The Recognition

Sometimes in May '09

"Assalamualaikum En. Amir, ada kat mana?", kedengaran suara halus sedikit cemas dihujung talian Amir.

"Wa'alaikumsalam Kak Bena, awat cemas pagi-pagi ni?", jawab Amir selamba sebab dah biasa sangat dengan Pembantu Pertanian Kawasan Selama itu.

"Ni En Amir, dok mana ni?", suara gelabah bercambur kelam-kabut menjadi-jadi. "Bos Kak Bena nak mai Selama, dia nak pi melawat tapak projek En. Amir. Dok mana ni?", sambung pegawai tersebut.

"Buat dah la depa ni," rungut Amir dalam hati. "Ada area Selama jugak la, tapi on the way ke Bukit Merah kejap," jawab Amir, klentong sebab dia sebenarnya tersangkut kat pejabat Peladang Selama. Banyak pulak baucer baja padi yang nak kena sain.

"Elok tu, mintak toooolong sangat bagi ada kat tapak projek jam 11.30. Tolong la, boleh la na!", rayu Kak Bena, mengharap.

Masa dah tiba... masa yang Amir tunggu-tunggu, nak berdepan dengan Pegawai Pertanian kat tapak projek. Marah sungguh sebab sekian lama menunggu bantuan dari Jabatan Pertanian yang tak kunjung tiba.

"Ok, saya sampai.... tapi mintak jam 12.00", jawab Amir. "Biaq depa tunggu aku pulak", bisik hati Amir, geram, tak sabar nak berkhutbah kat bos tu.

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Matahari mula nak menghamparkan bahangnya pada segala yang terdedah di muka bumi. Kelihatan empat tubuh manusia berpakaian kemas mundar mandir di laman Rumah Padi (pondok tempat Amir dan Senapi tinggal).

"Assalamualaikum! Maaf la biar bos dok tunggu," jerit Amir yang terlewat 30 min sebaik saja Hilux hitamnya berhenti bawah teduhan pokok kelapa sawit.

Kelihatan 3 orang perempuan yang memang Amir kenali dari Pejabat Pertanian Selama dan seorang lelaki yang agak gempal dok bersantai atas gelegar Rumah Padinya.

"Yang ni kot bos", Amir meneka dalam hati.

"Wa'alaikumsalam, tak pa, silap kami tak bagi tau awal", jawab En. Zul sambil menyambut tangan Amir, salam.

"Yang orang pompuan ni macam tu la... bila kita keluar ja, depa pun pi menyembang mana pun tak tau", kata Amir, lawak standard nak cover bila tak dak orang nak buat air kat tetamu.

Berderai tawa memecah hening Rumah Padi tengahari tu.

"Hummm... macam mana bos?", Amir memula bicara, serius. "Dah 4 paperwork, yang last siap CD untuk slide presentation. Apa lagi saya nak kena buat?", sambung Amir sedikit meninggi suara.

"Ni yang saya datang, nak tengok perkembangan projek. Malangnya peruntukan dah habis", jawab En. Zul dengan gaya seorang pegawai yang profesional.

"Ha ha ha... Kalau setakat nak mai habaq bajet tarak, dok kalut mai buat apa? Talipon lagi senang", sergah Amir sinis dengan loghat Kedah pekat, marah.

"Saya boleh bagi semua alasan, tak payah bos cita", Amir mula melepas geram yang sekian lama dipendam.

"1- Luar Jelapang 2- Luar Skim 3- Peruntukan hanya untuk yang selain dari PADI, bos nak lagi? Saya nak sambung ni...", bebel Amir dengan penuh perasaan, mata dah buntang.

Tiga pegawai dari pejabat Selama, tunduk, mengira lantai batang pinang.

"Sabar En Amir, tujuan saya datang ni nak bagi tau yang saya akan usahakan juga walau macam mana pun. Saya harap En Amir jangan putus asa." jawab En Zul mententeramkan Amir yang kelihatan bengang.

"PUTUS ASA???!!! 5 tahun bos... for the past 5 years I've been struggled tanpa satu sen dari jabatan. You think I'm a quiter???" jerit Amir menunding jari sambil menahan darah Hang Jebat yang membuak di setiap inci tubuhnya. Melayu kalau dah cakap orang putih.... geram habis meter la tu.

"Itu sebab saya datang ni, saya nak pastikan yang projek ni tak terhenti dan kalau saya dapat tolong, jadi tak lah duit tun burn macam tu saja. Saya faham perasaan En Amir", pujuk En Zul.

En Zul menjanjikan perhatian khusus untuk projek Amir, lebihan bajet dari projek lain akan disalurkan sekiranya ada.

"Macam selalu lah, harapan demi harapan", sambut Amir yang mulai lembut.

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"Bang! Lama tipon dok bunyi tu!!!", jerit isteri kesayangan kepada Amir yang leka dengan mesin rumput.

Amir menjawab tipon," Assalamualaikum tok ketua, apa cita?".

"Ni Cik Amir, ada sijil dengan hadiah dari PPK untuk Cik Amir, depa bagi masa mesyuarat agung ari tu", kata tok ketua Kg Sg Star yang juga ketua unit PPK kawasan projek Amir.

"Tu ka?? Tak pa, Tok Ketua simpan dulu, saya kat Yan ni. Nanti saya ambik", jawab Amir. "Sijil apa tu?" sambung Amir ingin tau.

"Langganan Tertinggi, saya pun tak tuuu apa dia," jawab tok ketua dengan loghat Selama.

"Sah depa nak pemain aku ni, mentang-mentang aku utang banyak," bisik hati Amir.

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Sometimes in July '09

Nokia E71 Amir bergetar sambil mendendangkan lagu "Sultan of Swing" kegemarannya.

"Assalamualaikum En Amir, ada kat mana? Boleh mai Selama dak?" kata Kak Bena dari Jabatan Pertanian.

"Dia buat lagi... adihhhhhh", rungut hati Amir.

"Awat Kak? Hari ni ka? Kalut la, ari ni saya kat office Penang," jawab Amir tertanya-tanya.

"Ni nak habaq, ada bajet bos bagi RM19,500 dulu. Sapa boleh tunjuk, ukur parit yang En Amir nak buat tu? Kak Bena kena tau ari ni. Nak buat macam mana ni??", jawab Kak Bena dengan nada cemasnya.

"ALHAMDULLILAH!!!! Yezzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!, it's coming, it's coming", jerit Amir dalam hati sambil melompat dari kerusi kat officenya. Semua orang tercengang.

"Ala Kak Bena, relax, jangan kelam kabut. Sat lagi saya contact abang Pi. Dia ada sana," ujar Amir mententeramkan Kak Bena, lagak seorang problem solver.

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The Recognition

Pajero Amir berusia 15 tahun, masih gagah melanyak jalan-jalan batu di Kg Damak, tapak kedua projek Amir. Senapi tersenyum puas....

"Alamak!!! Tok Ketua la...", jerit Amir kat Senapi bila mereka berselisih dengan tok ketua yang bermotorsikal. "Dia patah balik la...", sambung Amir lagi sambil merenung cermin pandang belakang.

"Maaf la tok ketua, saya kalut sungguh. Ni kami baru balik dari Damak," sambil menunjuk seluar yang penuh selut kat tok ketua. "Terlupa nak pi ambik sijil," sambung Amir nak cover line.

Pajero meluru ke arah rumah tok ketua membontoti motorsikal krissnya.

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"Cik Amir, semua dah ok. Duit dah ON, kontraktor dah pi tengok. Tunggu nak buat je," Kak Bena bercerita dengan penuh semangat melalui talifon.

"Parit kita korek, hutan kita cuci... gelong yang Cik Amir mintak tu pun masuk sekali, tahun depan kita minta lagi" beria-ia Kak Bena bercerita.

Amir terkedu... sujud syukur. Alhamdulillah! Akhirnya......

Dulu dan Sekarang

Assalamualaikum!
Kadang-kadang bila ambik gambaq, background pun penting juga untuk menjadi asas penentu waktu atau kualiti hidup yang kita dah lalui.

2009 Julai: Di depan Semi-D di Bandar Parklands, Klang.
Mungkin 1968/1969- Depan rumah panjang, agaknya rumah yang pertama ayah dan mak duduk selepas keluaq dari rumah Tok di Ruat (gambaq 41 tahun dulu).

'PAK POONG PAK MUSAPE,

TIDU LE DI RUMAHNYE,

ADA TEPUNG ADE KELAPE,

MASAK GULE ADU ENNAKNYE'

Betul ka tak tau pelatnya?

BUDAK-BUDAK CUBA NYANYI TENGOK!

Salam

View of Selangor Dam

Assalamualaikum,
Selangor Dam banyak isu, mungkin perlu pergi tengok sebelum semua tenggelam.

Air kurang dekat Sg Chiling sebab Dam?

Nampak tenang, tapi pernah makan 6 nyawa dalam 10 tahun, iaitu bila hujan di hulu yang menyebabkan sudden gush of water.

Peta lama saja yang ada dalam internet?

Nak pergi tak dak masa, dulu masa camping tak nampak air.

White water tak semestinya atas kayak, atas pelampung tayar pun boleh.

Pak Ngah mungkin nak pi mengai di Kelah santuary ( tapi kena duit kut).

Salam

We don't actually know who we really are, aren't we?

Assalamualaikum,
Kadang-kadang bila baca benda-benda macam ni, rasa kita dikelilingi oleh ahli-ahli politik yang mengarut. Rasa macam nak jenguk balik salasilah. Cuba renungkan:

Petikan dari e-mail.
I got this from a friend and decided to resend it as it explains in great detail what a Malayu really is. It is time we stopped those who corrupt the original meaning in order to use it to divide Malaysian.
Mahathir should know this since he registered himself as an Indian in Singapore where he studied medicine. Inside him, he knows the real reason why he now considers himself a Malay and refuses to acknowledge his Indian roots.
There are opportunists everywhere and UMNO has become the platform for them to satisfy their greed. It will also be the platform on which they destroy themselves.The Deputy PM expressed disappointment with the Chinese for not voting UMNO but when you look back at recent history, did he thank the Chinese for their role in getting independence for Malaya? The Chinese, Indians and Malays were supposed to be equal partners as a condition for obtaining Merdeka. Then, the Malays asked for 25 years of "Special Privileges" so that they could catch up with the other races. Along the way, they changed the Constitution and it is now an unquestionable "Malay Right" for perpetuity. Look at your genuine history books (not the ones they distorted) to see if I am telling the truth. Or go to the newspaper archives in the Straits Times and in London to get to the truth.
Because of this, the UMNOputras own the banks, the plantations, petroleum. The Malays are encouraged to start and own their businesses entirely on their own (100%). The non-Malays start their own businesses but when they get big, 30% must be given to bumiputras. Who are these bumiputras?
They are selected UMNOputras ( not ordinary Malays) - those who use politics to get what is not rightfully theirs. They use the law to rob others of their wealth. Yet, they will not give a single share to the ordinary Malays in the streets - it is all theirs to keep. They will not do what they ask the non-Malays to do - sharing their wealth.Not only that, they rob the ordinary Malays daily with the Water Concessions, the Tolls, etc.

I am writing to you with the facts of the origins of the word Melayu, in fact there are many scholars of yesteryear's, Malays, who will tell you that the only original words in the Malay language are "Tanah" and "Melayu") Melayu is derived from the Javanese word Melayu, there are many other words in the Malay vocabulary that actually come from the various Asian languages mostly those of Sanskrit Origin. The Sanskrit in Malay is derived from the Indian influence of the Majapahit, Srivijaya and other Indian influences in South East Asia. This particular word in Bahasa Malaysia is derived from the word Melayu from Javanese. Javanese was the lingua franca of the people in the region having had its own script, which was actually taken from the Arabic script, the bugis and the rest have dialects close to Javanese. The Malay language in its romanised context only evolved in the early part of the 20th century.In Javanese the word Melayu means running away, or a runaway, that is why if you go to Java and ask a Javanese if he is Melayu he will feel very insulted.

The word Melayu found on the statue as claimed in your URL; http://www.sabrizai n.org/malaya/ malays4.htm thus denotes that this person was a Melayu, a "Runaway."These people, the runaways whether in Sumatra or in the Malay Peninsula referred to themselves as orang Melayu, it is therefore no coincidence that the word orang is placed before Melayu, people who ran away so to speak.In the Malay Peninsular, it was gradually accepted as the word to describe the Javanese, the Bugis, the Menang, the Achinese etc. and even the Kelantanese who are actually Yunanese and have their origins in China, because they recognized the fact that at the end of the day they were all Melayu, or Run Aways from their respective homelands the word was accepted by all these communities to describe themselves. In fact, before the formation of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), it is a fact that all the people in the country had referred to themselves as Menang, Achinese, Bugis, Javanese etc. etc. and we all know that the Kelantanese used to treat the other Melayu, that is the Menang, Javanese, the Bugis etc. as foreigners.

Well for that matter, even Mahathir Mohammed was registered as Indian in King Edwards College where he studied medicine. The Malay therefore very much like the Indians, and later the Chinese are Melayu in the very true sense of the word because they all left their respective countries to come to this location in South East Asia called Malaysia today. The real natives of the country are the Orang Laut, the Jakun, the Kadazaan, the Iban, the Senoi and the rest, and not the so called Orang Melayu, because these people are actually Javanese, Achinese, Bugis, people from the Mollucas islands, and other parts of neighbouring Indonesia, including those from Cambodia and even China (Yunanese). That explains the word Melayu in various parts of Sumatra too. The Javanese people in particular were referred to as Java Kontra a term they despised and today in Sumatra they are referred to as Orang Transmigrasi which is more acceptable to the Javanese in Indonesia then the term Melayu.For Malay citizenship and for permanent residence reasons, the Orang Java, be they Sundanese, Orang Java Barat, Orang Java Tengah or Orang Java Timor, or any other Indonesian for that matter recognises the fact that the day he becomes a Malaysian citizen, he is now an Orang Melayu that is a new word coined by Malaysians of these origins to legitimise their Bumiputraism.And to become Bumiputra this way, that is by becoming a Melayu, he has to profess the Islamic faith. This privilege is not extended to Dayaks, from Kalimantan, or Christian Filipinos, or for that matter Christians from among the peoples of Sumatra, Java or any other Indonesian Islands.

The irony of all this is the fact that if you look at the real Orang Asli of Malaysia as a whole you'll find out that the majority of them are not from the Islamic faith, and that is one of the reasons why in Sabah the registration department of the Federal Government legitimised and gave citizenship and permanent residence status to hundreds and thousands of illegal Fillipina immigrants from the Southern part of the Philippines. I therefore disagree with your attempt to legitimize the term Orang Melayu as a race, it is not and never will be. The so-called Melayu must own up to their own heritage the way the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia proudly do. And if we are to use this word called Melayu, it should be a term used to refer to all Malaysians except the ethnic Malaysians who are orang Asli. The term Bumiputera was coined and the Malay placed in that category to legitimize the fact that he is ethnic when he is not.

It is a shame, and in fact a disgrace that they are the only group of people who by this very act, show the world that they are ashamed of their own heritage. And who else can be so? Only those who run away or are banished from their own lands, for it is only such people who are ashamed of their own heritage. Even the customs, the traditions, the dressings, the architecture etc. point to the fact that the so called Orang Melayu of Peninsular Malaysia are actually not one and the same people.Scroll below and read the next article by Syed Imran a Melayu and an ex Bernama Journalist from Penang Some time ago I wrote about the Melayu and the origins of the name Melayu, which means runaway.Today another "Melayu has written" totally unconnected this man, yes he is a man he stands up for the truth has written a similar article.

*Antara pendatang dan penumpang (English Translation) * To begin with, I was quite reluctant to comment on the mess created by the statement made by Ahmad bin Ismail, the head of the Bukit Bendera, Pulau Pinang UMNO Division.. Whether he made the statement in reference to Chinese Malaysians is no longer the question, as the issue has spread and has been hotly debated. If it is not handled carefully and smartly, this issue could make clear water murky, giving opportunity to parties who are keen on seeing this country crash, not to mention falling into the hands of foreigners. In today's borderless world, international electronic media coverage makes it difficult for any country to hide or deny any given event. The main issue brought up by Ahmad Ismail revolves around the question of "squatters", that is, that Chinese Malaysians are squatters in this country. He explained that he was referring to pre-independence days. However, it had hurt the sensitivity of the Chinese Malaysian community. I don't know Ahmad Ismail personally, but I was quite close to his late elder brother, Abdul Rahim Ismail, the owner of Rahim Construction Company that was once famous as an "Earth-Prince" (Bumiputra) construction firm in Pulau Pinang. I don't know what has happened to the company after Abdul Rahim passed away.

Personally, I don't agree with what Ahmad Ismail said for the following reasons.
To me, nearly 90 percent of Malaysians, especially those in the Peninsula, are immigrants, and all of us are actually squatters in the land of Allah anyways. We are anything but permanent owners, we are merely squatters. For example, I come from a family that squatted in this blessed land.

My paternal grandfather and grandmother migrated from Mecca and Brunei, while my maternal grandmother came from Hadramut, Yaman. We are immigrants and squatters, as are almost everyone else in this country.

As for Ahmad Ismail, he is also an immigrant having descended from an immigrant's family who squatted in this country. Ahmad Ismail cannot deny the fact that his grandfather and grandmother moved from India to this country in search of a better life in this blessed land.

It is also the case with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi whose maternal grandfather hailed from Guangdong in southern China. In short, Pak Lah's grandfather, Allahyarhamah Kailan, whose name was Hasson Salleh or Hah Su Chiang, was an immigrant. He moved to Tanah Melayu from Guangdong in the mid-19th century. He stayed in Bayan Lepas as a rubber estate worker, a padi farmer and later became a diamond trader.

Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister, is also a descendant of an immigrant Bugis family that came from Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Hishammudin Hussein cannot escape the fact that there is Turkish blood running through his veins.

The Malacca Malay Sultanate was founded by an immigrant coming from Sumatra -- Parameswara, a prince who practised Hinduism. A reading of the history of Malay Sultanates would reveal that some of them were founded by Bugis immigrants, while others were of Hadramut and Minangkabau parentage. Almost all Malays living in this country are from outside Tanah Melayu, but are defined as "Malay Race" by the Federal Constitution. We are "Malay" in definition by the Constitution, that is, we are Muslims; we practise Malay customs and speak the Malay language. Unfortunately, the Malay language itself seems> to have been killed by the Malays in UMNO when they named it the Malaysian language (Bahasa Malaysia).

Therefore, Arabs like Syed Hamid Albar and myself, Achehs like Sanusi Junid, Indians like Kader Sheikh Fadzir and Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Bugises like Najib, Minangs like Rais Yatim, Jawas like Mohamad Rahmat, and others from Madura, Pulau Buyan, Siam, Myanmar, Yunnan (China) and the Philippines are conveniently categorized as Malays.

They are accepted as Malays regardless of whether they speak Malay or otherwise at home like those of us who speak Arabic, the Jawas that speak Jawa, the Minangs that speak Minang, or the Mamak that speak Tamil.. These languages are anything but Malay if we look at it from the perspective of the Federal Constitution, so they should never have been declared Malays. But for the sake of political correctness, all of them are accepted as Malays and "Earth Princes" (bumiputra). It is grossly unfair to point to the Chinese as immigrants when the Arabs, Indians, Achehs, Minangs, Bataks, Mandailings, Jawas, Maduras, and Bugises are immigrants no less in this country. We cannot deny the fact that most of the Chinese's grandfathers and grandmothers migrated to this country in the days of the Malacca Malay Sultanante, some of whom did so during the period of Kedah Sultanate, Terengganu Sultanate and Kelantan Sultanate respectively. After Francis Light wrested Penang from the hands of the sultan of Kedah in 1786, more Chinese had arrived here. We are all immigrants squatting in this country. Only the Negrito, Jekun, Semang, Jahut, Orang Laut, Orang Darat, Senoi, and other indigenous people groups (like the Kadazandusuns, ibans and bidayuhs) can be correctly considered the original inhabitants of this country. We must never forget the contributions and sacrifices made by all the races in building our nation in all its aspects, including the economy, social structure, national defense and, most importantly, national unity. We are all taxpayers whether or not we are descended from immigrants or squatters.