Time Flies.

She really had grown up.

The Darling of the House.

Lawmakers Monk Eying Around.

Who are they? They are Malaysian Opposition Members of Parliament. They are supposed to be well educated (except for one or two) and yet they behaved like this in Parliament. They behaved like street Demonstrators. I am really sorry for the Voters who put them there.

Member of Parliament of my Constituency is one of them but rests assure I did not vote for the Clown. They are alliance of PKR, DAP and PAN (Tanah Air Tercinta) and they call themselves Pakatan Harapan (The Alliance of Hope). What hope? To me they are bloody hopeless. 



      

The Green Shirt Gathering.

It was held in Kota Baharu, Kelantan on 17 October 2015 at the home base of PAS (Parti Islam Semalaysia). The target was 60,000 participants and my guess was more. (Pictures below illustrate). That’s good and cool.

The gathering was merely in support of the relevancy of PAS as there were factions in PAS who absconded to form a new Political Party - the liberal group in PAS failed or lost during the recent Delegate Conference (Muktamar). In reality they join Political Party for the sake of status and standing. Claiming for the sake serving the communities? BULLSHIT!!!

In Malaysia, so far we have the gathering of Yellow Shirt, the Red Shirt and now Green Shirt. What color next? For the Malays, (Muslims), the ultimate shirt is White. Whether they belong to the Yellow Shirt, Red Shirt and Green Shirt they will finally be shrouded with White Shirt to meet Almighty Allah.

 I don’t belong to any shirt group but I subscribe to the Red Shirt ideologies. I support them as they had ruled Malaysia for the past 58 years and Malaysian live peacefully. They are not perfect but it’s better to work with the Devils that I know. I am Malay, Islam is my faith and Malaysia is my homeland. 

The above although from Kelantan, he is not PAS. Haji Hasbullah Latiff. A good buddy of mine, ex RTM Sabah retired and now residing in Kota Kinabalu. He likes green.

Maal Hijrah.

It’s the Islamic New Year and a Public Holiday. The day is to commemorate the hijrah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from Mecca to Medina. Though Islam started in Mecca but it was in Medina that the teaching of Islam spread to the whole world.

In the afternoon, after the zohor prayer, we retreated to Casa Tropicana Condo at Tropicana Damansara as Shasha and Darwis pestered me to take them to the swimming pool. We obliged as there was no particular program for the day. The haze was starting to clear up and there was heavy shower mid noon. Being children, they really enjoyed themselves.

While they were at the pool and Playground, Nenek prepared something for them.

At the end of the day, the two kids were so exhausted that they both slept in the car on the way home to Port Klang.   

Sabah Interior Division Venture.

29 September 2015:

I left home base at 0035 hrs to rendezvous with Mohd Syam at Shah Alam. We had supper at Section 19 and at 0200 hrs; Mohd Syam drove me to KLIA2.

I had four (4) hours to spare by myself as my flight to Kota Kinabalu AK 5110 ETD at 0635 hrs. I found a comfortable corner and took a cat nap and recharged the hand phone. Pre flight, at 0546 hrs, I joined the subuh congregation at the Domestic Departure Lounge Surau. The subuh congregation was made of passengers destined for Sibu, Tawau and Kota Kinabalu – the early bird.

Breakfast was on board the flight and it was burger and coke that cost RM 15, what choice do I have? The flight was smooth all the way and landed at KKIA2 at 0930 hrs. Haji Salim and Haji Hasbullah waited for my arrival and we adjourned to Restaurant Malindo Sutera City, Sembulan. My main purpose for this trip was to meet up with Haji Hasbullah who was lately reported to be medically unstable. Haji Hasbullah is my Sabah buddy who travelled with me to Cairo, Palestine and Saudi Arabia (umrah). We became close friends after the Cairo umrah trip. At the Restaurant, we had a long chat and I was informed in detail of his current ailment. Sadly, he cannot drive anymore and with the medication prescribed, he would be groggy for an hour or two. It is sad that he has to carry the urine bag along with him at all time and his predicament that he intended to perform an umrah coming December. He wanted to have the tube removed at the Hospital and that’s what he planned to do later mid morning. I volunteered to accompany him as my next appointment was only at 1230 hrs.

Haji Salim dropped us at Queen Elizabeth Hospital emergency ward and Haji Hasbullah registered for consultation. Regret, the tube could not be removed, provided with the advice of the Urologist. The earliest, would be in January 2016 and Haji Hasbullah was utter disappointed. Haji Salim drove Haji Hasbullah home to Petagas and along the way we consoled Haji Hasbullah and advised him to adhere to Medical advice. For the intended umrah, he has to consult the Experts at Tabung Haji.

  

I requested Haji Salim to drive me back to the Airport as Haji Mokhdzar would be arriving from KLIA2 at about 1230 hrs. Pak Kadir, Almukmini Travel local Rep met us at the Airport and we started our venture to Sabah Interior Division.

The first stop was Penampang to fuel up the 4X4. Hajjah Faridah kindly offered Haji Mokhdzar to use the 4X4 while in Sabah. We abandoned lunch as we could not find a parking space. The target for today was Keningau. We drove the hilly winding road heading for Tambunan crossing the Crocker Range. It began to rain heavily and we had to be extra cautious as the surrounding was very misty. I began to get groggy as I was hungry and lack of sleep. I was practically clinging tight while Haji Mokhdzar negotiated the very acute corners. There was no stall or rest area until we reached the midway peak - Gunung Mas. We broke journey at Gunung Mas but the Malay Restaurant was closed. We were all hungry and the best halal choice was hot cup noodle and hot tea. I began to feel better after breathing the fresh mountain air. It was still raining and we decided to resume the venture. Tambunan was just downhill and thank God, the rain had stopped. Pleasant downhill drive with the vast jungle besides as we drove through. From Tambunan to Keningau, it was all flat land, with padi fields on both sides. Few kilometers before Keningau, we stopped at Kampong Bayangan Mosque for our solat jamak takhir. At about 1700 hrs we finally made to Keningau. I never dream of ever going to Keningau.  A God forsaken town right in the interior division of Sabah surrounded by the Crocker Range.*

We called up Haji Halim and we rendezvous at Keningau Hockey Stadium. I was surprised Keningau is very well developed and advanced as I noticed the hockey pitch is synthetic turf. Pairin Kittinggan, the former Chief Minister of Sabah is the ADUN here. Keningau town has several small roundabouts and at time it was very confusing. Haji Mokhdzar even accidently drove across one. We met Haji Halim to appoint him as our local rep in Keningau.

For dinner, we had Siamese cuisine with the usual tomyam and daging masak merah. Haji Halim has a Satay kiosk at the Restaurant and he fed us with mutton, chicken and venison satay. It was not often I came across venison satay but around Keningau, within the vast jungles, it seems wild deer is plentiful. Venison is even available at the Local Market.

We were recommended to stay at Queen Hotel and to find the place was another problem. Finally we found the Hotel after going through two (2) roundabouts. The lady at the Petronas Station showed the direction. Soon after checked in, we just laid down like a log. We were all exhausted after the very long and tiring drive. Queen Hotel is rather cheap, RM 100 for a family room. What we needed was only a bed to sleep.

*Crocker Range (Malay: Banjaran Crocker) is a mountain range on the island of Borneo. Politically, it lies within the boundary of the Malaysian state of Sabah, located in the northern half of Borneo. It is named after William Maunder Crocker. The mountain range separates the east coast and west coast of Sabah. At an average height of 1,800 metres (5,900 ft), it is the highest mountain range in Sabah. Part of the range has been gazetted for protection as Crocker Range Park since 1984. The area surrounding Mount Kinabalu has been a state park since 1964 and was the country's first World Heritage Site.

In 2014 it was recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, becoming the second Malaysian site thus designated, after Chini Lake (in Peninsular Malaysia).

30 September 2015:

There are several Malay Restaurants serving breakfast across the Hotel. After breakfast, our venture continued to Tenom and returned to Kota Kinabalu via the coastal road, a complete round trip. It was going to be another long drive. Down the highway, we stopped at Tenom Mosque for solat dhuha and placing our travel brochures. In town, we stopped for the famous kopi Tenom and light snack. We bought a few packets of the famous Coffee Tenom at the nearest Supermarket. Immediately after Tenom town, we crossed the Iron Bridge spanning over Sungai Padas. Tenom is also the tail end of Sabah Railway rail line from Kota Kinabalu.

The next town of our itinerary was the town of Sipitang.  The highway from Tenom to Situmin junction was marvelous but only few over laden timber Lorries are using it. We were crossing the Crocker Range again. I passed by Lembaga Getah Asli Sabah Complex and the rubber plantations or small holders must be somewhere in the hinterland as I did not see any along the highway. We stopped at Masjid Pantai before Sipitang to place the travel brochures. 

We met two (2) young Peninsular Malaysians from Gurun Kedah who stopped by at the Mosque. They were with the new Petronas Ammonia & Urea project at Sipitang Petro Complex. We decided to see the complex by ourselves and we drove to the place. A new Port township is definitely developing at this area. Our next destination was Sipitang Town. Just before Sipitang town, we stopped by at Pasar Tamu and I was surprised to find “buah tampoi” or “buah larah” that I used to know in my kampong. I bought a plastic full that only cost me RM 2. It was ages since, I ate that fruit. It was lunch time and we stopped at the Food Stall by the sea side. The “nasi goring kampong” surely tasted different as they added carrot and beans into it. That’s no more kampong style.

Sipitang Sea frontage. Labuan is just across.

Time for zohor prayer and we stopped by at Sipitang Main Mosque - Masjid Imam Haji Hashim. I did the solat jamak takdim by myself and after completion; I just sat and iktikaf in the Mosque. Something peculiar happened; I felt someone tapped my back but there was no one behind me. Since it was bright daylight and moreover I was in a Mosque, I feared nothing. This Mosque was inaugurated by Tun Mahathir on 28 October 1983. 

From Sipitang to Kota Kinabalu, we just breezed through Beaufort. I was in Beaufort about two (2) years ago. We had only one stop over to buy anchovies and dried shrimps at the roadside stall. To my surprised, the dried seafood is transported all the way from Tawau via the Kimanis Highway. On the way back to Kota Kinabalu, we passed through Kinarut, Lokawi, Putatan, and Petagas. We headed straight to Tanjung Aru Beach Food Stall for refreshment and straightened our legs. What was important, we completed our venture into the interior division of Sabah, safe, sound and triumphant. Perhaps, I have seen Sabah more than some Sabahan. 

We then headed to Inanam Square where we checked in into Almukminin Office for the night. After solat jamak takhir, we went to 1 Borneo Shopping Complex as I wanted to find a power bank. We then went to Telipok for barbeque lokan. It was a delicacy and I never tried before. The sea shells were placed on zinc plate and heated by firewood.

The appointment to meet Haji Hasbullah at 2130 hrs had to be cancelled as we were late.

01 October 2015:

Early morning after subuh we went to KK Pasar Besar (Main Market) to purchase fresh prawns and fish. We had our simple breakfast at the 1^st floor while waiting for the packaging shop to be operational at 0730 hrs. We left our buy at the shop for collection later in the evening.

At 1130 hrs, we had an appointment at Majlis Ugama Islam Sabah (MUIS) Building to meet and briefed Almukminin Travel potential Jemaah destined for Palestine & Umrah in December 2015. We were joined by Haji Yusuf, KK local resident, an acquaintance who had performed umrah with Almukminin Travel before. We performed the solat jamak takdim at Masjid Negeri. We had lunch at MUIS.

After asar, Pak Kadir excused himself to return the 4X4 and we thanked him for the company. Haji Yusuf took over from thereon. 

At 1730 hrs, Haji Yusuf drove us to the Packaging Shop to collect the two (2) well packed seafood, we purchased early morning. We headed straight to KKIA2 to get our boarding passes and pre check in our luggage. It was about 1830 hrs and we went for early dinner at nearby Tanjung Aru. I still had time to capture the sun setting.

I entered the Departure Lounge early and to my disappointment, the Smoking Room was closed. Maybe due to the refusal of Air Asia moving to the International Airport, MAB Kota Kinabalu made life for Air Asia passengers difficult. I approached the Immigration and Airport Security to exit the Departure Lounge and permission granted. I had to undergo the same security procedures all over again when I reentered the Departure Lounge. It was no big deal.     

Flight AK 5131 took off Kota Kinabalu at 2140 hrs and landed at KLIA2 at 2350 hrs. The flight was very uncomfortable as I was seated by the window which I hate most. Mohd Syam was on hand to meet us at KLIA2.

02 October 2015:

Back home, at 0200 hrs, fully exhausted.  Mission accomplished as I got to see Gunung Mas, Tambunan, Keningau, Tenom and Sipitang. My next mission is to take the Kimanis road to Tawau. Haji Yusuf told me the road is very lonely and sometimes, Sabah mini elephants may greet you. That would be interesting for an adventure and experience.

Boat passengers from/to Pulau Gaya (near the Pasar Besar, KK).

Life is very difficult for these people. What more do we complain?