really happening, he entered the world of the EHM.

From Indonesia to Panama to Ecuador to Venezuela, to Columbia, to Iran, to Iraq and Saudi Arabia, multiple plans were executed, all to the benefits of a conglomerate of unscrupulous play makers.  John Perkins revealed them all, for the benefit of those who wants to know.

Comment

I bought the book at KL international airport in 2009, and finished reading it during the trip. Published in 2004, the book is an eye opener for those who are yet to be familiar with such an irresponsible scheming of developing nations. It can also serve as a reinforcement of the understanding of the world politics. It is definitely a good reading material for those who care about the world.

Johor-Sarawak Pineapple

Maulidur-Rasul 2012

Tahun ini aku menyambut maulidur-rasul dengan acara istimewa. Kami yang terdiri dari 10 orang aktivis IKRAM Johor telah berkunjung ke Sarawak untuk menuntut ilmu dari sahabat kami di bumi Kenyalang. Dengan menaiki pesawat Air Asia, kami sampai 25 minit lebih awal dari jadual. Mmm… is it good or is it bad???

Kami disambut mesra oleh akh Abdul Rahman Hassan yang telah tiba lebih awal. Beberapa minit kemudian, dua buah lagi kereta sampai untuk membawa rombongan kami ke destinasi pertama – makan tengahari dengan hidangan tempatan yang begitu lazat rasanya.

Dari situ kami berpecah – rombongan wanita ke tempat yang lain dan rombongan lelaki singgah sebentar di sebuah rumah dan seterusnya bertolak ke pendalaman untuk menghadiri program yang telah disusun. Dalam perjalanan, kami singgah sebentar di masjid Darul Iman, Daerah Bau.

Masjid Darul Iman, Daerah Bau, Sarawak

Kampung Segubang, Bau.

Kampung ini letaknya di pendalaman tidak jauh dari Pekan Bau, Sarawak. Masyarakatnya terdiri dari suku Bidayuh, dan di situ terdapat  lebih kurang 300 penduduk Islam, sebahagiannya tinggal di situ dan ada juga yang bekerja di luar kawasan. Suasana masyarakat amat  harmoni dan segala urusan kebajikan, kebudayaan dan keagamaan disokong bersama oleh masyarakat setempat dengan penuh hikmah tanpa mengira perbezaan agama. Oleh kerana penduduk tempatan perlu bangun awal untuk bersiap ke kebun getah, bacaan al-quran dan seruan azan subuh di awal pagi disambut baik semua pihak, walaupun lebih ramai penduduk yang bukan beragama Islam.

Bersama Masyarakat Bidayuh di Segubang

Kami di bawa ke situ bagi menjayakan ceramah Maulidur-Rasul yang disampaikan oleh Haji Ainullotfi, TYDP IKRAM Johor. Selepas selesai ceramah, kami dijamu dengan hidangan tempatan yang amat lazat, sambil berbual panjang dengan penduduk tempatan.

Gunung Stan yang penuh sejarah bermisteri dan sarang burung bermutu

Sarang Burung Gunung Stan

Di pinggir Kg. Segubang, terdapat Gunung Stan yang mengeluarkan hasil sarang burung yang dikongsi bersama oleh penduduk Segubang dan kampong di sebelahnya. Secara bergilir mengikut tahun, sarang burung dikumpul dari gunung itu oleh penduduk secara berkumpulan dan tersusun. Setiap bulan mereka mengutip hasil yang lumayan.

Azan dikumandangkan oleh Taufik, anak kepada Us Asmuin Munir @ Ustaz Kancil

Erti Pengorbanan

Hatiku merasa begitu teruja bila mendengar cerita insan yang bergelar Ustaz Kancil. Semasa beliau menjejakkan kaki di Kampung Segubang, terdapat 2 orang Islam tinggal di sana. Beliau yang kini berusia 49 tahun, telah menghabiskan 19 tahun hidup bersama masyarakat di sana, mendidik masyarakat supaya memahami dan mengamalkan Islam di samping menabur pelbagai bakti kepada penduduk tanpa mengira agama. Dalam tempoh itu pelbagai pengalaman pahit manis telah ditempuh, kesukaran demi kesukaran yang mengancam kehidupan, malah nyawa  telah dilalui.

Bila melihat wajah yang bersih itu, aku teringat kepada sirah kehidupan para sahabat. Itulah yang telah dilakukan oleh Muaz bin Jabal yang dihantar ke Yaman dan Mus’ab bin Umair yang dihantar ke yathrib. Itulah juga yang telah dilakukan oleh ribuan para sahabat dan tabiin yang telah meninggalkan kampong halaman dan terus memikul tanggung jawab sebagai penyambung risalah yang dibawa oleh penutup Para Rasul, Muhammad s.a.w. Tidak hairanlah kita boleh mendapati kubur-kubur golongan awal pendokong dakwah bertaburan di merata dunia dan bukannya di kampung halaman mereka sendiri. Mereka memahami erti pengorbanan. Dan Ustaz yang bertubuh kecil itu juga memahaminya.

Di saat itu aku merasa sungguh kerdil. Tidak sanggup rasanya untuk aku terus berbicara tentang pengorbanan sedangkan aku hanya mampu menyumbang sisa-sisa masa. Semoga Allah s.w.t. memudahkan kehidupan beliau dan menyampaikan beliau ke tanah suci Mekah seperti yang dihajatkan. Sesungguhnya dia telah memilih jalan yang paling baik, berjihad dengan masa, harta dan diri untuk agama Allah.

Kampung Gersik

Pusat Bandaraya Kuching dilihat dari Kg Gersik

Kampung Gersik terletak di tepi Sungai Sarawak, bertentangan dengan Pusat Bandaraya Kuching. Ianya sudah terkenal dengan perusahaan Kek Lapis Sarawak. Lokasinya yang strategik  kini menimbulkan keresahan penduduk tempatan tentang masa depan. Adakah mereka akan senasib dengan banyak kampung-kampung lain di Singapura, Kuala Lumpur dan sebaginya? Adakah tanah tumpah darah mereka akan diambil demi membangunkan pojek yang lebih strategik dan mewah dan mereka dipindahkan ke tempat lain – ianya sentiasa bermain di kepala penduduk tempatan. Pagi Isnin (Semalam), Aku dan beberapa sahabat bersolat subuh di surau Kg. Gersik, dan diikuti dengan kulian subuh yang disampaikan oleh Haji Roslan, Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Dakwah IKRAM Johor.  Sekumpulan sahabat yang lain pula bersolat dan berkuliah subuh di masjid berdekatan.

Nanas Josapine

Satu masa dulu aku dikenalkan dengan nenas Josapine. Aku menyangkakan namanya Josephine, macam nama orang. Rupa-rupanya aku diberitahu (betul atau tidak, aku tidak pasti), JoSaPine adalah Johor-Sarawak Pineaple, satu spesis nenas yang telah dibangunkan dan mempunyai rasa yang manis, rangup dan jus yang banyak. Ianya kini menjadi kegemaran untuk dimakan begitu saja. Menurut sumber lain, nenas ini berasal dari Amerika Selatan.

Sebahagian dari AJK IKRAM Johor dan Sarawak yang bersama dalam perbincangan (Turut bersama kami ialah Prof Omar - AJK IKRAM Pusat)

Usaha sama IKRAM – Johor dan Sarawak

Sama ada cerita tentang nanas josapine itu benar atau tidak, rasanya baik dan hasilnya lumayan. Begitulah juga apa yang kami inginkan dengan usaha sama IKRAM Johor dan IKRAM Sarawak. Lawatan kami ke Sarawak ialah untuk menjalen usaha sama dalam kerja-kerja kebajikan dan dakwah, kerana kami berkeyakinan bahawa gabungan dua pengalaman yang berbeza ini akan memberikan manfaat yang banyak kepada ummah.

Jalan ke hadapan telah tergaris (bersama Ustaz Dr Azhar - YDP IKRAM Sarawak)

Alhamdulillah, setelah sehari berdiskusi, jalan ke hadapan berjaya dilakarkan dan dipersetujui bersama. Semoga Allah s.w.t. sentiasa memberikan taufik dan hidayah kepada kami semua.

Beberapa Foto menarik

Tidak pernah dilihat jenama beras sebegini di semenanjung. Beras Cap Uncle Tan dan cap Amoi??? Itulah strategi pemasaran. Gunakan jenama yang sesuai di tempat yang sesuai, walaupun produknya sama.

Buah Tampoi - rasanya seperti buah rambai, tetapi lebih kering. Berkulit tebal dan kurang berair berbanding buan rambai. Seperti rambai, tampoi muncul di penghujung musim buah

Mee Kolok. Yee mee dituang sup dan cili kicap. Mmm enak.

Process or Product

I have said many times that “the journey is as important as the destination”. To chemical engineering students, I told them that “the process is as important as the product”. Last week, as I was talking with Professor Faisal Khan, one of the world leading figures in Process Safety, we came to a conclusion that “the process is actually far more important than the product.” However, as usual, I would like to emphasise the importance of focussing on the aim of all undertakings, for “it is the essence that is more important, not the jargon”. Sometimes we say that “the spirit is more important than the letters”.

With Prof Faisal Khan during his visit to UTM

Nevertheless, when we look around, it is quite sad to find that so many people are so engrossed on procedures. They spent enormous amount of time scrutinizing every nook and cranny for imperfections in the “letter” not the “spirit”. Yes, it is true that it is the procedure that produces the product, but we shouldn’t be lost along the way by taking so much effort to improve the procedures while slowly defeating the reason why we were doing the task in the first place. Now that’s the essence or spirit that we have forgotten. This is one of the traps where managers might get caught.

Within the academia, Outcome Based Education, for example, may turn into nothing more than another ISO procedure, implemented “dryly” with little regards on the essence of the whole thing. When addressing the product, they tend to focus on numbers. The main issue is to satisfy KPI’s, using whatever strategy possible, be it noble or unscrupulous. This is definitely not the correct spirit, and I think, many have been blinded by the need to be celebrated.

Sheikh Dr. Jumaah Amin delivering his lecture at UPM

Two days ago I had a meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Coincidently, there was an interesting talk to be delivered by Dr. Jumaah Amin, one of the Vice Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt in UPM. I decided to stay and travel back to JB after the lecture. Let hear what the wise man have to say, said I. One of the thing he said in his highly spirited lecture was “Allah will not ask you on the results of your effort for He is more interested in the effort that you put in”, of course along with the quality of the effort and our sincerity.  So, again “the process is more important than the product”.

Mmm, I hope I have not confused anybody. My aim is to ask everybody to always check their intention while doing anything, especially when dealing with tasks that require lots of efforts and sacrifices. I am sure that everybody agrees with me that we don’t want to do something for the sake of doing because our life is too precious to be wasted on unnecessary things.

May God guide us all…

Amongst the few thousands who attended the talk

Satu Barisan

Terlalu banyak telah diperkatakan oleh pakar-pakar motivasi dan jurulatih kepemimpinan serta penulis-penulis tersohor tentang kepentingan semangat kerja berpasukan yang utuh dalam sesebuah organisasi. Pelbagai konsep telah diperkenalkan supaya segenap lapisan pekerja atau ahli dapat digembleng dan mereka pula saling memperkukuh dalam menjayakan agenda yang didukung bersama. Umumnya, semua orang sudah tahu tentang kepentingan semangat setiakawan semasa bekerja dalam pasukan.

Bagi organisasi dakwah dan kebajikan yang sentiasa menuntut pengorbanan tanpa ganjaran, perkara ini menjadi tonggak perjuangan. Tidak dapat tidak, Ukhuwah, Tsiqah dan Taat, yang menjadi sebahagian daripada prinsip asas sebagaimana yang telah diketengahkan oleh Imam Hassan Al-Banna – semoga Allah merahmati beliau – merupakan perkara pokok dalam kerja berpasukan atau amal jama’i.

Allah subhanahu wataala berfirman dalam surah al-Quran yang bermaksud:

“Sesungguhnya Allah mencintai orang-orang yang berperang di jalan-Nya dalam satu barisan yang teratur, mereka seakan-akan seperti suatu bangunan yang tersusun kukuh.”

(As-Saff 61: 4)

Sebab itu jamaah dakwah perlu menekankan kesatuan fikrah serta ikatan hati supaya ahli-ahlinya sentiasa setia dan mendukung agenda yang tergaris dalam perancangan yang telah disusun, demi mencapai sasaran jangka pendek di dunia ini, dan lebih utama lagi matlamat jangka panjang di akhirat kelak. Semua itu perlu dijiwai dalam perspektif amal jama’i yang merupakan matlamat sebenar penggabungan mereka di dalam jamaah itu. Segala kelemahan perlu diatasi bersama secara berterusan, dan pembinaan jiwa-jiwa terus berjalan tanpa henti. Kita perlu sentiasa menuntut ilmu dan memperbaiki diri hingga ke akhir hayat. Itulah yang diajar oleh Islam.

Namun, ada kalanya wujud seorang dua yang mempunyai pandangan tertentu dalam konteks untuk memperbaiki organisasi. Dia amat yakin dengan pendekatan yang belum diterima umum dalam organisasinya. Sama ada dia tidak berjaya meyakinkan kepemimpinan ataupun tidak suka berbuat demikian, dia masih berpegang kuat dengan pandangan itu, malah melaksanakannya secara peribadi. Dia memang berniat baik, malah bertindak mengikut apa yang difaham dari ayat al-Quran yang bermaksud,

“Tidak ada kebaikan daripada banyak perbicaraan rahsia mereka, kecuali perbicaraan rahsia daripada orang yang menyuruh orang bersedekah, atau berbuat kebaikan, atau mengadakan perdamaian di antara manusia. Barangsiapa berbuat demikian kerana mencari keredhaan Allah, maka kelak kami akan memberinya pahala yang besar

(An-Nisaa’ 4: 114)

Benar, memang ada pengecualian dalam pelaksanaan “perbicaraan rahsia” yang dilakukan oleh sekelompok manusia atas tujuan kebaikan. Namun ia perlu dibuat dengan begitu teliti. Dalam membicarakan ayat ini, Sayyid Qutb menegaskan di dalam kitab tafsir Fi Zilalul Quran bahawa sekiranya ia dibuat, ia perlu dilaksana dengan amat berhati-hati tanpa didasari oleh hawa nafsu sama sekali, dan bukan untuk mencari populariti di dalam organisasi. Tidak boleh ada sebarang niat sampingan kerana ia membuka peluang kepada syaitan untuk menggoda.

Perkara ini amat sukar untuk dijaga dan seseorang individu itu tidak dapat menjamin bahawa tidak akan terdetik sedikit pun perasaan bangga diri dalam hatinya sekiranya dia berjaya. Ini adalah kerana sifat semula jadi manusia memang suka kepada kejayaan. Kepuasan yang terhasil dari kejayaan itu mungkin pula menimbulkan sifat ujub atau bangga diri. Dia terasa kagum di atas segala amalan yang telah dilakukan dan hasilnya yang cemerlang. Ini terus mendorong dia untuk memperkembangkan lagi usaha dan membina pengaruh ke atas mereka yang sama-sama beramal dengannya. Lama-kelamaan, ia boleh pula melahirkan sifat takabur yang amat tercela. Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam bersabda dalam hadis sahih yang bermaksud,

“Tidak akan masuk syurga sesiapa yang ada sifat takabur di hatinya walaupun seberat zarah

(Riwayat Muslim)

Perkara yang asalnya baik itu mudah sekali untuk terpesong dan terseleweng disebabkan godaan syaitan dan kesan jangka panjangnya amat negatif, bukan sahaja kepada diri mereka yang terlibat, tetapi juga untuk organisasi yang sama didukung.

Sebab itu, jalan yang lebih baik ialah supaya segala usaha dilaksanakan dalam ruang lingkup sistem yang telah dipersetujui bersama, berdasarkan keputusan syura yang telah diikat. Syura yang meluas itu membawa keberkatan, dan syura kecil yang tersembunyi itu penuh bahaya, walaupun niatnya mulia.

Wahai Tuhan yang membolak-balikkan hati, tetapkanlah hati kami di atas agama-Mu. Wahai yang memalingkan hati-hati, palingkan hati kami ke arah mentaati-Mu.

Artikel ini disalin dari portal berita Malaysia Harmoni, http://www.malaysiaharmoni.com/v2/index.php/pandangan/1424-satu-barisan  yang ditulis oleh Dr. AA

Pengajaran dari Reformasi dan Arab Spring

Tazkirah Seorang Tetamu

Aku terpegun sejenak mendengar ucapan ringkas yang disampaikan oleh tetamu istimewa pada malam itu. Dengan nada tenang tapi penuh bersemangat, dia bercerita tentang beberapa keajaiban yang berlaku di tahun ke-4 kenabian. Ketika itu, dakwah Rasulullah berbentuk sirriah dan umat Islam pula ternyata lemah dan tertindas. Namun Allah s.w.t menurunkan ayat 1-5 dari surrah ar-rum yang menceritakan bahawa kerajaan Rom yang akan mengalahkan kerajaan Farsi. Dia menegaskan betapa Allah menanamkan wawasan kepada umat Islam di saat mereka masih lemah tentang halatuju yang jauh dan misi yang besar.

Dalam penghantar kepada surah itu, Sayyid Qutb menegaskan dalam tafsir Fi Zilalul Qur’an bahawa Allah s.w.t. tidak hanya menyampaikan janji itu tetapi menghubungkan umat Islam kepada ufuk yang luas. Allah s.w.t. mengajar umat Islam supaya mempunyai pandangan yang jauh, walaupun ketika mereka begitu lemah dan terkongkong di lembah yang kecil.

Sebenarnya, banyak perkara yang berlaku di dunia ini merupakan suatu yang tidak diduga. Ekoran krisis kewangan 1997 kebangkitan rakyat menerusi gerakan reformasi telah menjatuhkan rejim Suharto yang telah memerintah selama 32 tahun. Kini Indonesia menikmati demokrasi yang meluas dan rakyat dapat menikmati pelbagai kebebasan yang dahulunya tidak mungkin terjadi.

Apa yang berlaku di dunia Arab pada hari ini juga amat luar biasa. Dalam tempoh satu tahun, fenomena Arab Spring telah menjatuhkan satu demi satu rejim yang zalim. Peristiwa kekecewaan pemuda Mohamed Bouazizi yang membakar dirinya pada 17 Disember 2010 telah mencetuskan kemarahan rakyat sehingga tumbang rejim Ben Ali yang telah berkuasa selama 23 tahun, serta kemenangan kepada parti an-Nahdah yang sebelum itu diharamkan dan aktivisnya ditindas. Peristiwa itu juga mencetuskan kebangkitan di Mesir sehingga tumbangnya rejim Mubarak yang telah memerintah selama 30 tahun dan kemenangan kepada gerakan Ikhwan Muslimun. Kemudian jatuh pula rejim kuku besi Gaddafi yang berkuasa di Libya selama 42 tahun. Pilhanraya di Morocco pula telah memberikan kemenangan yang signifikan kepada parti Islam, dan kini dunia menyaksikan peralihan kuasa di Yemen serta kebangkitan rakyat di Syria. Semua ini tidak dapat dibayangkan lebih dari setahun yang lalu. Namun ianya realiti pada hari ini.

Beramal berasaskan Sasaran

Sahabat,

Kita diajar supaya bertawakkal dan berharap kepada Allah s.w.t. kerana memang Dialah yang berkuasa menjadikan apa yang kita hajatkan itu suatu realiti. Namun kita juga diminta berusaha. Kita diminta merancang dan menetapkan sasaran. Setelah itu kita harus berusaha bersungguh-sungguh dengan penuh keikhlasan, melaksanakan pengorbanan demi pengorbanan, menjiwai cita-cita, tanpa mengira penat dan lelah, di masa senang maupun susah. Sejarah golongan terdahulu telah menunjukkan bahawa suatu yang besar itu tidak mustahil dicapai walaupun akal tidak dapat menggarapnya di suatu ketika. Berkat kegigihan dan keikhlasan, nusrah Allah muncul dan kemenangan menyerlah.

Alhamdulillah, pada hari ini rancangan IKRAM 2012-2015 hampir jelas terlakar. Ianya bakal menjadi panduan untuk kita beramal. Marilah kita sama-sama mentelaah dan melengkapkannya supaya amal yang bakal dilaksanakan berada di landasan yang benar dan tidak tersasar.

Antara KPI dan Prestasi Diri

Sahabat,

Dalam setiap perancangan yang dibuat, pelbagai Penunjuk Hasil Utama (KPI) akan ditetapkan. Ianya merupakan hasrat Jamai’e yang perlu kita usahakan. Jika diizinkan Allah kita akan berjaya sama ada sepenuhnya maupun separa. Mungkin juga kita gagal. Jika ianya berlaku, kita tidak harus berputus asa, kerana kegagalan itu memberikan kita peluang untuk memulakan  langkah baru dalam keadaan lebih berpengalaman. Pada peringkat individu pula, kita harus jelas bahawa Allah s.w.t. tidak hanya melihat kepada hasil yang dicapai, tetapi juga kepada proses yang dilaksanakan. Jika kita telah beramal dengan bersungguh-sungguh dengan penuh keikhlasan, insya Allah kita tidak sekali-kali akan rugi. Marilah kita sentiasa bersangka baik kepada Allah s.w.t., sesuai dengan maksud hadist qudsi yang diriwayatkan dari Imam Bukhari dan Muslim yang bermaksud :

Daripada Abu Hurairah r.a beliau mendengar Rasulullah s.a.w bersabda ” Allah yang Maha Mulia dan Maha Tinggi martabatNya berfirman,” Aku seperti yang disangka oleh hambaKu dan Aku sentiasa bersamanya setiap kali dia mengingatiKu. Aku benar-benar gembira menerima taubat hambaKu, lebih gembira daripada seorang yang menjumpai barangnya kembali di padang pasir. Siapa yang datang dekat kepadaKu sejengkal,maka Aku datang dekat kepadanya sehasta. Siapa dekat kepadaKu sehasta, maka Akudatang dekat kepadanya sedepa. Apabila dia datang berjalan kepadaKu, maka Aku berlari-lari kepadanya.”

Selamat beramal dan semoga amalmu diterima Allah azzawajalla.

Abiquiu in the 80′s

When I told my wife about Abiquiu, she said “you meant Albuquerque?”. That was exactly my respond when we were told that we were going there, back in the winter of 1983 (I think). And Abiquiu it was. That winter we went to the south, visiting few places in Texas and New Mexico. We were on khuruj fi-sabilillah and our group includes Brengst, Cik Pah, Mahdi, Rahman, Rushdan, Shamsul, Candle, and maybe few Libyans – Abdullah Bezzan, Nuri and Faruj Hamuda (or may be only two of them), and may be few more Malaysians. Well it had been a long time, and I had forgotten all about it until two days ago, when I suddenly recalled my conversation with a brother in Abiquiu. Somehow, that flick of memory brought back a whole length of nostalgic moments.

To get to Abiquiu, we were guided by a white American Muslim called Abdul Wadud who wore a long white beard and was a bit quiet. He was in his 50’s and only spoke when asked, but was both eloquent and elaborate in detailing the subject. Otherwise, he was always deep in thought – such a wonderful character.

We were taken to a farmland outside the small town of Abiquiu, and I was both excited and a bit astonished when we arrived. It was a small community, that looked very ancient, in the middle of nowhere. The village was quite new at that time – there were only few houses, an unfinished mosque and empty lands reserved for a school, a hotel (the thought of which was not well-received by some of the communities) and more houses. The buildings had wooden structures, cemented by mud, and manually constructed. Insulations were achieved by stuffing old clothes in between the mud walls. Like the houses, the mosque was also made of woods and muds. Hot water was not available, but there was a fire place with very limited amount of woods to use. So, we had to keep up with the cold and dampness. It was nevertheless very interesting indeed.

Dar-al-Islam(1988) - Taken from wikipedia

The village was the home of a sufi community made up by mostly white American plus other nationals. I remember the guy from Puerto Rico with long wavy black hair that touched his shoulder, a full and long beard and a wire-rim glasses sitting on his pointed nose. Across his shoulder, there was a big chain of beads (tasbih) that he constantly moved with his hand as we talked, perhaps continuing his dzikr simultaneously during our conversation. He was soft-spoken and when he did, he was focussed and passionate – as if he was visualising what he was saying. We had a lengthy discussion about life and its responsibility, and he was refering to the teachings of his Shaikh from Cyprus.

Another interesting character was a Palestinian. He was a recent graduate from a university up north and joined the group not very long prior. Along with him was his wife and a small child. When we visited him that night, the house was cold and I was lost in thought, trying to contemplate the motivation for him to join the group. There must be something special, thought I. The next day, we were invited to his house where he offered a delicious meal made from freshly slaughtered lamb. I was deeply touched with his hospitality, especially after looking at his living condition. I said to myself “Subhanallah, this was a manifestation of what we learnt from hayatus-sahabah, a book that we regularly read at night, before we retire for the day. May Allah grant him jannah and all the blessings in the hereafter.

That was some of the memories in Abiquiu with incidents that have in one way or another contributed to the making of what I am today.

Over the years, the village has turned into what is now called Dar al-Islam where various educational activities for the American community are offered. What was a vision by the founder is now a reality. God-willing, I hope I’ll have the opportunity to come back there, and that time, I’ll be sure that it is Abiquiu and not Albuquerque.

The Street Light

As I was driving towards Kulai Jaya tonight, the street lights were shining brightly, glowing the orange neon rays to the busy traffic. And my mind was away, wandering about and around to nowhere, a little disturbing, a bit unsettled. Was I sad ? No, I don’t think so. Was I angry ? Definitely not. Perhaps I was tired due to hectic schedule, juggling between priorities  that never stop piling, making it harder and harder to subside, never mind to dissapear.  The car was almost driven by itself through the road that was all too familiar as it has passed through it may be more than a thousand times. Then all of the sudden, I was stuck in a traffic jam, and I had to call them that I ‘ll be late for the important meeting.

The meeting was concluded close to midnight, and I was driving back the same way. And the neon lights were still shining brightly. So lucky were the lamps as they were able to dutifully serve the world as long as energy was supplied. The service provided remained the same regardless of who were passing by. So easy it was because all were mechanistics, obeying the rule of physics.

But a biological system is a bit different. It tends to worn out a bit faster although it does have some defense and correction mechanisms. Tops of everything is human being,  equipped with many things by God the Almighty, forming all the complexities that enable them to carry out all the different tasks, big or small. With all these previleges and specialties, human beings are subjected to two major challenges. First, he is subjected to feelings, and at times these feelings can be a burden, wearying his efficiency, lessening his creativity. Second, he is subjected to accounting on whatever he was doing. He has to face some of it in this life and definitely a complete one in the life after.

I remember once I was talking to a Sufi in a small town of Abiquiu somewhere in the countryside of New Mexico. I was looking at some birds flying, and said, “how lucky was the bird, able to fly freely, without the fear of the day of judgment”. Then he jokingly said, “maybe not until he got shot”. Haha… so nostalgic was Abiquiu in 1984, away from the rest of the civilisation…

It’s a bit too late now, and i’ve got my mind cleared. Perhaps it is time to meet my Lord, who never fails to listen to His servants. Good night all.