Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha

Kepada semua yang mengenali kami terutama saudara mara, kami mengucapkan Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha Maaf Zahir Batin. Moga-moga segala pengorbanan yang dilakukan menepati semangat dan erti sebenar hari raya korban.

Apa dah jadi ni??

1 juta wanita gemuk, 850,000 lelaki gempal
12-12-2007 03:10:01 PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Bilangan wanita gemuk mengatasi lelaki boyot dalam kalangan penduduk negara ini yang berumur 25 hingga 64 tahun, Dewan Rakyat diberitahu hari ini.
Setiausaha Parlimen Kementerian Kesihatan Datuk Lee Kah Choo berkata Kajian Faktor Risiko Penyakit Kronik yang dijalankan oleh Kementerian Kesihatan tahun lepas menunjukkan terdapat satu juta wanita gemuk berbanding 850,000 lelaki gempal.
"Dalam erti kata lain terdapat 19 wanita gemuk bagi setiap 100 wanita berbanding 14 lelaki gemuk bagi setiap 100 orang lelaki dalam kumpulan umur yang sama," katanya menjawab soalan Datuk Dr Rahman Ismail (BN-Gombak).
Lee berkata kajian itu mendapati 5.8 juta penduduk Malaysia berumur antara 25 dan 64 tahun mengalami masalah berat badan berlebihan dan kegemukan.
"Kegemukan meningkatkan risiko seseorang itu mendapat penyakit kronik seperti jantung, diabetes, strok dan kanser," katanya.
Lee berkata antara faktor yang menyebabkan kegemukan adalah keturunan, gaya hidup dan pemakanan.
Beliau berkata bahawa bagi mengawal masalah itu, kementerian melaksanakan langkah pencegahan jangka panjang antaranya dengan menganjurkan kempen cara hidup sihat, menjalankan pengesanan awal kegemukan di klinik kesihatan dan hospital, melaksanakan program pengurusan berat badan dan menganjurkan kem kesihatan. BERNAMA

p/s ish!ish! takutnya..

Nobel Prize 2007

NOBEL PRIZE WEEK
Nobel winners take prizes in Stockholm
Published: 10 Dec 07 18:10 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.se/9367/

The winners of the 2007 Nobel prizes for medicine, physics, chemistry and economics received their awards from Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on Monday.
The two eldest laureates, 88-year-old British novelist Doris Lessing who won the literature prize and 90-year-old economics co-prizewinner Leonid Hurwicz of the United States, were absent due to poor health.In Norway, the winners of the prestigious peace prize, former US vice president Al Gore and the UN's top climate panel IPCC, received their award at a separate ceremony at Oslo's city hall earlier on Monday.The Nobel prizes are traditionally presented on December 10, the anniversary of the death of the creator of the awards, Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, in 1896.The Stockholm ceremony, held amid pomp and circumstance in the capital's Concert Hall, was to be followed by a gala banquet for 1,300 guests at City Hall attended by Sweden's royal family and members of the government.Each Nobel prize consists of a diploma, a gold medal, and a cheque for 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.56 million) to be shared if there is more than one laureate.The prizewinners, decked out in white tie and tails, each accepted their awards from the hands of the king and bowed to the royal family and assembled guests as a fanfare played.The eight being honoured were economics laureates Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson of the United States, Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies of the United States and Briton Martin Evans for the medicine prize, Gerhard Ertl of Germany for the chemistry prize, and physics laureates Peter Gruenberg of Germany and Albert Fert of France.At the Oslo festivities, Gore said in his acceptance speech that humanity was "waging war" on the Earth and urged the United States and China to join the fight against global warming as he accepted his prize."Both countries should stop using the other's behaviour as an excuse for stalemate and instead develop an agenda for mutual survival in a shared global environment," Gore said at the lavish event.
AFP (news@thelocal.se)

Nobel Banquet

Nobel Banquet: the feast of feasts
Published: 10 Dec 07 10:16 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.se/9358/

Serving a banquet to nearly 1,400 people is no mean feat, and when the event is the Nobel Banquet, the stakes are high. Charlotte West goes behind the scenes at the grandest event in Sweden's calendar.
A feast fit for a king would be an exaggerated description of just about any meal, no matter how palatable, with the exception of the annual Nobel Banquet. The weeklong blitz climaxes on Monday with the feast of feasts – arguably one of the grandest dinners in the world. The whole event is shrouded in mystery, and the menu is top secret until the almost 1,400 guests are seated at the banquet in the Blue Hall of the Stockholm City Hall at 7 p.m. on Monday, December 10th.
The composition of this year's menu is the result of the combined culinary prowess of chefs Krister Dahl, head of the Swedish Culinary Team, and Magnus Johansson, proprietor of the Xoko dessert cafe in Stockholm. This will be Johansson's sixth year of providing the Nobel dessert.
Last year, the eight Nobel laureates – and 1,240 other guests celebrating the memory of Alfred Nobel – enjoyed a spread featuring mosaic of salmon and scallops, herb-baked saddle of lamb and pineapple parfait. Of the 2007 menu, however, those involved remain silent. “It will be good. Really exquisite tastes,” was all the tight-lipped Dahl would tell newspaper Göteborgs-Posten. “We have prepared everything for the Nobel Committee four times, and it has obviously been approved,” he said. Simplicty, Dahl said, was the key to success. “It's about creating a functional menu, which should be relatively easy to make, and then everything must be served quickly,” he said. “It's a really big secret,” Linda Johansson of Xoko told The Local.
Whatever the delicacies turn out to be, they have been designed around a Scandinavian-related theme and are sure to whet the appetite – and keep the 30 chefs and 200 servers on their toes. There are tables to set and food to buy. According to the Nobel Foundation, one year the shopping list for the banquet consisted of 2,692 pigeon breasts, 475 lobster tails, 100 kilos of potatoes, 70 liters of sweet and sour raspberry vinegar sauce, 67 kilos of Jerusalem artichokes, 53 kilos of Philadelphia cheese, and 45 kilos of lightly smoked salmon, among other ingredients. With so many cooks in the kitchen, Ulf Östenius, General Manager of Stadshuskällaren restaurant, must run a tight ship. Östenius, along with Chef de Cuisine Gunnar Eriksson, is the man charged with the small task of making sure the logistics of Nobel Banquet go according to plan – something which is not to be taken for granted. In an interview with the City of Stockholm, Östenius said that one year the main course was some kind of poultry that had been pre-cooked. It was supposed to be warmed up in the oven right as the electricity went out. They had to begin again with new raw ingredients, but nevertheless managed to make it appear seamless. Another year, there was a panic because one of the laureates suddenly haunched over the table, but it turned out he had simply fallen asleep. Despite the stories about near-disasters, Östenius somehow manages to coordinate his team of 200 and still make the entire production seem effortless.
On the morning of the feast, more than 7,000 porcelain pieces, 5,000 glasses and 10,000 pieces of silverware must be meticulously laid out on the 470 metres of linen that adorns the banquet's 65 tables. And while expectant guests anticipate their royal meal, it takes six minutes from the time the waiters begin the procession down the steps until everyone has been served. The king is served first, immediately followed by the queen. The menu is decided upon months in advance. In August and September, the chefs prepare sample menus and present them to the Nobel Committee for tasting.
Linda Johansson of Xoko told The Local that they presented three different dessert options to the Nobel Committee, which then chose the final selection. The good news is that you don't have to be a rocket scientist to get the red-carpet culinary treatment. As of Tuesday, December 11th, you can order the Nobel menu at Stadshuskällaren, also located in the Stockholm City Hall. Unfortunately, the restaurant will only be serving the three-course meal to groups of 20 or more until January 7th, when the 2007 Nobel menu will become standard fare.
The only exception is December 31st, where you can book a table to celebrate New Year's Eve Nobel-style. Stadshuskällaren also offers every Nobel menu served since 1901 for groups of eight or more. Reservations must be booked one week ahead. Xoko will also serve the Nobel dessert, including for takeaway, beginning on Tuesday. As an added bonus, they will also serve the entire Nobel spread on Wed-Saturday nights this week. But call quickly, as a representative of the cafe said there are only a few spots left.
Charlotte West (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

Nobel Prize 2007

What is Nobel Week really about?
Published: 10 Dec 07 10:20 CETOnline: http://www.thelocal.se/9357/

As Nobel laureates, foreign media and a host of other dignitaries descend on Stockholm for the week of festivities culminating with the Nobel Banquet on Monday, Charlotte West recalls her conversations with two of last year’s winners about the real significance of Nobel Week.

) In the midst of all the fanfare, the 10,000 flowers, the $1.5 million prize and speculations about which spectacular dress Queen Sylvia will don at the banquet, it is easy to lose sight of the achievements on which Nobel Week is founded. In his will, Alfred Nobel created the prize to honour those who have “conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.” While the precise meaning of that statement has been the subject of great debate, its essence relates to recognizing those individuals who have made a measurable and meaningful contribution – whether in the form of scientific discoveries, inspirational words or heroic actions – to society. While I had certainly heard of the Nobel Prize while growing up, the first time I really took notice of it was at my college graduation in Seattle, where our commencement address was given by Leland Hartwell, a cancer research pioneer and the winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. He made a reference to standing on stage with the king and queen of Sweden. My ears immediately perked up as I was planning to move to Stockholm the following autumn. Yet I still had no idea of what that really meant. When I began attending Stockholm University that fall, I was surprised to learn that many of the Nobel laureates would be giving their lectures in the Aula Magna auditorium on campus – and what's more, that anyone could attend. These public lectures, presented by the laureates in their respective fields, offer a rare chance to hear what some of the greatest minds of our time have to say. This openness and accessibility are one of the hallmarks of the award. In other words, by making the laureates' words, and in a sense, the laureates themselves, accessible to the public, the Nobel Prize recognizes that knowledge is not the exclusive domain of the academic elite. Last December, I had the opportunity to interview 2006 Nobel laureates Dr. Andrew Fire (Medicine/physiology) and Dr. Roger Kornberg (Chemistry), who both came from Stanford University. They each reflected on the benefits, as well as on the responsibilities, of what it means to be a Nobel laureate.Fire said that being a recipient of a Nobel award gave him the chance to reach a broader audience. “That means one has to be careful but it is also an opportunity to speak up about things. And people over the years have really taken advantage of those opportunities, mostly for good. Scientists who have been in a position to get the ear of the leadership have said things that have really steered society in directions that are important,” he said. Kornberg similarly spoke of the responsibilities that accompany the Nobel Prize. “I think it puts a bit of a burden on us for a time, to convey the message that all scientists have with regard to support of research and its importance in society. It’s a message that needs to be repeated as often as possible, so it's our job to do so,” he said. The responsibility to convey the message about the importance of science and the pursuit of knowledge is not reserved to the laureates in the hard sciences. While the prizes in chemistry, physics and medicine bring ground-breaking scientific research into the public eye, the Nobel Peace Prize and the literature prize bring the human quotient to the table. Over the years, the literature lectures have dabbled in everything from meditations on the creative process and the future of literature to polemic discussions of global politics and the evils of war. For instance, Harold Pinter in his 2005 speech, Art, Truth & Politics, chastised Bush and Blair for their perpetration of the Iraq war. This year's literature laureate, Doris Lessing, spoke out against Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, saying that books – the foundation of literacy and the stuff great writers are made of – will remain endangered species in the country as long as he remains at the political helm. “Writers are not made in Zimbabwe. Not easily, not under Mugabe,” she said. The lecture thus provided Lessing with a platform to speak her mind, while the world was listening. But perhaps more essentially, the Nobel lectures also serve to inspire, something which Lessing said was an essential ingredient for the creative process. Writers, she said, must have access to a “space, which is like a form of listening, of attention” from which “will come the words, the words your characters will speak, ideas – inspiration.”Despite the fact that Lessing was too ill to travel to Stockholm to deliver her Nobel lecture herself, her words, her message could not have been clearer. As I left the Swedish Academy on Friday, I felt a sense of intellectual wonderment that I have not experienced in a long time. In this sense, her Nobel lecture provided the impetus for inspiration, which as she said herself, is essential to any successful literary (or scientific, for that matter) pursuit. The only remaining Nobel lecture this year is the Peace lecture, scheduled to be given by former US Vice President Al Gore on Monday at 1 pm (CET) in Oslo, where he is expected to speak out about the climate crisis. At a press conference following the announcement of the Peace Prize in October, Gore said, “We have to quickly find a way to change the world's consciousness about exactly what we're facing.”Perhaps Gore's Nobel Peace Prize lecture will be one step in the right direction. See a live webcast of Gore's Nobel Peace Prize lecture during the Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony at the Oslo City Hall on Monday, December 10th. 12:50 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. (CET).
Charlotte West (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

Nobel Prize winner 2007 Al-Gore

Nobel laureate Gore sees hope in "people power"
By John Acher and Wojciech Moskwa

OSLO (Reuters) - Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore said on Sunday he was optimistic that a growing "people-power" movement would push the world's leaders to take action to stop global warming.
The former U.S. vice president likened the campaign to the ban-the-bomb movement of past decades, and urged leaders at a U.N. climate conference in Bali, Indonesia, to issue a mandate for a strong treaty to curb greenhouse gases.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore gestures as he speaks to the media during a news conference in Oslo December 9, 2007. (REUTERS/Ints Kalnins)Gore, who shared the 2007 peace prize with the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for raising awareness and advancing climate science, will receive the prize in Oslo on Monday with the IPCC's chairman Rajendra Pachauri. The prize was announced in October.
"I have one reason for being optimistic, and that is that I see throughout my own country, the United States of America, and throughout the world the rising of the world's first people-power movement on a global basis," he said.
Gore pointed to an international grassroots nuclear-freeze movement which helped push U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to sign arms controls deals in the late 1980s, and said the climate campaign was even broader.
Gore and Pachauri will travel from Oslo to Bali where governments are meeting to try to launch negotiations towards an environmental treaty to succeed the Kyoto protocol which expires in 2012.
"It is my great hope that the meeting in Bali will result in a strong mandate empowering the world to move forward quickly to a meaningful treaty," Gore said.
CIVILISATION THREAT
Gore, whose Oscar-winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" called for immediate action on the environment, urged for curbs on carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed by scientists for global warming.
"The engines of our great global civilisation are now pouring 70 million tonnes of global warming pollution into (the atmosphere) every single day. It is having the consequences long predicted by the scientific community," he said.
"It is now abundantly clear that we cannot continue this process," he said.
Pachauri, seated next to Gore at Oslo's Nobel Institute under ceilings adorned with white peace doves, urged world leaders to consider tough steps to tackle global warming.
"If we were to carry out this stringent mitigation, one of the scenarios that we have assessed clearly shows that we have a window of nearly seven years," Pachauri said. "That means by 2015 we will have to see that emissions of greenhouse gases peak no later than that year and start declining thereafter."
"The time for doubting the science is over. What we need now is action," said Pachauri, an Indian who is head of a body of around 2,500 climate scientists from more than 130 nations.
Referring to U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and said "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," Gore said: "In the same way, CO2 increases anywhere are a threat to the future of civilisation everywhere."
Copyright © 2007 Reuters

Gempa di Pahang???

Enam gempa bumi kecil di Bukit Tinggi, Pahang
07-12-2007 05:27:26 PM

PETALING JAYA: Timbalan Menteri Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi, Datuk Kong Cho Ha berkata enam gempa bumi berukuran antara 2.7 hingga 3.5 pada skala Richter dikesan berlaku di sekitar Bukit Tinggi Pahang sejak 30 Nov lepas sehingga semalam.
Bagaimanapun, katanya keenam-enam gempa bumi kecil itu hanya menyebabkan gegaran lemah dan tidak membahayakan nyawa dan harta benda sungguhpun ia dapat dirasai oleh penduduk di sekitar kawasan itu.
Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Meteorologi Malaysia, Dr Yap Kok Seng pula berkata penduduk di kawasan tersebut tidak perlu bimbang kerana gempa bumi bermagnitud sederhana atau lebih besar di jangka tidak akan berlaku di Bukit Tinggi.
"Jabatan ini akan sentiasa memantau 24 jam sehari aktiviti gempa bumi di dalam dan luar negara dan akan memaklumkan kepada orang ramai melalui radio dan televisyen jika berlaku kejadian yang boleh mengancam keselamatan orang ramai," katanya.

Dimana kita??

Finland stays top of global class
BBC NEWS Dec5 2007

South Korean academic results are flying highFinland and South Korea remain among the superpowers of education, according to a major international study.
The three-yearly Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) shows that the two countries are in the top five for reading and maths.
South Korea has made rapid progress since 2000, says the report - with its pupils improving by the equivalent of a whole school year.
The rankings are based on tests taken by 15-year-olds in 57 countries.
Finland, a consistent top performer in international education surveys, also came top of the science league table, published last week.
The survey, gathered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), also highlights the improvements in Poland.
READING TOP 10
S. Korea
Finland
Hong Kong
Canada
New Zealand
Ireland
Australia
Liechtenstein
Poland
Sweden
Source: Pisa/OECD
Rankings in full
The rankings for reading, based on tests taken in 2006, show that Poland is ninth placed, among a group of leading countries identified as significantly above average.
The latest findings also show the extent of global competition in education - with the northern European countries now challenged by and overtaken by Asian rivals, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea.
South Korea has continued to strengthen its position - after a remarkable rise in achievement against international competitors.
In the 1960s, the OECD says South Korea's national wealth was similar to Afghanistan's.
MATHS TOP 10
Taiwan
Finland
Hong Kong
S.Korea
Netherlands
Switzerland
Canada
Macao-China
Liechtenstein
Japan
Source: Pisa/OECD
Rankings in full
But a sustained drive in education has seen it rise to the upper ranks in international education leagues - both in subject scores and in completion rates in secondary school.
As with Finland, there has been an emphasis in South Korea on education as a key to economic success and the "knowledge economy".
The OECD also highlights improvements in maths scores from teenagers in Mexico and Greece.
The UK has shown a downward turn in its standing - leaving the top 10 for both maths and reading despite an increase in spending on education.
It has joined other major European countries such as Germany and France in a group with "average" standards for maths and reading.
And the report says that overall the industrialised OECD countries have not seen improvements to match extra investment.
It says that between 1995 and 2004, OECD countries increased education spending by 39% on average, but that in response "learning outcomes have generally remained flat".

p/s tepat ke laporan ni??

Dimana kita??

Media dan akal budi generasi muda
3-12-2007 10:52:23 AM

PUJANGGA Melayu pernah berpesan, "melentur buluh biarlah dari rebungnya" yang masih muda dan lembut. Pokok buluh tua yang sudah keras akan patah kalau dilenturkan.
Pengajaran bagi kita adalah, zaman kanak-kanak dan muda-remaja adalah tahap penting dalam membentuk budipekerti, akhlak, perangai, watak dan minda. Akhlak dan perangai watak yang telah terakam semenjak zaman kanakkanak dan mudaremaja sukar untuk dihapuskan atau diubah.
Masalahnya, golongan kanak-kanak dan muda-remaja belum mampu membezakan antara yang benar dengan yang palsu. Sedangkan, dalam masa yang sama, golongan muda dan kanakkanak sangat perlu kepada contoh tauladan yang baik dari segi akhlak, pemikiran dan kehidupan.
Bayangkanlah pula apa yang akan terjadi sekiranya anak-anak dan generasi muda kita membesar di tengah-tengah gambaran-gambaran atau imej-imej media yang buruk dari segi akhlaknya yang sentiasa disuapkan kepada mereka.
Sebagai contoh, bayangkanlah apa yang akan berlaku kepada penonton berusia muda sekiranya dalam rancangan-rancangan televisyen kita, orang-orang yang jahat ditunjukkan sebagai selalunya bahagia, sementara orang-orang yang baik ditunjukkan bersifat melarat; orang-orang yang tidak jujur ditanggap sebagai selalu untung (iaitu kalau penyelewengannya tersorok daripada pihak berkuasa), sementara orang-orang yang mempunyai sifat amanah ditanggap sebagai merugikan diri sendiri.
SATU PERSEPSI NEGATIF
Tentulah penonjolan budaya yang seperti ini akan merosak dan mengeruhkan citarasa penonton Malaysia amnya dan generasi muda khasnya.
Memanglah membaca atau menonton satu atau dua karya atau rancangan yang buruk tidak akan terus menjadikan seseorang itu individu yang jahat. Walau bagaimanapun, ia tetap akan meninggalkan kesan bahawa kejahatan itu adalah sesuatu yang biasa dan menyeronokkan.
Akibatnya, pembaca atau penonton mungkin terbiasa dengan gambaran atau imej bagaimana aksi bergaduh atau aksi ganas sangat berkesan dalam menyelesaikan masalah secara yang pantas; minuman yang memabukkan dipaparkan sebagai suatu perkara menarik dan bukannya memudaratkan; perlakuan seksual pula tidak perlu kepada sebarang peraturan.
Demikianlah, ibarat makanan yang berbisa bagi akal dan roh, gambaran dan imej media yang berbahaya dari segi akhlaknya sama ada secara langsung mahupun tidak, hari demi hari, sedikit demi sedikit, secara senyap-senyap akan membarah merosakkan roh dan meracuni akal-fikiran anak-anak kita generasi muda.
Memetik katakata Nicholas Johnson, "All television is educational television. The question is: what is it teaching?," perkataan dan ucapan yang cabul dan carut, bahasa dan gambar yang tidak senonoh, jika diambil ringan, akan membawa kepada perbuatan yang cabul dan perlakuan yang tidak senonoh juga.
Tentulah golongan kanak-kanak dan muda-remaja tidak seharusnya dibenar mendengar atau mengulang perkaraperkara tersebut.
Bayangkanlah betapa hebatnya cabaran anak-anak kita pada hari ini yang membesar dalam persekitaran yang siang-malamnya di kelilingi media, daripada televisyen darat dan TV satelit serta internet, membawa kepada media iPod, wayang gambar, telefon mudah-alih, dan permainan video serta sebagainya lagi.
MEWUJUDKAN PERSEKITARAN SIHAT
Kita tidak sepatutnya membiarkan sahaja generasi muda, sama ada secara langsung ataupun tidak langsung, menerima sahaja idea-idea asing, yang sebahagiannya jauh bertentangan dengan apa yang kita cita-citakan sebagai satu bangsa yang beragama.
Kita mempunyai tanggungjawab yang berat untuk mengikhtiarkan anakanak kita generasi muda hidup dalam suasana yang sihat, di tengah-tengah rancangan dan program media yang mempunyai kesan yang elok dan manis.
Karya, rancangan dan program yang kita hasilkan atau yang kita benarkan untuk disebarkan, akan terpancar ke dalam mata dan telinga anak-anak kita generasi muda, seperti angin bayu yang jernih lagi menyegarkan.
Janganlah kita melepaskan peluang keemasan untuk secara halus menarik roh anak-anak kita dari tahun-tahun awal mereka lagi ke arah yang bersetujuan dengan kesopanan dan kesusilaan yang juga merupakan Rukun Negara yang kelima.
Walaupun media di Malaysia sedikitsebanyak telah cuba berusaha memenuhi keperluan masyarakat kita dalam mewujudkan suasana yang amanmajmuk dan keserasian masyarakat, kita belum boleh lagi berpuas hati.
Ini kerana, kita sedang berhadapan dengan cabaran besar gelombang globalisasi revolusi digital yang isinya, fahamfahamnya dan konsepkonsepnya dikuasai oleh Dunia Barat.
Gelombang yang melanda ini akan menenggelamkan bangsa kita, melainkan jika kita berjaya meningkatkan jasabakti, sumbangan dan 'dinamisme moral' demi memperkukuh jatidiri bangsa yang berlandaskan agama.

Penulis adalah Fellow Kanan/Pengarah Pusat Ekonomi dan Kajian Sosial, Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (IKIM). BERNAMA

Bila nak berubah??

Peperiksaan mungkin pada minggu akhir persekolahan
03-12-2007
03:05:21 PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Kementerian Pelajaran sedang menimbang cadangan untuk mengadakan peperiksaan akhir tahun pada minggu-minggu terakhir persekolahan, kata Timbalan Menteri Pelajaran Datuk Noh Omar.
Beliau berkata peperiksaan sekarang yang diadakan terlalu awal menyebabkan masalah ponteng sekolah sering berlaku, terutamanya selepas peperiksaan tamat.
"Untuk mengatasinya kementerian telah membuat keputusan untuk mengkaji balik sistem peperiksaan yang dibuat terlalu awal sebelum cuti sekolah," katanya menjawab soalan Senator Heng Seai Kie dalam persidangan Dewan Negara hari ini.
"Jika dilihat daripada kes ponteng, data disiplin murid menunjukkan penurunan kes tersebut dari 0.97 peratus pada tahun 2002 kepada 0.6 peratus pada tahun lalu," katanya. Noh berkata jumlah kes disiplin menurun daripada 1.28 peratus pada Januari hingga Mei 2006 kepada 1.13 peratus pada tahun ini.
Katanya kementerian sedang memantapkan semula peraturan disiplin sekolah iaitu Peraturan-peraturan Pelajaran Disiplin Sekolah 1959 yang telah digunakan selama 47 tahun.
Beliau berkata Peraturan-peraturan Pendidikan Disiplin Murid 2007 yang digubal di bawah Akta Pendidikan 1996 telah dibentangkan pada satu seminar peringkat kebangsaan pada bulan lalu.
"Sebanyak 21 resolusi daripada seminar tersebut akan diteliti oleh jawatankuasa teknikal penggubalan peraturan-peraturan pendidikan dalam masa terdekat," katanya.BERNAMA

pendapat: antara alasan-alasan yang diberikan kenapa pelajar kerap ponteng sekolah:

1. peperiksaan akhir tahun diadakan terlalu awal.
2. pengajaran tidak menarik
3. kelas dan persekitaran yang tidak selesa
4. guru tidak mengajar kerana terlibat dengan kursus-kursus tertentu waktu sekolah
5. tidak meminati mata pelajaran yang diambil
6. pengajaran dan pembelajaran yang membosankan
7. terlalu banyak pengaruh luar
8. penagruh kawan-kawan yang datang ke sekolah sebagai memenuhi masa terluang
9. tiada program khusus selepas peperiksaan akhir tahun
10. kurikulum yang terlau mementingkan peperiksaan sehingga pelajar beranggapan selesai peperiksaan tidak perlu p & p
11. guru terlalu dibebani dengan kerja-kerja pengkeranian sehingga menjejaskan waktu untuk melaksanakan p & p
12. guru-guru yang tidak mesra pelajar dan hanya menumpukan kepada sukatan pelajaran semata-mata

Masalah anak-anak dan pelajar bukan hanya semata-mata terletak ditangan sekolah sebaliknya memerlukan kerjasama semua pihak. Sukatan pelajaran perlu diteliti semula dan pembaharuan perlua dibuat demi masa depan anak-anak kita. Sistem peperiksaan yang melampau perlu diubah. Sikap ibubapa dan masyarakat perlu berubah dalam memberi reaksi terhadap pengkelasan pelajar berdasarkan keputusan peperiksaan. Perkara-perkara ini melahirkan generasi robot yang pandai tetapi tiada roh serta tidak seimbang antara rohani dan jasmani.

Keruntuhan akhlak dikalangan generasi baru semakin membarah. Bila dan siapa yang akan mengubah keadaan ini??

Cabaran

Duta berani redah demo 1,000 aktivis anti-Malaysia
29-11-2007 08:01:59 PM
Oleh MOHD NASIR YUSOFF

JAKARTA: Duta Besar Malaysia ke Indonesia Datuk Zainal Abidin Mohamed Zain memerlukan hanya tiga minit untuk menyuraikan demonstrasi anti-Malaysia, yang sebelum itu berkobar-kobar dan kononnya akan berlangsung satu tindakan nekat di hadapan kedutaan di sini pagi ini.
Lebih 1,000 pendemonstrasi anti-Malaysia daripada kalangan aktivis kebudayaan Reog Ponorogo, yang diapi-apikan semangat anti-Malaysia oleh pelbagai laporan media massa yang menuduh Malaysia telah mengambil dan mengakui berhak terhadap kesenian itu, akhirnya menyuraikan diri selepas mendengar penjelasan itu.
"Saya jelaskan di sini bahawa kerajaan Malaysia tidak pernah mengakui tarian Reog itu berasal dari Malaysia walaupun tarian itu ada di Johor dan Selangor," katanya dengan menggunakan alat pembesar suara.
Lebih 3,000 penari Reog sebelum ini dikhabarkan bakal berdemonstrasi sehingga hampir semua stesen televisyen Indonesia berminat menyiarkannya secara langsung. (foto Associated Press)
Kira-kira 150 tahun lalu, rakyat dari Indonesia yang berhijrah ke Malaysia membawa kebudayaannya dan ia dipraktikkan oleh anak cucu mereka di sana sehingga hari ini, katanya dari atas pentas yang berupa sebuah kenderaan yang digunakan oleh pemimpin demonstrasi itu.
Setelah penjelasan yang menggunakan hanya kira-kira 50 patah perkataan sahaja itu, Zainal Abidin terus turun dari pentas itu dan kembali meneruskan tugas di pejabatnya, meninggalkan para pendemonstrasi itu terdiam seperti terpukau.
Akhirnya, sedikit demi sedikit mereka bergegas meninggalkan Jalan Rasuna Said yang sesak di hadapan kedutaan dan tiada satu pun lagi antara puluhan topeng singa Reog itu yang galak menari-nari dengan garang seperti kira-kira sejam sebelumnya.
Beberapa hari sebelum ini, heboh disebarkan khabar bahawa lebih 3,000 Reog (topeng singa berupa beruk) akan berdemonstrasi anti-Malaysia sehinggakan hampir semua stesen televisyen Indonesia membawa van siaran luar mereka bagi menyiarkannya secara langsung peristiwa itu.
Namun, tidak satu pun media massa dalam talian dan televisyen yang meliputi demonstrasi itu melaporkan aspek kecekapan diplomasi Zainal Abidin yang tampil dengan tenang menamatkan demonstrasi itu tanpa sebarang insiden buruk.
Kerana menjangkakan demonstrasi itu akan melibatkan tindakan keras dan kasar, ratusan polis Indonesia telah dikerah berkawal dan pagar dawai tajam anti-perusuh telah dipasang di hadapan pintu masuk ke kedutaan.
Sebelum keluar bertemu pendemonstrasi itu, Zainal Abidin bersetuju menerima beberapa orang wakil mereka di pejabat beliau.
Bercakap kepada Bernama selepas itu, Zainal Abidin berkata terlalu banyak tuduhan jahat dilemparkan terhadap Malaysia sejak kebelakangan ini dengan banyaknya laporan media dan perbincangan di laman web tempatan kononnya Malaysia telah mencuri pelbagai seni dan budaya Indonesia dan mengakui berhak ke atasnya.
"Entah dari mana timbulnya tuduhan kononnya Malaysia juga telah mempaten semua bentuk seni dan budaya itu termasuk batik dan lagu," katanya yang menjelaskan bahawa semua tuduhan itu tidak benar.
Duta Besar itu sendiri telah berkali-kali mengulangi penjelasan tersebut kepada media massa tetapi tuduhan demi tuduhan terus berlaku sehingga beliau berpendapat ada elemen jahat yang ingin merenggangkan hubungan akrab Malaysia dengan Indonesia dengan mengeksploitasikan seni dan budaya.
Eksploitasi seni dan budaya dilakukan oleh elemen jahat ini kerana ia merupakan isu warisan yang dibanggakan oleh rakyat Indonesia dan sangat sensitif di jiwa mereka serta dapat pula dengan mudah digunakan untuk membakar sentimen anti-Malaysia, jelasnya. BERNAMA

Hehehehe....

What’s fat got to do with it?
27-11-2007 10:34:36 AM
By MARY SCHNEIDER

I HATE to keep going on about weight, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult not to. Everywhere I look there are stories about people whose weight has ballooned; stories about people successfully losing weight; and stories about successful slimmers putting their lost weight (and some more) back on again as soon as they resume their old eating habits.
Just in case you’ve been living in a cave since mankind began expanding horizontally, it’s a well-documented fact that stuffing your face with junk food while adhering to an exercise regimen that involves nothing more than multiple presses on your TV’s remote control can lead to obesity. Other than the host of life-threatening illnesses and diseases that are associated with such a condition, obese people must now come to terms with the sad realisation that New Zealand doesn’t want them.
Seemingly, you can go to New Zealand on a holiday and spend all your hard-earned cash on trips to sheep farms and visits to the region where the Lord of the Rings movies were shot, but you might not be able to emigrate there if you are obese.
New Zealand has decided that it won’t accept severely obese applicants into its immigration programme because the country is already suffering from the consequences of having a hugely overweight population. As the number of overweight New Zealanders (more than half the adult population and nearly one-third of all children) rises, the health problems associated with obesity impose an ever-increasing burden on the country’s healthcare system.
One person who felt the full weight of this fatist policy is Briton Richie Trezise, who had his initial application to emigrate to New Zealand rejected on the grounds that he had a body mass index (BMI) of 42 (anything over 25 is considered overweight). Trezise managed to lose two inches off his waistline in order to be accepted, but his overweight wife hasn’t been able to shed the pounds so easily. She now sits home alone in Britain, unable to join her husband until she has a more svelte figure.
With its declining population, New Zealand will soon be populated by nothing but sheep if it insists on turning away prospective residents based on their weight.
If it helps to put things into perspective, Australia also takes into consideration the waistlines of its potential residents. But in the country’s defence, I have to say its emigration policy isn’t as one-sided as the one enforced by New Zealand. Last year, a British woman was refused Australian citizenship because she wasn’t heavy enough. It seems that people who are thinner than average are deemed to be anorexic and, therefore, a liability because of the associated mental health problems.
So the Australian government quickly weeds out the overweight and the thin but has no qualms about granting citizenship to drinkers, TV addicts, workaholics, control freaks, mat rempit and the majority of politicians fleeing from a disgruntled populace back home.
Still, Trezise can’t complain too much. He only has to look at some of the fatist policies in place in Britain to realise that the overweight are being discriminated against on his home turf.
A few months back, a Briton was told she was too fat to adopt – and she was an ex-nanny. It would appear that fat people are incapable of being good parents, simply because they are not agile enough to meet the demands of a normal, energetic child. So instead of being nurtured in a loving home environment, a child languishes in some adoption holding house, waiting for a slimmer, more energised woman to come along.
What happens if a slim person adopts a child but later gains weight? And should fat people have their natural children taken away from them? And what about anorexics, smokers, drinkers, TV addicts, workaholics, control freaks, et al? Should they be allowed to take care of children?
I know some overweight people who are just marvellous parents. I’ve also met many women of normal weight who should never have been given a womb in the first place; they have inflicted so much damage on their children.
If things continue as they are, the majority of people in countries like New Zealand and Britain will soon be considered unfit to parent a child. Still, I guess they could always adopt a sheep

Angkasawan Malaysia

Hari ini 19 November 2007, hari bersejarah buat Nina dan Adam kerana berpeluang bertemu dan bergambar dengan Angkasawan Pertama Malaysia iaitu Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Sheikh Shukor Al-Masrie. Moga pertemuan ini menjadi sumber inspirasi buat Nina dan Adam untuk belajar lebih tekun dan bersungguh-sungguh untuk masa depan yang cemerlang di dunia dan di akhirat.

Mengapa ya??

Why Malaysia has fallen out of Top 200 ranking?
19-11-2007 12:05:08 PM

JUST as Vice Chancellors must be held responsible for the poor rankings of their universities, the Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapha Mohamad must bear personal responsibility for the dismal international ranking of Malaysian universities - particularly for Malaysia falling completely out of the list of the world’s Top 200 Universities this year in the 2007 Times Higher Education Supplement (THES)-Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings.
I find it scandalous that the shocking fall of the ranking of Malaysian universities THES-QS 2007 world Top 200 Universities was totally ignored by last week’s Umno General Assembly, whether by Umno delegates or leaders, although the 2007 THES-QS rankings were revealed when the Umno General Assembly was in session.
Further details and studies have shown that Malaysian universities have suffered a very serious drop in the international league of the world’s best universities, virtually undergoing a free fall when compared to other Top Universities.
For the first time, there is not a single university in the Top 200 Universities list.
Both Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Malaya (UM) had fell out of the Top 200 Universities ranking, with UKM plunging from 185th slot last year to 309th while University fo Malaya plunged from 89th in 2004 to 169th in 2005, 192nd in 2006 to 246th in 2007. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), which was ranked as the only “outstanding” five-star university in a recent government survey, fell to 307th spot from 277 last year. In 2005, USM was in the 326th spot. But this is not the only dismal result for Malaysian universities in the THES-QS 2007 ranking. Also for the first time, there is not a single Malaysian university in the separate listing of Top 100 Universities for five subject areas – Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities; Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Engineering and Information Technology.
Last year Malaysia was placed in four of the 500 slots in the five Top 100 Universities for the five subjects - University of Malaya ranked 49 in Social Sciences and 95 in Natural Sciences, UKM No. 62 in Natural Sciences and USM at No. 96 for Life Sciences and Biomedicine.
This year, Malaysia was completely excluded in all the five listings of Top 100 Universities for the five categories.
There are 38 “elite of elite” universities, which are not only ranked in the Top 200 Universities list, but also ranked in every one of the five Top 100 subject list. The country breakdown and details for these 38 “elite of elite” universities are:
United States (15), United Kingdom ( 4), Australia (6), Canada (5), China (2), Japan ( 2), S. Korea (1), Taiwan (1), Singapore (1), Hong Kong (1). Total (38).
United States – (Ranking in Top 200 Universities in bracket): Harvard (1), Yale (2), Princeton (6), Chicago (7), MIT (10), Columbia (11), John Hopkins (15), Stanford (19), Carnegie Mellon (20), Cornell (20), California, Berkeley (22), Brown (32), Boston (47), Texas at Austin (51) and Illinois (73).
While in United Kingdom: Oxford (2), Cambridge (2), UCL (University College London) (9) and Edinburgh (23).
Canada - McGill (12), British Columbia (33), Toronto (45), Montreal (93) and McMaster (108).
Australia - ANU (16), Melbourne (27), Sydney (31), Queensland (33), Monash (43) and New South Wales (44).
Japan - Tokyo (17) and Kyoto (25).
Hong Kong - Hong Kong (18)
Singapore - National University of Singapore (33)
China - Peking (36), Tsinghua (40)
South Korea - Seoul National (51)
Taiwan -National Taiwan (102)
I am very surprised that the Higher Education Minister, who is currently on a visit to universities in China, had asked the Chinese government to recognize more Malaysian universities and colleges for two reasons.
It was news to me and to most Malaysians that China has recognized 50 institutions in the public and private sector in Malaysia – 7 IPTAs (public institutions of higher learning) and 43 IPTSs (private institutions). This is a clear indicator that public universities in the country are losing out in terms of academic excellence and international recognition to private institutions.
Secondly, the Chinese government has recognized more Malaysian universities and colleges than the Chinese universities and colleges recognized by the Malaysian government – when many Chinese universities are internationally recognized for their academic merit and excellence while Malaysian universities have disappeared from the international radar of academic excellence.
In the 2007 THES-QS) World Top 200 University Rankings, six Chinese universities were ranked but not a single one from Malaysia.
The six Chinese universities are: (36) Peking University, (40) Tsinghua University, (85) Fudan University, (125) Nanjing University, (155) University of Science and Technology of China and (163) Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
China has two universities, Peking University and Tsinghua University, which are among the 38 “elite of elite” universities, as they are also listed in all the Top 100 Universities in all five different categories.
Altogether, Chinese universities occupy 21 spots in the 500 slots in the five Top 100 Universities for five categories – but Malaysia does not recognize anyone of them although we do not occupy a single spot in the 500 slots for the five lists of Top 100 Universities.
Malaysia even refuses to accord recognition to the degrees of Peking University and Tsinghua University, two of the “elite of elites” universities as the Malaysian government only recognizes their degrees for Chinese language studies.
Details of the 21 spots occupied by Chinese universities in the five Top 100 lists are:
6 in the Top 100 Life Sciences & Biomedicine (Peking 18, Tsinghua 51, Fudan 52, Nanjing 78, Science and Technology of China 84 and Shanghai Jiao Tong 92); 5 in the Top 100 Natural Sciences (Peking 15, Tsinghua 34, Science and Technology of China 40, Nanjing 76 and Fudan 80); 4 in the Top 100 Engineering & IT (Tsinghua 16, Peking 36, Science and Technology of China 49 and Shanghai Jiao Tong 55);
3 in the Top 100 Social Sciences – (Peking 23, Tsinghua 44 and Fudan 62); and
3 in the Top 100 Arts & Humanities – (Peking 18, Fudan 45 and Tsinghua 91).
Why has the Malaysian government not recognized these internationally-acclaimed Chinese universities for their world-class degrees and courses, when Malaysia does not have any equivalent whatsoever?
It is most strange and extraordinary that a country which has dropped out of world-class university rankings is asking for more recognition for its universities from another country with universities of international repute but which it has refused to recognize?
The Malaysian government should promptly and forthwith recognize all the degrees of Chinese universities which are internationally-recognised as among the world’s top universities, and not just the Chinese Language Studies of four Chinese universities, before we can righteously ask China for more recognition of Malaysian universities by Chinese government.
If the government is serious about its slogan of “Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang” to create a world-class university system to transform Malaysia into a knowledge-based innovative economy, it must end the New Economic Policy (NEP) in the universities and fully restore the policy of meritocracy and academic excellence coupled with social need to provide university education opportunities to economically-backward Malaysians regardless of race.
It is the NEP policy and mentality which caused University of Malaya to fall 213 rankings behind University of Singapore in less than four decades as both universities had started on the same footing some 50 years ago. University of Malaya is ranked No. 246 as compared to the 33rd ranking for National University of Singapore.
The government must recognize that so long as the NEP is kept in place in the universities, there would be no way for any Malaysian public university to compete with other universities from other countries. This is why Malaysia is also losing out to universities from Thailand and Africa – which was unthinkable four decades ago!
If Malaysia is to get back to the trail of world-class academic excellence, all universities should be allowed to enroll the most qualified students, employ the most competent professors and researchers with competitive remunerations and restore a culture of academic excellence and freedom.
One simple test of whether the government is seriously committed to abandon the baggages of past NEP policies to create a world-class university system is whether it has the political will to end the annual brain drain depriving Malaysia of the best and brightest for the development of the country.
For a start, the Cabinet should check the annual four-figure brain-drain of the best and brightest STPM students and Chinese Independent Secondary school students to Singapore by providing them equitable higher education opportunities at home to demonstrate that the government is serious in wanting to build a world-class university system.

LIM KIT SIANG

Autumn in my heart ~ 3 ~

AUTUMN GLOW.

Autumn is here, the leaves are turning,

Some so brightly they seem to be burning.

There's yellow, orange and bright red too,

All painted against a lovely sky of blue.
Every colour there is taken from the rainbow,

From up on the mountain to the valley below.

How do we rate? This is mad with love,

By our great creator in the heavens above.
For us all to see; the beauty is there,

Through all this we know He does care.

The earth is warmed by the sun's hot rays.

So we have cool nights and warmer days.
All we have to do is slow down our pace,

Quit racing around in such a terrible haste.

For on a cold night will come a frost

And this will come with quite a cost.
Then we will find the trees will be bare,

No more brilliant colours will we see there.

So enjoy it now. In it take pleasure,

Because autumn is here for us to treasure.
~~By CeNedra.~~

Autumn in my heart ~ 2 ~

AUTUMN LEAVES.

SWEEP the leaves together,

Yellow, brown and red,

Let us make a bonfire

Now that they are dead.
Chestnut leaves and beech leaves,

Ash and lime and oak,

Fir-cones and pine needles

Kindle into smoke.
Leaves that all the summer

Gave us cool and shade--

What will be left of them

When our bonfire's made?
Only death-like ashes,

But from this same dust

Suns one day will fashion

Life anew, we trust.
~~Author Unknown.~~

Autumn in my heart

Autumn in my heart ~ 1 ~

AUTUMN.
Colorful leaves falling down,

touching the ground,

turning around,

Autumn.

Pumpkin pies, dreadful skys,

Autumn.

Jack - o - lanterns glowing bright,

Got a hat, hold on tight,

Autumn.

Shorter days, football plays,

Autumn.

Goblins, ghost, witch's toast,

Autumn.
~~By Mary F.~~

Ramdhan

Masa berlalu terlalu pantas, tanpa disedari sudah sampai kepenghujung Ramadhan. Rasanya baru semalam berkira-berkira ingin meningkatkan segala amalan sunat sepanjang Ramadhan tetapi belum suku pun dibuat Ramadhan sudah sampai kepenghujungnya. Bila difikir-fikirkan, inikah tanda-tanda kecil kiamat yang selalu disebut-sebut?

Selamat Berpuasa

Selamat Berpuasa. Moga dapat menunaikan ibadat puasa yang sempurna pada tahun ini.

MINDA MUFTI: Adab-Adab berbuka puasa menurut Sunnah

13-09-2007 11:49:50 AM

Oleh Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin

ADAB -adab berhubung dengan ibadat mestilah merujuk kepada apa yang ditunjuk ajarkan oleh Allah S.W.T dan Rasulullah s.a.w iaitu al-Quran dan al-Sunnah. Ada sebahagian pihak yang cenderung untuk mencipta adab-adab ibadah tanpa merujuk kepada dua sumber agung itu, misalnya dakwaan yang menyatakan makruh mandi kerap, atau mandi pada hampir waktu berbuka kerana itu boleh mengurangkan keletihan dan sekaligus menghilang kelebihan puasa.
Sedang di dalam hadith yang sahih yang diriwayatkan oleh al-Imam Malik di dalam al-Mawata’, Ahmad dan Abu Daud di dalam sunannya: Abu Bakar bin Abd al-Rahman meriwayatkan:
قَالَ الَّذِي حَدَّثَنِي لَقَدْ رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْعَرْجِ يَصُبُّ الْمَاءَ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ مِنَ الْعَطَشِ أَوْ مِنَ الْحَرِّ
“Telah berkata sahabah yang menceritakan kepadaku: “Aku melihat Rasulullah s.a.w. di al-`Arj (nama tempat) mencurahkan air ke atas kepala baginda ketika baginda berpuasa disebabkan dahaga atau panas”. Dengan itu Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi (meninggal 620H) menyatakan: “Tidak mengapa seseorang mencurahkan air ke atas kapalanya (ketika puasa) disebabkan panas atau dahaga kerana diriwayatkan oleh sebahagian sahabah bahawa mereka melihat Rasulullah s.a.w. di al-`Arj (nama tempat) mencurahkan air ke atas kepala baginda ketika baginda berpuasa disebabkan dahaga atau panas”.(Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi, al-Mughni, 2/18, cetakan Dar al-Fikr, Beirut).
Apa yang penting di dalam bulan Ramadhan ini adab-adab yang kita kaitkan dengan ibadah puasa mestilah mempunyai asas yang boleh dipegang iaitu al-Quran atau al-Sunnah. Antara adab-adab berbuka puasa yang dinyatakan di dalam hadith:
Pertama: Menyegerakan berbuka apabila masuknya waktu atau disebut ta’jil al-Iftar. Ini berdasarkan hadith-hadith yang menyebut perkara ini, antaranya: Daripada Sahl bin Sa`d; Bahawa Rasulullah s.a.w. bersabda:
لَا يَزَالُ النَّاسُ بِخَيْرٍ مَا عَجَّلُوا الْفِطْرَ
“Manusia sentiasa dalam kebaikan selagi mereka menyegerakan berbuka puas” (Riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim).
Hadith ini menerangkan punca kebaikan di dalam agama ialah mengikut sunnah Nabi s.a.w. baginda menyegerakan berbuka puasa. Ini menolak dakwaan ajaran-ajaran karut yang kononnya melewatkan berbuka menambah pahala. Kata al-Tibi (meninggal 743H): “Barangkali sebab Allah menyukai mereka yang bersegera membuka puasa ialah kerana apabila seseorang berbuka puasa sebelum solat membolehkannya menunaikan solat dengan dihadirkan hati. Juga ianya menyanggahi ahli bid`ah yang berpendapat wajib melewatkannya. (al-Tibi, Syarh Miskhat al-Masabih, 4/183, cetakan Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyyah, Berut).
Kedua: Berbuka Puasa dengan rutab, atau tamar atau air. Rutab ialah buah kurma yang telah masak sebelum menjadi tamar kering, ianya lembut dan manis. Adapun tamar ialah buah kurma yang sudah kering. (lihat: al-Mu’jam al-Wasit 1/88). Sekarang di negara kita rutab sudah mula dikenali. Ianya kurma yang masak dan masih lagi belum kering dan mengecut. Apabila ianya mengecut dipanggil tamar. Di dalam hadith daripada Anas katanya:
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُفْطِرُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ عَلَى رُطَبَاتٍ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ رُطَبَاتٌ فَتُمَيْرَاتٌ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ تُمَيْرَاتٌ حَسَا حَسَوَاتٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ
Bahawa Rasulullah s.a.w. berbuka dengan puasa sebelum bersolat dengan beberapa biji rutab, sekiranya tiada rutab maka dengan beberapa biji tamar, dan sekiranya tiada tamar maka baginda minum beberapa teguk air. (Riwayat al-Imam Ahamd dan al-Tirmizi, katanya hadith ini hasan) Al-Diya al-Maqdisi (meninggal 643H) telah mensahihkan hadith ini. (lihat: al-Ahadith al-Mukhtarah, 4/411 cetakan: Maktabah al-Nahdah al-Hadithah, Mekah).
Inilah tertib yang dilakukan oleh baginda, pilihan pertama ialah rutab, jika tiada tamar dan jika tiada air. Kata al-Mubarakfuri (meninggal 1353H): Hadith ini menjadi dalil disunatkan berbuka puasa dengan rutab, sekiranya tiada maka dengan tamar, dan sekiranya tiada maka dengan air…Adapun pendapat yang menyatakan di Mekah disunatkan didahulukan air zam-zam sebelum tamar, atau mencampurkan tamar dengan air zam-zam adalah ditolak.
Ini kerana ianya menyanggahi sunnah. Adapun Nabi telah berpuasa (di Mekah) banyak hari pada tahun pembukaan kota Mekah namun tidak pernah diriwayatkan baginda menyalahi adat kebiasaannya mendahulukan tamar sebelum air. (al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfah al-Ahwazi, 3/311, cetakan Dar al-Kutub al-`Ilmiyyah, Beirut).
Di samping itu, dakwaan jika tiada tamar maka dengan buah-buahan yang lain juga tiada sebarang dalil daripada sunnah Nabi s.a.w.
Ketiga: Menyegerakan solat Maghrib selepas berbuka dengan tamar atau air; sekiranya makanan belum dihidangkan.
Hadith yang kita nyatakan di atas menunjukkan baginda Nabi s.a.w. berbuka dengan rutab atau tamar atau air sebelum bersolat maghrib. Maka kita disunatkan juga mengikuti langkah tersebut iaitu selepas berbuka dengan perkara-perkara tadi lantas terus menunaikan solat. Ini sekiranya makanan belum dihidangkan. Adapun sekiranya makanan telah dihidangkan di depan mata maka dimakruhkan meninggalkan makanan untuk menunaikan solat. Ini berdasarkan apa yang dinyatakan dalam hadith-hadith baginda Nabi s.a.w. antaranya: Daripada Anas bin Malik r.a.: Bahawa Rasulullah s.a.w. telah bersabda:
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهم عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ إِذَا قُدِّمَ الْعَشَاءُ فَابْدَءُوا بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تُصَلُّوا صَلَاةَ الْمَغْرِبِ وَلَا تَعْجَلُوا عَنْ عَشَائِكُمْ
“Apabila telah dihidangkan makan malam, maka mulakanlah ianya sebelum kamu menunaikan solat maghrib, dan jangan kamu tergopoh-gapah ketika makan malam kamu. (Riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim).
Dalam hadith yang lain daripada `Abd Allah bin `Umar, baginda s.a.w. bersabda: \
إِذَا وُضِعَ عَشَاءُ أَحَدِكُمْ وَأُقِيمَتِ الصَّلَاةُ فَابْدَءُوا بِالْعَشَاءِ وَلَا يَعْجَلْ حَتَّى يَفْرُغَ مِنْهُ
“Apabila dihidangkan makan malam seseorang kamu, sedangkan solat (jamaah) telah didirikan, maka mulailah dengan makan malam. Janganlah dia tergopoh-gapah sehinggalah dia selesai”. (Riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim).
Riwayat di atas juga menambah:
وَكَانَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ يُوضَعُ لَهُ الطَّعَامُ وَتُقَامُ الصَّلَاةُ فَلَا يَأْتِيهَا حَتَّى يَفْرُغَ وَإِنَّهُ لَيَسْمَعُ قِرَاءَةَ الْإِمَامِ
“Bahawa Ibn `Umar r.a. apabila dihidangkan untuknya makanan manakala solat pula sedang didirikan, maka beliau tidak mendatangi solat melainkan hingga beliau selesai makan sedang beliau mendengar bacaan imam”.
Ini kerana meninggalkan makanan dalam keadaan keinginan yang kuat untuk menjamahnya atau dalam perasaan lapar boleh menghilangkan khusyuk di dalam solat disebabkan ingatan terhadap makanan tersebut. Dengan itu para ulama menyatakan dimakruhkan solat setelah makanan terhidang di hadapan mata. Kata al-Nawawi (meninggal 676H): Di dalam hadith-hadith tersebut dimakruhkan solat apabila terhidangnya makanan yang hendak dimakan kerana ianya boleh mengganggu hati dan menghilangkan kesempurnaan khusyuk. (al-Nawawi, Syarh Sahih Muslim, 4/208, cetakan: Dar al-Khair, Beirut).
Sebenarnya bukan pada makan malam atau solat maghrib sahaja kita disunatkan mendahulukan makanan yang dihidang sebelum solat, bahkan sunnah ini meliputi semua solat dan waktu makan kerana dibimbangi menghilangkan khusyuk Ini sekiranya makanan telah terhidang di depan mata. Al-Munawi (meninggal 1031H) pula menyebut: “Hadith tersebut menyatakan hendaklah didahulukan makan malam sebelum solat maghrib. Namun ianya juga dipraktikkan juga pada solat-solat yang lain. Ini kerana punca arahan ini ialah bimbang hilangnya khusyuk. (al-Munawi, Faidh al-Qadir, 1/295, cetakan: al-Maktabah al-Tijariyyah al-Kubra, Mesir).
Malangnya ada di kalangan yang kurang faham lalu mereka menyatakan bahawa kalau azan sudah berkumandang hidangan dan makanan hendaklah ditinggalkan demi mengutamakan solat jamaah. Inilah kedangkalan meneliti hadith-hadith Nabi s.a.w., lalu mengandaikan agama dengan emosi sendiri.
Adapun sekiranya makanan belum terhidang atau perasaan keinginan terhadap makanan tiada, maka tidaklah dimakruhkan untuk terus solat. Ini bukanlah bererti kita disuruh mementingkan makanan melebihi solat, sebaliknya tujuan arahan Nabi s.a.w. ini ialah untuk memastikan kesempurnaan solat. Al-Imam Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani (meninggal 852H) memetik ungkapan Ibn Jauzi (meninggal 597H): “Ada orang menyangka bahawa mendahulukan makanan sebelum solat adalah bab mendahulukan hak hamba ke atas hak Tuhan. Sebenarnya bukan demikian, tetapi ini adalah menjaga hak Allah agar makhluk masuk ke dalam ibadahnya dengan penuh tumpuan. Sesungguhnya makanan mereka (para sahabah) adalah sedikit dan tidak memutuskan mereka daripada mengikuti solat jamaah. (Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, 2/385, cetakan: dar al-Fikr, Beirut).
Keempat: Makan dengan kadar yang tidak berlebihan ketika berbuka. Ini bertepat dengan firman Allah S.W.T.
(maksudnya) “Dan makan dan minumlah kamu, dan jangan berlebih-lebih. Sesungguhnya Dia tidak sukakan orang yang berlebih-lebihan. (Surah al-`Araf:31).
Di dalam hadith baginda s.a.w. menyebut:
مَا مَلَأَ آدَمِيٌّ وِعَاءً شَرًّا مِنْ بَطْنٍ بِحَسْبِ ابْنِ آدَمَ أُكُلَاتٌ يُقِمْنَ صُلْبَهُ فَإِنْ كَانَ لَا مَحَالَةَ فَثُلُثٌ لِطَعَامِهِ وَثُلُثٌ لِشَرَابِهِ وَثُلُثٌ لِنَفَسِهِ
“Anak adam itu tidak memenuhi suatu bekas yang lebih buruk daripada perutnya. Cukuplah bagi anak adam itu beberapa suap yang dapat meluruskan tulang belakangnya (memberikan kekuatan kepadanya). Sekiranya tidak dapat, maka satu pertiga untuk makanan, satu pertiga untuk minuman dan satu pertga untuk pernafasan. (Riwayat al-Tirmizi, katanya: hadith ini hasan sahih. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani dalam Fath al-Bari menyatakan hadith ini hasan).
Hadith ini telah salah difahami oleh sesetengah pihak, lalu mereka menyangka Nabi s.a.w menyuruh umatnya jika makan, hendaklah satu pertiga untuk makanan, satu pertiga untuk minuman dan satu pertiga untuk pernafasan. Sebenarnya jika kita teliti hadith ini bukan demikian, pembahagian tersebut ialah had maksima. Kalau boleh kurang daripada itu. Sebab itu baginda menyebut jika tidak dapat, maka tidak melebihi pembahagian tadi. Namun yang lebih utama digalakkan sekadar yang dapat memberi tenaga.
Kelima: Berdo`a ketika berbuka. Ini berdasarkan hadith Nabi s.a.w.:
إِنَّ لِلصَّائِمِ عِنْدَ فِطْرِهِ لَدَعْوَةً مَا تُرَدُّ
“Sesungguhnya bagi orang berpuasa itu, do`a yang tidak ditolak ketika dia berbuka. (Riwayat Ibn Majah, sanadnya pada nilaian hasan dan ke atas. Ishaq bin ‘Abd Allah al-Madani dithiqahkan oleh Abu Zur‘ah dan disebut saduq oleh al-Zahabi dalam al-Kasyif ).
Maka kita boleh berdo`a dengan apa sahaja do`a yang kita hajati. Do`a orang berpuasa makbul disebabkan jiwa yang telah dibersihkan dari kotoran dosa dan syahwat. Justeru itu al-Munawi menyebut: Hadith di atas hanya untuk sesiapa yang telah menunaikan tanggunjawab puasa dengan menjaga lidah, hati dan anggota” (Faidh al-Qadir, 2/500).
Di sana ada do`a yang ditunjukkan oleh Nabi s.a.w ketika berbuka dan disunatkan kita membacanya:
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا أَفْطَرَ قَالَ ذَهَبَ الظَّمَأُ وَابْتَلَّتِ الْعُرُوقُ وَثَبَتَ الْأَجْرُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ
“Adalah RasululLah s.a.w apabila berbuka, baginda bersabda: “Telah hilanglah dahaga, telah basahlah peluh (hilang kekeringan) dan telah tetaplah pahala, insyaAllah”. (Riwayat Abu Daud, sanadnya hasan)
Namun setiap orang yang menunaikan puasa dengan sepenuhnya hendaklah merebut peluang do`a yang makbul ketika dia berbuka.
Keenam: Berdo`a kepada sesiapa yang menjamu kita berbuka, kata Anas r.a.:
أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ جَاءَ إِلَى سَعْدِ بْنِ عُبَادَةَ فَجَاءَ بِخُبْزٍ وَزَيْتٍ فَأَكَلَ ثُمَّ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّه عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَفْطَرَ عِنْدَكُمُ الصَّائِمُونَ وَأَكَلَ طَعَامَكُمُ الْأَبْرَارُ وَصَلَّتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ
“Baginda s.a.w. pernah datang kepada (rumah) Sa`ad bin `Ubadah. Dia menghidangkan roti dan minyak. Baginda pun makan dan bersabda: “Telah berbuka puasa disisi kamu mereka yang berpuasa, telah makan makanan kamu mereka yang baik dan telah berselawat ke atas kamu para malaikat”.(Riwayat Abu Daud, Diya al-Maqdisi dalam Al-Ahadith al-Mukhtarah menyatakan ianya sahih 5/158).
Maka berdo`alah kepada mereka yang menjamu kita berbuka puasa. Ini adab yang sangat baik.Demikian saya senaraikan antara adab-adab yang terkandung di dalam sunnah Nabi s.a.w. ketika berpuasa. Semuga pengamalan adab-adab ini menambahkan lagi pahala puasa kita.

Khatam Al-Quran

Adam, Nina dan abah.

Adam, Nina dan Hakim

Alhamdulillah pada hari Sabtu 21.7.2007 berjalan majlis khatam Al-Quran untuk Nina, Adam dan Hakim. Majlis berjalan lancar sebagaimana yang dirancang. Majlis bermula dengan solat Maghrib berjemaah, khatam Al-Quran, tahlil arwah dan jamuan makan.

Jangan jadi robot

Nazrin: Jangan lahirkan pelajar robot
29-08-2007 02:55:53 PM

IPOH: Raja Muda Perak Raja Nazrin Shah hari ini mengingatkan mengenai pentingnya asas falsafah pendidikan yang menekankan pembinaan sahsiah, minda dan roh insan bagi menghindari lahirnya "produk pendidikan robot".
Baginda menyifatkan "produk pendidikan robot" itu sebagai manusia yang hilang sifat-sifat insaniah sebaliknya akan bersifat takbur dan berlagak sombong.
"Produk pendidikan yang dihasilkan, wajib diperkukuhkan dengan iman dan takwa, menjadi insan yang memiliki integriti diri yang tinggi lagi dihormati, bersifat jujur dan bersifat amanah," titah baginda pada Konvokesyen Kolej Islam Darul Ridzuan (KIDR) di sini hari ini.
Menurut Raja Nazrin, program pendidikan hendaklah dirangka untuk dapat menghubungkan modal insan yang dibangunkan dengan proses pembangunan negara.
Baginda bertitah pelbagai perkembangan yang sedang berlaku di abad ke-21 menuntut kepada orientasi baru, pendekatan baru, kaedah baru dan kurikulum baru pendidikan supaya produk pendidikan menjadi relevan kepada keperluan semasa.
Usaha mencetuskan transformasi pendidikan yang dilancarkan oleh kerajaan amatlah bertepatan dan membuktikan usaha serius negara dalam merealisasikan agenda membangunkan modal insan, titah baginda.
Isnin lepas, Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, melancarkan Pelan Strategik Pengajian Tinggi Negara yang memperkenalkan tiga langkah khas untuk mencetuskan transformasi dan membawa pembaharuan kepada institusi pengajian tinggi negara ini.
Menerusi rancangan jangka panjang yang melangkaui tahun 2020 itu, Perdana Menteri menetapkan matlamat untuk meningkatkan kualiti pelajar, keupayaan pensyarah, infrastruktur IPT dan membina rangkaian dengan institusi-institusi pendidikan tinggi ternama dunia.
Raja Nazrin bertitah bahawa pembangunan insan akan lebih sempurna jika sentuhan keinsanan turut terbina di samping keupayaan menguasai ilmu teknologi.
Baginda juga mengingatkan bahawa teknologi yang dikuasai oleh manusia yang memiliki nilai kemanusiaan akan digunakan untuk kebaikan dan kesejahteraan manusia tetapi akan menyebabkan kemusnahan apabila dikuasai golongan yang zalim.
"Teknologi tinggi semata-mata jika tidak diimbangkan dengan sentuhan kemanusiaan tidak akan memberi faedah kepada kehidupan alam.
"Konsep sinergi bersepadu yang merupakan kesepaduan antara komponen peribadi mulia dan komponen misi universal perlulah menjadi asas dalam pembangunan sahsiah insan," titah baginda.
Menurut Raja Nazrin, kejayaan sistem pendidikan juga bergantung kepada tenaga pengajar yang bijaksana dan berupaya menggabungkan keagungan tradisi dengan pengetahuan semasa selain berupaya menyemai roh dan komponen kemanusiaan di hati pelajar.
Dalam konvokesyen hari ini, 173 pelajar menerima diploma bagi pengajian syariah, bahasa dan kesusasteraan Arab, teknologi maklumat, perbankan dan kewangan Islam serta perakaunan. BERNAMA

Ketenangan

Melihat matahari terbit bukan semata-mata untuk dinikmati keindahannya tetapi untuk kita berfikir dan bersyukur kerana telah diberi rezeki sehari lagi untuk bernafas dibumi Allah ini.

English!

A most peculiar language
13-08-2007 08:38:37 AM
OVER A CUPPA WITH HOO BAN KHEE

ENGLISH is the most global language of all; it is used not only by the people of the former British Empire, but also by international organisations.
It is not the easiest language to master. Its spelling system is sometimes idiotic and its pronunciation, illogical. But, admittedly, it is one of the most well-developed languages in the world. Because it is so widespread, the language tends to take on a life of its own, with peculiar variations, once it has taken root in a particular nation or region that is not its country of origin.
Of course, the standard for good English is still BBC English, but that is rarely spoken today, even in London, except among upper-class people.
Elsewhere, native English rules. There is American English, which is slightly different from Australian English which, in turn, is quite different from Indian English. And none of them resembles BBC English or the Queen’s English. But the variations can be charming, even endearing, to those who speak and understand the lingo in question.
Malaysia, too, has her own variation, which we all know as Manglish. To master Manglish, you have to speak like a rapidly-firing rifle and spice up your sentences with lahs, mehs and lohs.
Not all English-speaking people can understand our brand of English. But give them time and they might just be charmed by it.
In Singapore, Singlish – as spoken by Phua Chu Kang – prevails despite Lee Kuan Yew’s tremendous efforts to promote standard English.
The Japanese, Koreans, Taiwanese and mainland Chinese tend to imitate American English, which does not go down well with South-East Asians, who speak mostly with a British accent. The feeling is mutual. While they find our English awkward, we find theirs jarring to the ear.
Frankly, Manglish is unique. Some of the common expressions we use daily are baffling to those not quite used to our style. There are instances when we are guilty of “murdering” or abusing the English language because we fail to grasp the correct meaning of certain words.
I remember a brief conversation with an old Englishwoman while I was waiting for a bus, during my short stint in London years ago. She asked me where I was going. I told her I was going “marketing” and showed her the shopping basket I was carrying.
“Oh, you mean you are going shopping,” she corrected me politely. Marketing, she added, would mean promoting and selling goods in the market.
I thanked her but deep down in my heart, I said to myself: “Hey, back home, we all go marketing every day. Anything wrong, meh?”
My other linguistic encounter was in the Lake District, England, where I once took my family for a holiday. There are beautiful lakes and picturesque hills, with quaint little hamlets and charming farmhouses, some of which have been turned into B&B-style accommodation for tourists.
We went up the meandering mountain road to soak in the panoramic views and inhale the crisp mountain air.
Later, we met a group of elderly tourists, with whom we engaged in small talk. I expressed how much we had enjoyed the refreshing view. “We even went mountain climbing!” I said excitedly.
“Oh, that’s mountain-walking. You don’t do mountain-climbing here,” one of them said pleasantly. I was rather baffled.
I later learned the difference between mountain-climbing and mountain-walking.
Malaysians are in the habit of ending a sentence with lah, mah, man, one and loh. These are local expressions assimilated into English, which give it a local flavour. The use of the words is so ingrained in us that even when we are on business trips overseas, we spill the words out spontaneously. We presume that everybody will understand what we are saying.
Not quite. Try it and if you find your listeners knitting their brows in intense concentration, trying to understand what you are trying to say, it’s time to step on the brakes.
First, slow down. Most of us speak too fast and pay little attention to pronunciation. Second, try to economise on the use of typical Malaysian words such as lah, loh and meh for the sake of the untrained ear.
However, when you are in a foreign land and feel a little homesick, it is exciting to hear Manglish. It evokes a feeling of brotherhood. You want to get closer to the people speaking it and find out more about them. Are they students, tourists or Malaysian expatriates? Hey, what are you doing here? Where is your kampung, man?
Languages evolve. We don’t write and speak the way we used to decades ago.
Along the way, we have dropped many words which we found to be unfashionable or incongruous to our present-day lifestyle. And we have coined or borrowed words that are more in tune with the times.
The language used for smses is an excellent example of this even though purists must be hopping mad with the way we corrupt the language. But then languages are living entities; they grow. We adapt and borrow words from other languages. New words are coined every day while old ones, which do not fit in, just die a natural death.
So there’s nothing wrong with our lah, loh and meh. We are just being creative. We are waiting for the day when such words are included in the Oxford Dictionary, alongside words like “amok” and “kowtow”.
Only then can we say that English is a truly global language.

Selamat Hari Guru 16 Mei

Insan cemerlang hasil didikan guru cemerlang
17-05-2007 01:25:34 PM

SAYA mewakili Persatuan Mahasiswa Islam Universiti Malaya mengucapkan selamat Hari Guru dengan tema baru ''Guru Penjana Modal Insan Cemerlang'' kepada semua guru dan tenaga pengajar di seluruh negara terutamanya para pensyarah yang bertugas mengajar tanpa kenal penat.

Saya menyedari bahawa semua pensyarah dan para guru di seluruh dunia merupakan golongan mulia kerana mereka boleh dikatakan perantara antara ilmu Allah/Tuhan dengan manusia. Mereka umpama lilin yang membakar dan menyusahkan diri saban waktu memikirkan kecemerlangan para pelajar seperti kami sebagai mahasiswa atau pelajar.

Dalam hal ini jelas bahawa menurut kepercayaan Islam kedudukan orang yang berilmu ini ditinggikan oleh Allah SWT dengan beberapa darjat berbanding golongan lain.
Kedudukan orang berilmu ini dijelaskan oleh Allah SWT dalam firman-Nya yang bermaksud: Dan (Allah SWT meninggikan) orang yang diberikan ilmu pengetahuan (dari kalangan kamu) beberapa darjat. Dan (ingatlah), Allah amat mendalam pengetahuannya tentang apa yang kamu lakukan
(Surah al-Mujadalah, ayat 28).

Sabda Rasulullah SAW, bermaksud:
dan sesungguhnya kelebihan orang berilmu berbanding orang ibadah adalah seperti kelebihan bulan berbanding kesemua bintang-bintang dan sesungguhnya ulama (orang berilmu) itu merupakan pewaris para nabi.
(Riwayat Abu Daud dan Tirmizi)

Bahkan antara golongan berilmu dengan orang tidak berilmu itu tidaklah sama sebagaimana dijelaskan dalam firman-Nya yang bermaksud:

Adakah sama orang yang mengetahui dengan orang yang tidak mengetahui? Sesungguhnya orang yang dapat mengambil pengajaran dan peringatan hanyalah orang yang berakal sempurna. (Surah Az-Zumar, ayat 9).

Saya juga memahami bukan mudah berada di dalam dunia perguruan dan dunia akademik. Para pensyarah sudah pasti menghadapi permasalahan yang tersendiri dalam memastikan pengaliran maklumat kepada generasi baru berjalan lancar. Cabaran mendidik dan melahirkan mahasiswa yang dapat diharapkan kelak memang tidak dapat dinafikan.

Sabda Rasulullah SAW bermaksud:
Orang yang berilmu dan penuntut ilmu saling bersekutu di dalam memperolehi kebaikan, tiadalah kebaikan yang banyak bagi manusia selaian mereka.
(Riwayat Ibn Majah).

Inilah antara kelebihan apabila berkecimpung dalam dunia kesarjanaan ini.

Dalam pada itu saya ingin sertakan juga sajak yang yang menyentuh hati hasil karya
Tokoh Sasterawan Negara, Dato' Usman Awang yang terkenal dengan nama penanya, Tongkat Warrant, iaitu:

BERBURU ke padang datar
Dapat rusa belang kaki
Berguru kepala ajar
Ibarat bunga kembang tak jadi
(dedikasi kepada Hari Guru dan guruku tercinta)

Dialah pemberi paling setia
Tiap akar ilmu miliknya
Pelita dan lampu segala
Untuk manusia sebelum jadi dewasa.

Dialah ibu dialah bapa juga sahabat
Alur kesetiaan mengalirkan nasihat
Pemimpin yang ditauliahkan segala umat
Seribu tahun katanya menjadi hikmat.

Jika hari ini seorang Perdana Menteri berkuasaJ
ika hari ini seorang
Raja menaiki takhta
Jika hari ini seorang Presiden sebuah negara
Jika hari ini seorang ulama yang mulia
Jika hari ini seorang peguam menang bicara
Jika hari ini seorang penulis terkemuka
Jika hari ini siapa sahaja menjadi dewasa;
Sejarahnya dimulakan oleh seorang guru biasa
Dengan lembut sabarnya mengajar tulis-baca.

Di mana-mana dia berdiri di muka muridnya
Di sebuah sekolah mewah di Ibu Kota
Di bangunan tua sekolah Hulu Terengganu
Dia adalah guru mewakili seribu buku;
Semakin terpencil duduknya di ceruk desa
Semakin bererti tugasnya kepada negara.
Jadilah apa pun pada akhir kehidupanmu, guruku
Budi yang diapungkan di dulangi ilmu
Panggilan keramat "cikgu" kekal terpahat
Menjadi kenangan ke akhir hayat.

USMAN AWANG1979

Semoga semua pensyarah dan tenaga pengajar terus berada dalam keredaan Allah dan komited memperluaskan ilmu kepada pewaris baru kelak. Walaupun mungkin terdapat pelajar yang melupai para guru sekalian, namun tetap ada golongan yang konsisten mengingati jasa besar kalian, insya Allah.

Pemergian Ayah - Al-Fatihah

Al-Fatihah .Ayah telah pergi ke Rahmatulallah pada 12 Mei 2007 subuh antara 5 hingga 6 pagi di Hospital Besar Kuala Lumpur. Pada 8 Mei ayah membuat pemeriksaan di HBKL kerana mengalami sesak nafas dan dimasukkan kewad pada hari yang sama. Doktor mengesahkan paru-paru ayah berair dan proses membuang air diparu-paru telah dilakukan. Doktor mengesyaki penyakit ayah telah melarat ke paru-paru.

Selama empat hari ayah terlantar di hospital dan Teh setia menjaga dan menemani ayah. Ayah pulang kerahmatulallah pada subuh 12 Mei. Selama ini ayah hidup sendirian , ayah pergi pun sendirian tanpa sesiapa disampingnya. Ayah disahkan telah tiada ketika Teh menunaikan solat subuh di surau hospital. Takdir Allah menentukan tiada anak-anak yang menemani ayah disaat-saat akhir hayatnya didunia ini. Doktor mengesahkan kemungkinan ayah pergi dalam tidurnya.

Ampunkan dosa kami ayah. Semoga Allah megampunkan dosa-dosa ayah dan ditempatkan bersama-sama orang yang beriman. Moga dipermudahkan segala urusan dialam kubur. Apa yang pasti adik yang suci bersih daripada segala dosa ada menunggu ayah disana. Apakah ayah akan dipertemukan dengan emak disana? Hanya Allah yang tahu. Nasib kami bagaimana pula?