For What Cause?

So what are the causes of Islamic militancy. A lot have been written. Many think that these militant groups are products of envy and resentment of Western capitalism and frustration over weakening of Islamic nations. Some resent the economic systems in their own countries which benefit a small minority while keeping the majority of the population mired in poverty. Often the route to success is to have political connections. Officials use their office to enrich themselves. They are increasingly passing on their privileged political and economic positions to their sons and daughters. Corruption is endemic. For many, who deserve a particular place in life, watching as corruption eats away at their social status and their standard of living, they revolt against these in various ways....

These may be some of the roots of the problems. What probably drives these people to be extremists is their recent leaning back towards religion in the midst of their frustrations. Many, although highly educated, even doctors and lawyers, lack true and coherent understanding of the religion. Their empty mind is like a vacuum, absorbing and exploiting what ever they could find to use as legitimate reasons. In many cases, these people are easily molded. And so there they are -they closed their minds completely to the victims of their acts. The thought hasn't occurred to them that God might not like what they are about to do. Inside, their brains are fired up with zeal, their soul transfixed. Many innocent lives lost. Inadvertently Muslims and Islam as a whole came under the wrong spotlight.　

Heart of Borneo

Was wondering what's it about, came across this map which shows the areas that encompass the Heart of Borneo initiative. The main feature of this initiative is to have a continuous area of protected forests but on a grand scale. It involves a number of large tract of highland forests in the deep interior or 'heart' of Borneo, spanning along the mountainous spine of this large island. The diversity in this forest would be lost if the forests are fragmented. Successful rainforest conservation requires inter-connected forests. This is particularly critical as mass deforestations for palm oil plantations and other human activities are creeping in from all sides into this heartland.

Busiest Saturday

Yesterday was no doubt the busiest shopping day of the year here. Like back home when it comes to preparing for Hari Raya, yesterday was the last Saturday before the Dutch celebrate a very Dutch tradition - Sinterklaas. This is time of year when they buy presents, quite different to the normal Christmas celebration. In deed we thought our Hari Raya preparations are over the top and for some buying beyond their means, here it is quite similar. The main difference is that most of the buys are for presents. The rests are mainly towards decorations - which can be quite outlandish as well. We don't know whether here the sale has gone down compare to previous years becasue of the current recession. In UK and the States, the sales have definitely gone down and amazing bargains are on offer to kick-start people to start shopping again. Our son asked if back home is also affected by the current global recession. I didn't answer. Life is probably like normal back home, people are more likely oblivious of the real situation.

Captain Jack Sparrow

With the current pirate incidents in Somalia waters, my boy asked me if we are decendants of pirates as he seemed to remember someone saying that. Well it was a long time ago I suppose..who want to claim they are decendants of pirates. The water of Broneo in the past were littered with pirates. Most people were then fishermen. The more powerful and influencial ones, even though they might not be strictly called pirates, but were more likely to act like a pirate, rampaging and colonising territories.

One from the Past

Our boy is doing a project of family history and describing the timeline of someone - his victim unfortunately is me. So there he was jotting down all the interesting facts.....

Loking at old photos, we found this one taken ten years ago when we were here. We lived in a small town (the Dutch consider it as Kampung) called Assen about 2 hours drive North of Amsterdam. The winters were colder with thick snows everywhere. During one winter the temperature was as low as -17 Deg. C.

70 Years

Alhamdulillah. Whilst here we missed the 70th birthday kesyukuran for dad/grandpa. Looking at the photos in PHS blog, it was quite an event with speeches and so on. Born in 1938, in an era when boys became men early, dad/grandpa became a teacher after just a few years of schooling. Then off to Semenanjong but didn't finish his teachers training because of the consternation when Brunei didn't join Malaysia at that time. From then on he has been a teacher ever since, specialising in Malay sastera, before finally lecturing at the teachers training college until retirement.

Other than that that he has a real passion for travelling, something that definitely has rubbed on us. But his biggest contribution is to the community in his former village in Tutong where he spent endless amount of energy and time involved in probably the most successful village organisation in the country for many years. The organisation is called "Pertama".

What's the Point

Excessive celebration and opulence. The newest resort in Dubai, Atlantis the Palm, was opened this week with a mega celebration costing a staggering 20 million dollars. Amid lots of critics, the owner said this is a small amount compared to the cost of the resort itself which is about $1.5 billion. The irony is that some people think that Kylie Minogue fully deserved to be paid $4.4 million for her one hour show but piled hatred and called the owner greedy, selfish and self-centred immoral fat cats. The owner is not even a Saudi, a South African to be exact.

Nonetheless it does bring one to think why many people are looking for extravagence and opulence in life. I am not against people aspiring for good life and getting the right rewards, but lets not be too excessive. If only we all take one moment and have thoughts for the hungry and the have-nots, that will hopefully help us to act differently and avoid us being too opulence in life.

All White Outside

It's below zero outside right now. But that does not prevent the kids to play around with the snow.

Normally these first flurries are the one that makes everyone excited. But once you see it everyday, you would just want to stay inside the house and could not be bothered with it anymore. All in all, including the last time we were here 10 years ago, this would be 6th winter for the kids.

We hope this year will be a good one with proper long cold spell. Would be nice to see the canals frozen and walking on it.

First Snow this Winter

The snow came and go. But when it came down during our drive on the motorway today, it was quite scary. The whole road instantly turned white. The road looked more like an ice ring and everybody started to slow down. Cars were basically just crawling. This is still not the time of the year when the municipal starts to put grit or salt on the road. The current snow blast is unexpected and seems to come a bit too soon.

When we drove up a slope, we saw a car in front of us started to slide sideway. No sooner our car also started to do likewise. But luckily we managed to keep the car going and stayed on the road. Journey back home seemed a lifetime. That was scary. Its time to change the tyres this week. Although the tyres seem to be okay, a year old now, but is wise to take precaution. Normally people change their car tyres to a second set which is the winter tyres. But most people, like myself, opted for the multi-season tyres. The downside, because of the normally heavy summer driving, they don't last more than one winter. The photo is a view of our garden shed at the back of our house today.

Kenangan DiCordoba

This is our collection of photos in Cordoba.

Our Granada Photos

The weather has dramatically changed since yesterday. It now started to be sub-zero outside with the chill factor. Every now and then we see snow and sleets coming down. In the morning it's dark going to the office and again dark going back home. The daily 10-km cycle ride to the office is now more like an endurance test. Not only the bike dynamo is slowing the ride, but the cold and head wind make it a real effort to even get going. Nonetheless as always I am fully wrapped up from head to toes. No regret. Being out in the open, facing the environment, in the middle of rain and cold, and cycling along the many narrow streets and seeing people sitting cozily in their homes, is a humbling experience.

Finally got the time today to compile photos of our last holiday.

We are in Recession

With the ongoing global recession, it is hard to be unaffected by what is going on around you. Everyday we read thousands of jobs were being shed, companies going bust and major cost cutting measures are everywhere to be felt. Our utilities bill is expected to go up significantly this year.

And then suddenly China and the rest of the world start to use less oil. The oil price quickly tumbled down, from as high as $US145 per barrel to $US57 today.

At the pump, the big drop in the oil price however is not reflected in the pump price. Since its height 3 months ago when RON98 fuel cost Euro1.65 per liter, it is now only 25% down, at Euro1.26 per litre, which is about B$2.50 per litre. So why has the decrease in the pump price not the same as the decrease in the raw oil price. Good question - the same question being asked by all car drivers here. Somehow somebody is still raking a big profit.

A Ray of Hope

Whilst living away from our motherland, we don't have the privilege of a housemaid or a helper to do the daily chores. It's probably less of an issue for those in the diplomatic circles where they somehow are always able to bring their housemaid, but here in Holland it is just impossible. Nonetheless it is not that unmanageable at all. In fact this is one of the interesting aspect of living outside.

One thing that we managed to arrange ever since we were here is the weekly religious session for the kids. Ustaz Naf'an, the Imam from the Indonesia mosque here, conducts the session with our kids at home. Ustaz is well kown to the Bruneian and Malaysian communities here. Last summer he went to Brunei and was hosted by a few of our countrymen who used to be here before. He said he had a nice time there and appreciated the hospitality. Just now when we talked about our recent trip to Cardoba, Ustaz said he managed to pray in the grand Mosque whe he was there. Actually it is difficult to do it because the mosque is well guarded to prevent Muslim from praying in the former mosque what is now a cathedral. But somehow Ustaz did manage to do it. And we also heard a few others did it. Mostly they prayed that one day the Mosque will become a proper mosque again like in its glorious past. Ameen.

Legoman

Our son is into Lego. More of the same stuff is piling up as the weeks go by as he is buying more and more of it. Apparently there is a Lego Creator website which contain pictures of lego creations submitted by kids around the world. Faris has been busy making his own creations and submiting them. His creations can be seen if you search haris32 in the username.



http://creator.lego.com/en-us/Gallery/gallery.aspx

Lunch at Beverwijk

The place is 50 km away from home. We had a late lunch today at the Beverwijk Market at our favourite hunting ground - the Makkah Restaurant. The owner and his family as always were there to greet and serve us. They are really nice people. The father and his brother, both from Egypt, own the business which is only opened on Saturday and Sunday. As always, they were helped by their sons and few others. Beverwijk is like an Arab souk where you can get almost anything you want, but at a much better price. But most of all the shoarma and mint tea are great.

End of the Road

Once a week, what ought to be an opportunity to guide the ummah, more often than not Friday sermons nowadays are becoming too generalised and sometimes politicised. There are many times when you walked out of the mosque thinking what actually was the message and what should I be doing about it. The Friday sermons here to me are quite good. They really touched the real spiritual issues and left you to think and reflect deeply. Because they are not drafted by some academics sitting in a lofty office but rather by Imams who are on the street, the messages tend to be simple but strong. The topics recently were about being thankful or 'besyukur' for not only when big things come but for everything that are bestowed on us everyday which tend to be taken for granted. The other time was to do with the impact of Ramadan. Most of us adults have performed 30 to 50 full months of fasting in our life, but have we really see changes in the way we conduct our life. In the end it is up to each of us, rich or poor, what we want to prepare for the afterlife. Below is a nice story I came across.

There was a nobleman who decided to take a tour of his county. As he passed by different places, everyone rushed to see him. However, while passing by a certain place, he noticed a poor old man who did not pay any attention to the nobleman's arrival and remained engaged in his own activities. The nobleman went up to this poor man and asked why he did not join the people to see him. The poor man replied, "Before you, there was another nobleman who once passed by this place. Everyone gathered to see him as well. But, few days later he died and was buried in a place nearby. A poor man also died during that time and was buried near the nobleman's grave. After some time, a strong flood passed through that area causing those graves to overturn. As a result, the bones of the poor man became mixed up with those of the nobleman's. We could not differentiate between them any longer. After seeing this, it does not matter to me anymore as to who is a nobleman and who is a beggar. In the end, our home is the same."

What's with the Mascot

Time of the year when money are raised through donations of private individuals who may organised events to raise funds for charities working with children in the UK. It is now better known as Pudsey Children in need. The kids got involve with it through their British School here. The initiative which started since 1985 uses 'Pudsey', a teddy bear with a bandage over one eye, as the mascot.

Here's what Faris wrote ........ the school raised about 5000 Euros this year through Fame academy and dance competition in the school. The Fame academy is a competition where people audition in singing, acting or dancing. If chosen they will get someone to help them on their performance. The Fame academy was last night and to vote you pay 2 euros. From the voting they raised about 4000 euros. The dance competetion was this afternoon. Every class from year 8 and 7 (14 classes) performed a dance they made.They could ask a year 11-13 to choreographed their dance. There were 2 judges, an English teacher and a professional dancer from England. There was a winner for year 7 and 8 and an overall winner. The year 8's usually win because they had experience in the Pudsey dancing competition. Suprisingly my class 7JF won, choreographed by Fiz and friends! See the video.

Transiting In Budapest

The call from the travel agent was quite late yesterday. The message was that Air France was going on strike from midnight onwards. As I would be flying on that carrier the next day and transiting at CDG Paris, I was advised to change my flight. So the option was given - the best one was using Malev Airline (first time I heard this airline!) via East Europe. I asked if the airline has been approved by the company safety-wise and the answer was YES. I also asked around my colleagues if they have used that carrier before - YEEH... the airline that normally you travel with pigs and chickens onboard! The least assuring answer.

Anyway I took the option. The detail was a bit blurry. I thought I was flying on this M Airline to Sofia in Bulgaria before catching another flight to Amsterdam. Only realised that I was actually flying to Budapest in Hungary when I lined up to board the plane. Well I only had 3 hours sleep prior before being sent to the airport at 2 am to catch the flight at 4 am. And at the airport somebody did the leg work for me, getting my passport sorted out, my luggage checked-in and my exit visa done. I felt embarassed though as the airport was crowded and obviously this guy cut the queue and straight to the front desk (he got the necessary badge which comes with authority obviously).

I know a bit of Bulgaria - it was part of the Ottoman Empire for some 500 years before it got its independence and so has some Muslim population, although suppressed during the communist rule. Hungary - almost zero knowledge - apart from that there is a Formula One race held there every year called the Hungaroring. Looking at Wiki just now, found out that Hungary was one of the 15 most popular tourist destinations in the world in the past decade, with the capital Budapest regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world. The country is home to the second largest thermal lake in the world. And in fact there are over 100 natural thermal wells in the city to feed the many spas there which it is famous for. The most famous contribution of Hungary to the world is the famous square Rubik. It is the amongst the newest member of the European union when it joined in 2004. It is now going through a fast catch up programme to allign with the economy of the rest of the EU, heavily subsidised and helped by the other members which is obviously the attraction to seek EU membership for all the ex-communist countries in Eastern Europe. The membership also helps to reform a lot of things such as politics, administrations, legislation, economy etc.

I am back home now. The plane was good and the Budapest airport was quite modern.

Bawabet Dimashq

It's the last evening before flying home. My Syrian colleague invited me for dinner at this amazing restaurant called Bawabet Dimashg or Damascus Gate. Apparently it is the largest restaurant in the world. It was not full house today but in the summer the place is really packed with more than 6000 people dining at any time. The design of the restaurant is quite interesting, with a setting of a ruin city and small stream flowing across it from an artificial waterfall.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7435424.stm

Unlike in many places and becoming too common now around the world, there are still restaurants that hang Halal sign at their entrance and yet serve alcohol. This one doesn't. And the food was great.

Rain is a Blessing Here

Back home, the rain has been lashing endlessly. It must be a trying time for many especially those affected by the floods, disconnected roads and utilities, loss of homes and so on. It does test one's attitude towards the Almighty.

Here in Damascus, the rain fell down heavily today. I have been asking my Syrian colleagues the past couple of days how long has it not been raining. It has been a while. The city looks so dry and a bit dusty. So today it was an absolute blessing. When such things are taken for granted or even seen as an annoyance in other countries, here to see the rain falling down is a real joy.

After an exhausting day in the office, yours trully made a quick trip to the Al Hamidiyah Souk. The souk is in the middle of the Old City where the great Umayyad Mosque is located. After our Andalusia trip a couple of weeks ago seeing the extent of the Umayyad Dynasty, I am here right back to the heart and capital of the original empire. When the Umayyad Dynasty fell to the Abbasid Dynasty, Damascus had seen its height. The Abbasids moved their capital from Damascus to Baghdad.

On the way back I saw this local ice cream shop. Quite interesting to see the ice cream being pounded repeatedly before being piled up on the table ready to be scooped for the customers. It's definitely quite tempting for people walking by. Going back to the hotel was a bit problematic. With the falling rain, even in a city of literally thousands of taxis, waiting for a long time for an empty one is not how I want to waste my time. So there I was walking in the rain .........

Kid's Tour of Rotterdam

Whilst I am here, today, Faris our youngest, went on a school trip to visit the city of Rotterdam. The city is more modern compared to other main cities in Holland like Amsterdam. The reason is because the city was heavily bombed during World War II and so was later rebuilt more or less from scratch.

It was a full iternary, the school group went on a boat around the harbour which by the way is the busiest in Europe if not the world.

They went to the market and later to the Euromast, the tallest tower in Europe. From here, one could see the city skyline and the famous Erasmus bridge. Here's a couple of photos that Faris took today.

A Malaysian Night In Damascus

On the road again, my 9th trip, flying to my favourite part of the Middle East - Jordan and Syria. With the project in the former completed, what's is left to do now is only Syria. It's not a country that is easily understood especially when the country is always painted as aggressive by Western media unless one has been on the ground. There have been a number of unfortunate events lately, a massive bombing in Damascus and US Blackhawks' incursion to a small village in the East of the country amongst others. The economy is also suffering through a US export restriction which prevent any form of US technology to be exported to the country. On the bright side, the people here are just taking those on their chins and living life as normal as they can. Most of all, it is always a pleasure to work with the people here - they are very friendly and kind.

It's a two hours flight to Vienna before catching a 3.5 hours flight to Damascus. In the past, one always gets a bad deal flying on European carriers to this part of the world. Their business class is simply a normal economy seat but with the middle seat left empty to give a bit of gap with fellow passenger. But now Air Austria has changed its business seat to a proper one. Obviously it could not compete with A380 configuration but it is a blessing in any case. As always and I do not understand it fully, a plane arriving at Damascus International airport always has to circle above the airport a few times before finally making the landing. My best hunch is that it is part of the heavy security protocol here.

When I checked in for dinner at the hotel, rather than expecting an Arabian delight, there were surprisingly Malay dishes on offer. It was apparently Malaysian Night theme! So there I was ordering some of those familiar dishes. Unfortunately it was not the same and quite disappointing, how can a Syrian cook make a proper Asian dish - I should have known better. So back to normal Syrian dishes from now on.

Beyond Hope, Time for Change

It was a must read book. When I read the book early in the year, I would never imagine this guy will become a president in such a short time. Reading the book was more out of curiosity of an unconventional politician. Some feel he is too liberal.

My instinct is that he will never be successful beyond what he was then. There were so many things that would go against a non-white aspirer. Then the contest with Hillary really brought him into a different character and lights. What surprised me is that he is a really good orator. So there it was the election yesterday. The kids were excited with all the build-ups and as the results roll-out. It's good to see them interested and to understand a bit on the process of electing a president. Time will tell. It's no longer the audacity of hope, looking forward for an audacity of change.

An Amazing Race

Every alternating Sundays from March to November, we have a regular ritual watching 18 machos racing around 60 laps. More often than not, 59 of those 60 laps are plain boring. And what makes watching the live broadcasts worth the 2 hours sitting down are the few rare overtakings and incidents in the race.

But the season's penultimate race in Brazil yesterday was amazing. Right from the start, something extraordinary was to be expected. The heavy downpour in the beginning set the scene. The unforgetable drama of last years final race was still fresh in the mind.

In the end, the penultimate lap was the decider for the world champion. Every F1 fans were on their edge. Real nail-biting drama. Massa crossed the chequered flag. The whole Ferrari garage celebrated. The whole Brazil was roaring. But moments later when Hamilton overtook Glock, it was an incredible sight to see the looks on the faces in the Ferrari garage when they realised they have lost it!!! For all the steward's strange decisions, the FIA seeming bias, fnally McClaren did it. Well done to Lewis and McLaren Mercedes!!

Lewis's father said "this is the culmination of 16 years of hard work. Hopefully this will be an inspiration for other families and kids. When we started we had nothing, no money."

"But after a lot of hard work we are top of the world. It shows it can be done. Hard work, dedication, respect to your family, respect to all people, fantastic."

"To be honest, I thought it was over. I thought it was gone. When he did cross the line I didn't know he had won it. I had to go by what everyone else was doing."

"They were jumping up and down, and so I assumed we must have got something."

"But they were absolutely the worst few minutes of my life. For a number of laps I turned away. I couldn't watch. "

Sunday Invite

The month of Syawal is over but today there was yet another openhouse!

This has to be the official 'penutup' for this year's Hari Raya Aidifitri. Time really flies. Felt like Ramadan was just a few weeks ago. Only realised that the month of Syawal was already over on Wednesday. Soon it will be the Haj season and of course the next Hari Raya. Then end of the year.......

It was quite elegant to see some inovations to make the place a bit spacious in the house. The garden was covered with a large tent and turned into an extension of the living room. And with two eletric heaters to warm the place, it didn't feel actually being outdoor in this cold and rainy weather.

Luckily we came when the crowd was easing - must be more than a hundred who turned up. The photos are courtesy of the host.