Purplemelastoma

water

2012-01-21T08:36:00.000+08:00

Water

All living things contain large percentages of water in their bodies. Without water living thing will die. In fact, all living things are created out of water.

"And Allah has created every animal from water: of them there are some that creep on their bellies; some that walk on two legs; and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills for verily Allah has power over all things." (Al-Quran; Sura An-Nuur 24:45)

"It is He Who has created man from water: then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage: for thy Lord has power (over all things." (Al-Quran; Sura Al-Furqaan 25:54)

"Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?" (Al-Quran; Sura Al-Anbiyaa' 21:30)

Things that are of extreme importance may be taken for granted. What about if the streams, rivers, lakes, seas and oceans all became dry, what would we do?:

"Say: "See ye?- If your stream be some morning lost (in the underground earth), who then can supply you with clear-flowing water?" (Al-Quran; Sura Al-Mulk 67:30)

Or what about the clouds bring rains that are salty:

"See ye the water which ye drink?" (Al-Quran; Sura Al-Waaqi'ah 56:68)

"Do ye bring it down (in rain) from the cloud or do We?" (Al-Quran; Sura Al-Waaqi'ah 56:69)

"Were it Our Will, We could make it salt (and unpalatable): then why do ye not give thanks?" (Al-Quran; Sura Al-Waaqi'ah 56:70)

"And made therein mountains standing firm, lofty (in stature); and provided for you water sweet (and wholesome)?" (Al-Quran; Sura Al-Mursalaat 77:27)

"And He it is Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy, and We send down pure water from the sky,- "(Al-Quran; Sura Al-Furqaan 25:48)

Allah provide us with water that are optimum for the sustenance of life:

"And We send down water from the sky according to (due) measure, and We cause it to soak in the soil; and We certainly are able to drain it off (with ease)." (Al-Quran; Sura Al-Mu'minuun 23:18)

"And We send the fecundating winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance), though ye are not the guardians of its stores." (Al-Quran; Sura Al-Hijr 15:22)

Excess water is designed to drain into rivers and become source of water for places that do not always receive rains.

"And in the earth are tracts (diverse though) neighbouring, and gardens of vines and fields sown with corn, and palm trees - growing out of single roots or otherwise: watered with the same water, yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat. Behold, verily in these things there are signs for those who understand!" (Al-Quran; Sura Ar-Ra'd 13:4)

"He sends down water from the skies, and the channels flow, each according to its measure: But the torrent bears away to foam that mounts up to the surface. Even so, from that (ore) which they heat in the fire, to make ornaments or utensils therewith, there is a scum likewise. Thus doth Allah (by parables) show forth Truth and Vanity. For the scum disappears like froth cast out; while that which is for the good of mankind remains on the earth. Thus doth Allah set forth parables." (Ar-Ra'd 13:17)

With the rain and water in the rivers, people on this earth can make a living in agriculture, thereby producing diverse plants and animals for food.

"He Who has, made for you the earth like a carpet spread out; has enabled you to go about therein by roads (and channels); and has sent down water from the sky." With it have We produced diverse pairs of plants each separate from the others." (Al-Quran; Sura Taha 20:53)

The rivers and seas are means of transportation and source of foods and ornaments.

"It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: One palatable and sweet, and the other salt and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, a partition that is forbidden to be passed." (Al-Quran; Sura Al-Furqaan 25:53)

"Or, Who has made the earth firm to live in; made rivers in its midst; set thereon mountains immovable; and made a separating bar between the two bodies of flowing water? (can there be another) god besides Allah. Nay, most of them know not." (Al-Quran; Sura An-Naml 27:61)

"Nor are the two bodies of flowing water alike,- the one palatable, sweet, and pleasant to drink, and the other, salt and bitter. Yet from each (kind of water) do ye eat flesh fresh and tender, and ye extract ornaments to wear; and thou seest the ships therein that plough the waves, that ye may seek (thus) of the Bounty of Allah that ye may be grateful." (Al-Quran; Sura Faatir 35:12)

"He has let free the two bodies of flowing water, meeting together." Al-Quran; Sura Ar-Rahmaan 55:19)

"Between them is a Barrier which they do not transgress." (Al-Quran; Sura Ar-Rahmaan 55:20)

All translation of the Quran is taken from Surah.My : Tafseer of Al-Quran in English

US Collage Footbal

2012-01-19T23:34:00.000+08:00

On 9th January 2012, Alabama of the Southeastern conference were crowned as the BCS National Champions for collage football (American football, that is). However, several questions were left unanswered. Should there be a playoff system to determine the champions, like the one used in basketball? If there is, in what form, a four-team playoff system or sixteen-team playoff system? Would playoff system drain-off the students athletes?

Other questions include such thing as, should Oklahoma State be given the chance to go to the title game against the number one ranked LSU, in place of no 2 ranked Alabama, on the reasons that LSU and Alabama are from the same conference, and LSU have beaten Alabama during the regular season? Should there be a rematch between two schools that have met in the conference game, where LSU got the better of Alabama by two field goals to one? Does beating LSU in the title game, provided enough reason (credential) to vote for Alabama as the number one team, taking in consideration that during the regular season LSU beat many top teams including Alabama, Oregon (Ranked number 4) and Arkansas (Ranked Number 5) convincingly, while Alabama had only Arkansas as the top team they beat?

Are Oklahoma State good enough team to go to the title game? Based on the common opponents between Oklahoma State and Arkansas, the later scored more points than Oklahoma State when both beat Texas A&M and Kansas State. Taking into consideration that both Alabama and LSU beat Arkansas handsomely (outplayed) during the regular season conference games, it would need Oklahoma State offense to play a very good game to break the huge and fast defensive lines, as well as the very good corner backs of both Alabama and LSU. Besides, it would take a lot of effort for opponent's defense to stop the huge and fast offensive lines of both Alabama and LSU. In collage football, the defensive and offensive lines contribute a lot to a team to win games. Could it be that, during the 2011-2012 season, the two teams were cut above all other collage teams, and hence no other deserve to play in the title game?

On the title game itself, most of the comments were related to the inability of the offense to put up points on the board, and hence they said, generated less excitement compared to high scoring game in other major post-season bowls. Some comments even speculated that the high scoring teams, lead by their prolific quarterbacks, could have torn apart the Alabama or LSU defense. To this kind of speculation, the pro-SEC fans argued that, the offense of those teams would simply be choked and stifled by either LSU's or Alabama's defense, just like what they did to Arkansas.

The game of football is made up of offensive plays and defensive response plays. The success of the offense over the opposing defense, will most likely result in touchdowns or field goals. On the contrary, when the defense overwhelm the offense of the opposing team, most often than not the ball has to be given back to the opposing team. In low scoring games, the defense of both teams are too strong for the offense of the opposing teams, while in high scoring games, the offense of both teams outsmart the opposing defense. In any case, appreciating perfect execution of a play or the game plan by both the offense and the defense to outsmart the opponents should be applauded and appreciated. The defense or offense that are outsmarted by the opposing team throughout the game will likely bear the blame for embarrassing losses that the team suffer. Thus, to say that football will generate more excitement when exceptionally high scores are registered, in a way may mean enjoying the embarrassment and blushes being experienced by the battered offense or defense. With this view in mind, watching a football game would be interesting regardless on the number of points are put on the board during the game, provided that good plays are the main source of enjoyment out of watching a football game.

Screw pine (mengkuang)

2012-01-14T16:13:00.001+08:00

Pandanus is a genus of plants containing many different species and belonging to the plant Family Pandanaceae or the screw pine family. The plants are typically having long and pointed leaves with hooked spines at the perimeter. The various species differ in size and height, ranging from 1-6 meters. There are several common species found in Malaysia, each of which may contribute to food or economic activities of the population. Pandanus amaryllifolius is the edible species.

The giant screwpine are known in Malaysia as mengkuang. The mengkuang species, whose leaves are commonly used for waving in the production of handicrafts is Pandanus atrocarpus. There are other giant species of screw pines. Some are found in mangroves and some are found in the forests,while others are found by the seashore.

The mengkuang plant shown in pictures below has stems that are fibrous in nature and branched at various levels along the heights of the plants. The long spiny leaves are clustered at the end of each branch. Prop roots are formed at close to the base of the stem for support. The fruits are borne in round-shaped clusters of more than 10 fruits, which are tough and fibrous. Pandanus tectorius and Pandanus odoratissimus appear very similar. Since the pictures below were taken by the seaside (of Terengganu, by the way), the plant fits the name "mengkuang laut" (sea screw pine), and hence may be the species Pandanus odoratissimus.

Other Information

http://laman-ayahsu.blogspot.com/2011/11/mengkuang-laut-pandanus-odoratissimus.html

http://www.vacationtourz.com/mengkuang_pandanus_weaving.htm

http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/P.tectorius-pandanus.pdf

http://wannura.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/mengkuang-pandanus-weaving-pandanus-atrocarpus-griff/mengkuang/

Durio zibethinus L.

2012-01-07T08:29:00.002+08:00

Durio zibethinus L. is a large and tall trees probably grew in the jungle before they are domesticated and planted in the villages and orchards. The fruit has a strong and thick spiny husk and a strong smell. It is a common fruit in Southeast Asia, where it is called by the name durian. The durian plant has one or two fruiting seasons per year, when virtually all plants within a location bear fruits simultaneously. Luckily, fruiting seasons may vary in term of time of the year for different area. When the fruiting seasons do come, the fruits can contribute to substantial income for the village people and entrepreneurship-minded orchard owners.

The plant can be grown from seeds but more commonly grown from grafted plants. Grafting is done by grating buds from plants of known high quality variety or clones to a seedling of high disease-resistant stock. Plants grown from seedling are not consistent in quality and flavour. Besides, it takes 10-15 years to bear fruits. It was said that if one plants durian from seeds, one is planting it for one's grandchildren. However with the grafted plants, fruiting can happen between 5-7 years.

In the wild, the durian can have likable taste and non-likable taste. The one shown below is small in size, strong yellow colour of edible pulp and relatively softer spines on the husk. Although the fruit offers non-likable smell and taste, the genotype may provide good stock for breeding better and tastier durian varieties.

Medium-sized durian

The inside of durian showing the creamy edible pulp

Wild/jungle durian fruit

Classification:

Durian is classified under the Order Malvales. However, there are differences in opinion whether the Genus Durio is classified under the family Malvaceae or the family Bombacaceae. The site here gives this classification scheme, in which the subfamily Durionoideae is placed in the family Sterculiaceae, and not family Bombacaceae nor family Malvaceae

For clarification opinion from the experts in field of Plant Systematics should be consulted.

Scholarly articles

Norjana, I. and Noor Aziah, A. A. 2011. Quality attributes of durian (Durio zibethinus Murr) juice after pectinase enzyme treatment.International Food Research Journal 18(3): 1117-1122

Nyffeler, R. and D. A. Baum. 2000. Phylogenetic relationships of the durians (Bombacaceae-Durioneae or /Malvaceae/Helicteroideae/Durioneae) based on chloroplast and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences. Plant Systematics and Evolution. 224: (1-2) 55-82 2000

Banga Raya

2011-12-31T11:25:00.000+08:00

More pictures of the different varieties of bunga raya (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis). These pictures of bunga raya flowers are taken at various locations in Sarawak, Malaysia.




7

Heliconia at Tenom Sabah Agricultural Park

2011-12-27T07:14:00.001+08:00

At the Sabah Agricultural Park several species and varieties of Heliconia are found. The park is located at Lagud Seberang, some ten kilometers from the Tenom town. Below are some pictures of the Heliconia plants

Bunga Raya

2011-12-23T06:14:00.000+08:00

Bunga raya, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Family Malvaceae), is the national flower of Malaysia. In the past only the common red colour bunga raya flowers are found. Recently however, new varieties, which produce flowers of different colours and petal shapes are appearing in home gardens, public gardens and by the road sides.

Here are some examples of the different varieties of bunga raya.

Kajang, Selangor	Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Lagud Agriculture Park, Tenom, Sabah	Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Plants of Malaysia

2011-12-20T06:41:00.002+08:00

Despite the rainy season local fruits are found in the markets and fruit stalls by the road sides. Yes. The fruiting season of some fruit plants in the east coast of Malaysia, namely at the state of Terengganu, is here. My favourite fruit manggis (mangoesteen), durian, duku and langsat (Lansium)and salak. In my recent trip to Sabah, I found the fruit called tarap (or terap as it is called in Peninsula Malaysia.

If you have not seen some of these fruits, you can have a peek here.

Terap : Artocarpus odoratissimum (family Moraceae)

Look like cempedak but has a very different taste. The colour of the edible part is white and somewhat more "slippery" when swallowed. The order and "slippery" texture may be the reasons for its lesser appeal compared the two other cousins, nangka and cempedak. It is this unpopularity that makes the plant becoming less and less visible in peninsular Malaysia as the years go by.

Picture taken in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

Duku : Lansium domesticum (family Meliaceae)

Langsat and duku are closely related. Langsat has softer skin and softer edible jelly part. Duku has slightly tougher skin and more solid jelly part, more delicious as compared to langsat, and of course fetches higher price.

Picture taken in Terengganu, Peninsula Malaysia.

Manggis : Garcinia indica

Manggis is one of my favoutite fruits. I seldom fail to grab the fruit whenever I see it at the market or fruit stalls. The taste is a mixture between sour and sweet. The Peninsular Malaysia manggis has more of the sweet taste, but the manggis of East Malaysia somewhat has more of the sour.

Salak : Salacca zalacca (family Arecaceae)

Salak can be found in Malaysia and Indonesia. Terengganu salak is red in color but those from Sabah and Indonesia have dark brown skin and black seed.

Ciku : Manikara zapota

2011-12-18T11:27:00.000+08:00

Manikara zapota (L.) P.Royen (Family: Sapotaceae) is a tropical plant originated from central America. It is now grown in many parts of the world for its edible fruits. The plant may be grown from seeds, but for maintaining varietal consistency it can be grown vegitatively.

The fruits are about the size and shape of chicken eggs. The skin is brownish and becoming soft when the fruits have ripen. The seeds are three-four per fruit, black in colour and have tough coats.

Deliciously sweet.

The fruit with an egg

Young plant

Fruiting plant

Cupcakes

2011-12-14T06:37:00.005+08:00

Many people like cakes particularly cupcakes. Browsing the Internet, I found these websites:

Kek cawan cupcakes

Anis Magic Fingers

Manis

Baked Macaroni

2011-12-03T07:45:00.007+08:00

1. Boil the macaroni until soft and drain the excess water.

2. Mix macaroni thoroughly with:
i) 1-2 tablespoons of red sweet pepper cut into small squares
ii) 1-2 tableapoons of corn
iii) 1/2 teaspoon of mix herbs
iV) 1/2 teaspoon of oregano
v) 1-2 tablespoons of tomato soup paste
vi) 1-2 tablespoons of mushroom soup paste
vii) salt to taste
viii) 1-2 teaspoons of parmessen cheese
ix) 1-2 pieces of cocktail sausages cut to small squares
x) 1/2-1 onion cut into small squares

3. Place mixture in a deep pan (4-7cm deep), and press to compact.

4. Bake for 30 minutes

5. Alternatively, bake for 25 minutes and then add mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for further 5 minutes.

6. Serve warm or cold.

For Muslims:

Halal parmesan cheese may be obtained from Floridia cheese (Australia)or others. Otherwise, check this website on how to make parmesan cheese

Start with bismillah (in the name of Allah) and end with alhamdulillah (all praise belong to Allah).

Allahummarzuqna rizqan halaalan taiban mubaarakan fiih, wajannibnal haraama bi-rahmatika ya Arhamar-raahimin.

Disclaimer: The use of product images does not constitute recomendations nor advertisments. It should only be taken to mean that those products are the ones that the author of the recipe prepared the above baked macaroni.

Pakok letup-letup

2011-11-12T09:37:00.010+08:00

"Pokok letup-letup" or "pop plant" of "puff plant" or "puffy plant", used to be a common weed in Malaysia. However, in the past years, the ubiquity of the plant, whether it is in the open areas,wastelands or rice fields have since dwindled. The scarcity of the plant these days has made me to think that the plant has become close to extinction. What a joy when I saw the plant a few days back. It reminds me of my childhood days.

The plant is small with height of about 30 cm. The main stem branches into two directions at about 10 cm from the ground. Each branch will again divides into two smaller branches. In this way the plant keeps itself close to the ground, thus avoiding breakage of its angular and hollow stem during windy days.

Information obtained from the Internet revealed that the name "pokok letup-letup" has been assigned to two different and taxonomically unrelated species of plants. The one that I describe here has the scientific name of Physalis minima L., which belongs to the family Solanaceae(same family as tomato). This assignment is agreed upon by some writers. Some others, on the contrary, assign this common name to the species Passiflora foetida, the creeping wild passion plant. Those who are in favour of Physalis minima assign the other common names such as ulat bulu (hairy caterpillars plant) and letup-letup kelambu (mosquito net pop bush plant)to Passiflora foetida.

Common sense tells us that the name "letup-letup" may have arisen from the nature of the fruits when they are young. As can be seen from my earlier post on P. foetida the fruit of the plant is covered with a network of tendril-like structure (which is the reason for the name mosquito net). When the fruits are young, the seeds inside them are small, and the fleshy and jelly-like testa covering is not yet formed. Hence the fruits have a lot of empty spaces. The air occupying the space will give a pop or puff sound when the fruits are rapidly squeezed in between the thumb and the second finger.

On the contrary, in P. minima the membranous covering around the fruit (which looks like small tomatoes) is air tight. When it is squeezed it will also give a pop or puff sound. Due the sound that they make, children in the rural areas like to play with these fruits. For those who have never seen this plant may have called the P. foetida as the "pokok letup-letup", but for those who have seen both the plants, and seen them at the same place and time, have no doubt that P. minima is the real "pokok letup-letup".

The plant is widely distributed in the tropics. There are reports of its existance in South-east Asia, South India, Nothern Australia and the Pacific Islands.

Journey down Rajang River

2011-11-07T14:27:00.006+08:00

Traveling by boat down the Rajang River by boat (tongkang = a flat bottom boat) can be an experience of a lifetime, that is if one comes for one and only visit to one of the longest rivers in Sarawak. It starts in the early morning and reaches the final destination of the town of Sibu by late afternoon. It is a journey of experience, not just the physical self.

As the sun is rising, more and more people hop onto the boat, some with produce that will be brought to the market villages or towns along the river, notably Kapit. Smaller boats are seen transporting adults and children to their destinations including schools. Kapit is the largest town along the river, and is situated midway between Nanga Merit and Sibu. From Kapit one can opt to board speed boats that will bring one to Sibu at faster speed than the tongkang.

Riverside settlements: A modern long house along Rajang River. The rural populations are not neglected, but brought along with the development of the country.

The morning catch: From the river to the market by boat.

Turbulence: Dangerous stretch of the river, where rocks that arise from the river bed. The boatman has to be very experience in order to be able to negotiate this rock-filed stretch especially during low tides. The flat-bottom underside of the boat reduces the risk of the boat hitting or jamming into shallow underwater rocks.

Kapit: One can get provisions and rest before continuing one's journey

Sibu: Six hours from Nanga Merit and three hours from Kapit.

Bangkok Floating Market

2011-11-05T05:59:00.002+08:00

For more information go to:

http://www.thailandlogue.com/floating-markets-in-bangkok.html

Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan

2011-10-29T06:53:00.007+08:00

The Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan has been recognised as one of the items of interest for visitors who would like to see the country side rather than the big cities of Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Penang or Johore Bahru. The township is situated at the southern part of the State of Perak, which is the fourth largest state in Malaysia. It is about 250 kilometers to the north of Kuala Lumpur.

Teluk Intan was formally known as Teluk Mak Intan. The name was changed to Teluk Anson in 1882 by the British colonialists. The township is located by the side of the Perak river, thus forming a very strategic location for trading among villagers and the outside world. It boasted a good harbour for ships to download and upload agricultural and other commodities. During the fifties and sixties the river was made as the location for motorboat shows and motorboat racing. Later, these watersport activities was abandoned. The function of Teluk Intan as a trading port also became diminished as the road and railway transportations became more important. Later still, with the development of highways, the railways which connect Teluk Intan to Tapah Road and to the North-South railway system was also abandoned.

As time went on, the township once again changed its name from Teluk Anson, and this time it assumed its original name Teluk Intan with the word "Mak" removed. The word "Mak" means "mother" which is a common title given for elderly Malay women as a means to "respect" for them.

The Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan was originally built to house the water storage tank for the township. However,due to the fact that Teluk Intan lies at a meander of the Perak River, water passage and seepage underneath the township might have an influence on the tilting of the tower.

Besides the tower, historical heritage can also be found in a nearby location of Pasir Salak. This was the place where a once British Resident of Perak, W.W. Birch, was killed. A fierce battle followed, and this was then fought between the local Malay freedom fighters and the British colonialists with the defeat and death of the Malay fighters' leader Dato' Maharaja Lela. With time Datuk Maharaja Lela, who was labelled by the British colonialists as troubel maker, was reinstated by the country as a national hero. To commemorate this occasion, a road in Ipoh city (the Capitol City of Peak State) bearing the name Station Road was changed to Dato' Maharaja Lela Road (Jalan Dato' Maharaja Lela).

Further Reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teluk_Intan
http://www.mpti.gov.my/11
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_roads_in_Ipoh

Jelly fungi

2011-10-23T16:20:00.010+08:00

Jelly fungi

A group of fungi produces jelly-like or rather gelatine-like fruiting bodies that can be brightly coloured. That can be added to the beauty of nature. The fungi belong to a group of basidiomycetous fungi of the Class Dacrymycetes and Family Dacrymycetaceae. The fungus shown in ths picture is Dacryopinax spathularia. The fruiting bodies are small and have bright orange color. The fungus is a saprophyte living on dead wood or rotting housing materials on the ground. The fruiting bodies are usually arise from wet areas of the dead wood and particularly common during the rainy days.

One of the most welknown jelly fungi is the species Auricularia auricula-judae. The edible fruiting bodies have found their ways into the varous kinds of dishes, cuisines and delicacies all over the world. This fungi is classified into a separate class from the jelly fungi and is placed in the Class Agaricomycetes, Order Auriculariales and Family Auriculariaceae.

For Further Reading go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auricularia_auricula-judae.
http://www.ncsu.edu/project/bio181de/Lab/protists-fungi/protists-fungi2.html
http://website.nbm-mnb.ca/mycologywebpages/NaturalHistoryOfFungi/Home.html
http://website.nbm-mnb.ca/mycologywebpages/NaturalHistoryOfFungi/JellyFungi.html

Ludwigia

2011-10-23T15:49:00.007+08:00

The genus Ludwigia is composed of over 70 species of plants mainly occupying aquatic or wetlands. In Malaysia the species L.hyssopifolia is commonly found. The presence of Ludwigia adscendenshas also been reported. Sometimes the leaves attain bright-yellow colouration, indicating that the plant is infected with a germini plant virus.

Biological studies of Ludwigia spp such as anticancer studies of extract of Ludwigia octovalvis have been reported.

Related articles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwigia
http://umrefjournal.um.edu.my/filebank/published_article/1965/291.pdf
Chang C.I. and Y.H. Kuo.2007. Oleanane-type triterpenes from Ludwigia octovalvis. J. Asian Nar. Pro. Res. 9:67-72.

The Birth Place of Rome

2011-10-21T06:42:00.012+08:00

The birthplace of Rome. The remains of a civilization and an ancient empire that show the capability of the human race. A township with ordered social system is a cornerstone of civilization. Even without the help modern technology, man has achieved great heights in material developments.

A civilization has its cycle from birth, flourish and expansion and finally death. Years ago there was a movie called "The Fall of The Roman Empire". That film explains the factors the led to the demise of the once great empire.

A civilization can die and then replaced by another - a different one. When the Greek civilization died, the Roman empire was born. According to experts in civilization (an stated in Caroll Quigley Theory) a civilization can undergo all or some of the following seven phases: Mixture (Phase 1), Gestation (Phase 2), Expansion(Phase 3), Conflict (Phase 4), Universal Empire (Phase 5), Decay (Phase 6) and finally Invasion (Phase 7).

Ibnu Khaldun (1332-1406 AD)was a great Muslim historian during the medieval era. He had put forward a theory on the cyclic nature history. According to him a civilization can only withstand a period spanning three generations which are the early (first), intermediate (second) and the third generations. The people that lived during the three phases have different characteristics, which are high fighting spirit and social solidarity (early generation), high intellectuality and finally skill (intermediate generation)and finally decay of morality, responsibility and integrity due to riches (third generation).

But flowers remain the same throughout the ages. The same plant that existed ages ago may still be found to this day, bearing the same flowers then, now and till it become extinct. This flower was found at the vicinity of the ruins. From its look, it could be red allamanda or Allamanda blanchtii.

Berries

2011-10-10T05:54:00.007+08:00

Berries are known for their antioxidant contents. It is claimed to be good for health. The rapsberry fruit (Rubus species) is one of them. The pictures show the fruits on the plant and on the table. The plant belongs to the Order Rosales. It is the same group of plants to which the roses belong.

Classification:
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Common species:
Rubus fruticosus (blackberry)
Rubus idaeus (red raspberry)

All pictures were taken in UK

Flowers From London

2011-10-08T08:01:00.006+08:00

Flowering plants (red Germinium) in front of Buckingham Palace, London.

Nangka and Cempedak

2011-10-06T13:47:00.005+08:00

Artocarpus heteropyllus Lam (Nangka) and Artocarpus interger (Cempedak) belong to the Familiy Moraceae. These two fruit trees are commonly found in all parts of South Est Asia. The plants look very similar, but the leaves of cempedak have more bristles on the lamina. Besides, cempedak fruits are longer (higher length/width ratio) than nangka fruits(Jack fruit).

Jack Fruits hanging from a branch and from the main stem

Cempedak fruit whole and cut open to show the inside parts

Pantun on Cempedak

Buah cempedak di luar pagar
Ambil galah tolong jolokkan
Saya budak baru belajar
Kalau salah tolong tunjukkan

English Translation

Cempedak fruit outside the fence
Get a long rod and help to pluck it
I am a novice in the process of learning
If I did wrong please correct me

Find more information from these sites

http://agrobiosolution.blogspot.com/2011/01/plants-botanical-name-nama-sains-pokok.html
http://anr-usahatani.blogspot.com/2009/02/nangka.html
http://sites.google.com/site/kazuonakazawa2/cempedak

Rambutan

2011-10-03T17:51:00.010+08:00

Rambutan or hairy fruit is claimed to have originated from the Indonesian Islands. Today, the fruit tree has spread to the countries of South East Asia, India and even to the central Americas.

This dicotyledonous plant is scientifically known as Nephelium lappaceum of the family Sapindaceae. The trees can be planted from the seeds, but for consistent characteristics and fruit quality and production, they are normally planted from bud-grafted seedling. The fruit has a thick skin with "tentacles" projecting out, giving a hair-like appearance. Inside the skin is found the seed that is covered by a relatively thick and succulent whitish flesh. This is the edible part.

Roughly there two kinds of rambutan, which are the red-ripening and the yellow ripening. The yellow ripening fruits are less sweet but more juicy. The red-ripening can be sweeter or very much less sweet. It all depends on the varieties or whether they are of known variety or they are of unknown genotypes and planted from seeds by the village people.

On more detailed examination, it is reported that rambutan are of many types of which five types are of good quality namely:
a) Rambutan Rapiah
b) Rambutan Aceh
c) Rambutan Cimacan
d) Rambutan Binjai
e) Rambutan Sinyonya

References:
http://mukegile08.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/teknik-singkat-budidaya-tanaman-rambutan-nephelium-sp/
http://buahbuahku.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/rambutannephelium-sp/

Flowers of Rome

2011-09-30T17:50:00.008+08:00

While there are scienic buildings from the era of the Roman Empire, one should not be oblivious of existence of the beautiful flowers that grow in their vacinities.

At The Collisium

Pomegranate (Delima)

2011-09-21T07:53:00.010+08:00

Punica granatum (Family Lythraceae) is found and cultivated in many parts of the world including the tropics and the Mediterranean. But, it is said to originate from Iran, Himalaya, Northern India.

The common name of the palnr is Pomegranate,. In Malay it is called delima. Delima has good connotation in figurative language of Malays.

The fruits of the plant possess nutritional values and have been exploited as supplemental health food.

Pomegranate plant/fruit is special in that it is one of the few fruits being mentioned in the Al-Quran. It is more special considering that it is one of the fruits that will be available in Heaven. This is mentioned in Verse 68 Sura Ar_Rahman (55): "In both of them are fruit and palm trees and pomegranate"

For complete reading of the Sura please click Sahih International at http://quran.com/55.

The photos used to illustrate the description were taken in Rome, Italy.

Curry Tree

2011-09-04T08:08:00.010+08:00

The curry tree (Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng.) plays an important part of the life of Malays and Indians of Malaysia beacuse the leaf of the plant is used as flavouring of curry, which is a common dish in the diet of these people.

The plant is considered as a small plant with a height of 1-2 meters, The leaves has a characteristic smell that gives the curry an additional falvouring. The flowers are white and sweet smelling. The fruits are small and rounded is shape. Whe ripe the fruits fall to the ground and germinate easily. The seedlings can be planted into polybags for propagation purposes.

Classification:

From: curry Tree

Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Murraya
Species: M. koenigii
Binomial name
Murraya koenigii

SYNONYM(S): Bergera koenigii L., Chalcas koenigii (L.) Kurz.

Related species:

Accordig to: Sorting Murraya names
Species on this page ( A = names approved by most authorities, s = approved as synonyms) :

Murraya alata Drake
Murraya crenulata (Turcz.) Oliv.
Murraya euchrestifolia Hayata
Murraya exotica L. -> Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack
Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng.
Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack
Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack var. exotica (L.) Huang -> Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack
Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack var. ovatifoliolata Engl.

Mango

2011-09-03T09:04:00.005+08:00

The genus Mangifera

(This short description has been extracted from
Mango:Botany ad Taxonomy Please visit the site for full description.)

"The genus Mangifera consists of 69 species and mostly restricted to tropical Asia. The highest diversity occurs in Malaysia, particularly in peninsular Malaya, Borneo and Sumatra representing heart of the distribution range of the genus. Tree is medium to large (10-40 m in height), evergreen with symmetrical, rounded canopy ranging from low and dense to upright and open. The leaves are simple, exstipulate, alternately arranged, 15-45 cm in length. The petiole varies in length from 1 to 12 cm, always swollen at the base. It is grooved on the upper side. Hermaphrodite and male flowers are produced in the same panicle, usually with a larger number of the later. The size of both male and hermaphrodite flowers varies from 6 to 8 mm in diameter." Sometimes the leaves are covered by black colored fugus called soothy molds.

The fruits are of different sizes varying from as small as 50 gram to 1.5 kilos each. The shapes also vary from nearly rounded to alongated, with an almost oval shape being the most common. Regardless of the shepes, the fruit can be cosidered to have four sides, which are frontal, dorsal and two sides. The lowermost part of the fruits almost always pointed towards the frotal side. The side areas are always larger (wider) than the frontal or dorsal areas.

Because of the intensive and extensive breeding studies the breakdown of species of mango has become complicated with the creation of species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars. Breeding has not only been carried out by research institutes but also by idividual farmers in the effort to produce consumer-choiced products.

Classification

according to: zipcodezoo.com

"•Order: Burserales () - Baskerville, 1839
•Family: Anacardiaceae () - Lindley, 1830
•Subfamily: Anacardioideae ()
•Genus: Mangifera () - L., Sp. Pl. 200. 1753. Gen. Pl. ed. 5:93. 1754 "

Common types in Malaysia:

•Mangifera odorata Griff (Kuini)
•Mangifera indica L.(Common mango; pelam telur)

Automn and sports

2011-09-01T10:38:00.004+08:00

With the automn or fall season arriving certain sports begin to be active especially in the US and Canada. The football (soccer) season in Europe has begun some 3 to 4 weeks ago, while some sports such as motor racing (F1 and MotoGP) baseball and MLS in the US soccer are winding up.

Among the sports that get the US students and the surrounding campus communities excited is the collegaate football. Everyone concerned are already thinking who will be the national champions. Can Oklahoma University (OU) maintain their no. 1 pre-season ranking till January? Can the SEC win six straight NCAA championship with the likes of Alabama and LSU? Can teams from the North or the West win it? And best of all is the question whether a non-BSC team like TCU or Boise State be given the chance to compete for the national title?

Yes! a lot of speculation as to who will be the national champs. Can an unranked team steal the show? Or can a lowly ranked team like Auburn did last year be repeated?

Wait and see.

For sure, all that will happen is just a form of recreation.

Aloe vera

2011-08-29T10:00:00.006+08:00

Aloe vera is probably the most wellknown of the 400 species of plants belonging to the genus Aloe. This is due to the widespread use of the plant extracts as health supplements. The plant has a tubular shaped flowers borne on a inflorescence. Information on this plant is in abundance, that you can get what you need to know at the tip of yaur finger.

To all Muslims all over the world, Eid Mubarak.

Wonders of our body: The Cell

2011-08-19T17:40:00.003+08:00

Our body is made up of billions of individual cells, which carry out numerous activities within themselves and interact with one another is a systematic way to produce a harmonious whole body of ourselves.

Considering the complexity of activities and their interactions, it is miracleous that such activities can occur in a small and compact cell.

Look at the videos below to appreciate the complexities and exactness of the various activities occuring within the cells.

A: The wonders of a tiny cell by olemann77

B: The Inner Life of Cell by Abbas92Alamdar

In the Quran, Allah ask us to look at the wonders of His creations on the earth, within ourselves and beyond (outerspace and heavens)

Surat Adh-Dhariyat (51)
verse 21 : And on the earth are signs for the certain [in faith]
verse 22 : And in yourselves. Then will you not see?
verse 23 : And in the heaven is your provision and whatever you are promised.

For full translations of Surat Adh-Dhariyat (The Winnowing Winds) please visit the site (Sahih International) at http://quran.com/51

Imperata cylindrica

2011-07-22T06:29:00.006+08:00

Imperata cylindrica (Order Poales; Family Poaceae (Formally known as Graminae family)) is a weedy grass characteristically having short stem and long narrow upright leaves. In can grow in the open field or in house compounds or in the plantations. The plant can be spread locally by means of rhizomes, which can be produced easily from the original clumps. Spread over a distance is aided by the wind. The dangling inflorescens contains many seeds which are covered with fluffy appendages to aid distant spread.

Lalang, as it is locally known, is a "feared" weedy plant in the plantations. It should be gotten rid off as soon as it is spotted. Control can be done chemically using systemic weedicides or by digging the clumps along with the rhizomes out of the soil.

An enemy to the planters may be, but can be a friend to the herbalists. As has been documented, lalang is used as a herb for certain ailments.

The plant

The inflorescens and the seeds

The stem, roots and the rhizomes

Elaeis guineensis

2011-07-20T06:51:00.013+08:00

Elaeis guineensis Jacq (Order Arecales; Family Arecaceae) is the most important economic crop in Malasyia. For decades Malaysia has been the world leading producer of palm oil. However, recent news has installed Indonesia as the leading producer.

Due to its importance as source of edible oil, the biology, crop production and industrial aspect of the crop is widely known and comprehensive information in ll aspects of the plant can be found in the literature. The plant has an advantage over other sources of edible oils because its fruits are virtually full of oil.

In the old days it took between 6-8 years after planting before the plant bear fruits. However, modern varieties can start fruiting within 3-4 years after planting.

Young trees which are already bearing friuts

Fruit bunch with unripe fruits

Fruit bunch with ripe fruits

Brain exercise

2011-07-16T15:57:00.004+08:00

Lately, many books and articles are written on how to maintain the health of the brain. It is believed that brain needs exercise as do the muscles to stay healthy. Brain exercise is claimed to slow down the deterioration of brain function when a person is getting older. Several brain exercises that have been suggested include carrying out routine tasks with the eye closed, working on mind-blogging problems ect. One such mind blogger is the riddle.

Try these mind-blogging riddle to increase activity of the brain.

A. What is the thing that are many when 1, some when 2, few when 3 and rare (once a while) when 4?

B. What is the thing that are many when 4, some when 3, few when 2 and rare (once a while) when 1?

Murraya paniculata

2011-07-15T06:57:00.014+08:00

Murraya paniculata Jack (Order Sapindales; Family: Rutaceae) is a shrubby tropical plant. Common names vary with language, but the name orange jasmine, is well-known. This name is probably given because of its sweet smelling flowers like that of jasmine flowers and the closeness of the plant with citrus plants. Murraya paniculata is often confused with a closely related citrus species called Merrillia caloxylon, which should be called ketenggah

In Malaysia it is called kemuning. Why does a plant bearing white flowers being named as kemuning? Hard to tell, because the word kemuning is not found in the authoritative Malay Language Dictionary,"Kamus Dewan".

When grown alone the plant can attain a round shape. Older plants can attain a height of about 3 meters. The plant has been used as landscape beautification. Because of its shape and size, it has been planted close to buildings.

Scientific studies have been made on Murraya paniculata. Biological activities of extracts and isolated compounds have been reported.

All pictures below are taken in Sarawak.

Rhymed Poetry Conner

Bunga kemuning memang ternama
Tentang bauan yang menghilang hiba
Malam hening bulan purnama
Tanda Nisfu sya'aban sudahpun tiba

Orange jasmine is wide-spreadly well-known
For its fragrance that drive away sadness
The night is clear and brightened by the full moon
An indication of the arrival of mid Sha'aban month

Cananga

2011-07-09T14:46:00.005+08:00

Cananga sp. (Order: Magnoliales; Family: Annonaceae)is a tree plant found in the tropics. Locally in Malaysia the plant is known as kenanga. The common one is Cananga odorata , which can reach as high as 6 meters tall. The flower is yellow and has a distinctive fragrance. It is called "odorata" may be because of its fragrance, particularly at night. Cananga fruticosa is said to be a dwarf variety. It has also been called as Cananga odorata var. Fruticosa.

(Photo taken at Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor)

(Photo taken at Kuching, Sarawak)

Pantun Klasik

Please Click for more pantun.

www.saujana.sg PANTUN AGAMA (7)}

Bunga kenanga di atas kubur,
Pucuk sari pandan Jawa;
Apa guna sombong dan takbur,
Rosak hati badan binasa.

Pandanus amaryllifolius

2011-07-06T07:56:00.001+08:00

Pandanus amaryllifolius (Plant Family Pandanaceae) is a tropical plant which has many uses in traditional Malay lives, particularly with regards to flavouring of foodstuff. In addition to giving lovable flavours and colouring to foodstuff, especially traditional cakes and breads. It also gives likable as well as attractive aroma or smell to the food.

In addition to food flavouring, pandan has also been applied to keep away roaches and bad smell from cabinets and drawers.

The closeness of pandan plant to the Malay tradition is shown by the many instances the plant's name being used in traditional Malay poetry. One such poetry is pantun which simply means "rhymed poetry".

Pantun

Pulau pandan jauh ke tengah
Gunung Daik bercabang tiga
Hancur bandan dikandung tanah
Budi yang baik dikenang juga

Traditional Malay Rhymed poetry:

Pandan island is far yonder
The Daik mountain has three peaks
Disintegrated be the body in the soil
Good deeds will forever be remembered

In rhymed poetry, the first two verses serve as the "pembayang maksud" or message primer (primer for intended messages), while the last two verses are the "maksud" or the intended messages. The rhyme can be seen from the green fonted words for first and third verses and red fonted words for the second and fourth versus. In each verse the second and fourth words are taken into consideration when forming the rhyming; the first verse must be in rhyme with the third verse, while the second verse is in rhyme with the fourth verse. The rhyme is in term of vowel, that is the sound of end vowels the highlighted words in the message primers must be the same as those of the corresponding verses.

Tranquality

2011-06-29T07:58:00.005+08:00

Tranquality of a recreational lake in Sarawak

Setenang-tenang air di tasik
jangan disangka tak ada buaya
terkadang-kadang hati terusik
tanah pusaka orang yang empunya

and the never ending rush of waves beating the seashore in Terengganu

Sekali air bah sekali pasir berubah

The waves that beat the sand produce bubbles, but the bubbles have no value and soon disappear unnotticed.

Al-Quran, Surah Ar-Ra'd,13:17
(Sahih International Translation)at http://quran.com/13"He (Allah)sends down from the sky, rain, and valleys flow according to their capacity, and the torrent carries a rising foam. And from that [ore] which they heat in the fire, desiring adornments and utensils, is a foam like it. Thus Allah presents [the example of] truth and falsehood. As for the foam, it vanishes, [being] cast off; but as for that which benefits the people, it remains on the earth. Thus does Allah present examples."

Limnocharis flava

2011-06-28T07:45:00.007+08:00

Limnocharis flava (L.) Buchenau (Famili : Limnocharitaceae), local name paku rawan, is a wetland plant. It is commonly found in the padi/rice fields particularly at the sides of the irrigation canals. The stem is soft and have laege air space to allow it staying erect or partially erect by resisting the water stream. The flowers including the stalks had been used by the padi planters as a source of vegetable. However the modern day population may have forgotten the "antics" of their predecessors.

predecessors

Roses

2011-06-27T07:37:00.008+08:00

Most of the flowers opened yesterday. Red, beautiful and full of fragrance.

Mussaenda erythrophylla

2011-06-26T10:39:00.006+08:00

Mussaenda erythrophylla (Family Rubiaeae) is a tropical shrub plant, typically having red leaves at the shoot tips, which bear flowers. The species name 'erythrophylla' is a combination of two terminologies, which are "erythro" which means red like the colour of erythrocytes or red blood cell. The word "phylla" has something to do with plant. Hence the species name has to do with the red leaves and the red flowers that the plant possess.

Pictures were taken from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) campus in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in December 2010.

Putrajaya at Night

2011-06-15T06:43:00.006+08:00

Beautiful sceneries at night.

A bridge seen overlooking the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Mosque, Putrajaya

The same bridge before nightfall

Scenery overlooking the other side of the mosque

Laksam Terengganu

2011-06-13T23:04:00.007+08:00

Laksam Terengganu for dinner, lunch or even late breakfast.

This food has the complete blend of carbohydrate, proteins and fatty acids. The carbohydrate comes from the rice flour which is mixed with lots of water. It is then dispensed and spread quite thinly onto a small pan, which is placed in a steamer. After about five minutes the hardened rice 'pancake' is cooked and then allowed to cool. Then, the rice 'pancake' is rolled as shown on the picture.

The rice 'roll' is cut into short pices before serving. It is served with vegetables and and 'gravy'. The 'gravy' is prepared from coconut milk and macerated fish and flavoured with selected spices.

Impatiens balsamina L.

2011-06-12T10:58:00.010+08:00

Herbacious plants with red or purplish fowers. Some variants can have white flowers

Ageratum conyzoides

2011-06-10T07:25:00.007+08:00

Ageratum conyzoides is small herbaceous weed belonging to the family Asteraceae (Compositae). It is a herbaceous weed of less than one meter high. Leaves are ovate, and flowers are composite, the base petals are whitish but the tips are purplish.

In the field the plant often shows yellowish or yellowish mottle or vein banding discoloration, which is the symptom of germini virus infection.

The plant is smelly, and its extract has been shown to have biological activities

Some References

Wikipedia
Tropical plant Database
Australia Tropical Rainforest Plants

Cassia fistula

2011-06-02T07:30:00.005+08:00

Cassia fistula L. is a Fabaceae (Leguminoseae) plant, which is distributed in the tropical and semi-tropical areas. It is claimed to be native to India, the Amazon and Sri Lanka. The plant is unique to tropical areas in that it blooms profusely after shading its leaves. This feature is common with temperate plants but less so with tropical plants, although fruiting can be seasonal.

The plant can be used to beautify open landscape or recreational gardens. Certain parts of the plant has been used for traditional medicine. Modern studies have shown that the plants contain secondary metabolites which can act as antimicrobial agents and other biological activity. For example a study by Bahoru et al, (2005)the plants contains secondary metabolites such as anthraquinones, flavonoids, flavan-3-ols, antioxidant and free radical scavenger.

References:

Bahoru, T., Neergheen, V.S. & Aruoma, O.I. 2005. Phytochemical constituents of Cassia fistula. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (13), pp. 1530-1540.

Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassia_fistula

Tropical weeds

2011-05-30T08:02:00.006+08:00

Some pictures of tropical weeds often encountered in the open or shaded areas, particularly those in which, weed control is done occasionally. If weed control is seldom done, then these plants will not be able to compete with bigger or taller plants.

The flowers look interesting and sometimes are beautiful. The blue flowered weedy plant is a creeper, producing little blue flowers at the end/tip of the shoots. Can plant breeders breed for slow growing varieties with larger flowers? It could have a commercial value.

By the way, plant breeders are scientists who breed for new varieties of existing plants, thereby producing same plant with some particular characteristics. Plant breeding is an established discipline of Agriculture or Plant Biology.

One question to ponder:

What is Science? What is the definition of science?
If our children ask us these questions, how would we answer?

Star Trails

2011-05-15T07:53:00.009+08:00

Stars that appear in the sky move over time. This can be seen in these photographs which were taken in the space of few minutes. As seen from our earth, the stars appear to move in a certain direction. While the earth is orbiting the sun, it turns like a wheel. It is the turning of the earth that makes the stars appear to move.

Series photographs of stars can be taken over long hours during the night. A photographic technique is available to put these photographs into a single photograph. The result will give very beautiful patterns which capture star movements over time. These photographs are called star trails. We can see these beautiful star trails by searching the Internet.

After sunset

2011-04-22T08:20:00.010+08:00

Sunset marks the change form day to night, from bright to darkness, from outdoor to indoor life. It also marks the change in activities between the physical world of human beings (and most animals) and the invisible world of other God's creations. In the Quran we are asked to ponder about this day-and-night cycle.

Surah Ali Imran 3:190-194. For full translation click here

3:190 :- Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding.

3:191 :- Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.

3:192 :- Our Lord, indeed whoever You admit to the Fire - You have disgraced him, and for the wrongdoers there are no helpers.

3:193 :- Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller calling to faith, [saying], 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous.

3:194 :- Our Lord, and grant us what You promised us through Your messengers and do not disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, You do not fail in [Your] promise."

The pictures above were taken from the same spot one after another. The only difference was the aperture setting. These pictures were taken with Canon D550 camera with Canon 18-55 lens.

2011-03-23T07:17:00.003+08:00

Choosing a choice among Choices

Choosing is something that people do all the time. We choose something every minute, every hour, every day, every week, every month or every year. Why do we have to choose or rather prefer one item over the others? Why can't we just take anything at random, buy at random, eat at random, make friends at random, or even marry someone at random? If these things do happen, then it would be "interesting" to study the outcomes.

At the department stores we often see customers examine one item to another, compare among similar items, and finally leave the store without buying anything. The same thing happens when they hop over to the next store. At the end of five hours they come home with a shopping bag containing items costing just over twenty dollars. Why do some people spend so much time shopping, yet take home just some trivial things?

Some people appear to be overly choosy that they spend a lot of time before making a choice from several options. It is interesting to know how these people think when they evaluate items before making a choice. Are the criteria they use so strict that a slight divergent from what they think the item of choice should be like, is enough for them reject that item? That may be a possibility. It may be that, for some people, choosy is just a habit. It is something that has been conditioned into their behaviour. It is something that they do not choose to do, but conditioned by the subconscious mind.

That could be an explanation, and could apply to some percentage of the population. Another possible reason is that some people may use "choosing activity” as a 'hobby'. It is something that some people enjoy to do. Then, their purpose to go shopping is not to buy something, but to use the 'choosing' activity as the tool to relax their mind. If such was the case, would we categorise the persons as being choosy?

Making choices may be simple, while some may be difficult. It is simple when the items to choose are common or routine. Deciding what to cook for dinner, for example, should not take three days. Deciding on how to complement a friend when unexpectedly meeting him or her at a dinner, takes only few seconds. To decide whether to take a bath after having exercise, does not take a few hours. On the contrary, to decide on a house to buy may take weeks or months, while to decide marrying someone may take months or years.

Why is it that some decisions are harder and/or take longer time to make than others? One reason could be the degree that the expected impact of a decision or a choice will make on future scenarios of the person involved. For instance, cooking a dinner is not a big deal. If do not cook tonight, you can cook tomorrow. But buying a house may mean that a person or a couple has already decided to live in an area or a city for as long as that person or that couple lives. If not for life, at least big part of his or/and her lives. For such a huge investment, many factors are being considered. These include job prospect, cost of the house, the neighborhoods, cost of living in the city, spouse views and whole lists of other relevant factors.

In the academic world, students finishing per-university education will spend some time to think and discuss their future. Firstly, to study or to work, and then, if they choose to study, where and what course? Why this university not others, why this course, and not others? Such monologue or dialog may be going on within them and between peers and with parents, until the application form s are submitted. Why do potential students care so much about the next level of education? They have to, because generally the type of education they receive at tertiary level generally determine what jobs they will get after graduation. A job is a part of life. People spend one third of their everyday life at the work place, two day a week. This amount to almost spending 8-12 percent of their lifetime living at the place of work. As such, prospecting students have to think whether they like the kind of jobs they will land upon graduating.

When deciding on something that is very significant, people need to have knowledge. Knowledge can be in different forms, such as background knowledge on the items to be decided, knowledge on the contextual relationship with the surrounding, the procedures of ranking of possible choices, the consequences of choosing one alternative, and lastly the steps taken to accomplish the tasks that the choice explicitly or implicitly requires. Thinking and anlysing all the factors and possible outcomes related to each of the possible alternatives, involve a lot of searching and logical thinking, hence the length of time required before making a decision. Scholars call this kind of activity as knowledge-based decision making.

This activity is said to involve different phases. In their paper dated 2002, Jean-Charles Pomerol and Patrick Brézillon wrote as follows: " ... picture of the current situation (including the past), this is the diagnosis phase (Pomerol, 1997). Then, using his expectations about the future and according to his preferences, he develops a scenario reasoning which leads to decision making, this is the look-ahead phase."

and,

"Decision making heavily depends on the diagnosis, we have even argued that in many cases the decision only depends on the diagnosis (Pomerol, 1997). This means that the current state of nature, once identified, triggers an appropriate decision. Things that we like and things that we don't like."

Philosophers of science are thinkers, one of whose activities is to conjure hypotheses and theories to explain natural phenomena. Theories are formed from analysing empirical data which are obtained through observations, experience and/or experiments. Theories are not only useful to explain natural phenomena, but also for making predictions. From predictions, scientists, engineers, technocrats and the layman can make decisions about some tasks which they have to accomplish.

The problem arises when more than one theory are being put forward to explain a particular phenomenon. Each of the theories somehow can explain the phenomenon at varying degree of accuracy or “trueness”. This is where philosophers play a role in delineating the method as to how to choose a theory among the competing theories. These methods include Occum's razor, abduction, verisimilitude and inference to the best explanation. Descriptions of these concepts can be found elsewhere.

For Muslims, there is another dimension to be considered before making a decision. This dimension is the submission to Allah, the creator of everything, and the Knoweth of all the things that He has created. A Muslim must make prayer before the process of making choice begins, during the process and after the process has been completed. Before implementation a Muslim ought to make a special prayer named as “istikharah solat” to obtain guidance as to whether the choice in mind is actually the best choice among the various alternatives that have been considered. In addition, it can also mean to ask for blessings when the choice is put to action (implemented).

In conclusion, choosing is a natural cognitive phenomenon which is carried out by almost everyone and at all time, from simple routine task to a complex task. For complex tasks, an elaborate reasoning scheme is devised so the decision or the choice that will be made will bring out the best possible outcome. In Muslims, blessing from Allah is sought for whenever a task is performed.

Wallahu ‘aalam

Exotic birds?

2011-03-09T06:58:00.003+08:00

This picture shows the presence of two birds, which I assume to be exotic birds, simply because I have not seen such birds before. Besides, the pictures of similar-looking birds that I have seen from various magazines are always taken from the temperate or more wintry types of climate. This further support my contention that the birds are migratory birds, which move to the equatorial rain forests during the chilly winter season. As this picture was taken around the months of January-February, it is more likely that the birds have found refuge from the less friendly temperates of the north.

However, the equatorial climate may not offer a better choice for temporary sanctuary in term of other environmental conditions. After looking at the picture several times, I can't help wondering whether the birds were feeling disgusted at the amount of garbage that have been let to pollute the waters. Recreational areas with polluted recreational waters, can hardly contribute to enhancing health well-being of those who seek to relieve their minds and their eyes from their busy and stressful daily chores .

Bukit Melawati

2011-02-28T06:25:00.005+08:00

Bukit Melawati is situated in the State of Selangor, Malaysia. The word ‘Bukit’ means ‘hill’. It was on this hill that stood a fort of the well-known leader, Raja Haji, who was a great warrior both on lands and the seas. Now, the hill has nothing else, but the remnant of an important piece of history for the State of Selangor and Malaysia as a whole.

This hill has also become the adopted sanctuary for refugee monkeys whose original home may have been swept away by development.

For information and brief history of this great place, please visit the following sites:
http://www.kualaselangor.info/bukit-melawati.htm
http://abckualalumpur.com/info_guide/bkt_melawati.htm
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/252043/Raja-Haji

Kerengga

2011-02-26T08:44:00.004+08:00

'Kerengga' or weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina)is a tropical ant that makes its home (nest) by waving togather the leaves of plants on which it lives. It can live on any plant whether the plant is a tree or a creeping plant. In this picture, it is the creeping Ipomea sp. The ant is reddish brrown in colour and the size may range from 0.8-1.5 cm long. The end has a bulging end, which contains acidic substance. When the ant bites it 'enemy' it oozes the acid so as to rub salt to the wound. This will make the biting more painful than just a simple bite.

The name kerengga has been confused among Oecophylla smaragdina and Myrmarachne plataleoides, but perhaps can be recognised instantly when we see the woven leaves. Within the nest, the female, that is the queen, will lay hundreds of eggs. These eggs will hatch into whitish larvae. The larvae pupate before transforming into small-sized ants, which eventually grow into adult ants.

The ant is a cummunal society. The workers and the soldiers will guard the nest, biting any organism that happens to settle on the branches or leaves of the plants they inhabit. They are more aggressive at points near the nests. Members of a community recognise intruders even if they belong to the same species. If an ant from another plant is placed on another plant, the members of the intruded plant will 'scan' the intruder for a while before deciding to attack it. What could be recognition system?. Pheromones?

Ants are created by God to serve certain purposes on this earth. Hence. they should not be killed just for the fun of it. They may have significance in term of physical world as in food chain, biological control, soil aeration and soil amendment, or they may serve as inspirational article to human being, who can learn some aspects of their social behavior or their ability. In addition, ants may contain some substances which, in the future, may contribute to medications that can boast human health.

Further Reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrmarachne_plataleoides
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oecophylla_smaragdina
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-04142007-091557/unrestricted/etd2.pdf
http://soe-townsville.org/greentreeants/program.html

The Princesss and the Medicine Man

2011-02-13T09:11:00.003+08:00

Chapter 1 (1)

Once upon the time there lived a King, his Queen and their only daughter, princess Shaheefa. The King ruled his country, Jazaulaman, justly and wisely. The county was peaceful and prosperous, and in turn the citizens loved their King and the Queen.

Meanwhile, Shaheefa have grown up to be very beautiful and charming and adorable princess. The Young men of Jazaulaman adored the princess. During her birthday she would appear at the garden in front of the palace to entertain and receive birthday wishes from the citizens. She would also gave charity to the needy people. Young and old would flock to the garden to witness the occasion.

One of those young men who had highly adored the princess was a young man by the name of Shaheedan. He was the son of a traditional medicine doctor. Although he adored the princess, he actually never saw the princess himself. He had heard about her from his friends or from the people who had come to get medicine from his father. While many people would go to the birthday celebration of the princess, he was busy working, learning and practicing. However, each year he would write a poem about her, admiring mostly of her kindness and her love for knowledge.

Shaheedan had grownup under tough and demanding environment. Their house was located at the edge of a small village bordering the jungle. Often, the house was visited by wild animals such as tigers, elephants, bears and snakes. He had learned from his father the action that would chase away the animals from the house. These wild animals were also encountered during their frequent trips into the deep jungle in search of medicinal plants.

But one day, when he was about seventeen years old, a big and powerful-looking tiger had refused to go away. A weird feeling had suddenly crept into his mind. His adrenalin began to shake off his calmness. It was true he had single-handedly subdued a tiger twice before, or a bear thrice, but their sized were nowhere near this one. Moreover, to be face-to-face at such a close distance of less than ten meters was hardly able to provide an opportunity for Shaheedan to make any kind of meaningful maneuvers.

The tiger stared and snared purposefully. It raises its left from leg. Its paws were sharp. Then, ..

Ulam Raja

2011-02-06T22:20:00.004+08:00

Ulam Raja (Cosmos caudatus)

An annual plant which can grow up to 1.5 meters. The flowers have eight pinkish to purplish petals and yellowish to orange stamens and stigma. The shoots are eaten as fresh vegetable with rice. Normally the shoots are first swiped over chilli paste and then taken together with rice.

Classification: (Wikipedia)

Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Cosmos
Species: C. caudatus

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos_caudatus
http://www.melur.com/myherba.asp?plant_id=25&cat=HERBA

Closeness is comfort

2011-01-31T06:27:00.003+08:00

The biological law of relativity:
Closeness is comfort, if .....
Too close for comfort, if .....

The bird on the left was always on the lookout, possibly sensing danger or a sudden appearance of an enemy. The bird on the right (left of the first bird) tends to itself or just relaxing itself. From this behavior, I figure out that the bird on the left is male and the one on the right is female.

I wonder if the female is always standing on the left side.

All things are created in pairs. Click Love Islam Channel, Surah ar-Ra'd, 13:3 & Surah Taha, 20:53.

Each of the pair offers comfort and love for the other. Click Love Islam Channel, Surah Ar-Rum, 30:21.

The Female Spider

2011-01-30T10:18:00.003+08:00

The word "Female Spider" is found in the Quran. Surah (Chapter) 29 of the Al-Quran is named Al-'Ankabut which means 'The Female Spider'. This is in recognition to the word 'al-ankabut' which is found in verse 41 of this Surah.

For complete English translation of this surah, please visit: Love Islam Channel
(http://voyagebwp.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/29-surah-al-ankabut-the-spider-english-translation-1-69/)

Roses are red

2011-01-29T06:52:00.002+08:00

This particular "variety" produces more than one flower at the end of a flower-bearing branch, often three. Often the flower buds open one after another, but sometimes all three or two of them, can open simultaneously. The flowers produces strong rosy smell, which is blended with a tinge of fragrance.

Water lilies

2011-01-25T06:37:00.004+08:00

Water lilies: genus Nymphaea; family Nymphaeaceae. Further information read entry November 25, 2008.

Picture taken from Taman Tasik Cempaka, Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor.

Serenity

2011-01-23T06:58:00.005+08:00

Oblivious of the surrounding

Plants of Malaysia

2011-01-20T06:49:00.003+08:00

Ageratum conyzoides L.

Cmmon name: Billygoat-weed, Chick weed, Goatweed, Whiteweed)

Ageratum conycoides L., has been known as weed of the plantations, open lands, padi fields and the bushes. The plant can reproduce very rapidly because of the numerous seeds it produces. The seeds can be blown by wind when the flower mature. This invasive weed has been recognised as a native plant of tropical America, but has become widespread in many parts of the world.

The plant has peculiar smell, which indicate that the plant is producing a volatile chemicals, possibly the essential oils. It no surprising that the plant has been identified as having traditional medicinal values in other countries. Scientific studies have shown that it contyains various alkaloids, including pyrrolizidine alkaloids, such as lycopsamine and echinatine. The flavonoids found in the extacts has been tested for anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.

Scientific classification
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageratum_conyzoides)

Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Eupatorieae
Genus: Ageratum
Species: A. conyzoides

References:

Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageratum_conyzoides

Tropilab Inc: AGERATUM CONYZOIDES L. - BILLY GOAT WEED.
http://www.tropilab.com/billy-goat.html

Kuldip S. Dogra1, Ravinder K. Kohli2, Sarvesh K. Sood1 and Praveen K. Dobhal2. 2009. Impact of Ageratum conyzoides L. on the diversity andcomposition of vegetation in the Shivalik hills of Himachal Pradesh (Northwestern Himalaya), India.International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation, 1(4):135-145

Lin Chau Ming. 1999. Ageratum conyzoides: A Tropical Source of Medicinal and Agricultural Products. Perspectives on new crops and new uses. J. Janick (ed.), ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA. pp. 469-473

Plants of Malaysia

2011-01-10T06:40:00.005+08:00

Costus speciosus variety variegatus
Common Name: Variegated Crepe Ginger

Scientific classification (Wikipedia)
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Costaceae
Genus: Costus
Species: C. speciosus
Binomial name
Costus speciosus
(J.Konig) Sm.

For Descriptions, please visit these sites

http://www.bambooland.com.au/catalogue_gingers.htm
http://www.floridata.com/ref/c/cost_spe.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costus_speciosus

Vegi Dish

2011-01-05T14:09:00.002+08:00

A simple all-vegi dinner serving consisting of spaghetti, salad and meshed potato. The spaghetti is prepared with Shiitake mushroom, herbs and tomato, while the salad is prepared from a mixture of purple cabbage, carrot and thousand island dressing.

Plants of Malaysia

2011-01-04T16:03:00.002+08:00

Species Name: Ipomoea pes-caprae
Common Name: Railroad Vine, beach morning glory, bayhops, goat's foot vine

Location: Rusila, Terengganu, Malasyia

Scientific Classification:

Smithsonian Marine Station:

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum/Division: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Ipomoea

Wikipedia:

Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae
Tribe: Ipomoeeae
Genus: Ipomoea
Species: I. pes-caprae

For description of the plant, please refer to the following sites:

K. Hill, Smithsonian Marine Station:
http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLSpec/Ipomoea_pesCap.htm

Floridata:
http://www.floridata.com/ref/I/ipom_pes.cfm

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipomoea_pes-caprae

Kangkong

2010-12-23T07:32:00.005+08:00

Kangkong (Ipomoea aquaticus)

Kangkong can grow on water and on land (dry or wet). In the market one can find two types of kangkong, one having light-coloured stem with narrow leaves (locally termed "kangkong Cina" or "Chinese kangkong"), and the other with purplish stem with broad leaves (simply called "kangkong"). The plant is eaten as vegitable with rice. It can be fried-cooked with soy source, onion dan dried chilli.

Ecocrop (see reference below) describes the plant as follows: "A succulent vine that trails over wet ground, or can climb by twining,with glabrous foliage, and white flowers. It roots freely at nodes."

"Kang kong originated in tropical Asia, possibly India. The dry land form of kang kong yields best grown in the lowland humid tropics. Yields may be about 20-30 t/ha ot 2-3 kg/m˝"

Scientific classification:

Kingdom : Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order : Solanales
Family : Convolvulaceae
Genus : Ipomoea

Species name varies in different reference sites as follows:

A. Myanmar Medicinal Plant Database

Ipomoea aquatica Forsk. Water spinach
Ipomoea reptans Linn. Balañgog (Ilk.)
Ipomoea subdentata Miq. Galatgat (Ilk.)
Convolvulus reptans Linn. Kangkong (Bik., Tag., Pamp.)
Convolvulus repens Vahl Kangkung (Sul.)
Convolvulus adansoni Lam. Tangkong (Ilk., Kuy., Bis.)

B. Crop Protection Compendium.

Preferred Scientific Name: Ipomoea aquatica Forsskål,1775

Other Scientific Names:

Ipomoea reptans Poiret 1814
Convolvulus reptans Linnaeus, 1753
Ipomoea subdentata Miquel 1856-59
Ipomoea repens Roth 1821
Convolvulus repens Vahl, 1790
Convolvulus repens Willdenow 1797
Convolvulus adansonii Desrousseaux 1814

>References:

Dish:
http://www.noobcook.com/sambal-kangkong/

Medicinal use:
http://www.stuartxchange.org/Kangkong.html

Myanmar Medicinal Plant Database
Family: Convolvulaceae
compiled by U Kyaw Tun, U Pe Than, and staff of TIL.
http://www.tuninst.net/MyanMedPlants/TIL/famC/Convolvulaceae.htm

Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area
http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?20218

Ecocrop :FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/cropView?id=17650
Ipomoea aquatica var. reptans

Crop Protection Compendium. http://www.cabi.org/cpc/
http://www.cabicompendium.org/NamesLists/CPC/Full/IPO_AQ.htm

Plants of Malaysia

2010-12-15T17:36:00.004+08:00

Mile-a-Minute Weed (Mikania micrantha)

Mikania micrantha Kunth (Asteraceae) is a perennial creeping vine. It originates from Central and South America. This weed plant gets its nickname "Mile-a-Minute" because of its fast growth. It colonise tropical forest and agricultural land. The plant climb trees and shrubs, and When left unattended, trees can be quickly covered from the sunlight.

The plant climbs by twining spirally around a support, which in the field is most often the main stem or a branch of a tree plant. The climber plant scales along the entire height of a the plant supporting it until the climbing plant reaches the top of the support plant. The climbing plant then grows profusely, producing leaves and flowers, thereby "suffocating" the support plant. The plant also climbs onto non-living support, whether it is a pole, dead trees or stumps. In Malay language, stump is equivalent to "tunggul". Hence, the plant is locally known as "selaput tunggul", which means "stump covering".

Classification:

Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Division - Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants)
Class - Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledons)
Subclass - Asteridae
Order - Asterales
Family - Asteraceae – Aster family
Genus - Mikania Willd. – hempvine
Species - Mikania micrantha Kunth (bittervine)

References:

Cock, M.J.W. et al. 2000. Can Failure be Turned into Success for Biological Control of Mile-a-Minute Weed (Mikania micrantha)? Proceedings of the X International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds 4-14 July 1999, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA. Neal R. Spencer [ed.]. pp. 155-167

Global Invasive Species Programme: Tropical Asia Invaded: Mile-a-minute Weed. http://www.gisp.org/casestudies/contents.asp?title=Tropical%20Asia%20invaded:%20The%20growing%20danger%20of%20invasive%20alien%20species&showtitles=yes

USDA: Natural Resource Conservation service. Mikania micrantha Kunth
bittervine. http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MIMI5

Visit Sabah

2010-12-12T08:22:00.008+08:00

The Malaysian State of Sabah is situated in Northern tip of the island of Borneo. The capital city Kota Kinabalu is the largest city. Prospecting visitors can take advantage of cheap fares offered by low-cost airlines Maswing and AirAsia. The travel time will be in 2011. From Sabah visitors can hop to the neighbouring state of Sarawak. Among popular destination is the Mulu Caves.

Here are some pictures of my recent visit to Kota Kinabalu.

Touching down at Kota Kinabalu

Sabah cultural show at Restoran Kampung Nelayan

A restaurant by the lake at night

Mosque at Universiti Malaysia Sabah

Sabah Sate Government Administration building

Hijrah 1432 New Year

2010-12-07T07:42:00.008+08:00

A year ago .... 1431

From the east, was a panoramic view of twilight after dawn of the first day of the Hijrah 1431. The Muslim calendar is a lunar calendar with the first month being the month of Muharram and the twelve month being Zulhujjah. Each month contains between 28 (very rare) and 30 days. The lunar calendar is shorter than the solar calendar by 10-11 days a year. This means that every 33 years, the lunar calendar will be one year more than the solar calendar. Another words, a person having the age of 33 solar year is actually 34 years old according the lunar calendar.

Now .... 1432

This photograph was taken from the same spot. The foreground has been transformed as new buldings are bulit and the plants have growns to some heights. Today, the sun was not shining brightly as a year ago, but the sun still rise from the east, alhamdulillah (all praise be to Allah). For, when the sun rises from the west, it will be one of the signs of end of the universe (day of qiamah).

The Muslim calender was established during the administration of second caliph in the Islamic history. The year in which the hijrah (migration) of the prophet sallallahu_alaihi_wasallam from Makkah to medina had taken place, was chosen to first year of the modern Islamic calender. The choice of the year of hijrah of the prophet sallallahu_alaihi_wasallam as the start of the Islamic calender serves a reminder that hijrah is the start for a new beginning for the better.

The significance of using lunar calender as Islamic calender can be felt from the experience of accomplishing the five pillars of Islam. For example, during the month of Ramadhan (the 9th month of Islamic calender)a Muslim has to abstain himself/herself from taking food and drink from the time before twilight until the time after sunset. Supossing that Ramadhan was fixed to coninside with July, those people living in the nothern hemisphere have to fast for 13 to 18 hours depending on the latitude. But this does not happen because the lunar year has only 354 of 355 days whereas the solar year has 365 or 366 (leap year) days. That is to say Ramadhan will move ahead by 10 or 11 days in each of the solar year. Thus, in 3 solar years, Ramadhan will coinside with June, and in 6 years, it will coinside with May. Hence, the fasting hours can be 6-10 hours at some point of someone's life and at another point it can be 13-18 hours. The change in the lenth of fasting hours is designed to be fair to everyone, no matter where they live.

Plants of Malaysia

2010-11-15T09:14:00.008+08:00

Mimosa pudica

Mimosa pudica is locally known as "pokok semalu", which laterally means "shy plant". This leguminosae (alt. Fabaceae) plant is a creeping weed which can spread very quickly because of the numerous seeds it produces. The flowers are pink to purple in colour, producing a cluster of pods at the end of the flowering time.

The leaves are small and compound in nature. When the leaves are touched, they 'shrink', seemingly trying to hide themselves. This withdrwing behaviour is probably the reason for giving this plant its name "touch-me-not","semalu" and others, depending on the langguage of the locality where the plant is found.

The stem is thin and hard, branched, and have slightly hooked thorns. The plant is firmly rooted to the soil, making it hard to pull by hand. Older plants show the presence of nodules, which result from symbiotic association with Rhizobium, the nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

References:

http//wwww.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimosa_pudica
http//wwww.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Mimosa_pudica

Classification: Kingdom: Plantae Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae/Leguminosae Subfamily: Mimosoideae Genus: Mimosa Species: Mimosa pudica

Plants of Malaysia

2010-11-08T07:57:00.006+08:00

Screw Pine (Mengkuang)

Screw pine or locally known as mengkuang is a monocotyledonous plant growing in swamps. The plant belongs to the Pandanceae family and the genus Pandanus. The genus Pandanus is said to contain about 600 known species. Typically, the plant has long leaves with long parellel veins. The along the edge of the leaves are found hard spines which can prick hands while handling them. For more complete description of its biology, please refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus.

At least two species of mengkuang has been described in South East Asia. These are Pandanus odoratissimus or mengkuang laut (http://nswong.50webs.com/05110202.htm) and Pandanus atrocarpus (http://www.natureloveyou.sg/Plants-P.html)

The leaves of mengkuang have been used as materials for handicrafts. Information on handicrafts from mengkuang can be found at:
http://go2travelmalaysia.com/tour_malaysia/mengkuang.htm
http://mangroveactionproject.org/files/toolkit/Pandanus%20Handicrafts.pdf

Plants of Malaysia

2010-11-06T16:36:00.009+08:00

Passiflora foetida

Passiflora is a big group of vine type of plants. The stem is thin and the leaves are lobed, 3 or 5, with the middle lobe bearing the end of the main leaf vein. The whole plant is covered with bristles.

Typically the plant grows wild in the bushes or hedges, either creeping on the groud or climbing on other plants, poles or fences. To aid in climbing the plant possess tendrils to hook itself to the surfaces.

The flowers have white petals and give rise to small fruits, which are green when young and yellow to yellowish-red when mature. The seeds are black and are covered with juicy tissues. When ripe, the juice taste sweet.

*Passiflora foetida* Kingdom: Plantae Order: Malpighiales Family: Passifloraceae Genus: Passiflora Subgenus: Passiflora Species: P. foetida

Plants of Malaysia

2010-10-20T06:47:00.007+08:00

Lengkuas (Alpinia galanga)

Lengkuas or greater galanga (Alpinia galanga) belongs to the Family Zingiberaceae. This is one of the commonly found plants in the backyard of most houses in Malaysia. This is because the plant has found uses in many aspects of Malaysian lives.

The plant reproduces through rhizomes which constantly give rise to new buds and new plant. The Plant can grow up to 2 meters. Before it dies, it produces inflorescence of white flowers (see picture).

The rhizome has been used as herb for women after giving birth. It has also been used externally as traditional medicine for treating fungal infections such Tiena. In certain states in Malaysia, it is used as the main spice for a traditional fish preparation called "singgang". This is a soup-like fish preparation for which fresh lengkuas, fresh turmeric, and garlic are the main ingredients. For recipe of "singgang", please visit this site

Recent scientific studies have found secondary metabolites which have been reported to possess various biological activities.

Note: Information found on this site should not be used a reference for any kind of document. This is just a hobby.

Kuching Waterfront

2010-10-17T09:50:00.006+08:00

Kuching Waterfront at night as seen from the opposite side of the river, which separates Kuching North from Kuching South. European or Australian visitors often seen enjoying their refreshments at a restaurant, which is located close to the Water front. The restaurant can be seen as a building with a dark triangular roof.

Visitors from Peninsular Malaysia often take a boat ride across the river to enjoy varieties of food, particularly seafood. I alway enjoy having dinner at a seafood restaurant, which is housed in a traditional Malay house. This restaurant is located behind the large white canopy by the riverside. This picture was taken from the restaurant.

Plants of Malaysia

2010-10-02T07:25:00.005+08:00

Catharanthus roseus (Vinca rosea)

Vinca rosea is a small plant having pink or white flowers. This plant has been reclassified as Catharanthus roseus, with a common name of Madagascar periwinkle. It is so known as Madagascar periwinkle because it is claimed to have originated from that country.

This plant has been studied by scientists because of the alkaloids it contains have been reported to have various biological activities such as anticancer activity and hypoglycemic and antihyperglycemic activity. The list below gives examples such study.

Glucosyl Zeatin and Glucosyl Ribosylzeatin from Vinca rosea L. Crown Gall Tumor Tissue by Jay B. Peterson and Carlos O. Miller. 1977. Plant Physiology, volume 59(6):1026-1028
Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle):A Natural Antineoplastic and Antidiabetic
A Botanical Quick Review by Eric Yarnell, ND, RH. 2004. http://www.heronbotanicals.com/Articles/Catharanthus_roseus.pdf

Microtubules as a target for anticanser drugs by Mary Ann Jordan and Leslie Wilson. 2004. Nature Reviews, Volume 4:253-265
(http://www.nri.ucsb.edu/2people/jordan/jordanReview.pdf)

Mushroom

2010-10-02T07:01:00.002+08:00

The underside of mushroom showing the gill structure.

Mushroom

2010-08-14T08:35:00.012+08:00

The fruiting body (mushroom) just opened

The fruiting body half opened

The fruiting body is fully opened

Why do the mycologists (expert of fungi) call mushroom fruiting bodies? This is because the mushroom (called basidiocarp) is the sexual reproductive structure of a fungal group called the Basidiomycetes. On the underside of the umbrella-like structure are found 'ridges' which radiate from the centre. On these ridges (called gills) are found the 'fruits' of the mushroom (called basidium, plural=basidia).

On this basidium are found 2, 4 or 8 seed-like structures called the basidiospores. The relation between basidium and the basidiospores is somewhat equivalent to the cashew nut fruit, which bears the seed on the outside of the fleshy fruit.

The characteristics of these structures, namely basidiocarp, basidium and the basidiospores are used to classify the various mushrooms into the different taxa as shown below.

Classification of Basidiomycetes
(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agaricales)
There are books that we can refer to, but the easiest to get is the Internet

Kingdom: Fungi
Subkingdom: Dikarya
Phylum: Basidiomycota
Subphylum: Agaricomycotina
Class: Agaricomycetes
Subclass: Agaricomycetidae
Order: Agaricales
Family (33): Agaricaceae
Genus (85 genera) Agaricus??
Species (1340 species) ????
Note: for accuracy please refer to text books)

Never, never, never try to eat mushroom collected from the field, unless you are an expert. Buy the ones sold in the supermarket.

Tranquality

2010-08-05T07:12:00.003+08:00

Ripple and Tranquality can be harmonious

Plants of Malaysia

2010-07-21T10:46:00.006+08:00

Hylocereus sp (Dragon fruit) flower bud.

Sauropus androgynus (Euphorbiaceace)(local name asin-asin, cekur manis)For further reading check at information at http://www.rileks.info/coollist/2009/04/cekur-manis/

zingiberaceae

Ixora lining a cement path at R& R, North-South Highway

Mosques in Malaysia

2010-07-18T07:54:00.007+08:00

Masjid Bandar Malawati, Kuala Selangor.

Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque, Johor Bahru

Crystal Mosque, Kuala Terengganu.

Plants of Malaysia

2010-07-17T19:10:00.007+08:00

Spider Lily Hymenocallis speciosa (L.f.) Salisb. (Family Amaryllidaceae)
Taken from North Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The flower of this plant has a sweet-smelling scent.

Calliandra emarginata Benth (Leguminosae)
Taken from R&R, North-South Highway, Perak, Malaysia

The Cashew Nut Orchard

2010-06-19T09:58:00.004+08:00

Part 10

“Can we join you Dr. Sani?”

I looked up. A colleague and two young mo’s were standing close to the table where I was sitting. Each of them was carrying a plate in the right hand and a glass of cold drink or cup of hot drink in the left hand.

“Yes. Of course. Take your seats.”

“Thanks.” The colleague, Doctor Denial, replied. He put his plate and cup on the table and then pulled a chair. The two young doctors did the same.

“So, how was the operation?” I threw out a question to begin a conversation.

“Hmmm… Sani! Have you met this new mo? She is Soleha, just transferred from Penang.” Dr. Denial decided to introduce the unfamiliar look of the new lady doctor in front of me.

After we had greeted each other, Dr Denial answered my question. “Alhamdulillah. Everything went smoothly. The patient responded very well.” The smile on his face obviously told the satisfaction that was felt after a delicate task was accomplished.

“Insya Allah, the baby will recover soon. It must have been a good experience for you, Soleha. Were you in the OT too?” I looked at Daniel and then to Soleha.

“Yes. What an experience it was! Sorrowful case. I can’t imagine someone can mercilessly batter a baby like a mad man. Luckily he didn’t suffer any skull fracture, just the bruises on the body and fractures in one arm and one leg.” Dr. Soleha quickly explained the five hours long surgery that they had just performed.

“That’s what happens when someone is under the influence of drugs,” Dr Zarina said, joining the conversation with an explanation for the beastly behavior of the father. She was the other lady mo, who was posted at the orthopedic department.

I turned my head sideways for a second or two, my eyes glancing at Dr. Zarina’s face.

“The mother was at work but the father was at home mending the baby. Unable to withstand the baby’s cry, he lashed at him.” Dr. Soleha continued the explanation.

I could not have been more saddened than hearing such a pitiful incident. As a doctor specializing in family medicine it has always been my concern to cultivate health consciousness among family members. In fact, postering harmonious relationship among family members is one of the tenets of family medicine specialization. The goal has always been to prevent rather than to mend, to be proactive rather that reactive.

We discussed various topics until everybody finished his or her quick lunch. From the canteen we went straight to the prayer room for the Zohor prayer.

“How do find those two ladies?” Dr. Denial threw a question while we were on our way back to our respective rooms after we have offered or prayer. Obviously he was referring to Dr. Soleha and Dr. Zarina.

“Which aspects? Work or personality?” I asked, pretending to be oblivious of the things that are revolving among unmarried man and lady doctors. Doctors prefer to have doctors as their life partners, because they understand doctor’s hard life and when they do get married they will support each other. So, Dr. Soleha and Dr. Zarina were two of those lady doctors under scrutiny among the men. I believed that my name was one of those circulating among the ladies. It seemed that my engagement to Siti Rahmah was not widely advertised. The fact that Siti Rahmah was not a doctor, had contributed to this situation.

“Suitability as a candidate for your wife.” He answered my question directly. There was no more hiding as we had discussed this situation several times. Once a while I told him that I was already engaged, but he did not believe it. I could not blame him because when I got engaged with Siti, there was no announcement or anything amounting to it. It happened so suddenly and cordially the night when Siti arrived home from abroad.

“I don’t know. Let time tell.” That was the only answer that I could think of at that moment. But I was sure that he would know the answer when I introduced Siti to him the following week.

Dr Denial had nothing else to say. He just glanced at me then took a ninety degree turn down the corridor to his room.

I sat back on my chair with my hand on my forehead. Yes! Dr Zarina was a good candidate for a wife ..... that was, if I had not been engaged to Siti. And I know that Dr. Zarina would gladly accept me if I had proposed to her. But I would stick with Siti, until and unless Siti came up to me and told me that we were not meant for each other. For the moment, Full Stop.

If I Had a Choice

2010-05-29T15:08:00.004+08:00

If I had a Choice

If I had a choice of what I wish myself to be
I would probably have wished that I were a grass, whose leaves are green and its lushes are juicy
Grazed by the animals and end up as stool that soon rot and decay
Or created as a piece of leaf that dangles on the branch of a falling tree
Drops to the ground and degraded quickly by the microorganisms as food for their energy
And if I were created as an animal, I would only need to eat, to drink and to expand my belly
My history would end when I am slaughtered or eaten by the wild beasts that feed on their prey
And if I were created as a fish, I would be swimming in schools of fish happily all day
I would one day be caught in fisherman's net and ends up as food for the hungry
But would I be allowed to choose what I wished to be?
No!
No matter what I choose and no matter I want to be,
As an object of creation I will be subjected to what the Creator prescribes me to be
Unlike those passersby, which are spared of accountability
I am created as human, and I am endowed with brain and entrusted with responsibility
To worship Allah, to take care of the world and to shape my own destiny
Knowing that one day I will die and be buried in solitude in a grave that is so lonely,
And that I will have no friend and no helper, but only deeds as my accompany,
To be resurrected and congregated with all the human race on Judgment Day,
To stand trials for the deeds and sins, where no one bears other people's sins and misery,
I have to accomplish my life objectives, fulfill my obligations and serve my duty,
I have to fill my life with deeds and avoid a life that is too worldly.
Oh Allah!
The God Who is Most Benevolent and Most Merciful,
The King of the Hereafter and Most Knowledgeable of all destinies
I only can hope and I can only pray
For Your kindness and for Your mercy
For, I have no strength to resist and no argument to set me free.
And that I am only human, thus I am most prone to err
That You will grant me success in this world and on the Judgment Day
En route to paradise, where everlasting happiness is there to stay.

Ismad
29 May 2010.

The Cashew Nut Orchard

2010-02-24T07:48:00.001+08:00

PART 9(2)

Siti’s decision to pursue her PhD degree in Kuala Terengganu had made me very happy. That she was going to stay close by to where I live was something that I had liked to happen. It would be an ideal situation for nurturing understanding and reliving the sweet old memories. But of course, the cashew nut orchard will take a backstage while the marriage plan will take the centre stage. We could always meet and discuss our coming wedding after work or during the weekends.

We carefully examined the university’s prospectus. We considered the various factors that are important for a successful spell as a PhD student at a university. Registering for a PhD programme is not something that you want to take likely. It is a promise that you will give your life and time to carry out a research project for a solid three year at the least. Hence, you must choose the university that will give you the best chance of completing the research project in the stipulated time.

First, we looked at the academic strength of the Department and the Faculty that Siti intended to join as a graduate student. We went through the list of lecturers, their expertise and their research programmes. We were satisfied with the availability of prospective supervisors of a PhD research project. Then, we scrutinized the research facilities and the availability of research grant to support the research. After much discussion, we decided to choose the one that had with commendable cv. This characteristic is essential for a successful PhD research project supervision.

That was done, we began ease our discussion into the things that we had done the pass two weeks. One thing led to another and before I realized it, the time was already approaching six thirty. In the village with many trees around the houses, darkness can creep in much earlier that is in the city. The journey from Kuala Lipis to the East Coast highway is quite a distance away. At night it can be a lonely one since not many cars will be commuting along the road after nightfall. So, it was time to leave.

Siti’s parents bid me goodbye at the door. Siti followed me to my car.

“Well Siti, It is three more months to go. When you come to Kuala Terengganu next week, we can start shopping for our marriage rings. Besides, we have yet to decide on our invitation card.”

Siti did not seem to be happy about the suggestion. There was a mixed feeling of worry and dissatisfaction. I could see it in her face. I waited anxiously for her response.

“Let’s do it one by one. Let me settle this application form first.”

Before I could respond, her hand phone rang. She looked at the screen and rejected the incoming call.

I looked at her for a few seconds, then I said, “It’s okay with me. I am only afraid that we will be running out of time.”

Just then the hand phone rang again. Siti looked at the screen. “Excuse me,” she said, glancing at me as she moved away from where she was standing.

I watched her while she had a conversation, paying extra attention to the expression on her face. From the distance of about ten metres, I could see that the conversation with the other person on the line did not go smoothly. I wondered what that was all about.

“Siti. Can I help?” I asked when she came back to where I was standing.

“It’s alright. Let me settle this once for all. Hmmm… about the rings. I am sorry Sani. I am still not in the right frame of mind to start thinking about those things yet.”

“But the rings and the card are important to both of us. They are our future. Something that we you and I can share and enjoy together.”

“Yes, I know. You and me. That’s why I just don’t have the mood to do it yet.”

“Siti. Is it because of the other person?”

“The other person? Who?”

“The one that you were talking with on the phone a moment ago.”

“No. Certainly not. To be frank Sani, dear, it is only about you and me.”

“Me! What about me? What have I done?”

“That’s for you to find out. You have time until Wednesday to figure it out?”

I looked at her face intently in bewilderment. She stood there like a stone, with her eyelids not even winking. Obviously, she was serious. She meant every word that she had said.

“What if I can’t figure it out?” That was the obvious question that could easily come out of my mouth. But, I had to restrain myself. Under the circumstances prevailing at that moment such words should not be said even if they were meant to be a joke.

“Siti,” I called softly in a low tone of voice.

“Sani,” She answered in similar tone. Her face lit up a little bit. The tense had mellowed down.

“Call me when you start your journey to KT, this Wednesday.”

“I will.” She muttered, followed by a sigh. The expression in her face had reverted to somber. There was despondency.

I swallowed, temporarily in loss for words to respond. But my was busy trying to conjure a reasonable explanation. Was she giving me a signal of unfulfilled hope and aspiration?

After bidding goodbye, I left Kuala Lipis for Kuala Terengganu with more questions than when I arrived earlier in the day. The thought of Siti actually having another person in her life had introduced a new twist into our relationship. Who was the person on the other end of the phone? What was the issue that Siti wanted to settle once for all? It seemed that our relationship become more complicated than I first thought.

Sweet-smelling plant

2010-02-13T10:55:00.005+08:00

This sweet-smelling plant grows up to about 2.5 meters high. It can be found growing wildly in the bushes by the road side in the east coast states of Malaysia, which are Kelantan and Terengganu. Typically the stem is unbranched. The stem elongates by forming new node at the base of the apical shoot. At each node three leaves are found. The petiole of the leaves subtends a stalk at the end of which are found 2-4 flower buds. As the flower bud matures the part below the petals elongates, thus protruding the petals away from the calyx by a distance of about 5-8 cm.

The petals are typically white and five in number per flower. The reproductive structures are typically red. The flowers are sweet smelling. The smell is more obvious at night that during the day. Does anyone know the common name and the scientific name of this plant?

The Cashew Nut Orchard

2010-01-10T09:24:00.002+08:00

PART 9(1).

My guess was wrong! It was not the act of caring that she was looking for. It was not the apprehension of feeling of insecurity that had haunted her. It was true that I had always at hand when she needed help. It was true that I had acted like a big brother, both at home and at school. It was true that I had protected her from being harassed by naughty boys from the neighborhood. But, to think of it as an important factor in the currently worrisome situation did not go along with the things that had happened in the last six year or more. To say it compendiously, it was just a silly and short-sighted conclusion. There were strong arguments against such shoddy conclusion. Most obvious, why would she felt insecure and wanting my protection of caring, when she had spent six year taking care of herself overseas? It was something else, for sure. Oh My God! I had to go back to the drawing board.

This bewildering ending to the mid-afternoon rendezvous was in total contrast to how we had begun. It was such a nice feeling working with all the details of what she had to do in order to get into the graduate school. As soon as we get into the house she showed me several application forms that she had downloaded from the various universities’ websites. The application forms of the various universities basically require the applicants to fill up the same information. It would not be difficult to fill and then send all of them. But, in reality one needs to apply to only one or two selected universities. Based on this premise I began to enquire her choice of field of study and the place to study.

“What field to do want to study in?”

“I want to study something that will be useful to the people. I want to help the people to upgrade their standard of living.”

“Everything that we study will eventually lead to something that are useful to the people, although some are too basic to be useful immediately. Hmmm… Do you mean you want to study something that can immediately be commercialized?”

“Yes. Something like that. Sort of applied research.”

“The second important question is where do you want to go? Do you want to spend the next three years of life around Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, Sarawak, Johor, Penang or the East coast?”

“I have been too long away from home. I want to study at a place where I can go home during the weekend.”

“The nearest university to Kuala Lipis is Terengganu.”

“That will suit me fine.”

Perpisahan?

2009-12-29T17:57:00.003+08:00

Perpisahan boleh berlaku kerana mulut yang kadangkala gatal. Peribahasa kata, sebab pulut satan binasa, sebab mulut badan merasa. Mengapa sampai begitu?

Mulut menyebut sesuatu yang boleh menyakitkan hati orang. Mulut boleh menyentuh perasaan orang, menyebabkan orang itu naik angin.

Mulut boleh mengata orang tentang sesuatu yang tidak disukai oleh orang yang dikata itu. Mulut boleh menyebut perkataan-perkataan yang tidak benar tentang seseorang. Mulut boleh mengatakan sesuatu yang menghina dan mencaci seseorang. Mulut juga boleh mengiyakan seorang yang mengatakan sesuatu yang tak baik kepada orang lain. Mulut juga boleh menokok tambah dan berlagak sebagai batu api kepada dua orang yang sedang berbalah.

Jadi, mulut boleh bertindak sebagai alat untuk memecah belahkan orang-orang yang bersaudara atau berkawan rapat. Mulut boleh membarakan api persengkataan antara dua kumpulan. Mulut boleh menjadikan orang lain marah kepada empunya mulut.

Bayangkan orang yang jadi marah kepada empunya mulut itu adalah isteri atau suami sendiri. Tentulah buah mulut itu akan menjadi punca perbalahan yang mungkin akan membawa kepada perpisahan. Katakanlah seorang suami (isteri) menceritakan kepada isterinya (suami) tentang adik-beradiknya yang membuat dia rasa tidak puas hati. Isteri (suami) pula menambah tokok untuk menampakkan lagi keburukan sifat adik beradik suami (isteri). Jangan disangka suami (isteri) itu bertambah benci kepada adik-beradiknya. Sebaliknya dia akan menjadi marah kepada isterinya (suaminya). Walaupun suami (isteri) tidak menyebutnya, tetapi dia akan mempertahankan adik beradiknya itu dalam hati. Kalau selalu terjadi begini, suami (isteri) akan bertambah baik kepada adik beradiknya tetapi benci pada isterinya (suaminya). Apa yang dikatakan dalam pepatah Melayu itu betul: Carik-carik bulu ayam, akhirnya bercantum juga.

Kalau sudah parah, berpatah arang berkerat rotanlah jadinya! Itulah jadinya.

Sama juga dengan pasangan yang sedang bertunang. Jika seorang dari mereka mengata-ngata tentang adik-beradik atau ibupbapa tunangnya, natijahnya pun sama juga.

Jadi, dalam apa keadaan sekalipun, jangan sekali-kali mengata sesuatu yang tak baik pada keluarga pasangan. Kadang-kadang suami atau isteri bukan hendak meminta pandangan atau sokongan apabila dia menceritakan sesuatu yang tidak menyenangkan hati tentang adik-beardik atau ibubapanya. Dia hanya mahu meluahkan perasaan. Dia hanya mahu ada orang yang mendengar. Tetapi dia tak mahu sesiapapun yang masuk campur dalam urusan keluarganya. Cerita itu akan habis di antara empat dinding sahaja (within the four walls).

Kalau boleh sejukkan perasaan suami atau isteri itu dengan kata-kata yang membina agar persaudaraan adik beradik itu bertambah damai, bukan bertambah retak.

Hijrah New Year 1431

2009-12-18T08:35:00.008+08:00

From the east, was a panoramic view of twilight after dawn of the first day of the Hijrah 1431. The Muslim calendar is a lunar calendar with the first month being the month of Muharram and the twelve month being Zulhujjah. Each month contains between 28 (very rare) and 30 days. The lunar calendar is shorter than the solar calendar by 10-11 days a year. This means that every 33 years, the lunar calendar will be one year more than the solar calendar. Another words, a person having the age of 33 solar year is actually 34 years old according the lunar calendar.

This year’s New Year that is 1 Muharram, falls on Friday 18th of December 2009. In the west there was a beautiful rainbow. Alhamdulillah, we are still able to breathe the fresh air so that we can enjoy the beauty of God's creation.

The Cashew Nut Orchard

2009-11-28T17:53:00.002+08:00

PART 8

It was mid-afternoon, when Siti and I had the opportunity to talk about our marriage preparation. The Sun was shining brightly. The air was hot and humid. But the shades afforded by the leaf canopy of the large fruit trees have made the weather somehow tolerable. Besides, the slight breeze that occasionally blew from the direction of the river brought coolness and freshness to the otherwise stagnant air.

“Siti,” I called softly, my right hand holding a trunk of a cashew nut tree.

“Hnge hnge.” She hummed musically as she approached me. Wow! That romantic sound again made my heart grow fonder. Besides, the two weeks that we didn’t see each other also accounted for the feeling of fondness. After all, it has been a common belief that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

“This piece of land is now belonged to us. What do you want to do with it?” I tried to take advantage of her good mood to discuss something that are of interest for both of us in the future.

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it yet.”

“What about replanting this cashew nut orchard? The trees seem a bit old.”

“May be we should wait.”

“Wait? Until when?”

“I don’t know. Just wait, that’s all.”

“Until we get married. Is it what you want to say?”

“If you want to understand it that way, it is fine with me.”

There was silence between us. I guess that was the end of the conversation on the topic of cashew nut orchard. There was no point pursuing it any further, simply because she has no interest in it. Besides, it had become clear that she would not talk about future plans that involve lands and houses or even marriage ring. I was lost for word to describe how I feel about the situation. She had something in her mind, and that something had been blocking any thought about our future together, and she had clung tenaciously to that nagging element.

A puff of breeze cooled off some of the heat that had suddenly radiated from the inside of my body. We were still engrossed with our own thoughts when a small yellow-coloured breast perched at the branch of a rambutan tree not far away from where we were standing.

“That is “kelicap”,” I broke the silence, while my finger was pointing at the bird that had already flirted to an adjacent tree.

“Yes. That is kelicap. It is beautiful isn’t it?” She answered excitedly, as she saw the little creature which by now had moved to another branch, perhaps searching for food.

“Yes. But those two birds are more beautiful.” I pointed my finger to the right. “And they are romantic too.”

One of the birds was grooming the feathers of the other. On seeing the birds, Siti uttered some words that seem to give some key to what I should be doing.

“Of course they are! How I wish human can learn from that yellow breast common Iora.”

After a few second of silence, I called her name. “Siti! I will try. But you have to help me.”

Siti looked straight at me for a few moments. Then she said, “Let’s get back to the house.”

I obliged. We walked side-by-side. “Have you searched for a job, yet?” I asked, trying to keep the mid-afternoon conversation alive.

“No. I am thinking of pursuing my PhD.”

“That’s good. What are going to study?”

“I’ll show you when we reach the house. Thank you for asking.”

Is that it? It must be. It must be that she had missed the feeling of being cared for as I did back during our childhood days. Ureka!

"You are welcomed."

The Cashew Nut Orchard

2009-10-18T12:33:00.002+08:00

PART 7

The cashew nut orchard had a special place in my relationship with Siti. It was the place where we had shared a significant part of our childhood life. It was the place where we had played together and had learned to understand each other. It was the place where we had made our promises. It the place where we had obtained the money that we had saved, and then used to initiate the building of our village house. It symbolized a promise being fulfilled. If I were to write in detail the significance of that small piece of land to our relationship, I could have made a full-page list of them.

Of all the memories that were associated with the orchard, the most that I cherished was the discovery of Siti Rahmah as a woman. It was the discovery that expectations change as one is experiencing shifts in one’s phase of life. It simply means that things that were important in childhood automatically becoming secondary as one enters teenage phase. The same goes with the teenage phase. As one shifts into adulthood, shift in expectations will follow suit. Changes in expectations could possibly be more important in women than in man. Thus, when the decision to get married came, knowing each other and sharing many things together since childhood days, were quickly became demoted in importance. A woman as exemplified by Siti Rahmah will look for something else…. something that men can easily overlook, and sadly I was one of them.

The first time that I seriously talked with Siti about replanting the cashew nuts orchard was three months after our engagement. As Siti was still staying with her parents in the village, I had to travel all the way from Kuala Terengganu to Kuala Lipis to see her. She had not search for a job, because she wanted to make up for the lost time, being away from them for six years. To many people six years of separation may not matter much, but for the only child of a family, separation is hard to bear. In extreme cases it can have emotional impact on one or the entire family member. For Siti’s family, their strong religious background, helped them getting through trying times. Uncle Abdullah had always been philosophical in his approach to life.

“There is no need to feel sad about. All that happen has already been written in the great book Luh Mahfuz, long before the universe was created. In essence, all that we are doing is following the life scripts.”

I fully agree with his philosophy. After all the belief in destiny (qadar) it is the sixth tenet of Islamic belief. But believing in qadar without full knowledge of its meaning can lead to unwarranted behaviour, which vary in significance. One such behaviour is to take things for granted. Looking back, I realized that I had taken many things for granted. Anty Aminah, for example. Aunty Aminah had been kind to me for the eighteen years that I lived with my grandparents. In fact when my grandmother died, she took care of my needs, as if Siti and I were brother and sister. I did not bother to know why she was very kind to me ….. and I knew about our familial relationship only when she told me about it three months before.

I had not appreciated all these until very recently. We often forget about the goodness of someone until that someone has passed away. Luckily Aunty Aminah was still alive and well. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have the opportunity to make up for the ten years that I had gone away. Thus, despite my busy work schedule, I tried to visit Siti’s family once a month.

So, after three months of engagements, I had made three visits. For the third visit, there was an additional motivation, which was to talk about the preparations for the wedding. The physical aspect of the preparation did not concern me. Most things had gone according to schedule. It was the personal aspect of preparation. I couldn’t help thinking about it throughout the journey. Why was Siti still not enthusiastic about the wedding? Why was she still not keen to go shopping for the presents which will be exchanged between the bride and bridegroom during the wedding ceremony? May be I should ask her directly and demand the answer…… and the issue will be settled once for all. Maybe…..

When I reached the village, I straight away went to Siti’s house. As I parked my car, I saw Siti coming out of the front door to greet me. We greeted each other with salaam and then smiled at each other as we had done for so many years.

“This is for aunty,” I said as I gave her two plastic bags containing grapes and apples that I have brought from the supermarket the day before.

“Thanks. Lest go in. It’s time for lunch. I have cooked your favourite dishes.”

“Oh... That’s wonderful! Thank you.” After a short pause I continued, teasing her as I did, “ Is it the make-believe dishes that we used to ‘cook’ together?”

“Nope. Of course not! For the past three months my mother has taught me how to cook all the traditional Malay dishes.”

We reached the front door as Siti completed her sentence. There, I was greeted by Mr. Abdullah and Aunty Aminah. Mr. Abdullah and I sat at the living room while Aunty Aminah and Siti went straight to the kitchen. Mr. Abdullah talked a little bit of the preparations for the wedding that they had made thus far.

Rajang River

2009-10-12T12:30:00.015+08:00

The longest river in Sarawak is Rajang River. The river begins in the heart of Borneo and empties its contents into the South China Sea.Along the river banks are found small communities which are very much associated with the river. Some communities live in long houses, which can be seen clearly as one travels along the river by boats.

Travelling from Sibu to the upper part of the river can be fascinating. At the dawn or dusk, the reflection of the glowing sky on the water surface can provide eye-catching scenery.

Understanding Islam

2009-09-27T13:03:00.002+08:00

The basic foundation of Islamic

Islam means complete submission to Allah, the one and only God. The word "Allah" is a combination of "Al-" (which means "the") and "ilah" (which means "god"). Hence Allah is The God. The oneness of God is affirmed in Chapter 112 (Sura Al-Ikhlas) of the Quran which can be translated as follows:

Say: He is Allah the One and Only;[112.1]
Allah is the Self-Sufficient (independent of all, while all are dependent on Him);[112.2]
He begets not, nor is He begotten;[112.3]
And there is none comparable to Him.[112.4]

The Chapter affirms that God is one. For if there were more than one god, then the various gods would want to wrestle the power from other gods, and take control of the universe. This is explaned in the the verse 017.042 of the Chapter 17 (Sura Al-Isra'):

Say: If there had been (other) gods with Him, as they say,- behold, they would certainly have sought out a way to the Lord of the Throne!

The results will be chaos.

The Sura also affirms that Allah is absolute, which means He is independant of others while all others are dependant on Him. This verse (verse 2) can lead to arrays of explanations which are embodied in the Quran and Al-Hadith (whivch is the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad). Some examples are:

1. Muslims must only ask Allah for their needs. This must of course be done along with proper preparations and strategy.
2. Allah set limits or bounderies as to the things that human are allowed and forbidden to do. Within these limits, human are free to do what they prefer.

The oneness of God also means that Allah has no father nor children. Allah is the creator of everything that are found in the universe. If Allah had a father or a son, then the human mind will wonder if there was a grandfather and so on. If God were born, then He is being created. So, who has created Him? Human inquisitive mind will never end seeking for answers.

The verse 116 of Chapter 2 (Al-Baqarah) should silent Muslim minds from asking such questions:

002.116 They say: "God hath begotten a son" :Glory be to Him.-Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: everything renders worship to Him.

The capacity of the human mind is very limited. It can only envisage things that they have seen. No one will ever know what the planets in the distant solar systems of the milky way galaxy look like. No one will ever know the types of living beings in those plantes. There are billions of galaxies in the universe. They are just too far away for human to get there. If we cannot even know how those planets and possible inhabitants look like, there is no way that we can know how the Creator looks like. Thus, anything that we picture out as God, it is not God. Beacuse there is none comparable to Allah.

Astronomy in The Quran

2009-08-30T07:00:00.004+08:00

The moon, the earth and the sun as well as the stars in all the galaxies are always turing on its axis and travel in their own fixed orbits. The specific orbits followed by a star, a planet or the moon prevent them from colliding into one another. This phenomenon is explained in the Quran in Surah 36 (Ya-Seen):37-40, as follows:

37. And a Sign for them is the Night: We withdraw therefrom the Day, and behold they are plunged in darkness;
38. And the sun runs his course for a period determined for him: that is the decree of (Him), the Exalted in Might, the All-Knowing.
39. And the Moon,- We have measured for her mansions (to traverse) till she returns like the old (and withered)lower part of a date-stalk.
40. It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).

Comment: according to Law? Law of gravity and centrifugal/centripetal force?

These ayat not only explain that there are specific orbits for each star, sun, earth and the moon, but also implicitly explain that all these masses are spherical in shape and not flat as people thought not too long ago. The spherical shape of all these masses is explaned elsewhere in the Quran.

The earth tilts on its axis according to season so that each part of the earth can receive sunlight at certan time of the 365 days of the earth's complete circle around the sun. In this way, the inhabitants of the earth can recieve the four seasons, which makes up a year.

Meanwhile, the moon completes a circle around the earth in 30 days, that will make a month. Thus, the people can calculate the days, the months and the year. This is explained in Chapter 10 (Surah Yunus (in the Bilble = Jonah)):Verse5.

"Translation in modern Englih by Dr. Annis Ahmed : He is Who has made the sun self-luminous and the moon radiant (reflecting the sun light) and programmed for it stages that you may know the number of years and (keep) the account. Allah did not create that but in reality. He explains the signs in detail for a people who have knowledge."

"Translation in classical Englih by Ibnu-Kathir: It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light and measured out for it stages that you might know the number of years and the reckoning. Allah did not create this but in truth. He explains the Ayat in detail for people who have knowledge."

Comment: One must note in this ayat that the Quran explains that the sun is the one that gives out the light. The moon meerly reflects the light from the sun. This fact has only been discovered relatively recently the astronomists and the scientists.

Another thing to note is the word "haq" which is translated as "reality" or "truth" in the two translations above. The word "haq" may also be understood as "exactness" or "benifits and usefulness". All of the translations may be correct since the modern findings match the facts inscribed in the Quran in all respects, namely the truth about orbits and the exactness of orbit and orbiting speed. For example,if the moon travels faster than the current speed, it will disappear into the outer space, and if it travels slower, it wil be on collision course with the earth).

It is also true that wahtever is created has benifit to the people, environment, plant and animals or the stability of the earth and universe systems.

If you study the chemical and molecule interactions in the human cells, you can appreciate how exact these chemical interactions are occuring. One mistake made, the cell will not be functioning and the whole array of our body function will be in jeopredy. That is to say our whole body will not function properly. All kinds of deficiency diseases can occur if just a single defect occurs in the body system. Study the subjects "Cell Biology" and "Immunology", and you will appreciate this.

Subhanallah.

Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan

2009-08-17T10:19:00.002+08:00

Selamat Menyambut Bulan Ramadhan yang penuh berkat dan rahmat. Semoga puasa tahun ini lebih baik daripada tahun-tahun yang lalu.

Some flowers

2009-08-06T07:27:00.005+08:00

Common name: Fairy lily
Scientific Name: Zephyranthes candida

Family: Amaryllidaceae
Locations: my house
Date taken: June 2009

Hippeastrum sp.
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Locations: my house
Date taken: June 2009

The Cashew Nut Orchard

2009-07-31T07:24:00.002+08:00

PART 6.

Kuala Lipis is about three hours derive from Kuala Terengganu. That makes it easy for us to visit Siti’s parents during the weekends. We would stay one night in her parents’ house and one night in our village house. Our village house is a small three bedroom Malay traditional house, located at the spot where my grandfather’s house used to stand. It is meant to be house where we can spend the weekend under village environment. The rooms are not spacious but enough to accommodate two persons per room, one room for Siti and I, one room for the boys and one room for the girls. We hope to have two boys and two girls in our family.

The house was completed one year after we had got married. It took that long to complete because we wanted to build one which incorporates as much as possible the features of a traditional Malay house. Although the structure is made up of concrete and bricks, it looks like a wooden house. To achieve this, we had to decorate the outside wall with wooden planks and the inside wall with wooden panels. To add to those features we used ornately carved wooden panel as the roof barge board. The barge board was especially designed for the house. I made all the trouble to go into the details because the house has great significance to our relationship, which is a symbol of promises being fulfilled.

But the process that was needed to fulfill the promises did not come easy. Happiness does not come automatically. Often happiness begins with a problem. The problem has to be scrutinized and the solution has to be discovered. The process of discovery may take a while to materialise. One should not lament the loss time, because, discovery means building up understanding between each other. The longer the time taken to understand each other, the more closely a couple will become. Patient holds the keys to success.

The process of discovering Siti was the discovery of the woman in Siti Rahmah. It was true that I had known the ins-and-outs about Siti as a little girl. I was true that I had known much about Siti as a young girl. But I admit that it took more time and painstaking effort in discovering Siti as a woman. I only realized the difference, when we first met after ten years of separation. Now, I am happily relate to you my experience in my voyage of discovery.

I could remember very well the events that had occurred the night of Siti’s homecoming ceremony. The homecoming was very eventful because it was also the night when we were engaged. Despite the sour relationship that we were experiencing following the afternoon miscommunication, we had no objection to the occasion. Perhaps both of us were thinking that the problem that had just cropped up between us was temporary. My father, mother, Salwani and Irfan were present for my side. Mr. Abdullah, Mrs Aminah and two cousins of Siti’s parents were present for Siti’s side. The occasion went smoothly because everything had been planned and agreed upon way back before we knew the meaning of marriage.

All of us went back to our destinations the following day. I went back last as I needed to discuss some important matters with Siti, my fiancée.

“I will rebuild this house for you as I have promised.” I reassured Siti about my commitment, just before I left that morning. I was facing the house as I was talking.

Siti was quite, absorbed in some unsolved fundamental issue that I could not figure out. When I looked sideways, I got the glimpse of the inside of Siti’s mind. She was looking at the house with empty mind. Why Siti? What had I done wrong?

“Siti. If I had said something wrong, I apologise.”

“Sani. You have not said anything wrong. It’s just me.”

I wanted to ask further, but I was afraid to hear the answer that she would give me. From the way that she responded to my questions, I assumed that there could be someone else in her mind. It had to be someone who was dearer to her than I was. That was the notion that I had in mind when I left Siti’s house.

I was already in my car, ready to leave Siti’s house. Siti waved her hand. I did the same. It was a wave to say goodbye, alright. The question was whether it was just for that occasion or forever. I drove slowly, while my eyes were fixed at the front mirror. When I saw her wiping her tears from her cheeks with her hand, I became more confused. If she had another person in her mind, would she cry? The answer could be “yes” could be “no”. If she had felt sad for me because she could not fulfill my wishes, the answer was “yes”. Yes, she had someone else in her mind. But, if she was just hurt with what I had said to her the previous day, then the answer had to be “no”. No, she had no one in her mind except me.

I took the challenge positively. That was to say that she was a bit unhappy about something that I had said to her. If that was true, what was the last word or words that I had said just before Siti, out of a sudden, changed her mood from being happy and excited to being cold, gloomy and unresponsive? I began rewinding the sequence of dialogue between Siti and I that afternoon. It was about the house that I had said I would rebuild for her. I recollected the conversation word by word. After I had analysed every single word that transpired between the two of us that day, I did not see any reason why she would be upset with me. The words were perfect and understandable. When I repeated the pledge in the morning just before I left her, her mood did not worsen. So, it was not what I had said that hurt her feeling. She already acknowledged that fact herself. It must be something else. What was it?

I scratched my head in despair. I was clueless.

The Cashew Nut Orchard

2009-07-20T00:11:00.000+08:00

PART 5

Adhan was two years old. He liked to play with Sakinah. They were cousins. The two children had brought my elder sister, Salwani and I closer together. The fact that they were cousins was not the reason why we became very close to each other. It was about how Salwani eventually conceived her daughter to be.

Salwani and Irfan got married almost two years before Siti and I did. Their inability to get children had made everybody worried. Are they infertile? Are they inheriting the low fecundity of our elders and ancestors? Those sorts of questions baffled me, made me feel anxious, dejected and angry at times. I had asked Salwani about it, just to satisfy my curiosity. At that time, I was twenty days away from my marriage date.

“Sis. Do you believe in the inheritance of fecundity?”

“I am not sure, Mathani. The facts tell the story. You see, our grandparents only had one child, our parents have only two. And here I am, married two years, no indication of pregnancy as yet. What would you say to that?”

Salwani always called me by my full name, not just Sani like other people did. I kind of like the way she addressed me. As a result, I became very fond of her by day.

“I bet sperm counts are not the problem?” I asked politely, at the same time negotiating away from her question. If I did answer the question, I would only invite anguish to destabilize my emotion. That was because I hate to hear anything that will support the plausibility of the assumption. I knew that it was an act of denial. But I did not want to feel defeated before I even started.

“Fertility wise, both Irfan and I are okay. We have examined ourselves at two different clinics. We are doctors, brother. We do not just let things finding their own way.”

They did their homework. But, I kept on prodding at her, in the hope that some good things might come out.

“How about physiological and psychological factors. Have you looked at the conditions that stimulate pregnancy? Hormone balance for example. Do not forget about your own ovulation cycle. What is the stage that your ovum is most receptive. I mean, what is the age of your ovum that is most receptive to the sperm? Do you get what I mean?”

“Yes Bro. Thanks. You are a lot of help. I will consult the people in the O&G Division.”

“I am specializing in Family Medicine, don’t you remember?”

“Of course. I will see how well you do when you get married.”

Her comment made me blushed. She would always get the better of me. She had the knack of jabbing the anaesthetics at the right place and at the right time. That expression was just the doctors’ version of the common saying of hitting the nail at the right place and at the right time. But I was not angry. Why should I, anyway. I love her. She was a newly found sister whom I had lost through family arrangement. The separation did took its toll. During the first eighteen years of my life I did not even feel that she was my sister. She had lived with our parents in Kuala Lumpur while I lived with our grandparents in a village near Kuala Lipis, Pahang. So, it was only right that we should make up for the lost time.

Actually, there were other facts about our clan that I had never communicated to my sister. Siti and I had promised not to reveal then to anyone. Despite the somewhat sour relationship that we had during our first eight months of reunion, Siti and I did a simple study of our family tree. The results were startling and annoying. For the past four generations, I was told that none of us had more than three children in a family. To add to that woes, it was noted that quite a number of them died at comparatively young age. As a doctor and a researcher, I would like to search for the explanation.

Back to the story about Salwani; when Siti was confirmed pregnant, my sister started to frequent our house. She would find time to be around with Siti. When Siti was six months into her pregnancy, Salwani conceived her first baby. Later on she related that if a woman finds herself difficult to conceive, she should try mixing closely with pregnant women, physically and emotionally. Another suggestion was that the woman should try to adopt a child. For whatever reason, it seemed to work with certain women but not others. The good news was that it worked for Salwani. We were happy for her and her husband. She thanked me for the suggestions and encouragement that I had given her. So that was the story about Sakinah. She is six months younger than Adham.

When I asked her again whether there was any inheritance associated with pregnancy, she brushed it aside without hesitation. She gave a thumb-up and then pointed at her belly. She was two months pregnant!

The Cashew Nut Orchard

2009-07-17T08:20:00.003+08:00

PART 4

We were nine months into our marriage and eighteen months after Siti had come back from abroad. That was to say that nine months had passed before Siti and I finally lived in the house, which we had built together. And, you know what? It took me full six months before I finally figured out why she behaved the way she did, as cold as stone when it came to discussing our future relationship. It was six full agonizing months that I had to endure. During that period, each day that had gone by, seemed like taking away piece-by-piece, whatever chance that we might end up as husband and wife as has been planned by our elders; as time went by it became more evident that I might lose Siti. If it had happened to you, would you want to remember it? I did not. But the lesson was something that you want those who come after you to know. Hopefully, they would not take things for granted, like what I had done. If I had been a writer, I would write a book or a novel based on my experience.

It was a thing of the past. And after nine months of happy marriage I was looking forward to something else. It was something that only Siti and I could share. It was the fruit of our love, a baby. Yes, God willing, Siti will deliver a baby boy in two weeks time. We already had a name for him. All we had to do was to wait for the moment. During the waiting period, there were joyful and anxious moments. One night, while we were lying down on our bed, Siti grabbed my hand and put it on her belly.

“Do you feel the movement?”

“Yes, yes. It looks like he is kicking your stomach wall.”

“I think he is telling us that he is ready to get out and see the world.”

“See his mother and his father,” I said, smiling joyfully.

Siti smiled as well. But I knew that deep in her heart, she was always anxious about the condition of the baby. I knew it, because I felt the same way. From the day her pregnancy was confirmed, we had not missed a day praying for our child’s health. That the baby would be born normal was of utmost important to us. I think that is what every couple is asking for.

There was a moment of silence. Nothing moved except my hand. I continued to venture on Siti’s expanded belly, searching the spots where the baby’s part was hitting her belly. “How does it felt like?” I asked when I found one such spot.

“Just like having a baby in the stomach.” She answered, twitching her lips as if she was joking.

“Oh honey. You answer is like the question itself. You are not describing how you feel.”

“That is the only feeling that I can describe. There is nothing similar to being pregnant. You can only have the pregnancy feeling when you are pregnant.”

“Oh. I see. Sorry that I insisted.”

Siti winced a little and then said, “It is okay. At least you know the problems and the torment that women have to endure in order to produce human like you. That should be enough reason for men to have empathy towards their partners, not to exaggerate little mistakes that their wives make.”

I said nothing but instead nodded in acceptance, both my hands clasping her right hand and brought it slowly touching my lips.”

When Adham was born, there was smile on everybody’s face. For Siti and I, it was a smile that symbolized our gratitude to God. For others, it might be the same perhaps with additional reasons. For sure, Siti’s and my parents were very happy because Adham was their first grandchild.

There was nothing better than your first experience of anything. Having our first baby was one of those, extremely enjoyable. I watched him growing day by day. I noticed every new thing that he could do. Every new “achievement” made by the baby would be related to the partner. If I were the first to notice, then I would tell Siti about it. But it was Siti who related those progresses more often than I. For, she virtually locked her eyes on the baby from the time he was born until he was three weeks old. Only then that she started to care for other things around herself and around the house.

Witnessing how Siti took care of the baby, I began to relate this tender loving care action to my mother. She must have cared for me the same way as Siti cared for her baby. At the time the thought came to my mind, my mother was sitting beside me gazing intently at the baby. I glanced at her with admiration. Pregnancy and giving birth is a fulfillment of duty for the continuation of life cycle from one generation to another. The greater part of it should be credited to women. Is that not good enough reason that men should love their women and give them tender loving care that they deserve?

The Cashew Nut Orchard

2009-07-10T07:42:00.001+08:00

PART 3

I watched Siti walked her mother back to the house, her right hand still cuddling her mother’s shoulder and her left hand holding the her right arm. After a few steps, she turned her head around and gave me a glance, as if she was asking for permission to leave. Or, did she ask me to wait for her, and that she will return?

“Now that you know, you and Siti have a have a tough task at hand.”

Encik Abdullah’s voice startled me. But I responded nonetheless, trying to sound as calm as possible. “Yes. But we will figure that out. Thank you uncle for letting us know. I appreciate that very much,” I replied.

“That was just the beginning. I am sure, your father will explain it to you further when he arrives this evening.”

My father! Why would my parents be coming here as soon as they know that Siti and I are here, together? Are they thinking of what I am thinking? Unconsciously, I was smiling with that notion that something interesting was going to develop soon. But then, I became blushed when I noticed that Encik Abdullah was watching me all the while.

“They should be in time for the welcoming ceremony tonight,” I said after a scramble for words to hide my embarrassment.

“God willing, yes. But they are also coming here to discuss something more important than the welcoming ceremony.”

“Is it something to do with Siti and I?” I asked excitedly, without hesitation and feeling of inhibition. Why should I, anyway. During the first eighteen years of my life I had more interactions with him than my own father.

“Wait till your parents come. It is better that you hear it from their mouths.”

That was sure a neat answer. Older people are wiser. They know when, where and who to direct a task in order to get the most appropriate results for specific occasions. For me, I just couldn’t wait to know why. Why do my parents want to come here in such a hurry? Not that I could not figure out why, but I just want to hear the words coming from the person who will give the word okay.

“In that case, I will wait for them.” I finally said.

“Sani, you have heard what your grandparents wished you to execute. Everything will depend on you. I am sure Siti will be willing to share with you her feelings and her opinion.”

After we talked for few more minutes, Encik Abdullah asked me to accompany him back to the house. I told him politely that I wanted to do more exploration in and around the area, and he understandingly agreed. We exchanged salaam, and then Encik Abdullah left for his house.

“Sani!” Siti’s voice echoed from the direction of the cashew nut orchard. Wow! Was it not exciting? Yes, indeed it was. It was like reliving the old times, Siti and I. So, I hurried down the path which led to where her voice had come from.

“Siti!” I called back aloud. “I know where you are. I am coming for you. Don’t hide, okay. I don’t want to play that hide-and-seek game anymore. We are not longer young, you know.”

“No, I am not hiding. I am waiting for you to come here.” She cried out, probably thinking that I was still a distant away. She was wrong. Actually, by the time she answered, I was already at the position from where I could see her. Ah! Siti. How sweet you have grown. Much sweeter than when you were younger.

Siti stood at one spot under a cashew nut tree. She was staring at me as I was approaching her, her face lighted as if expecting a happy outcome from her game.

“There you are. What’s up?”

“Do you remember anything about the spot where I am standing right now?” Siti was grinning cheek-to-cheek, just as she did years ago when she managed to make me thinking hard to come up with an answer.

I frowned, trying hard to extract something that I could associate her with that spot. “No, I can’t think of any,” I conceded.

“Okay. It is about a promise that you have given me. You said it from where you are standing right now and I was standing right here. Remember?”

I pressed my forehead with my finger, my mind still searching for the clue. However, I knew that I had to surrender. “Okay Siti. What have I promised you?” I said softly, looking straight into her eyes.

“Ahem… You promised to build me a house with the money that we earned from selling these cashew nuts.” She pointed at the trees. Smiling gleefully she said, “And now, I am claiming it.”

“Oh that! I remember.” After a short pause, I continued, “but with that small amount of money, I can only build you a little house like the one we used to play with.”

“Oh no! Not that kind of house. This time around, I want a real house.”

“A house you and I can live in.” Now, that was some kind of suggestive expression. If you can read in between the line, of course you would know what I was implying. She should understand it quickly, because that was the same thing as the one I was saying about when I said I would rebuild my grandfather’s house.

“Do you really mean what you have just said?” She prodded.

“Which one?”

“Share the house which we are going to build?”

“I do. Even if you ask me a hundred times, I will say I do.”

“Why?”

“Because, we have known each other since we were child. We shared many things. And will share anything with you till death. Believe me; I would do anything for you.” How enchanting it was, I thought. She would be enthralled by it.

But I was wrong. The light in her face dimmed as soon as finished my sentences.

“Is that all there is to it. Is that the only reason why you want to build a house for me?”

“I would say the same thing even if you had asked me a thousand and one times.” I said to her, perhaps jokingly.

“Oh, I see,” she muttered in a low tone of voice, her eyelid dropped and her face showing sign of despondency.

I ignored the sign. Instead I began to conjure new topics to continue the conversation. “Would you like to walk around this orchard? It has been ten years since I climbed these trees.”

Siti stayed put at the spot, not even looking at me when I was talking. She did noteven respond. I gazed at her, and I could not bear to see that somber face of hers.

“Siti, what is the matter. Have I said something that hurts you?” I walked nearer to her as I inquired.

“Nothing. I was not hurt by what you have said. I just feel that I want to get home.” She started walking towards her house, leaving me standing in confusion.

What have I done wrong? That was a good question. No, it was a bad question, bad enough to rattle my heart and made me sad.

The Cashew Nut Orchird

2009-07-03T09:01:00.002+08:00

While I was pondering about the things that I did not do to keep Siti within my reach, I heard a rumbling sound of a car not far from where I was standing. It was in the direction of Siti’s house. I walked briskly through a path that Siti and I used to tread while commuting to and from my grandfather’s house, Siti’s house and the orchard. I walked past my grandfather’s dilapidated house until I reached Siti’s house. I saw a car parked in front of the house. A woman and a man came out of the front seats of the car. I recognized them quickly. They were Encik Abdullah and Puan Aminah, Siti’s parents.

“Assalamualaikum. How are doing uncle, aunty,” I said aloud, hurrying to meet them with my hands ready to offer a handshake.

“Waalaikum salam,” they answered simultaneously, gazing at me intently. “Ooo… Sani! You have grown up. Is everything ok with you? When did you arrive?”

“I am ok, alhamdulillah.” I said. “Not too long, may be half an hour ago,” I glanced at my wrist watch as I was talking.

“Three months ago, your father did tell me that you have come back from Ireland. But your aunty and I were quite busy to pay you a visit. It is good that you come here today. You can help me carry Siti’s baggage up the stairs.” Encik Abdullah pointed at the car.

Puan Aminah was taking out her handbag from the front seat, while a young lady was about to come out of the back seat.

“Siti?” I asked, too startled and too excited to say the proper words. But after a moment I managed to restrain my excitement. Who knows a young man might pop out from the other side of the car?

Enck Abdullah answered my question with a smile. I understood very well what wan in his mind.

Siti greeted me with salaam and I answered the same in return. Encik Abdullah excused himself, perhaps to let us speak to each other in private. For a moment we remained speechless, eyes gazing the other’s eye. But even without saying it, I could see that she had been yearning to see me again as I yearned to see her.

“Sani, let’s go for a walk,” she decided, breaking the silence that came between us.

“Ok. Let us go to see my grandfather’s house,” I replied.

We walked side by side towards the back of the house. We then trod down the path, which we had been familiar with. Soon we reached my grandfather’s house. I gazed at the rundown house, my mind overwhelmed by sadness and my heart swallowed by self-pity. How could I allowed this house to deteriorate? How could I became so callus about something that had been part of childhood days? How could I fail my beloved grandfather?

“I will rebuild this house,” I muttered to no one, forgetting that Siti was standing close to me.

“Did I hear you saying you want to rebuild this house?”

“That’s right. I will do it. When I have vacation, I will spend some time here. If you are around, we can play like we used to the old days.” I gave a grin that was terminated as quickly as it was started.

“Don’t you think, you have to ask permission from the inheritor of the land and the house first before you rebuild it?”

“Oh…I almost forgot about it. Thank you for reminding me. But, do you know anything about it?”

Before Siti could speak, Encik Abdullah and Puan Aminah appeared from nowhere. They must have come when I was in deep thought about the fate of the house in front of me.

“Sani! We would like to inform you that your parents will be arriving before sunset today. We have some important matters to discuss. Besides, tonight we will have a small ceremony to welcome back our child Siti. We hope you stay till tomorrow,” Explained Encik Abdullah as soon as he came close to where Siti and I were standing.

“Uncle! How do they know I am here?” I said in bewilderment.

“Your hand phone is out of reach, so they called us. When they know that you and Siti are here, they decided to come.”

“Uncle! Can I ask who inherit this house?”

“Both your grandfather and grandmother left a will that this land and the house be shared between you and Siti. It is their wish that you and Siti take care of this land and pass it down to our decedents when both of you are gone.”

“Our decedents? What does that mean, uncle?” I became more confused.

“It is a long story. But let me explain.” Encik Abdullah swallowed and then continued with his story. “You and Siti have the same great grandfather and great grandmother. Your grandfather and Siti’s grandmother were brother and sister. Your great grandfather and great grandmother died young, leaving the two of them to fend for themselves. They planted those cashew nut trees together and prayed to God that one day their grandchildren will harvest the nuts. Here you are. You and Siti are the grandchildren.”

“So, we are second cousin. Is that right, mother?” Siti’s turn to ask, looking at her mother while she did so.

“That’s right. I was the only child to your grandparents, as you are to your parents. When my parents died, Sani’s grandparents took care of me. They were like my own parents to me. That is why Sani’s grandmother was so fond of me and you, Siti.” Puan Aminah barely finished her sentences before she started to sob. Siti comforted her mother by putting her arms around her shoulder. Soon Siti began to sob. It was so touching!

Encik Abdullah and I stood still and speechless, each perhaps for different reasons. Obviously, I could not tell what was in his mind. But for me, I was overwhelmed by the events of the day, particularly knowing my familial relationship with Siti. From that moment onward, I knew I had obligations that I could not refuse…… to love and to take care of Siti. To tell you the truth, the obligations were quite insignificant in my relationship with Siti. For, I did not have the slightest doubt that I would do the same for Siti Rahmah, regardless of whether the secret had been divulged or otherwise.

Memilih Tempat Kembali

2009-06-28T20:46:00.004+08:00

Dunia dan seisinya adalah dijadikan untuk menusia, sebagai tempat tinggal, kemudahan kenderaan dan sumber rezeki. Allah memuliakan manusia melebihi kebanyakan makhluk yang telah diciptaNya.

Nabi Adam bermula di Syurga. Di dalam syurga itu Nabi Adam dan Hawa diberi kebebasan untuk memakan dan meminum apa-apa yang mereka sukai, kecuali buah dari satu pokok. Namun Nabi Adam telah melanggar perintah itu, dan kemudian dihalau dari syurga dan turun ke dunia. Hanya selepas Nabi Adam melanggar perintah larangan itu sahaja, barulah baginda berada di dunia.

Bagaimana pula dunia ini dijadikan untuk manusia, sedangkan Nabi Adam dan Hawa sebenarnya berasal dari syurga? Adakah disebabkan Nabi Adam melangagar larangan tersebut maka manusia keseluruhannya TERPAKSA menduduki bumi ini? Mungkin persoalan ini sedikit sebanyak memberikan kemusykilan kapada orang-orang biasa seperti kita.

Untuk menjawab pesoalan itu, kita perlu melihat urutan peristiwa bermula daripada penciptaan Nabi Adam sehingga baginda dihalau dari Syurga.

Dialog antara Allah dengan mlaikat dan iblis dikisahkan pada beberapa tempat di dalam Al-Quran. Antanya ialah Al-Baqarah ayat-ayat 30-39, Al-A'araf ayat-ayat 11-25, Al-Isra' ayat-ayat 61-65 dan lain-lain. Antara pengajaran daripada ayat-ayat tersebut ialah Allah mencipta Nabi Adam sebagai makhluk yang lebih mulia daripada malaikat. Iblis menjadi marah kerana dia menyangka yang dia adalah lebih mulia daripada Nabi Adam. Alasannya dia dijadikan daripada api sedangkan Nabi Adam dijadikan daripada tanah. Kemudian, iblis telah dilaknat disebabkan keingkarannya dan sikap takburnya untuk mengakui kemuliaan Nabi Adam itu.

Di dalam syurga Allah mengajar Nabi Adam dengan ilmu yang cukup dalam segala aspek ilmu pengetahuan supaya dapat menjadi khalifah yang mentadbir bumi, dan menunaikan tugas hakiki manusia sebagai hamba yang ta'at kepada segala perintah Pencipta mereka. Allah mengajarkan segala ilmu dan panduan bagi melawan godaan syaitan yang telah dilaknat dan telah disahkan sebagai musuh yang nyata bagi anak cucu Nabi Adam.

Namun, Nabi Adam telah tergoda oleh bisikan iblis laknatullah. Iblis berjaya membohongi Nabi Adam dan Hawa yang kononnya sebab mereka dilarang memakan buah itu ialah kerana Allah tidak mahu mereka menjadi malaikat atau terus tinggal kekal di dalam syurga. Ini bermakna mereka boleh tinggal di dalam syurga, tidak seperti tujuan asal mereka itu diciptakan (iatu di angkat sebagai khalifah di bumi).

Perbuatan Nabi Adam dan Hawa ini membangkitkan kemurkaan Allah. Mereka dihalau sebelum perintah penghijrahan dari Syurga ke bumi itu diterima. Al-Quran mengisahkan tetang kemurkaan Allah terhadap Nabi Yunus, apabila beliau telah meninggalkan kaumnya sebelum datang perintah untuk berhijrah. Jadi kisah pelanggaran perintah berhijrah oleh para nabi bukan khusus kepada Nabi Adam sahaja.

Berlainan pula keadaannya dengan Nabi Muhammad Sallalahualaihi wassallam. Baginda menunggu perintah berhijrah sebelum melakukanya,walaupun berhadapan dengan tentangan dan pelbagai ancaman yang dilakukan oleh kaum musyrik Mekah. Inilah kelebihan Nabi akhir zaman ini. Nabi memberikan seluruh hidup baginda supaya setiap individu akhir zaman dapat kembali ke tempat mula-mula Nabi Adam dijadikan, iaitu ke Syurga. Dalam kata lain, secara fitrahnya, tempat kembali anak cucu Nabi Adam pada hari akhirat ialah ke syurga.

Iblis dan kuncu-kuncunya pula terus menerus menipu manusia, kerana takbur, dendam dan kedengkiannya yang mendalam terhadap Nabi Adam. Iblis bersumpah akan menyesatkan anak cucu Nabi Adam, agar keseluruan manusia semua tidak dapat kembali menemui Allah di syurga.

Allah tidak membiarkan manusia begitu sahaja untuk berhadapan dengan iblis dan kuncu-kuncunya tanpa panduan. Allah menghantar 25 orang rasul serta kitab-kitab suci yang mengandungi panduan yang lengkap bagi mereka mencari jalan pulang ke syurga. Manusia diberikan kebebasan memilih sama ada mahu kembali ke syurga dengan menta'ati perintahNya atau mengikuti iblis yang akan mengheret mereka ke dalam neraka, iaitu tempat kembali yang paling buruk (saat matlhira).

Dalam mengharungi penghidupan dunia yang fana ini, manusia dianjurkan untuk sentiasa memohon doa perlindungan dari syaitan yang direjam. Juga manusia dianjurkan untuk berdoa dianugerahkan husnul khatimah (kesudahan yang baik) dan tidak berakhir dengan suul khatimah (kesudahan yang buruk).

Tetapi kerap kali manusia akan tergelincir juga. Maka manusia dianjurkan supaya sentiasa melakukan beristigfar dan melakukan taubat nasuha. Kerana Tuhan yang Maha Pengampun lagi Mengasihani bersedia untuk mengampuni segala dosa hamba-hambaNya yang bertaubat, kecuali dosa syirik.

Manusia adalah makhluk yang dimuliakan (ayat 70 surah Al-Isra) dan merupakan kejadian yang sangat baik (ayat 4 surah At-Tin). Manusia berasal dari syurga bukan evolusi daripada beruk. Maka inilah dia jalan pilihan, jalan yang lurus, jalan yang menunju ke tempat kembali yang baik, iaitu syurga yang merupakan tempat bermulanya sejarah manusia.

Wallahu a'alam.

The Cashew Nut Orchard

2009-06-26T08:06:00.006+08:00

It was ten years ago that I last set foot on the land where I spent my childhood days. I have not been back since the time when my grandfather died. I lived with him until his last day, which was two years after my grandmother had died. I stayed on for one more month before I finally decided that it was time to leave. By that time the fate of my grandfather’s house and the land on which it stoo, was settled.

A month or so before my grandfather died, I was stuck in a dilemma. I was eighteen years old then, young, vibrant and full of ambitions. Having scored good results in my Malaysian Certificate of Education examinations, or SPM in short, I realized that my ambition to continue my studies had materialized. But how could I leave for the big city when my old grandfather was in need of my presence, more so as time progressed? Moreover, I loved my grandfather and my grandmother so much, that I would not trade that love with anything else. His death broke my heart, and at that time I thought that the world was cruel to me. But after a while, I realized how God does His work. Often, when He grant something, He takes away something else. My grandfathers death meant that there would be nothing else that could prevent me from pursuing my ambitions. So it seemed.

Just as I was packing my belongings into a suitcase and a sling bag, I heard someone knocking at the front door. There was a voice calling my name, a soft voice that I quickly recognized. It was Siti’s voice. My God! How could I forget her? Quickly I rushed to the door and opened it. There she was. Standing at the foot of the stairs with a somber face, she looked as if something unfortunate had happened to her.

She looked up at me and said, “I come just want to give you this.” She said, holding forward a book-like thing, wrapped nicely with a pink wrapping paper.

I went down the stairs to receive the gift. “Thank you,” I said. “But why are you giving me this?” I asked, oblivious of both the significance of the gift and the color of the wrapping paper

“You are going away, aren’t you, Sani?” She returned the task of answering back to me.

“Yes I am. But it doesn’t mean that our friendship will end. I promise you that wherever I am, I will not forget you. You are too important to me.”

“But when two friends are away from each other for a long period of time, anything can happen.”

“No. Not us. I promise you, I will call you and write to you.”

“It is easier said than done.”

“Siti ….” I call her name softly.

“Sani…” She looked straight at my face. Our eyes met.

“Siti, life has to go on. Ambition has to be pursued. People have to part one time or another. But believe me, if we trust each other, and stick to our commitment, our relationship will last a life time.” I said reassuringly. But believe me. I was myself startled at my own eloquence at the crucial moment.

She didn’t respond to my assurance, but swallowed. Then, slowly her eyes turned watery, and soon tears flowed down her pinkish cheek.

I took out a piece of facial tissue from my pocket and offered to wipe the tears that were wetting her cheeks. But then, when I was just about to wipe the tears, a car entered the narrow alley that leads to the house. It was my father’s car. My father and my mother had come to pick me up and bring me back to Kuala Lumpur, where my parents live.

After a short conversation with my parents, Siti and I excused ourselves. I let my father and my mother did whatever necessary with the house and its contents. For us, we wanted to be alone just for a while longer. There was only one place in the whole area around my grandfather’s house and Siti’s family house that we would go. It had to be the place where we enjoyed most during our younger days. It was there that we spelled out our promises and pledged to abide by them.

Without realizing, I was already walking towards the place. It was a small orchard, which was situated by the river bank. To my surprise the cashew nut trees were still there. They looked the same, only that they were taller and their stems and branches were larger and longer than they were ten years ago. I looked at the trees one by one. I could see myself climbing one tree after another. When I managed to pluck a ripe cashew nut fruit, I would throw it down. Siti would stretch her hands to receive it. We spent two hours or so picking the fruits every three to four days.

When the basket that we brought along was filled up with the fruits, we carried it together, one of us holding one strap and the other person holding another strap. Once we reached her house or my grandfather’s house, we would cut off the seeds from the fleshy fruits. As we grew up, we became cleverer .... we separated the seeds from the fruits at the orchard itself.

The seeds of cashew nuts have a though seed coat. We had to cut open the seed coat with a knife into two halves so as to expose the cotyledons inside. When the ‘skinning’ process was finished we would dry the whitish cotyledons in the sun. We kept the dried cotyledons in a tin. Each time we did the harvesting, we would add the dried cotyledons into the same tin. When the tin was full, Siti’s father, Abdullah, would sell it to someone who made a living by collecting the cashew nuts from the villagers. He then sold them at a higher price to someone living in a nearby town.

Since our childhood days, Siti and I often created activities that we did together. We enjoy every moment of those activities. We enjoyed those moments together, not because we had so much fun, but because of the joy of sharing. For instance, we shared the task of collecting the cashew nut fruits, breaking open the seeds and drying the cotyledons. We shared the money that Siti’s father brought home after he had sold the dried cotyledons by splitting it equally.

“Siti!” I uttered her name. Of course there was no one to answer! At that moment Siti was still far away from me, from her house, and from the country. It had been six years since she departed for the United States to further her studies. The years that had passed severed our connection, but not the memories. Standing at the orchard by the cashew nut trees, I could still feel the warmness and freshness of the surroundings as though Siti was there beside me.

Melancholy touched my heart. I long for Siti. How I wish to see Siti’s face again. But, it seemed that hope was the only thing that I could ask for. What Siti had mentioned years ago appeared to have caught up on us. I could remember what she said about the things that could happen when two persons are separated by time and distance. Yes, I remembered that. I remembered it clearly.

Senja Di Nanga Merit

2009-06-21T10:31:00.008+08:00

(Para pngunjung- jika anda download foto ini, sila berikan acknowlegdement pada sumber asalnya, terima kasih)

Di mana Nanga Merit ini sebenarnya? Untuk sampai ke tempat ini anda perlu sampai ke bandar Sibu di Sarawak terlebih dahulu. Dari Sibu anda akan menaiki bot ekspres melaui sebuah sungai yang dinamai Batang Rajang sampai ke sebuah bandar kecil yang bernama Kapit. Perjalanan ini memakan masa selama tiga jam. Sepanjang perjalanan ke Kapit anda dapat melihat hutan atau belukar yang diselangi oleh perkampungan kecil. Tidak banyak pengalaman yang menarik dalam perjalanan ini. Di kapit anda boleh bejalan-jalan melihat masyarakat yang ada di bandar itu.

Anda boleh bermalam di sini atau meneruskan pejalalan dengan menaiki barge atau 'tongkang'. Perjalanan ini akan memakan masa lagi 3 jam. Sepanjang perjalanan ke Nanga Merit anda akan melihat tebing yang ditumbuhi oleh pokok hutan. Kelainannya sungainya semakin sempit. Maka anda dapat melihat tebing yang kadang-kadang merupakan batu yang dibentuk dalam bentuk 'slate'. Anda juga perpeluang melihat rumah panjang yang berada di tebing sungai. Jarak di antara satu perkampungan rumah panjang dengan yang lain adalah antara 1 hingga 10 kilometer. Perhubungan utama di sepanjang sungai ini ialah air. Bot-bot kecil berenjin mengambil upah membawa penduduk perkampungan ke perkampungan lain atau menghantar anak-anak ke sekolah.

Kemudian, yang menambahkan 'thrill' kepada pengalaman ini, anda akan melalui suatu kawasan yang terdapat batu-batu besar yang terchonget dari dasar ke permukaan sungai. Kehadiran batu-batu besar ini menyebabkan air sungai berpusing-pusing dan berombak secara tidak menentu. Tongkang terpaksa belayar berliuk-piuk demi mengelak dari terlanggar halangan batu-batu besar di dalam sungai itu. Setengah-setangan dari batu-batu besar ini tidak dapat dilihat kerana berada di bawah aras permukaan air. Batu-batu yang tidak dapat dilihat ini adalah sebenarnya yang lebih berbahaya kapada tongkang dan bot-bot yang mellaui kawasan itu. Pada suatu kawasan yang sangat berbahaya, semua penumpang tidak dibenarkan berada di atas dek. Rasa cemas menguasai perasaan semua penumpang. Ombak dan pusingan air yang lebih kuat dan lebih tidak menentu, mahu sahaja menterbalikkan bot.

Namun segala rasa cemas itu berubah apabila anda sampai ke destinasi. Lihatlah betapa indahnya senja di Nanga Merit! Perjalanan balik pun seperti perjalanan datang juga. Mencabar dan menimbulkan rasa cemas. Namun apa yang dialami itu berbaloi. Dalam suasana sekeliling yang tenang dan damai, anda dapat melihat kebesaran dan kebijaksaan Yang Maha Pencipta. Dalam keheningan malam kita dapat melihat betapa bertuahnya kita kerana kita dilahirkan sebagai seorang muslim. Kerana kebenaran sudah ada bersama-sama ketika kita lahir. Kita tak perlu mencari lagi. Kita tak perlu mencarinya seperti orang lain.

Ya, nikmat yang paling berharga ialah nikmat dilahirkan sebagai seorang muslim dan mati sebagai seorang muslim.