jauhar kalam

The Travelling Thread of the Islamic World -Part 1

2012-01-29T06:13:00.000-08:00

One of the most recurrent as well as the most frequently asked question facing us, researchers of the Malay Technology Group is :“what is the basis of the praxis of Malay Technology?”. We wrote in our book (Sains dan Teknologi Alam Melayu.2009.) that our value system is Islam. This has profound implications on our research approach; we need to look at the Islamic world as a whole and the Malay world being part of that big, encompassing and embracing cultural region.

In our research on Nusantara textiles, we look at the influences that have impinged on the Malay World ; Indian and Chinese influences are undeniably present but the most persistent and enduring has been that of Islam. We have elaborated on the overarching aspects of these implications in our previous publications ; Che Husna Azhari.2010 and Che Husna Azhari et al .2011. This we would not dwell in this post, but we will focus on the details of design that has been influenced by the travels of Muslims across the lands; from North Africa and the Arab Lands, Balkans, the vast lands of the Silk Road overland into China and down to the South China sea, going through Kalimantan reaching the Philippines.

The sea –going route takes us from the Hejaz through Sri Lanka, the Indo-Pak Continent, Myanmar, the Tennasserim Coast, the Malay Peninsula through the Straits of Melaka , the Indonesian Islands and again back to China.

This is the travelling thread of the Islamic world.

JOURNEY TO SREBRENICA PART 4 (FINAL PART) :ANOTHER JOURNEY BEGUN

2012-01-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

My journey to Srebrenica must end by the beginning of another journey. What the journey would be like is best described by the people I met on my last day in Sarajevo.

Hours before we left, we had a visit from the Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque in Saray, the biggest mosque in BiH. The Imam, Abdul Gafar Velic remarked that the Istiqlal has another twin in another Muslim country. I knew immediately it would be Indonesia, because its famous twin is the Istiqlal in Jakarta.

“During the war, 95% of all mosques in BiH were destroyed” .Recounted Imam Abdul Gafar.

“During the Jumaat prayer, it can house 2.5 thousand people. President (the late President Suharto) Suharto of Indonesia visited and promised to build a mosque which he fulfilled”

Imam Gafar then sat and spoke In English to us. About the genocide and the aftermath of the war.

What he spoke of we had heard from Munirah . I could even read about all these from the web and open literature. There is no secret about what happened in BiH. Munirah had gone to the Hague and the United Nations. Authors like Mirsad Sinanovic wrote about the front line blood bath. His book “ A Sacrifice to the Wolf” had been translated to English as well as other languages. It seems that these efforts were like games to play on a world stage that has been set for their expulsion.

It is not for ‘them’ to act. It is for us. Their kindred.

It is for us to help rebuild their country and give them support. Keep counsel and be with them in times of peace and war. We must have courage and let not fear overcome us. We have courage because we know that we follow the path of the faith sent through the Messengers of God and Allah will give us victory in this world and the next.

Journey to Srebrenica Part 3 : At the Spomen Soba

2012-01-04T04:47:00.000-08:00

Munirah at her Office in Sarajevo

We arrived at the Memorial around 10am and was met by the Curator, Mr.Azir Osmanovic. He came up to meet us and introduced himself as the Curator and Historian of the Memorial. The “Memorial” is formally known as the ‘Memorial Centre for Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial and Cemetery for the Victims of the 1995 Genocide”.

The Memorial consists of the resting place of the remains of those who were shot, slaughtered and killed during the 3 days after the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995, a small gallery, an open air musalla, a turbe and a semi-circle plaque engraved with the names of those buried there. The perpetrators of these killings took great pains to relocate bodies many times to defy tracking . Thus many of the exhumed bodies were not recovered whole ; in fact there was a man whose body remains were found in 10 different locations. This made the work of not merely identifying difficult but the actual finding the actual remains even more challenging.

The Memorial lay on one side of the road leading to Srebrenica whilst on the other, the old Battery Factory, which was the base of the UNPROFOR Battalion and is now the Museum for the 1995 Genocide. The flag of BiH fluttered in the wind at the entrance of the Memorial. The day was cold but clear. We posed for photographs outside the Memorial. For some reason, Munirah had invited other members of her organisation to accompany us during this visit; which we consider a great honour.

We walked into the memorial , which was on flat undulating land, quite unlike the usual cemeteries that I have visited in BiH, which were usual on hill slopes or on slopes. Grave stones in white marked older graves whilst newer ones, those buried under a year, were green. Rows and rows of grave stones greeted the eye; more than 8,000 (8732) people were buried here, although the total number of people killed during the fall of Srebrenica is estimated to be around 10,000. This 10,000 was finished off in 3 days.

Mr. Azir did not say much, we merely followed him to the graveside, where engraved on each grave is the ayat…do not say the those who died in the path of Allah is dead…. On the wall by the hill slope is the banner proclaiming that the killing at Potocari is genocide perpetrated by the Republic of Serbia.

We filed past the granite semi-circle where the names of the victims were engraved in the order of family name; father’s name, the victim’s name and finally the year he was born. The family names were arranged in alphabetical order. This plaque was placed in front of the musala and a small turbe. Our final destination was a gallery housing a collection of photos depicting the activities associated with the exhumation, identification using DNA mapping, informing families and finally the burial at Potocari. Although the victims were from many villages from the surrounding area, when asked by the Mothers’ where the survivors preferred to bury their dead, they overwhelmingly opted for the common burial ground at Potocari.

I thought that this was going to be the final itinerary for the visit but was informed the final programme was the visit to the Spemen Soba (Memorial Room) housed at the Old Battery Factory and the Office of the Srebrenica –Potocari Memorial Centre and Cemetery.

Our little group crossed over to the Old Battery Factory, a sombre dark building that has not probably seen much change, perhaps the sombre atmosphere was an intentional design facet. A dog appeared from nowhere and barked at us. I hesitate to say, “ A Serbian dog”. There was a guard house adjacent to the factory and a lone weeping willow tree. Inside the vast factory were posters of the events leading up to the fall of Srebrenica, the Declaration of the killings as genocide, and of documentation of the crimes committed . These photos have been compiled in a booklet of the same name and published by the Srebrenica Municipality . There was an especial photo gallery of victims including Munirah’s husband,Hilmo (Bajro) Subasic.

One poster that caught my attention was the order from Karadzic to Deronjic on July 9^th 1995, They should all be killed..anybody you come across. The rest of the photos are history; an extension of that order.

I did not have time to really look at all the posters because it was time to go upstairs to the memorial office and watched the video of events leading to the genocide.

All of us sat around the table in the office and watched the video Azir played us.

“ On July 11^th 1995, Srebrenica, the only free territory in East Bosnia, fell to the Bosnian Serb Army (BSA)under the command of ‘General Ratko Mladic’. In 1992, 40,000 Muslims fled eastern Bosnia to Srebrenica, which was declared a safe haven under Resolutions 819 and 824 of the UN Security Council on April 16^th 1993. Between 1992 and early 1993, the Bosniak (the proper name for the Bosnian Muslims) from the municipalities of the Middle Podrinje (Eastern Bosnia’s Drina River Valley) was the only free territory in East Bosnia. There were 60,000 civilians living in this UN safe area, which experienced daily bombings and shelling, sniper shooting and other attacks. The implementation of the safe area was entrusted to a Canadian Peacekeeping Force (Canbat) and later 2 successive Dutch battalions (Dutchbat). They were headquartered at the Old Battery factory at the village of Potocari.”

“In a sudden and intensive offensive, the BSA attacked and captured Srebrenica between 6^th and 11^th July 1995. Over 25,000 women and children who were in the safe area were forcibly separated from the men and boys and deported. A separate column of 12,000-15,000 Bosniak men feared for their safety and tried to make it to the Tuzla in Bosnian Free Territory on foot.”

General Mladic appeared in the video footage claiming victory for the Serbs.

“ We give this town to the Serbs. Remember the uprising against the Turks (Muslims). It is time to take revenge against the Muslims”. He announced. He then turned away from the camera and declared .

“To Potocari!!”

The Dutchbat only took in 5,000 refugees and left 20,000 in the nearby fields. The 20,000 women and children were deported to Tuzla. Men were transported to Bratunac but some were shot 50 km from Potocari. The rest escaped into the woods but most were ambushed and killed. The youngest victim was only 11 years old.

The rest of the video were excerpts from the survivors, women without their men, husbands, little sons that were physically wrenched from their bosoms, little boys who had grown into young men. One of the survivor was the lady with the olive green eyes in Munirah’s Office.

“The Chetniks (what the Bosnians call the Serb soldiers) came and tried to take away my son from me. He had olive green eyes. Once he realised I could not save him he started trembling”

The Dutchbat not only not protect the civilians, they took guns from the Bosnian Army Members since it was a ‘safe area’.

“Men trying to reach Tuzla were killed in the hills, all rounded up, tied and shot or slaughtered. At the Petkovic School, boys and men watched their fellow civilians trucked and slaughtered near the dam. They were watching helplessly from the buses.

“Men trapped in the House of Culture were either gunned down or slaughtered by the slitting of throats”

“Over 8,000 men and boys were killed in 3 days after the fall of Srebrenica”

“The dead were later identified by DNA testing and the families agreed to bury them all in the Potocari Memorial”

“The war will end ONLY when the war criminals is brought to justice”

Despite Srebrenica’s protected status of safe areas, including Sarajevo (which underwent a siege through 3 long cold winters) , Bihac, Tuzla, Gorazde and Zepa, the UN and the international community did not come to the Bosniak’s aid.

Indeed they saw that they only came to indirectly aid the aggressors, even after the war, by orchestrating the Dayton Peace Accords, carving their beloved country into two, giving a large chunk to the aggressor and leaving them only 51% of their territory. The Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa goes to the United Nations and to the Hague to plead their case and win justice, but they are under no illusions to where their real hopes lay

After this video, we had lunch at Shuhaida’s house, just a few kilometres from Potocari. Shuhaida lives alone in a house built by her brother, flanked by the houses of other relatives. Relatives worked the lands; we ate what they produced; chicken, bread, buttermilk, butter, white cheese and vegetables. Not very far from their lands, Serbs ( Munirah still calls them Chetniks) live.

Before we left Saray, we drove into Srebrenica. Houses are still uninhabited, some still riddled with bullets. Smoke could be seen billowing from the chimneys but these were the houses of Serbians. The Bosnians who left had not come back. Those who fled to other countries had not come back even after the war.

I had been given a tourist map of Srebrenica and its environs. It is an area of great scenic beauty, rivers filled with trout, natural lakes and gentle meadows. A picture postcard area, that belies its recent bloody history. Now the shuhada stands in the Potocari, rows upon rows, in white and green, witnesses to the great hatred perpetrated against God Almighty.

Journey to Srebrenica Part 2 : To Potocari!

2011-12-26T17:08:00.000-08:00

Early on Saturday the 10^th of December, Dr.Fatih picked us up from Bristol Hotel to go to Srebrenica. We picked up Sadnin from the Masjid and then Munirah who was waiting by the road side. Munirah brought along a paper bag full of kefle (Bosnan bread) and a bottle of water. The kefle was passed round in the brown paper bag, still piping hot. The day was downcast and misty, a typical winter’s day in BiH. Sadnin, Prof Wan and I were packed in the back of Dr.Fatih’s Rover, whilst Munirah kept the driver, Dr.Fatih company. At the outset, Munirah chided Fatih for being a mutaqqi driver, quite unlike the drivers she met in Istanbul, she commented darkly.

BiH is a hilly country; everywhere more or less the same scape greets us; houses dotting the hillsides, haystacks in the fields and firewood neatly stacked up in barns without walls. We could easily identify the inhabited houses by the smoke billowing from their chimneys. Most people use firewood as it is less expensive than other fuels. Outside of Sarajevo, a typical road follows fast flowing rivers , some very deep , some not so, but all with cool crystal clear waters.

Although it had snowed the day before in Sarajevo, the snow had cleared on the hill slopes. As we drove further from Sarajevo, we could see some expanse of snow on uninhabited terrain. The main activity in the car was listening to Munirah and so I had no time to take in neither photos nor scenery.

“Our task is to ensure that the perpetrators do not go unpunished. Our main task is to keep going to The Hague to ensure that all the perpetrators are judged”

“ The Serbs refer to the Bosnians as Turks”

“Many Serbs from the Serbian Army became global mercenaries, employed as soldiers by Muslim despots. This was because the army of former Yugoslavia was the third biggest in Europe, and therefore had to find employment after the dismemberment of Yugoslavia”

We passed by villages with empty houses, typified by the absence of non-billowing smoke. We passed by the village of Vlasenica a former Bosnan town inhabited by 1000 Bosnan households.

“The Serbians gathered all the children in their school and killed all of them”

The Serbians occupy the village and keep pigs, in a blatant effort to keep the village unclean.

We passed by the village of Kravitsa where 1500 people were butchered.

Finally we passed by the village of Bratunac, where the perpetrator of the 1995 genocide , Radoslav Kristic lived. He died in the Hague.

“Serbians greeted me after the war as if nothing happened.”

“ I spoke at the UN for five whole minutes until I was stopped. I told them we Bosnians suffered 10 genocides and I survived one. I can talk of tolerance”

“I let it be known that this was a war against Muslims and yet the Muslim nations in the UN kept quiet”

Munirah said many other things but I only recorded the important points.

We arrived at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial and Cemetery around 10am. The town is now inhabited by more Serbians than Bosnians.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the Director, Dr.Azir Osmanovic.

ANGIE's FILM

2011-12-24T08:34:00.000-08:00

GRANDMOTHERS AGAINST ANGIE'S FILM (GAAF)

When I was in Shuhaida’s (member of Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa Enclaves) house in Srebrenica Saturday 10th Dec 2011, Munirah and friends told us that Angelina Jolie came to BiH to ask them to join her in making a film about the Bosnan War , particularly on the Genocide in Srebrenica. However the genocide was to form the background to the main story line which was a love story between a Bosniak woman and a Serbian soldier. In the story, the Bosniak lady was raped by the Serbian but later she fell or they both fell in love and so on so forth. Obviously the story line appalled the women (The Mothers )that they did not finish to listen to the story line and flatly refused to cooperate. The thought of the subject of rape and humiliation being trivialised by the likes of Ms Jolie appalled and angered them so much they never bothered to hear the rest of the “developing story” as the film makers would call it. Obviously this was the commercialisation bit of the film; to get people to come and watch it.

Today, I sit in my house in Bandar Baru Bangi, watching the news on al-Jazeera and I watch Ms Jolie appear on TV telling the audience the film has been released.. In the Land of Blood and Honey. No wonder, a friend replied me using this tag line for BiH. For Munirah and the Mothers of BiH’s sake, I fervently hope Ms Jolie has paid heed to the Mothers and dispensed with the deeply humiliating story line. If not, know that the Mothers of Srebnica and Zepa had already made their opinions clear.

Journey to Srebrenica Part 1 : Meeting Munirah

2011-12-19T10:15:00.000-08:00

On Friday evening 9^th December 2011, in Sarajevo, Dr. Fatih’s PhD student, Haris, an academic from the International University of Sarajevo (UIS) made arrangements for us to meet Madame Munirah Subasic, Head of the NGO called “Mothers of the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Zepa”. I had no inkling of what was coming. We drove to a gray, sad looking, box-like ,apartment block on the ground floor office of the Srebrenica Mothers and were ushered inside. We sat around a meeting table and were introduced to two ladies, a smallish-built lady with the saddest green eyes I have ever seen in a woman and another, a large, ebullient lady of about 60 years of age. The first was Hatidza and the second , Munirah.

Apart from Hatidza and Haris there was another person, a tall, well built young man who was introduced as Sadnin Katica. Sadnin acted as interpreter. Munirah came across as no-nonsense character who quickly got down to business. The business at hand was the genocide in Srebrenica.

Munirah spoke and Sadnin interpreted:

‘ In 300 years, we have seen 10 genocides against the Bosnan people and with the one in Srebrenica, the 11^th, perpetrated by the Serbians and the Croats. After the Srebrenica Massacre in 1995, I lost 22 members of my family. By the year 2009, the remains of two thirds of all those dead were discovered and buried in the Potocari Memorial.”

“What are the goals of the Srebrenica Mothers?”

“We want to give dignity to our dead by burying them and marking the place of burial. We want the UN to recognise this slaying as genocide. We want to act as witnesses against the perpetrators of the slaying of the Bosniak people at The Hague. It is because of us that many perpetrators have been sentenced”

“ The EU made a resolution in 2009 which was passed by the European Parliament declaring the massacre in Srebrenica as a genocide”

“ In BiH, after the war, 500,000 children have no parents”

“ In BiH, 500,000 women have no husbands”

“Do not let the world forget about Srebrenica”

“ The UN promised a safe haven in Srebrenica but in 3 days there was a genocide. The Republic of Serbia is founded on genocide.”

“The Serbians took everything from us. A country that was 80% Muslims is now (reduced) to 2% (The Republic of Serbia)”

“ I have no legal right. I have no legal recourse. The whole world was keeping silent”

I had no idea that the meeting with the Srebrenica Mothers was going to turn into a session in which we were to be horror struck into silence. I let the others asked questions because I could not. At length I answered Munirah’s question

“What will the Muslims do in the face of world indifference?”

“ I can only promise to write about Srebrenica so that the world will never forget. We Muslims will never forget”

Munirah asked if we would like to visit Srebrenica. We answered yes.

She suddenly turned to the delegation and said

“Tomorrow we will go to Srebrenica. I myself will take you there”

At this juncture in my life, I have never read anything on the history of the Bosniak people let alone of the genocide in Srebrenica or anywhere else in BiH. I had visited the life tunnel of Sarajevo and read of its role as the lifeline during the siege of Sarajevo in the period of 1992-1995. The siege of Sarajevo was presented like an isolated incident of the Bosnian war. In reference to the whole treachery and slaughter that went on during the war, the siege of Sarajevo was like a tiny pustule sitting atop a festering wound that had decayed inside.

At least the first visit to Mostar in 2009 shattered the lie played to us by the civilised world. The bridge of Mostar had been likened to a reunifying bridge between warring religious factions, uniting Muslims and Croats across a great divide. The ICHE (International Conference on Higher Education) held in UKM in 2009 even had the bridge as an icon to symbolise the theme ; Bridging Civilisations. My visit made known to me the vicious lie of this symbolism used so pervasively in the rest of the world. No one from BiH was given the chance to explain that the bridge was the sign of the great treachery of the Croats ; in fact at the end of the bridge on the Croat side was a small plaque in stone engraved with the words “Remember 1993”.

Both sides of the divide would never forget 1993, but in different ways.

Searching for God

2011-12-10T22:49:00.000-08:00

In the continuing saga of searching for God, physicists at CERN (see JK October) discovered the particle called Higgs Boson, obtained after the bombardment of hydrogen nuclei. This particle, dubbed the God particle is postulated as the particle instrumental in many processes in the universe.

The article was careful not to call the Higgs Boson as the ultimate particle, the smallest entity you need to form much everything else, like the unit cell in a crystal structure. Well, why not, physicists, go on, be a brave devil.

Answer this, can you bombard the Higgs into oblivion or into anti-existence and bring it back again? As you know, God Almighty can, but then you people have a problem, because you don’t believe in God, in the first place.

I hope you want to find Higgs to understand a little about the universe and thus unravel some truth about human nature and not do mischief like build humans so that the super powers can built robot armies that do not fear death and ravage and plunder us.

BRITAIN'S EUROZONE CRISIS : A CASE OF A RE-RUN OF DAD'S ARMY

2011-12-10T22:38:00.000-08:00

Readers of Jauhar Kalam of my educational vintage would remember a popular if slightly quirky show on British TV in the mid ‘70s called Dad's Army. This show was about a group of really old White British Codgers during the worst aerial offensive against Britain in WW2 doing their bit to defend old Blighty. Obviously the rag-tag band of volunteers weren’t doing very much, even if they wanted to, but that was not the whole point. The whole point was to show off to Hitler how spunky the Brits were in the face of much adversity. At the end of every show, which showed them haplessly trying to outwit the oncoming invaders, which strangely enough never seemed able to cross the English Channel, they would close ranks and sing their signature song…

“Who do you think,you are, Mr.Hitler, if you think England’s done?”

It does not take much wit to deduce that the signature song of the Conservatives of December 2011 would sound like

“Who do you think, you are, Ms. Merkel, if you think England’s done?”

British watchers are reminded that of late, the Times and even the Economist have been publishing articles on the possible ‘secession’ of Scotland, starting with the tentative step of Scotland not paying taxes to the Westminster but to the Scottish Parliament. Barely had my excitement peaked before the Times apologised on a few facts of this article, playing down the issue of a separate Scottish Parliament . Then as if Westminster was able to let God side with them, gale force winds hit Scotland. Footage showed Tsunami –like waves hitting the picturesque seaside resort of Largs.

Before I could comment to the Scottish premier that the Dad's Army song was about “England” defending its shores and not Britain, the first entrée to breakfast TV at the Bristol Hotel Sarajevo, was the Eurozone Crisis. Since I am in Europe ( In BH), I could read the Independent, The Daily Mail and the FT during breakfast plus watch the minute by minute coverage on BBC, Bloomberg TV and al-Jazeera (Al-Jazeera opened its biggest office in the region in Sarajevo just over a month ago).

The editors of these papers must have vied with each other for the most creative front page headlines:

The FT read : Cameron cold shoulders Europe

The Independent’ staid headlines but with a slight bite : The EU leaves Britain (rather than Britain leaves the EU)

Der Spiegel’s : Bye Bye Britain.

I noted that the Europeans referred to their runaway friend’s island home as ‘Britain’ and not like the Dad's Army people did..England.

Mr. Cameron was most certainly pressured by the financial moguls in the City as well as his own backbenchers, but most certainly by the City more, although it kept a lower profile than the rowdy backbenchers. Mr. Cameron hosted a private celebration party at Checkers last night to celebrate this win to safeguard British interests in Europe. Members of the British Parliament, the famous Eurosceptics in particular, have been going on about leaving Europe since they went in and rejoiced that Old Blighty had again showed their spunkiness in the face of Euro-bullying specifically that of Ms. Merkel’s and Mr. Sarkozy’s. I am not at all surprised if very soon, there would be a show on British TV showing how Lord Nelson vanquished the French . Abba’s song “Waterloo’ would rise to no 1 again. These show of bravado would be very much in demand to sweeten the blow of diminished influence in Europe.

However, other pragmatic members such as the Liberal Democrats were not that amused and voiced concerns over Britain’s isolation and decreasing influence in the EU with this withdraw from the negotiating table. Perhaps the person who best summed up Mr. Cameron’s situation was Mr. Blair, his predecessor, who in 2006, declared:

“ co-operate in Europe; and you betray Britain, be unreasonable in Europe, be praised back home and be literally without influence in Europe”

The most interesting outcome of the EU Summit this winter was , for me, not the coming out of Britain but the small print news of Croatia given the green light to join the Euro bloc in July 2013. This decision was made as a reward for a war torn regime that embrace democratic reforms. Her sister country, Serbia’s entry was delayed because of the fraught relations with Kosovo. So quickly were these two countries ‘rewarded’ by the European brethren in the aftermath of the Bosnian War. Croatia was admitted after a referendum only voted by a tiny margin of 52% to join the EU with very low approval from young people. The young people, being more pragmatic, cares less about belonging to the European Club compared to pressing issues such as open competition for jobs and the huge disparity in incomes .

One could, conclude that Mr. Cameron did not ratify the treaty to salvage the Euro -zone due to his exasperation at the EU Bloc’s economically unsound policies of continued admittance of struggling economies such as Croatia's, but is one is sounder (if there is such a word) enough to know that economic soundness was not the main criterion to join this economic club. Britain’s official banking spokesperson, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (or Minister of Finance ) gallantly appeared on TV, long after Mr. Cameron left the table and declared “We did not destroy the EU, in fact we strengthened the EU”

Perhaps he is right after all. The EU is not an economic union aimed at bolstering the economy of Europe through a common basket of economic regulations and trading but rather a basket of financial controls ensuring that financial power resides where they should be, EU or no EU.

The Sheltering Igman Mountains

2011-12-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

The winter wonderland en route to the Igman Mountains
The wooden minaret of the masjid

At the entrance
The interior of the masjid, looking at the mihrab and mimbar
The Masjid from above the road, well hidden
Shefiq pouring tea
Inside the tekke
The tekke
The road leading to the Masjid

When I first came to Sarajevo, in another winter like this, that is in December 2009, I wrote about how the Bosnans were given their appelation "Bos-Na". The Unshod. This was the romantic (or perhaps the true version, but unverified, as yet) version as told to me on the bus that took us on the meandering road to Mostar by our then guide, Mr. Murat. In the bus, was played the video on the life of President Alia, and it started with a footage of an unshod man. Actually readers of Jauhar Kalam may refer to that post but since I enjoy relating this story to all and sundry, I will do it again.

During the early years of the hejira, the Bosnans who were then people with no nation heard of the Prophet of God sent to the Hejaz. They started out on their journey on foot to meet this Prophet of God but when they arrived in Medina, Sallallah hu alaihi wassalam had passed away and it was already in the time of the khalifate of Sayyidina Omer, (r.a). They tarried awhile, learning about Islam. The Khalif was intrigued with them because they were tall, blonde and blue- eyed . He kept asking them..
"What people are you?. What is the name of your nation?"
And they answered
"We have no nation. We are people from the Igman Mountains"
The Khalif insisted on a name and seeing their feet bloodied and unshod from the travails of their long perilous journey, asked them "What is Un-shod in your language?"
"Bos-na" . They replied.
The rest is history.

I am not aware of the official version of how Bosna got its name but many people I met preferred Mr.Murat's version and so I am relating it again to readers of Jauhar Kalam. However, knowing how equally fictitious and perhaps even more insidious the official versions are, let us give Mr.Murat's version the time of day.

Yesterday we went into the Igman Mountains, on to the top of the Igman Mountains, the birthplace of the Bosnans. En route, a beautiful scenic tapestry assailed our eyes. It was a winter wonderland. The pine trees were covered with snow and so were the mountain slopes, roads and pretty much everything else. The Igman Mountains were on the Free Bosnan Territory during the offensive of 1992-1995, when Sarajevo was left to defend itself from the relentless guns of the Serbians and Croats.
I knew the reason of why Dr.Fatih drove us up in the snow in his Rover Snow-Mobile when we arrived at the summit, it was to let us see the Igman Masjid. The wooden nestled cosily in a little crook, hidden from the view of enemy eyes.
The first building we saw was the tekke, beautifully constructed out of pine. There was a security guard there and he and his comrades stay guard on a 2-day shift. In Sarajevo, three monuments are guarded day and night; the turbe (the cupola) of President Alia (in my album The Graves of the Shuhada in FB), the tunnel (Tunel) and the Igman Masjid.
The security guard, Shefiq invited us into the tekke, ostensibly to let us go to the bayan, but once inside, we were ushered into his parlour, the warmest part of the tekke. It was warmed by a traditional metal stove fuelled by logs. He made us herb tea ( full of vitamin C, he informed us in Bosnan) and offered us smoked beef ( Qurban beef, he explained)
The tekke is constructed out of wood with double pine panelling. The floors were covered in Senneh kilims, as the old tekke in Mostar are.Perhaps all tekkes are adorned thus. Bosnan cuisine seemed rough and ready, but apparently not their architecture and aesthetics, examplified by their fine dwelling.
After fortifying oursleves with Shefiq's herbal tea, we trudged in the snow to the Igman Masjid. He went very fast because he was properly shod (unlike his ancestors in Mr. Murat's story) and unlike me, in my Clarks Shoes, gingerly watching every step.
The Igman Masjid built in the Igman and Bjelasnica area ,was the place where the mujahideen (not in the silly sense used by the punitive media of the West) recuperated during the siege of Sarajevo. It is only a small masjid but played a tremendous part in the liberation of the Bosnans' beloved capital city, Sarajevo.The theme of the double-walled pine panelling of the tekke was also repeated in this masjid. There is a small mihrab, an even smaller mimbar, stairs to a parapet for a space for dhikr and stairs up to a small tower for the muadheen to call to prayer. The minaret is also completely constructed in wood.

The Igman Masjid ,was where the wounded recuperated, both physically and mentally. The mujahideen used this place to treat the wounded but also to gather spiritual strength and courage to fight enemies at their gates .In some parts they had already entered the kitchen so to speak.

The Igman Mountain Masjid were built by the First Division of the Bosnian -Herzogovinan Army and completed in 1993. It was designed by the architect Osman Smijecanin . Their Reis ul Ulama, Dr.Mustafa Ceric and Hafez Ismael Spalic officiated at the opening, a point the took great take to note at the plaque on the slopes leading to the Masjid.As the Igman mountains sheltered them in time immemorial, in times of great pestilence, the Bosnans repaired there and their mother mountains sheltered them.

May Allah shelter the Shuhada and the Mujahidden in this world, the Barzakh and the Next.

The Babos (Bar-bores) of Pattani

2011-12-06T02:24:00.000-08:00

I have always maintained that the main reason for the Malay Technology and Sustainability of Civilisation Sojourns, including the 4- day one to Pattani recently is to unearth the rich heritage of Malay design- stemming from its cosmology. During a hectic week in the rising flood waters of the 3 Red Alert Regions of South Thailand, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, members of our group boarded a biggish van and visited people from all walks of life who could teach us about this rich heritage.

One of these groups of people are the Babos of Pattani; the ulama of Pattani. Some years ago, 5 of these Babos came to my house when they came for a seminar at the Faculty of Islamic Studies ,UKM. The Babos dressed like their Malay brethren of the Nusantara, in a long white tup and head-hear (serban/imamiyyah) but unlike their Nusantara counterparts they are stylishly garbed in black jackets. I thought they were unusually dandy for men of religion, until I was informed that in the Red Alert Regions Babos must put on these jackets when out of district or else face action. Punitive action.

The invited Babos, toured my house, pronounced it conforming to shariatic regulations except for one small non-compliance. In my garden, under one big basin full of weeds and water hyacinth were three grubby clay ducks, long forgotten but there nevertheless, peering helplessly for air, under the weeds . We were told to rid ourselves of the grubby ducks for fear that it might not be so receptive to the visit of angels.

One of this Babo was the dapper and good looking Babo Lee. Babo Lee could be a favourite silver screen actor if he chooses to give up his vocation. But Babo Lee is a man of strict shariatic norms who cares for Islam. On our trip last year, also during the famous Kelantan-Pattani bohs, it was Babo Lee who was one of our hosts. When the Thai government embarked on their Siamisation programme on the Thai Malay States; one of the most stark was the re-naming of the Malays to Thai names. Some were told to change their names outright, and also to adopt ‘family’ names, something unheard of in Malay-Muslim culture. Some opted for the Thaisation of spelling..for example Nurizan would be spelt Nureeyan, Wan Nurdin would be spelt WangNurudaeng , Haji Abbas would be spelt Hayee Arbat and etc etc. Poor Babo Lee could not make out what the Lee in his name stood for, so he chose” Ghazali” after the famous scholar of Islam, Imam Ghazali.

We met many Babos, many of them in the Islamic Council of Pattani. When we arrived in Pattani, it was the time of the Council Elections. There were only 30 posts and 100 nominations. Campaigning was very intense and tough. It was akin to the UMNO Elections. We visited three pondoks but managed to do so because the Babos of these pondoks were not involved in the Elections. They were really low profile Babos. I am not against the high profile Babos. Indeed without the high profile Babos, we would not get anywhere. One of the stalwarts of the Council, Babo Sen, intervened for us and got us discounts at the most posh hotel in Pattani, the CS. Babo Sen managed to retain his seat and so did the ‘Conservative Ulama’ but the ‘reformists’ lost miserably, not winning nor retaining even one seat. One of the casualties was our own dapper Babo Lee.

Although Babo Sen is a conservative, he dresses with a dash. Accentuated by his natural good looks, he looks like an actor playing the part of a Babo. Babo Sen is an astute politician, he has friends amongst the Babos and policiticians; he can count friends amongst Muslims and non-Muslims alike. I move easily and with comfort amongst the Pattani Babos, for my late grandfather was a Kelantan Babo; the late Haji Abdul Kadir of Pondok Melor. Our kinship with Pattani Malays (and Babos) is close and warm; what is more, many Wans of Nibong and Weng are my relatives as well as our family friends of the Abdul Halim Ismail Clan. (After the patriarch Wan Mahmud, the Penggawa/Tok Kweng of Peringat)

The two Babos of Pattani I cherish are ; the Babo Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fattani whom I quoted in my essay on Gagasan Penubuhan UKM and the other, the brave, valiant and the tragic Babo, Tuan Guru Haji Sulung. Sheikh Ahmad contributed to the flowering of intellectual literary development in the early 20^th century which gave rise to much enlightenment on the Malay-Muslim populace, not just in Kelantan-Pattani but to the whole of the Nusantara. Of the Malay Babos, he was one of the few fluent in the Arabic language, as well as being sharp , erudite and productive. He was also much erudite in Bahasa Melayu, presenting brave and innovative ideas in then Nusantara on many issues, one which was education(see Ulama Besar Fattani.2001. UKM)

Catatan Syaikh Ahmad bin Muhammad Zain A-Fattani (RH) adalah dipetik daripada Majalah Pengasoh sekitar tahun 1918-1928 yang diterjemahkan daripada karya agung beliau tentang Negeri Melayu sebagai Bendaharaan Ilmu dan Perladungan Kepandaian iaitu Hadiqatu al-Azhar Wa Ar-Rayahin. Khazanah Fataniyyah. Beliau menyeru Sultan-Sultan Melayu di Tanah Fatani, Kelantan, Trengganu, Johor dan Deli untuk menjadikan “negeri mereka bendaharaan ilmu dan perladungan kepandaian dan membukakan segala mata anak jenis mereka itu kepada kecemerlangan kebajikan dan handalan supaya ada kelihatan bangsa Melayu antara segala ‘alam dan tertinggi nama mereka itu”

(Che Husna Azhari et al. 2011. Unpublished work)

Last night again I re-read the biography of Tuan Guru Haji Sulung who met the fate very much similar to that of my protagonist in my short story “My Paper Father”. (Tenggara.1997) He was lured by the Military Police for a negotiation, was forced to sign papers that he had returned home, killed and then dumped into the sea (Ulama Besar Fattani.2001. UKM) Haji Sulung wanted to uplift the condition of his people through education. He was after all a Babo, all he wanted to do was teach. However the conditions and circumstances of his time did not permit this man to merely sit and teach in his madrasah (He opened a progressive religious school which was closed by the Thai authorities after two years of operations ). He was caught in the misery of the people and very soon, became the point of the rallying cry for the oppressed Pattani peoples, championing the “Declaration of the Seven Demands.”. The Seven Demands saw him being thrown in jail twice.

When the round-up of the PULO intensified in 1996, one of my Pattani friends came running to my house in Bandar Baru Bangi and cried

“ You are a writer. Write about us! “.

And so I wrote the story of the tragic PULO man, the Omar Sharif- look- alike , Sallehuddin, Mujahid’s father.Many thought the story dramatic and embellished and the PULO members who fled to Malaysia to other parts of the world, over cautious. One only has to read the stories of the Babos and non-Babos like Tuan Haji, carted to prisons in Bangkok or even in Narathiwat to know the grim reality of living under a brutal regime.

Much water under the bridge has flowed. The Thai Malay States has seen a gentler rule. It has become an important lever for Thai politics. Even the then Presidential candidate, YingLuck Shinawatra made her debut to enter the race in the South Thai States. Her Pattani or Fathoni as Sheikh Ahmad would have liked it, subjects call her Jameelah. “Jameelah is easier to remember than YingLuck” so goes the explanation.

Many scions of the Pattani Babos went on to be representatives of the Pattani Region in the Thai Parliament. Many left Babo-land to become technocrats and professionals in Bangkok. Leaving Babo-land is like renouncing Babo-ness. So, wherever they go, we still see a connectedness of these modern Babos with their beloved Babo-land.

The ex-YB of Pattani, the heartbreakingly good looking Nik Mud is a case in point. Babo Sen brought us to sup at his house by the very banks of the Pattani River. His house, constructed mostly out of timber stood proudly in a ‘compound’ bearing the marks of the dwelling of an aristocrat serving the court of the Pattani kings. His compound sits in the environs of the Kota, the Royal Enclave of the Pattani Kings. He shuttles between Bangkok and Pattani. He looks the spitting image of a typical Nik of Banggol. He speaks in their drawl. He entertains visitors in a gumbang and a sarong. He has gone to Bangkok but in the end he settles in his Babo-land. Nik Mud of Pattani can be interchanged with Nik Mud of Kampung Kota or Langgar any time.

I can say that I am proud of the Babos of Pattani. Regardless of the shenanigans of some wayward Babos in the Majlis amplified by the misdemeanour at the last Council Elections, by and large, they are the bedrock of the preservation of the Malay-Muslim identity of South Thailand. No one came to fight their wars for them. They fought it themselves. They have done better than guns and propaganda and CNN with their pondoks, tups, head gear, kitabs and now the smart black jacket.

I salute my Babo brothers in Pattani (Babo Lee Pondok Kelisa, Baba Karim Pondok Dalo, Babo Rashid Pondok Chenok , Babo Lee and Babo Seng) and other brethren such as Haji Ismail Bedil Tak Lut and politicians such as Nik Mud.

Academic Gala Luncheon

2011-11-27T23:53:00.000-08:00

We academics, although we put on a show of disinterest in anything that smacks of glamour it case it erodes our academic bent, we do love razzmatazz. Which is why quite a few of us, research scientists and engineers attend the yearly L’Oreal Awards for Women In Science. The otherwise would be staid event is given a glamourous dusting by the sophisticated organisational touch of Ms Tay Ai Leen, L’Oreal Malaysia’s Corporate Communications Director. Half of my portfolio was once the Corporate Communications Director but I never managed to pull off the Solitaire Look like Ai Leen manages to! Alas…

Back to the L’Oreal Awards. I have written on this award before, and lovingly uploaded the photos on FB. This year I feel persuaded to write again, elaborating on the fact why I like attending this event very much. (The Malaysians call events ‘functions’). I tried to arrive early for the 10^th November lunch held at the Hilton. You can have an early assessment of this gala event from the choice of the venue. As I said, I tried to arrive early for the event, primarily to catch the ‘make-up’ session reserved primarily for the award recipients, but any old codger needing a face lift from the jury panel past and present, may present his/her face to be refurbished. However, my Bangi-trained driver always manages to arrive late and so I invariably miss this refurbishment.

This was never a fact to dampen my enthusiasm and I always enjoy meeting my fraternity here. This year, the recipients were amongst the materials science and engineers and so many of the attendees were comrades in arms. Ai Leen invites past jury members and recipients from other disciplines and so I am always privileged to meet regular members from the Life Sciences . Prof Suriani Abdul Aziz is an example. In the lobby, I was greeted by two male members of this year Jury Panel, Profs Datos Muhammad Yahya and Roslan Shukor, from the Faculty of Science and Technology, UKM. In tow was the other panel member from SIRIM, Madame Neelam. I then went up the lift with my two brothers, all dressed up to the nines to the ballroom and met up with Prof Halimahton. Our group photo is here for all to see us in our event best.

Although I gushed about this being a gala event, by other gala events, it is a sedate, muted affair. The music was supplied by a string orchestra playing Mozart, I think. Actually I did not think, I overhead this information, from Ai Leen .I enjoy the video presentations of the winners best. I wish we can make videos like these to package our researchers. With the kind of quality you see in the videos even academics speaking in Kelantan English will look and sound good.The ladies came across as intelligent, articulate and imbued with a sense of purpose. They spoke of their hopes and aspirations and how they made it in the scientific world and how they propose to go forward. I know I have said this many times, but these ladies always make me feel proud. Since the last win in 2009 (I think), nobody from UKM has won this award in the last few years. I must to do more to encourage participation from our young women researchers from my university.

This year’s head of Jury panel was Assoc Prof Teh from TAR. It is always a hard tussle choosing the winner. Two past recipients spoke on what has since transpired since they went up the stage to receive the awards. One was Dr.Liong (2007) and the other whom I know very well, Dr.Zainovia (2009) from USM. I think the poor male juries felt totally squashed by the unabashedly confident ladies on the stage. Perhaps they were not but I like to think they were.

The award recipients were asked 6 questions, and pretty difficult ones too, by my estimation. Dr.Ong’s answer to who inspired you to become a scientist made me proud of my friend, Dr.Hazizan, because he was one of the two instrumental in inspiring Dr.Ong. (By the way Dr.Hazizan is male). In providing inspiration, the awardees are race blind, hence Dr.Hazizan and Prof Kumar were those who inspired Dr.Ong. I am waiting for someone next year to write…The work of my mentor and teacher, Prof Husna provided me the fire and passion to set me forth on this path….If I were to be present, I hope to be able to keep my composure. Congratulations Dr.Ong and to Dr.Hazizan. I am not that well acquainted with Prof Kumar, yet.

The event finished with a flourish as always, more so for the ladies because we were gifted with L’Oreal cosmetics in the gorgeous gift boxes. My request for the gift boxes were met with much amusement but were acquiesced too, gallantly by Ai Leen. Thank you Ai Leen.

My congratulations to the winners and whoever inspired them and to the L’Oreal team too.

See you next year.

Rahim's Comments

2011-11-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

Rahim came in to see me today,and after announcing that he is abreast of developments by these indicators:
1. His paper had been accepted in a conference
2. His thesis is being corrected
3. Two papers are being written

He then proceeded to the important bits; which is being the Truth Police of my blogs.
"Prof" he began " Your spelling of doogue is wrong, you are not an ajam and the language of Iran is Persian"

We will discuss these some other time, suffice to note his contestations.

I think I will ask him to read my short story which I published in Jauhar Kalam last year, A Story for Ali which began with the famous Persian epic of Sohrab and Rostam!

Rahim dear fellow, Please also read my posts on the "Persian Sufi Poets"

Manila Watch

2011-11-21T07:11:00.000-08:00

I arrived in Manila on a drizzly afternoon on the same day two dramatic events unfolded; within hours of each other. This was on a Tuesday 15^th Nov 2011. I was only aware of the first of this event when I watched the news on TV at the hotel where the UKM delegates to the QS APPLE seminar put up, the Pan Pacific Malate, Manila. The news was in Tagalog. I watched the whole event and I saw Gloria Arroyo and her husband being shoved and harassed by reporters at the airport. It was on the morrow that I learnt from the Manila Bulletin that the couple were given a temporary restraining order to leave, pending allegations of poll fraud in the 2004 and 2007 Elections. I managed to catch a glimpse of a very downcast looking Ms Arroyo pushed in wheelchair during the airport ‘scuffles’. Before long however, the order was lifted and news showed Ms Arroyo out of the Philippines, getting medical attention in neighbouring Singapore, where she was being availed the best treatment the Republic could offer.

The second was the arrival of the US Secretary of State, Secretary Hilary Clinton walking to her waiting limo in an umbrella where was garbed in something I never saw on her before; glasses. On Nov 16^th, where the delegates of the QS APPLE where in UST were (University of Santo Thomas) listening to the High Commissioner of Higher Education giving her spirited Keynote Address, Secretary of State Clinton was feted at the Malacanang Palace (pronounced like the Malay word ‘ganyang’). She was given the Order of Lakandula (no Datu-ships here as the Philippines is a republic) with the rank of ‘bayani”. I liken the word ‘bayani’ to be on the same cultural stature as ‘kerabat’.

Malacanang Palace Gate

What is interesting is not that the Order is not bequeathed by a Sultan but Secretary Clinton’s declaration that the “US will stand by the Philippines”. There were not much spelt out from this passionate declaration of friendship, except some garbled diplomacy-speak but we in South East Asia and ASEAN should see some interesting developments on what the friend of the US will get as New year Goodies soon.

Manila is getting perkier by the minute. Of course there is much to spruce up; we see a river inundated by solid waste meandering its way right next to the landing strip, reminiscent of another ASEAN capital many years ago. Happily for that capital ,that shall remain nameless. the offending sight is no more there. Perhaps with this renewed friendship visitors to Manila will not be greeted by this eye sore.

In my estimation of ASEAN city ranking (my own indicators of city cleanliness, civil order, public transportation, international cuisine, shopping facilities, book shops and learned institutions) Manila is sandwiched between Jakarta and Pnom Penh. I had the privilege of travelling with the travel savvy modern day Ibn Battutah, Prof Andanastuti, our UKM-UDE Programme International Coordinator who researches way ahead of destinations. Through her research we validated that indeed Greenhills is one of the best shopping jaunts, but not the cheapest.

Manila was once a leading city of intellectual development. Many learned institutions hailed from Manila. In the new glasnost and Pinoy Spring, we will witness our cousins again take the stage in this aspect. We would like to wish them well and not only that, be able to contribute to that Spring as members of the ASEAN academic fraternity.

The Arab Spring in Winter

2011-11-21T05:53:00.000-08:00

Today, my daughter in Mansoura, Egypt, emailed me a photo of an event that has practically become an everyday occurrence in front of the University; demonstrations.Last year, weeks after the Arab Spring, she and many others, under orders, travelled from Mansoura by bus to Alexandria and then was airlifted to Jeddah by army planes.We were thinking that she would just sit out the riots and then go back to Mansoura to resume the term, instead, came back to Malaysia, where for a few hours enjoyed celebrity status at the airport.
The Arab Spring proved to be very contagious and soon, we saw the spring went to Tunisia and Libya. Syria, meanwhile has to sit out a very long winter for its Spring to emerge victorious.

My daughter and her friends returned to Egypt where normal life resumed; the natural flow of life in Mansoura and Egypt followed very much the flow and ebb of the Nile, very much unchanged epoch after epoch. After the euphoria settled, she was full of the old familiar pre-Arab Spring stories

The Guardian ran an article on the restless Spring in a column today. I could not help notice the comments by one of the proponents of the Spring and co-founder of the Justice Party, Noble Peace laureate Mohammad ElBaradaei:

"If I had left Egypt on the eve of the Revolution on Jan 24th and returned today, I would not have known a revolution had taken place, except for the lack of security and the deteriorating economy"

When his compatriot from the Justice party came to Malaysia, we were agog to listen to an insider view of unfolding events. Unfortunately the 'insider' could not be present and so we had a brief recount of events and analysis not much different from what we gleaned from CNN and al-Jazeera and certainly not as detailed as the analysis in the Guardian.

The Youth activists lamented that they had left the revolution too early, hence the stalling of a this juggernaut of a movement. I am of the opinion that they knew the juggernaut will come to standstill anyway and left to minimise losses and save face. They were not to going to battle the mighty army, holding the country infrastructure in a gridlock embrace.

Where will Egypt go after this? The world is keeping watch.

Anti Matter and the Ghaib

2011-11-14T08:53:00.000-08:00

My school friend who is a senior academic in UM (University of Malaya) once made a pronouncement that was a real damper to my self esteem.
“ If you think you are really clever, Mek” she pronounced “You would be a quantum mechanics-ist”
Since I am not, but also harbour a secret belief that I am indeed clever, I try to learn something about quantum mechanics.
Quantum mechanics is not for the faint hearted, and really I never learnt anything about it. I memorised the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle to pass my MCE and then I couldn’t remember learning it ever again.
It would not let me be. In my old academic age, my colleagues in Tauhidic science tells me if we are really serious about presenting discourses on Islamic science, we have to present the Islamic views on precepts such as time, space, matter and all that stuff.
I keep telling myself I am an ajam(non-Arab) . In order to understand and delve into the serious business of Islamic discourse of these concepts, I need 6 months to 1 year of quick learning on ” bahasa Arab persuratan.” I cheat by reading on the concepts in the language I understand best; English. Unfortunately the Quran was revealed in Arabic. Furthermore, I am hampered by two disabilities; I am no scholar of Arabic , nor of quantum mechanics.
In the old days, whenever one opens a forum for discussion one need not back it up with ‘evidence’ unless one is a hard core lawyer or a scientist. Now with all the pre-occupation with evidence- based learning, even poets demand evidence. Which makes matters of faith very difficult to prove.
Although I never bother to explain and present evidence on the ghaib, because it is a matter of faith..one lets faith prevail over the other. Funnily enough , people find it easier to believe in ghosts, jinns and long leggity beasties (or creatures of ill intent) rather than the hereafter, barzakh and hell fire.
Since everything exists in pairs; hence with the Manifest the opposite is the ghaib (Unseen). How can we prove the unseen? For the faithful, it is easy, faith prevails. For those who hankers for evidence, they may try to read on the anti-matter. If matter exists then the opposite is the anti-matter. For many years, people could not make manifest the anti matter, and so , by reasoning, something that could not be proven materially by the five senses could not exist.
And so the ghaib could not be stretched and drawn out to be manifest for many years. One day, scientists could tease out anti matter for a few seconds but too soon for any tests. Perhaps only 5 years ago or so, the anti matter exists for a only a few seconds, too brief a presence for scientist to test the validity of its presence. Hence the news that, anti-matter could stay in this world/dimension (I don’t how to encapsulate this ghaib/duality of existence very well) for more than 16 whole minutes bodes well to testing that it does exists and can do many things.
In my mind, if it be in the ghaib, why tease it out into the manifest? It defies the rational of being in the ghaib in the first place. But I can use it as evidence that if matter and anti matter do exists so do ghaib and the manifest.
Which is an important aspect of faith. But faith is a strange thing. It is not dependent upon whether or not scientists can produce holograms of the barzakh or the or the hereafter. Again, the Quran tells of people burning in hell and still attesting to non-faith. Then again, you need faith to believe in the Quran.
Readers with a bent in quantum mechanics or physics, may look at the Economist’s video of the ALPHA experiments at CERN, Europe’s biggest particle-physics laboratory. It has created anti-atoms of hydrogen and held on to them for 16 long minutes, long enough to study their properties in detail. This laboratory is studying the properties of anti-matter and will probably let us know more as the holding time gets longer and longer.

The Man Who Loved Pattani

2011-11-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

Many a time the distinction between one’s vocation and one’s life vocation is blurred. This is the case for example of one who studies the greenhouse effect and then becomes a green activist ; this is the story of the researcher scholar who then becomes the champion of the cause. Such was the case of the Malay historian, Nik Anuar Nik Mahmud ,the researcher on border disputes who not only became intimately involved in research on Pattani, the twin of his own land, Kelantan , but an ardent believer in its cause.

Nik Anuar had always researched on the conflict areas of South East Asia; particularly the areas embroiled in the so-called border disputes. These weren’t merely border disputes; in the vast lands of the Nusantara these were about borders that sprung as a results of political agenda. We speak of Acheh, Moroland and Pattani. The main outcome of his work is the stark fact that the Nusantara was one land, with very porous ‘borders’ and ‘sovereign demarcations’. Borders that arose between sultans of the Nusantara were much more negotiable amongst themselves but became engraved in firm lines on maps of emerging nation-states of post newly independent states of South East Asia as a result of colonial territorial re-distribution.

Nik Anuar wrote voluminously on South East Asia territorial disputes, particularly on the Sipadan and Ligitan issue, Pulau Batu Puteh, Singapore’s partition as well as historiographies. However his work that has the most impact and the most passion were those on his beloved Pattani.
For most Kelantanese; Pattani and Kelantan are like twins, mirror images of each other. Their histories are closely intertwined. One PULO member once declared ; we never fear for our demise, as long as Kelantan exists, so will Pattani. For many Pattani nationalists, Pattani and Kelantan are the two deers (kijang) on the jembal fruit of the insignia of Kelantan royalty, one mirroring the other.
Many Kelantanese, particularly of the aristocracy hail from Pattani, that of the Jembal King. It is no coincidence that their royal ancestry is also intertwined; i.e. that of their Longs, Rajas and Tengkus.

Thus, it is no surprise to find that Nik Anuar’s passion and love for Pattani spilling over into his abstract in his Syarahan Perdana, published posthumously in Nov 2011…

The Siamese failure to give justice to the Pattani Malays and regarded them as ‘khek’ or immigrant had worsened the situation. After failing to get justice and security through constitution (my translation…constitutional means), they turned to armed struggle in order to claim independence. Back to history, (my translation..in historical retrospective) the alternative that is available (my translation..the only recourse) to resolve terrorism in these three provinces is to give autonomy or full independence to Pattani…

Reading his Syarahan Perdana “ Mencari Perdamaian di Asia Tenggara Merungkai Konflik di Selatan Thailand “ ( Cobbling Peace in South East Asia Resolving Conflict in South Thailand) is likened to listening the impassioned plea of a freedom fighter for Pattani autonomy. It is the anguished plea of a safe healthy brother, watching his bleeding brother slowly dying of gunshot wounds.

In his conclusion, Nik Anuar wrote :
The Thai Government must understand the stand and perception of the (Pattani) Malays about themselves and their homeland. The Thai Government has to accept the fact that Pattani is the victim of colonisation. Before the end of the 18th century, Pattani was an independent and sovereign Malay nation. Pattani is not part of Thailand since the Ramkhamhaeng era as claimed by Thai historians. The Malays fight to free their homeland from colonisation. Hence it is erroneous to say that that Pattani and those regions within its environs are part of the Thai state. The statement that in 1909, Siam has to cede Kelantan,Trengganu, Kedah and Perlis to Britain to defend Thai territory in Monthon Pattani is equally erroneous.
(My translation)

Professor Nik Anuar died on October 28th 2010 after succumbing to cancer and without being able to deliver his fiery impassioned plea for Pattani. His pleas would not remain unheeded for as long as Kelantan lives, there will be Pattani.

Although I begin my post writing on his work and most importantly his work that made the most impact on me, I must mention the Nik Anuar that my family knew. (I had also written about him in my belasungkawa for Nik Anuar)

Every year every sura month, my husband and I would wait for the gift of sura, personally delivered to my house. It was his custom to make (kacau) sura in a big kawah with the Pattani students. Nik Anuar was a gentleman of the Kelantan Old School, and spoke in a refined manner. He referred to himself as “ambo”. When I enquired about his deteriorating health, and then had not been diagnosed with cancer, he always replied.”Ambo sihat”

His final gift to us was a scarf of the Pattani Freedom Fighters which I keep to remind us of this worih and passionate lover of Pattani.

May Allah bless him and shower on him mercy in the barzakh and in the hereafter.
Ameen.

IN WHOSE VOICE WILL YOU SPEAK?

2011-11-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

My friend, the blogger Muqabalah, had asked me to comment on two articles he uploaded and provided a commentary on in his post. He titled the commentary : Negara Ummah Islam Pasca Arab Spring: Syariat atau Sekular? (Translated as The Islamic Ummah States Post Arab Spring: Shariah-tic or Secular ?

The articles given commentaries upon were a report on the victory of the Ennahda Party led by Rached Ghannouchi, in the Tunisian Elections post-Arab Spring and comments by Paul Salem of the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut to issues raised in his interview by the Daily News.

Mr.Ghannouchi’s party managed to garner 41.47 of the votes and is in the process of forming a coalition government with the other parties that managed to garner seats as well. The main focus of the Reuters report was the statement of Mr.Ghannouchi that “Ennahad will not force the wearing of the hijab on women, nor discriminate against the non-mahjubah in terms of employment in his government”. This was the prominent feature of the report, behoving the openness and budding atmosphere of tolerance and civil society that will be ushered by the “Arab Spring”. After all, the Arab Spring, in Reuter-speak came to unseat dictatorship, corruption, zealotry and bigotry of the corrupt regimes of the Arab World. One of the indicators of the degree of a warm spring would be the freedom enjoyed by women, the most visible manifestation of which is the non-enforcement of hijab on its female population.

The watching world was expecting the Islamist Mr.Ghannouchi to dish out the staple prescription of the accoutrement of an Islamic state ;hudud, hijab, non-riba banking and abstinence; the nightmare scenario of a ‘medieval’ state existing in the modern world; incongruous and ill-placed; like an ill fitting suit on a well dressed man. Instead, Mr.Ghannouchi appeared an open, accommodating and liberal man; symptomatic of the Arab Spring.

The other commentary was on Mr. Salem’s sharp observation that Mr.Erdogan, the self-styled new leader of the Muslim world had replied that Turkey is a secular state. He is not interested in forming a network of Muslim-Brotherhood kind of governments in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.

The Arab Spring has turned to autumn. In Egypt, the euphoria in Tahrir Square has been subdued by the realities of trying to govern a state with much infrastructure needing overhauling.

I say: whose voice will the Arab Spring speak? In words couched by friends or foe? Will the world let the people of the Spring region let them speak couched in their own speak? Why must they choose between describing themselves as either Islamists and secularists? Why can’t the developed world (I have no proper description to describe the Other World) listen to how the Arab Springers want to describe themselves without immediately jumping to the carefully crafted jargon of their speak and almost immediately their values?

I find these quick categorisations in old speak obscene and offensive. Too quickly the tale spinners of the developed world exhaust their vocabularies to couch the phenomenon of the so-called Arab Spring. Even the phrase Arab Spring is their invention. Many springs in the Arab world had come and gone. Many were ruthlessly crushed by their own regimes , some assisted by the civil societies of the developed world.

To brother Muqabalah, I say, let the tale spinners of the Other World describe us as they know how, but we must be craftier and cleverer and do not let us be described by them. Else our battle is lost before spring turns to summer. So we do not have to succumb to having to choose between the two, if we are not Islamists then we must be secularists!

Let us give our Arab brethren a chance to describe themselves and let the tale spinners spin their tales for their media, not ours

The real spelling of dookh/dooque

2011-11-02T07:51:00.000-07:00

Today, my Iranian PhD student Rahim told me off..."Prof" he announced "You made a spelling mistake in your blog, Jauhar Kalam. You spelt the Iranian yogurt drink as dookh, no, no it is not dookh, it is doogue/dooque".
I looked at him, mouth agape. This young nerdy engineer never cease to amaze me. Not at the fact that he noticed my spelling mistakes but that he bothers to read my blog at all. I only expect him to read stuff on crashworthiness and composite structures, certainly not my posts.
I was openly pleased.

"Rahim, my dear, I apologise. How thoughtless of me. But I am surprised you bother to read my blog at all"

" Only when you write about me and Iran" He confessed

Which means he must have read a lot because I have written quite a lot on Iran, including on my favourite Farsi poets.

Nihon-Shiki: According to Me

2011-10-31T00:44:00.000-07:00

Before I proceed any further, I wish to apologise to the Japanese nation in case whatever I write in this post offends. Like the title says; Nihon-Shiki according to me. I do not want to be placed in the same gallery as the Orientalists who come to the Malay Lands on their short forays, write their observations in learned journals and suddenly we have been shaped by their speak.

What can I say about Japan and the Japanese? They love food, everything is kawai (cute), they take immense pride in their vocation and their attention to detail beats the ants’.

Every day I will tune in their Nihon channels. Mind you, I don’t understand very much what is being spoken but I try to follow the general flow of events. There is a proliferation of food programmes; food tasting is going on in almost every station. The format of the programme is that, there is the inevitable panel of commentators who will comment on the programme as the programme is being aired; and the dynamics of communication is a very interactive one. So the compere will talk to the participants in the programme proper as well as the ‘panel of commentators’ . As for the food tasters, they will put food into their mouths and with great gusto pronounce “Oisyiiii!!!!” (delicious). There was a programme when, one of the food tasters took a bite of a ripe red tomato and pronounced “Oisyiiii” with much enthusiasm, one would think he has never tasted such delicious tomatoes before. That is how much the Nihons appreciate their food. The morsels they take in with every mouthful is a biggish one..and the oisyiness is measured by the swishy noises made during the eating.

Food is delicious, well prepared, clean and kawai. The delectable titbits should be left as they are in their artfully packaged packaging ; each cake/titbit is individually packaged before being placed in a bigger package. This is the norm for all manner of victuals, not just ones costing the earth. I am sure many of us who have travelled to Japan or gifted these boxes of cakes would have had the experience of savouring an individually wrapped cake in a box.

Japanese design is all kawai-design. Some are young-kawaii like the Little Kitty kind of kawai and not for obaichans (grandmothers) like me but do not despair, many many other kawai stuff abound, stuff that would melt the most kawai-resistant person on earth. The kawai stuff I could not resist where the pottery, the beautiful bento packs (I fell for a two-pack bento container that comes as ‘collabo lunch pack’) and woollens. Whenever I bought anything I will tell the lady that it was a gifto and within minutes these ladies will deftly produce a gift pack accompanied by small ribbon, a fragrance sachet in a recyclable paper bag. There were so many kawai artefacts in the home department, I dare not go near there in case seduced. The kawai-ness is all pervasive and not reserved for exclusive and expensive things only but for all everyday stuff.

I wrote about aspects of the Japanese design minus its kawaiiness but its aesthetics and functionality in an earlier post. The functionality embraces not only form and function but safety. This embraces all artefacts; big and small, including living spaces.

I experienced the Japanese shiki of pride in their vocation as soon as I arrived at the University Guest House; the male housekeeper Fujita-San greeted us and gave us our house slippers, bade us and bade us goodbye; showed us around; kept the house spick and span.i.e a guest house having about 15 rooms all by himself. He never considered attending to our needs menial or demeaning; it was part of his duties as housekeeper. The sensei who manages the facilities for testing my samples took me to his lab, discussed the procedures with me, send the results within a day and were ready to discuss how to go forward within another day!

Mutoh Sensei’s associate professor made sure we had internetto facilities by the second day. The attention to detail was such that when the sensei emailed me the test results (and cced them to Mutoh Sensei) Mutoh Sensei himself printed the results for me because he informed me “I remembered you do not have any printing facilities”.

Still many things elude me; primarily because I could not understand Japanese. Not only elude but puzzles me. What are their value systems; spirituality, and attitudes to life and death. Their spiritually and attitudes to life and death can at times, to me at least appear to be at odds with the fascinatingly regulated, kawai and aesthetically pleasing life around them.

Bersila Lendik diatas Arasy Controversy

2011-10-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

For opinions on this please read Muqabalah's Post . I cannot comment to the contrary because he feels very strongly otherwise. So no rationalisation on the symbolic interpretatation of bersemayam and the Kelantanse non-sophisticated, folksy but very effective interpretation on bersila lendik on the Arasy issue may be tolerated

Although I did offer an explanation that TGNA meant was the manifestation of Allah's Majesty...

My Arabic hardly goes beyond buying bread at the market and so I cannot comment any further.

Malaysiakini keeping me company

2011-10-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

The nights come early in the Nagaokan October; the TV channelsare all in Japanese, the magazines I borrowed from the MAS Golden Lounge haveall been exhaustively read; the papers I have to edit made me fall asleep, andso what recourse have I got but to surf the net. At first I surfed Utusan…ohyes, the Perhimpunan sejuta and all that..and next I read the Bangkok Post tofind out about the Bangkok Floods and then the U-Tube on the Gruesome Death ofGaddaffi. Having been assured my niece in AIT, Pathum Thani, is safelyelsewhere, I surfed Malaysiakini.

Wow, to read Malaysiakini one would think Malaysia is fullof dissenters, I mean reading the comments of the readers. Some used strongcolourful language, but not verging on the lewd. And so I had very up to datenews on Prof Aziz Bari’s ‘penggantungan” (I was shocked at first, I thought itwas a literal hanging) then only to discover it was his “tugas” that washanged.

I supported some academics’ call to Majlis Professor Negarato make a statement or statements and not stay mum and tongue-tied. After allthey had plenty to say on the issue of the “Malaysia tidak di Jajah”. I stillhad not the courage to comment when some bloggers asked me; is it true thatProf DZK represented the Professors when he affirmed that we were notcolonised?

Me, who have so many opinions on so many things suddenlywent unusually reticent, replied..ermm Ican only comment on materials engineering and processing issues, folks andperhaps university performance… And what was more, I refused to be goadedinto action when they commented..biarbetul.. There you go folks…

DCS DESIGN

2011-10-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

The original sachet

Opened and ready.

Boiling water poured on sachet

Dripping coffee ready. And sachet ready to be disposed/re-used

A SUBVERSIVE REIMAGING OF THREE EUROPEAN MASTERPIECES BUT ONLY ONE SHOWN

2011-10-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

I had written on Islamophobia before in JK and so Jan Banning’s article in Newsweek (Europe: Immigration October 17) struck a chord. Jan felt compelled to take a stand on the rise of xenophobia ; particularly Islamophobia in Europe and thus mobilise against intolerance and narrow-mindedness. In his series of photographs based on national cultural symbols, he chose to cloth famous paintings of immediately recognised icons,with immigrants. I have chosen one that is a favourite painting of mine, by Vermeer, Girl Reading a Letter an Open Window. In this reimaging Jan substituted the original model (in the repro I had) with a Moroccan girl Nissrine, reading an application for a citizenship course.

(I had been gifted this painting by a dear friend in a whole series of Girl Reading Series, given my passion for reading, anywhere, any place)

Immigration is not a new phenomenon in Jan’s country , Holland and indeed Europe. Europe had been enriched by the input of many people from other lands, scholars and philosophers as well as just ordinary people. The sweeping ideology of hate is also not new, only that the peoples it is directed at is new .

The most frightening perhaps is the prediction of Khoja Bediuzzaman Said Nursi…Europe is pregnant with Islam..perhaps near term?

Japanese Design of Recycle And Reuse

2011-10-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

One of my long standing collaborative projects with PM Dr.Dzuraidah of my department is Recycle and Reuse of Automotive Polymer Components. It involves LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of the individual automotive components from birth to death…and hopefully it should not end up its life rotting in some scrap yard, being an eye-sore on the landscape. When we introduce LCA or RR to students, it sounds really complicated. What hampers me, personally is the lack of a good simple example . A good simple example that can illustrate this concept, needs be just that; good, simple but effective. However the final design means that the designer has looked at every detail on the step of its perilous journey.

In this post I am going to share with readers of Jauhar Kalam how this RR has been used to maximum effectiveness in the use of producing the drip coffee sachet. The Japanese are fanatical about RR. Even the most minute artefact must be produced with a clear method of disposal, which may include part re-use and part recycle. The Drip Coffee Sachet (DCS) must be able to perform the function of percolating coffee beans, robust enough not to fall apart when one pours boiling water on it, and be designed once used to be as compact and as easily disposed off .

Freshness is of paramount importance so the sachet comes in a gossamer filer paper that behaves like the regular filter paper I use in my percolator back home in Sungai Merab, but more gossamer so that it is not thick and bulky. It is stand alone, and so it comes with two arms on either side, so that when used by itself in a mug or a cup it can perform the function by itself. The DCS can stand many dripping sessions and so it must have been tested for mechanical strength when wet at 100C, and found to be quite robust.

In case some non-materials engineers snigger at the thought of mechanical testing a wet soggy filter paper under wet and dry conditions; you must know of another more unusual mechanical testing behaviour, that of digestive biscuits in wet and dry conditions. When the beans have been percolated through the coffee connoisseur ( drinker) may fold the two flaps neatly and then dispose it back in its sachet. Don’t be quick to throw everything away. There you are.

I dare say, the filter papers may be collected and re-used because they were still intact and integral when disposed neatly in their outer sachets.

October in Nagaoka

2011-10-19T05:20:00.000-07:00

Nagaoka is really a very nice Japanese kampung in the prefecture of Niigata. It is not very happening social-wise and bodes very well for engineers who come here bent on doing nothing but look at engineering phenomena. The first time I came to Nagaoka was with Dr.Zainudin who read for his PhD here under the supervision of his sensei, Mutoh Sensei or Prof Mutoh to me and you. I had known Prof Mutoh as early as 2005 when he was the invited speaker for the IMTCE 2005 when I was the organising Chairperson. However it was only a brief acquaintance. It was only when Dr.Zainudin came back to UKM and to our department that all of us AMPIans were properly introduced to his group.

Prof Mutoh is a metals man, as Dr. Zainudin is, specialising in the fatigue properties of magnesium. I am not very well versed with magnesium, as I had mentioned many times before, but after following Dr.Zainudin around and listening to his presentations I began to know something of this wonderful light weight metal, Mg.

AMPI , under the aegis of UKM signed an MOU with Prof Mutoh’s group under the aegis of NUT (Nagaoka University of Technology). One of the highlights of our MOU is our UKM-NUT Joint Symposium, which so far we have been able to organise every year, changing venues every alternate year. This year was supposed to be held in Nagaoka. However with the financial limitations facing us as a group, only Dr.Zainudin and I are able to come, both carrying out testing of specimens as part of our collaborative arrangements. As fate would have it, this placement is also the first one of my sabbatical leave.

The first time I came to Nagaoka was in the autumn of 2008. It was Ramadhan, and in fact, we arrived in Nagaoka on the first day of Ramadhan. Prof Mutoh hosted us for the breaking of fast. It was my introduction to Dr.Zainudin’s Japanese soul. We came to get the MOU signed and also to set discussion for our collaborative programme. The collaborative programme between USM-NUT had been going on for years, covering student and academic exchange as well as industrial internship. We hoped to emulate this very successful programme.

The second was for our joint symposium which went very well, but unfortunately, we were not able to produce a book of abstracts nor proceedings. The Joint Symposium held in UKM last year went very well too, with Dr.Zainudin able to produce a book of abstracts. What we had hoped, was to produce a book of proceedings and even convert some of the papers into publications in journals. With the current situation on using money sparingly, perhaps organising these kind of symposiums would have to more specific and goal oriented ; i.e to specifically produce papers or research projects. However the joy of merely coming together to share knowledge and expertise and ideas would have to take second place.

So you see, my post this time is as dry as a dried up sambal; where is the spice and gravy? How can I make students want to come and spend 3-6 months in a fast-paced laboratory, eating only shushi or perhaps fried pulut rice? This is a real challenge and I will try .

First, people, you need a sense of adventure. Everybody will have to grow up and leave the nest. Nobody wants to leave home and mother’s cooking …(now I know why it is easier for my children to leave home for foreign shores compared to other people's children…because their mother’s cooking is #*!&, i.e unspeakable.) but every Mama’s Petite Boy and every Papa’s Sugar Spice will have to grow their own wings and learn to fly. Be a modern day Marco Polo or Ibn Battuta. We are people of the Nusantara; at the cross roads of civilisations. We are a people who welcome people to our shores; open and inviting. Since when have we become closed and parochial? So let us develop a sense of adventure; let us see what lies over the other side; let us find how other people think and tick; let us love language and culture, and how these influence the way other people invent.

Please do not emulate Malaysians who travel with tins of Milo, Maggie mee, Berahim sauce, and tons of food reminiscent of the hujjaj of yore travelling on steamships bound for Makkah . What is the point of travelling with the foods of Bangi when you can sample the local food? I am a Muslim who can travel without a larder full of Bangi foods and yet keep to the halal injunctions on food. Besides being able to taste other cultures’ cuisine, I am able to inform my host on what ‘halal’ food means and halalness is all about.

As a real country clod hopper in the early ‘70s in the UK, when foods in Malaysia had not become so internationalised, I had to learn to take fresh milk, yogurts, cheeses and the hard nutty breads of England. I know some readers are laughing at me now as I write...what a kampung fellow I was then, eh? I don’t mind admitting that my favourite breakfast now are these hard nutty breads, or unleavened bread with soft white cheese and walnuts ,muesli with nuts and dried fruits, milk and yogurts. This is a veritable feast for me; one who grew up on nasi kapit pulut. Mind you, do not offer me nasi kapit pulut at any time of the day, because I will wolf it down. This is to say that sampling and loving foreign dishes will never make you despise your own foods. The silly movies that show you people who study for 3 years in the UK and come home tongue tied and refused to eat rice are just that ; silly. The reverse is true, the people I know are mostly who stay in the UK for more than 10 years and speak with a Kelantanese accent.

As Muslims, we are enjoined to travel and seek knowledge. We must go and seek out the ummah . The Muslims by definition are not a people sitting at home afraid to leave their hearth and homes for good causes.

Which brings me back to the title of my post…October in Nagaoka. Nagaoka in October is beautiful. The leaves will bring to mind to us romantic old codgers, this song..”The autumn leaves, drift by the window, the autumn leaves, red and gold..”. The rest of the lyrics are not relevant to us and so I will not reproduce them. The autumn leaves in Seoul, I recall, were bright yellow with bits of gold and red. People actually go on the Seoul Tower to watch the autumn colours. The winds are not fresh, just light and the weather, not too cold. A nice sweater after 5pm will do. It gets a little chilly at night, just as I like it. The temperature is perhaps 12°C at night perhaps lower. Once under your quilt, you are ready to doze off. Perhaps if you frightened yourself with tales of the Japanese ghost this will make you sleep faster.

I had almost forgotten the pleasure of sitting at my desk for the whole day looking at test results. I remembered the good old days when it took me 8 mugs of coffee in a day from the FKAB pantry (very bad coffee, I had not been introduced to the gorgeous Acheh coffee then) to digest the contents of some papers. I relished those times, though. Today, I looked at test results done in speedy time by the super efficient organisation of NUT and I began thinking…now we should do this..we should do that…

All too soon, night fell. Maghrib is around 5.15pm. We came back to ‘home’, the NUT guest house. There are two USM exchange students downstairs. I have made friends with them and they lent me an iron to iron my tudungs. Nobody is paying any attention but force of habit, I guess. These ladies, very adventurous and brave ladies are here on a 3-6 month exchange programme. The room they occupy downstairs is a real Japanese one, with tatami and lembek (quilts) to sleep on. I think the Japanese call them, futon (the quilts, not the girls). They leave the guest house around 8.30 in the morning and come home after maghrib.

The guest house is kept spick and span by a housekeeper, a gentleman by the name of Fujita. So we call him Fujita-san. Every morning as we pass by the lounge, he pops out automatically and greets us and takes our brown slippers off. When we come home he pops out again and put out the slippers for us. I think I want my housekeeper to do that when I go home to Malaysia. Maybe that will not be very popular with the children. They will think I have gone medieval.

Today we had dinner with our aide-de-camp Sufian and another Japanese- Kelantanese from Tanah Merah , Kelantan at an Udon resto. The other night was at a shushi joint. I know that these foods taste quite different from the ones we have in Kampachi, Equatorial, mine and Prof Wan’s favourite joint for Japanese cuisine. The Kampachi cuisine has been Malaysianised, somewhat.

Well, I guess that’s it for today at least. Tomorrow is another day.

An Inspiration from Dr.Fatih and Family

2011-10-18T15:49:00.000-07:00

I have uploaded two photos on to FB from my collection of photos of the memorable trip to Bosna in 2009/2010. These were group photos of the UKM Delegation in Sarajevo, City of the Palace in the Fields and the other, Mostar. The trip left an indelible print in my memory. I wrote much about this trip in JauharKalam (please see JauharKalam 2010) particularly on making sense of why I went there and what to do next. I believe it was fortuitous that Allah made us arrive in this beautiful and tragic land and we have to see, not only with eyes, but hearts and minds what lay in all these.It was from Dr.Fatih that I learnt what to do next.

Dr.Fatih is from Turkey, who hailed from the hilly regions of Turkey where the air is pristine and fresh. He came to Malaysia to read for a Phd but more importantly, was to do da'wa. Not in the usual conventional definition of merely calling the unbelievers to belief but I believe, for the believers to see beyond the first step of belief.

Dr.Fatih coordinated our visit to Istanbul and Bosna, connecting us not only with academics but also businessmen, writers,cultural leaders, people from all walks of life who believe doing da'wa is their profession and whatever they do is giving sustenance to this da'wa.

Dr.Fatih left home and hearth again to go to Bosna to teach, taking family with him. When I learnt of this decison, these ayats of the Quran came to mind:

"Verily those who believed and left their homes and strove with their wealth and their lives for Allah's cause, and those who took them in and helped them; these are protecting friends of one another"

"Verily those who believed and left their homes and strove for Allah's cause , and those who took them in and helped them ; these are believers in truth and for them is forgiveness and a generous provision: (Anfal 8:74)

I know that there are many amongst us are like Dr.Fatih, living these ayats of the Quran and I am humbled. If Allah wills, I was determined from that on, to make a small hijrah (and these many small hijrahs) even to far away lands one these has been shown to me, to make small contributions to these communities in my capacity as an academic. For each of us, can, make contributions in the capacity we have been bestowed best.

Let us go and connect with our brothers and sisters of the ummah. Let us not be afraid of where our provisions will come from; for in these ayats Allah has said.."and those who took them in and helped them..:
There will be on the other side, our partners will take us in, and give us shelter.

Insyallah

My Sabbatical

2011-10-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

Readers of Jauhar Kalam!
Salams to all of you.
I start my sabbatical last week, 1st October 2011 and will report for duty again in March 2012.
I apologise for the long lapse and I intend to make it up to you, people.

UKM's First Robing Ceremony

2011-10-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

On the 22^nd of September, UKM held its very firstRobing Ceremony for her PhD graduands. This ceremony was meant to be apre-convocation event when supervisors would be called on stage with theirsupervisees and together performed the Robing Ceremony. The ceremony entailedthe supervisors putting on the PhD gown and the hunting hat on to theirsupervisees. The UKM Phd gown is a maroon one edged with songket. The completeensemble consists of a gold tasseled hunting hat as well as the gown.

Only a week prior to the event, I managed to call two of mysupervisees, Dr.Noraiham (UTEM) and Dr.Uchenna (UKM postdoc) but could notmanage to get Dr.Sulaiman (UNSyiah, Banda Aceh). I know that I was the more excitedof the three, for I am confident that I will not haveanother year such as this, 3 PhDgraduands in a year. Perhaps next year, I might robe just one person, and two ,that if Dr.Uchenna might scare the secondenough for him to complete his modelling work and start writing by February2012. I was trying very hard not to be the archetypal much feared ria’-imbuedperson as I go about preparing for the ceremony. I am proud and happy at mystudents’ achievements, their success is my happiness. Indeed there is nothingsweeter for me than to see my students make it at the end of the day.

But I am keenly aware of Prof Wan reminding me, his voicesonorous in the background….ria’ islike a needle in a dark room, so fine and so delicate to locate is it. If I hadmy way, I would call the Rector of UNSyiah and order him to make Dr.Leman comefor the graduation. Actually Dr.Leman is a man of means and could have come,except that in UNSyiah, upon his return with a letter that he passed, theuniversity will hold a wisuda(convocation) for him too. So I guess one wisudais enough for Dr.Leman.

Anyway, his name was listed in the Robing Book and I wasalready exhilarated to see his and the other two names there. I am not going tosay “for the world to see” for fear of the needle in the dark room. I was toldthat there was a dress rehearsal in the morning and amidst the chaos of theevent, I managed to catch a glimpse of the instructions video placedstrategically near the entrance of DECTAR during the Robing Ceremony proper.

I was seated on stage as a member of Senate. I wasdetermined to be on stage when my charges were to be robed and again when giventhe scroll during the Convocation on Saturday 24^th September. When Iwas the Deputy Director of the Centre of Academic Advancement, I requested myDirector, Prof Dato Dr.Muhamad Yahya to let me go and represent him so that Iwould be on stage as my daughter, Hanna goes to get her scroll for her firstdegree.

When my time came to rob Dr.Noraiham, it went well exceptthat I was trying hard not to laugh out loud. I think my friends were expectingme to hug Noraiham, as I had demonstrated this ‘hugging ‘ ceremony to some MKBmembers on the UMT bus in Kuala Trengganu. My reluctant model was Prof Riza. No,I did not hug him, only threatened to. Dr.Uchenna, my second roband, gave me ahard time as he had not unbuttoned his robe beforehand and he was too tall forme to robe properly.

All in all, it went exceedingly well. I must commend theperson who thought up of the idea, I heard that it was the Vice Chancellor. I must alsocommend Prof Aini and her team for putting up a good show, mishaps included.

Insyallah one candidate will be having his viva soon,ensuring that I would at least have one person to robe next year. And ifDr.Uchenna manages to scare Rahim to write, I would have two to robe.

One last word on this robing business, one darat fellow thought it was a ‘robbing’ceremony.

⁺ daratis the Kelantan equivalent for ‘country bumpkin’

Belasungkawa to Dr.Khalijah Salleh

2011-09-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

On the early morning of the Saturday, 17th of September 2011, Prof Khalijah Salleh, UKM's Professor of Physics and one of its passionate proponents of Tauhidic Science breathed her last, after battling cancer.
Al Fatihah.

Prof Khalijah was one of the pioneer academics of UKM and remained literally to the very last moments of her life, a passionate and ardent proponent, researcher and thinker for the Tauhidic Science Group, based in the Faculty of Science and Technology, UKM. With a group of like minded people, she worked tirelessly to bring to the academic stage the philosophy of science viewed from an Islamic perspective.

I met her on many occasions both in UKM and in family circles , since she is married to a close relative, and admired her tenacity to work at her passion.When it was my turn to be in the same position of being a nurturer of a fledgling discipline, her tenacity and sincerity had been constant reminders to spur me on.

I last met the late Prof Khalijah in HUKM, on the 6th floor when she had gone for tests. She was jovial and bullish, laughing and sharing anecdotes. She did not bemoan her fate but spoke about it matter of factly.

As a sister academic, I pray that Allah will place her amongst the elite of the elite and give her respite and ease in the barzakh. May she be raised amongst the scholars on the day of Reckoning. May she count me as her friend.

I also pray that may we those left behind, have the spirit, conviction and tenacity to continue her work.

Ameen.

The Hijabistas

2011-09-09T04:03:00.000-07:00

At the end of last year, I began to be conscious of a new hijabic phenomena- hijabic teen fashion sporting the signature sartorial style of “Yuna”. It would not hit home so much if some of the elements of the fashion storm did not actually literally hit my own home. I began to observe that my own daughters began to sport some of the head dress of these chic ladies.

“Is that a Yemeni hijab? “ I asked them

“No Cek” they answered in an exasperated tone “ This is the Hana Tajima style”

I thought Hana Tajima is a fantasy figure like Doraemon but I found out that Hana Tajima is a real live person, a fashion designer who is a rave with the hijabistas. The young lady is based in London.

My tryst with Muslim couture began about 15 years ago when a young Yasmin Siddik approached me to appear on TV in a show called Woman on Woman (WOW ). She had envisaged a talk show where mahjubahs would appear on the mainstream media to talk about styles. I had not fully realised it then, but Madame Yasmin is actually a lady well ahead of her time. She probably anticipated that young Muslim women all over the world, would actually be a portent enough force to dictate fashion. If she had written an article about Muslim fashion and hijabistas, I do not think the full implication of that social phenomenon and the effect on economic trends it would have be fully understood by both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Hijab actually birthed Muslim couture. Yasmin asked me for a suitable name to call her line of muslim apparel for mahjubahs, fashioned to be in accordance to the shariah but tasteful, elegant and affordable. I suggested that it should have elements of French chic and so I christened her line of clothes “Le Couture Musalman “ which I think was changed to Musalman. I had not kept abreast with Yasmin but I read about her now and again and I think she is heading in the right direction.

The effect of Muslim consumerism on food, for every example had a profound effect on the halal food industry. Manufacturers of food the world over, take heed of the halal food issue not because they believe in halal-ness but because of the economic power of the halal food consumers. The case of the Ribena boycott in England, for example is a case in point.

My reading of a young people magazine called In Trend gave me greater insight into hijabistaism. The magazine featured a special edition devoted to hijabic-in fashion with figures having almost cult-like adoration and following amongst like-minded kindred. I was pleased to note that my favourite apparel , the palazzo pants has again taken place in the ensemble of the current hijabista fashion wardrobe. The one feature in InTrend is on sale in Top Shop.

I have a great fondness for Malay ethnic attire but when I travel I like Muslim couture; pant suits, gaucho pant-skirts, manteaus and such like. I met a lady who loves suits but is not a mahjubah. She so admired my tailored suits so much she asked me where I had bought them. It was an D&G look-alike. To her great surprise I replied “Tehran”.

“Tehran?” She mouthed, nearly choking. “Is there high couture in that country? I thought people go about in black chadors and women get whipped if they put on fashionable clothes”

On the contrary, the ladies I met there are very fashionable indeed, and they sport well cut suits from wool, tweeds and such like if it was winter and lighter fabrics if it was summer.

My other favourite destination (not that I fly there often) for high Muslim couture is Turkey. Although one can get hijabic fashion in boutiques like Armine in Turkey itself, these gorgeous raiment may be gotten in Europe where there is a sizable market amongst the Muslim population.

I see very soon that these hijabistas will be able to dictate what goes on the fashion runways. One very well known fashion style coordinator from Malaysia has already been able to put on an Islamic fashion show under the patronage of well known personalities. Kudos to them.

However, the hijabistas have been able to make waves without much glitter and razzmatazz. They make trends and waves amongst the fashionistas of the future. I see some of them are bloggers too. There is a group of hijabistas calling themselves the scarflets. Although the head dress they put on will not last very long on a bawal person like me but they (the head dresses) look comely on these ladies.

Most importantly, the younger generation would identify much more with these hijabistas than the fuddy duddy grandmother types like me. We should encourage them and provide them enough guidance not to get overboard but not be too prescriptive so as to be off putting to the would be mahjubah. The prescription for hijab is very easy; not tight and revealing , not a dress of vanity and arrogance and not to emulate the non-Muslims.

I am sure, there will be many comments from this post and I would welcome what other Muslimahs have to say on this issue.

Eid Mubarak to all readers of Jauhar Kalam

2011-09-04T19:07:00.001-07:00

Eid Mubarak to all readers of Jauhar Kalam.
I spent Eid in Kelantan, land of my birth. My husband, Sinan, our youngest child and I travelled to Kelantan via my favourite route, in view of the South China Sea, breaking our journey in Kuala Trengganu. We spent the night of the 28th of Ramadhan at the Felda Residence with hordes of families either going to Kelantan or going away from Kelantan. I spent two days of Ramadhan in Kelantan, having iftar in Pasir Puteh and the other, in Kampung Laut. After my mother's demise in 1999, I spent Eid either in Pasir Puteh or Peringat at my siblings'. This was the first Eid I was accommodated by my own daughter in her oven of a house in Pengkalan Cepa. "House" is a smallish single storey terrace house side by jowl of the gargantuan residences of the Kelantanese in Bandar Tengku Anis.
Everywhere were banners greeting the Kelantanese in Perantauan....roughly translated as The Kelantanese Afar, or as some more dramatic amongst us would like to translate it as "Kelantanese in Diaspora".
I guess we all count as members as that group and I thank all those who sponsored those welcome home banners.
There were so many foods to choose from that I had no time to sample the staples of nasi dagang and kuzi. I am telling you the truth, but I had sate goring, ketupat daun palas, puyuhs, seratis, kambings , barbequed, curried or gulai-darated.
Since I made a pact with myself not to to do anything remotely intelligent, I read many interesting magazines, one of which is a teen magazine called -InTrend. There I came across a new word-hijabistas.
That will be the subject of my next post.

PETER O’TOOLE AND THE HIJAZ RAILWAY

2011-08-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

Photo of the Muazzama Station of the Hijaz Railway: taken from the Yildiz Album. Mehmet Bahadir.2006. The Light.Istanbul Turkiye.

The film “Lawrence of Arabia” owed its success to the acting of the famous British-Irish actor, Peter O’Toole . In the film was another actor, well known in his native country Egypt, but an unknown elsewhere, out to make a name for himself in Hollywood. His name was Omer Shariff. The film romanticised the story of T.E. Lawrence, adventurer and spy, and his stooge, the character played by Omar Shariff , blowing up the Hijaz railway built by the Omayyad Sultans to connect Damascus to Makkah and Medina ,with additional lines to Yemen.

In the film, the hero was T.E.Lawrence and the villains, the ‘ Ommayads’. Sheriff Hussain allied with the British to “free” the Hejaz from the yoke of Imperialism of the Uthmaniyyah Caliphate for a free new nation only for the Arabs which later, did not become a republic but a kingdom. And so, Lawrence helped blew up railways so that the people of the Hijaz could trade a caliphate for a kingdom.

Work to build the railway started in 1900.By 1905, the railway had stretched to Haifa and then by 1906 to Medain Saleh. Despite colossal costs, extreme temperatures and sabotage, it was completed in 1908; having connected Damascus to Medina.The Hijaz Railway was able to carry one million passengers to the holy land for a two lira fare, a greatly subsidised cost.

The construction of the railway from Medain Saleh to the holy lands was only undertaken by Muslim engineers and workers because it was getting close to the Holy Lands.The tracks for the railways were shipped to the port of Beirut and then brought to the place of construction.The Muslims were able to undertake challenging work of mammoth scale long before the time when even the Muslims think only Koreans and Chinese could do them.It is time we do them again.

As children, I had watched Hollywood films where the Muslims were portrayed as villains; two prime examples being "Gordon of Khartoum" and "Lawrence of Arabia". How many more Muslims such as I were cheering for the wrong side because we identified with the groups considered right by Hollywood? This is not to say that, if some Muslims or many Muslims were to go on a blood letting rampage, we should be cheering for them just because we are Muslims. I say we should identify with who is with a just cause because we have been given the full unbiased story and not merely fed what the merchants of truth in Hollywood churn out.

Luwak Coffee Debates Put to Rest

2011-08-19T19:43:00.000-07:00

I am putting to rest a while the coffee (Luwak)-in-a-mug kind of debates on whether the Luwak coffee is najas, and therefore not permissible for consumption. I was informed by an eminent Professor of Shariah in Akademi Islam , UM that it is not najas and therefore permissible. I continued drinking the headily fragrant Achehnese coffee on his authority. However, this morning, our Ustaz Zaidi, called me up to give further dalil to this issue and I am reproducing it here verbatim..

..jikalau makan binatang akan biji-bijian kemudian dimuntahkan nya atau diberakkannya, akan dia, maka ditilik kepada biji itu, jika ia keras sekira2nya, jika ditanam niscaya tumbuhlah ia, maka iaitu suci dengan dibasuh dan halal dimakan jika tiada ia sedemikian itu maka iaitu najis.
(pg 34. Sabilu al -Muhtadi. Syaikh Muhammad Arshad al-Banjari. 1193H-1195H)

The kitab was written upon the instruction of Sultan Tahmidullah ibn Tamjidullah, the Sultan of Banjar.

Allah knows Best.

To greet my friend in Ramadhan with salam

2011-08-13T20:48:00.000-07:00

Our friend, allahyarham Prof. Madya Dr.Ismail Mohd Noor 's research was on Kelantan groundwater. His office was on the ground floor of the UKM Geology Building. Dr.Ismail was then the Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Physical and Applied Sciences (FSFG). When our Faculties jointly organised the First International groundwater Conference in Kota Bharu in 1987, the organising Committee practically had to camp in Kota Bharu to cater to the logistics. Since he loved Kelantan foods, I took him to sample my late mother's cooking in her house in Kubang Kerian. My late mother cooked a scrumptious meal, but to my horror, served them on a harlequin kind of set, i.e all the cutlery did not match. I had wanted to redo the service but he won my mother's heart by charmingly convincing her that it was not necessary.

Dr.Ismail was buried in the Sungei Tangkas grave, near the fence, after he succumbed to head injuries sustained in a car accident, along the Kajang-West Country road (I have to confirm whether it was in 1997 or not). When news of his demise got wind to his colleagues in KB, they came to pay his last respects by the bus load. That was a testament to the kind of warm, wonderful person he was, "Abang Besa'" to his siblings.

Before they made the detour road to Kajang that now bypasses the graveyard where our "Mail" is, my husband and I would pass by there and we will never forget to greet him with the greetings of those in Jannah. "Salam-an Salama" as mentioned in the surah al-Waqi'ah.

Assalamulalaikum O Ye people of the Grave and Assalamualaikum O Ye people of the Barzakh. For very soon we will follow You"

Today, we passed by the road leading into the graveyard, no more could we see the graves, but we said salam all the same.

A Ramadhan Gift

2011-08-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, on the 12^th of Ramadhan, we were hosts to 7 lady students from Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan and Mongolia. They are all doing TESL, languages and journalism at our universities. Since they were all about my daughters’ ages, I let them do the hosting. I merely facilitated the ice –breaking session after iftar. I think they would rather be with the in group than listen to an old codger talking. But during one part, I joined them and they asked me about my “travels” since I told them I have been to both Turkey and Kazakhstan; my impressions on their countries. We also spoke about Europe, particularly England, since most of them are doing English.

When it comes to England, I had to tell all the gritty bits, particularly since we get much footage of the London riots through the U-Tube (my latest source of information, sorry LANH14), besides the undulating meadows dotted with sheep in the Shires, Cheddar cheese, walnuts in the autumn, russet apples, conference pears and Bramley apples. Of course we see TV series like Emmerdale farm and King George and the kinging King, Edward and we think that is how England is. Bits of it are, but the other bits belong to the U-Tube.

The post today is about their gift to me, a small book of du’a called Al Jawshan AL Kabir, transmitted from the Prophet of God, sallallahu ‘alaihi wassalam. I think Sami Yusuf can render some parts into his kind of “music”, this suggestion coming from me after I finished listening to his touchingly beautiful rendering of the salawat to the Prophet of God, sallallahu alaihi wassalam.

Our Muslim brethren from Turkey and Central Asia finishes the salawat as Sami Yusuf does:

Allah hum ma salli ‘ala

Sayyidina

Muhammadi nin nabiyil ummi yyi

Wa ‘ala aalihi wasah bihi wasallim

From Al-Jawshan:

O Master of masters

O He Who answers all prayers

O He Who is the dealer, preserver and bestower of all good

O He Who is above all conceivable ranks and Who elevates the ranks of His believing, devoted servants

O He Who is supreme and tremendous in blessings

O He Who forgives mistakes and faults

O He Who repels all calamities

O He Who hears the voices (from all beings)

O He Who grants the needs and desires of all creatures

O He Who knows the secrets and all hidden things

A Ramadhan Gift

2011-08-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

Our Muslim brethren from Turkey and Central Asia finishes the salawat as Sami Yusuf does:

Allah hum ma salli ‘ala

Sayyidina

Muhammadi nin nabiyil ummi yyi

Wa ‘ala aalihi wasah bihi wasallim

From Al-Jawshan:

O Master of masters

O He Who answers all prayers

O He Who is the dealer, preserver and bestower of all good

O He Who is above all conceivable ranks and Who elevates the ranks of His believing, devoted servants

O He Who is supreme and tremendous in blessings

O He Who forgives mistakes and faults

O He Who repels all calamities

O He Who hears the voices (from all beings)

O He Who grants the needs and desires of all creatures

O He Who knows the secrets and all hidden things

Mentoring Young Academics

2011-08-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

Mentoring is to support and encourage people (young people) to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become they person they want to be”.

If this definition were to be followed to the letter, perhaps we would not find so many people wanting to be mentors to their younger counterparts because it sounds very challenging. The key words in mentoring are: motivating, inspiring, challenging.

When PPKK invited Prof Zuria from The Faculty of Education to speak on mentoring to Deans/Directors/Senior Assistant Registrars of UKM in both the Workshops on Enhancing Management Process Skills, she spoke with warmth and gratitude of her mentor, Prof Amla who was the person instrumental to her starting her academic career.

What a sweet blessing it is to be remembered so well by one’s students! This is enough reward for all mentors to take up the mantle of being the motivator, inspirer and ‘challenger’ to those younger, to be so well remembered by one’s younger colleagues and to be emulated as role models!

To a young academic, coming home from nearly 4 years of leaving the academic abode can be a potentially harrowing time. One is anxious not to lose the zest for research and yet the demands on them are many. If they had been overseas, their families would be clamouring for attention to make up for lost time. They needed to start a new life and build new relationships.

At work, they have to tread gingerly. Who are the ‘power brokers’ and who wields the baton; So to speak. Most urgent for them to settle in and get on with their normal rate of productivity would be those academics in the Research Intensive Universities. Although some opinions support a more structured approach to mentoring, I am off the opinion that whilst we do have the organised mentoring in place, we should encourage younger academics to seek out their own mentors or malims.

In our academic and research organisational structure, we are either part of a registered research group, the head or senior members acting as mentors (they should do) and in expert groups in the Department , again the head of the expert group acting as mentors. About 15 years ago, I had asked a professor to be my mentor. I was one of the few women academics in my faculty, I felt I was doing a lot of work, but not getting much anywhere. I did not know where to focus or how to do it in a planned and structured manner (This was in the Times of Ignorance before PTK). I went up to this lady academic (as is my wont) and brazenly asked her “Please Prof, can you please be my mentor?”

Mentors are not baby handlers; they do not hold you by the hand and walked you places. But they do tell you what resources you should have in order to head places you should be heading to. They will inspire you and give you confidence to make the right decisions. They will not make them for you, but they will tell you how to make them. Whenever they can, they avail you opportunities. But if they are unable to, the mentees must not blame them and take them to task.

On the other hand, one could have specific mentors; for example one could emulate a mentor who writes as if the ink oozes out of his/her fingers. They know how to make the best of data; how to present them, seek out the best journals in one’s field and introduces you to the leading lights in them.

To both would be mentors and mentees, each must actively seek each other. Mentoring, I believe is a two way relationship where a constant sharing, symbiotic situation of giving, taking and sharing is taking place.

Good luck.

The Syayatin are all locked up

2011-08-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

My youngest son sidled up to me, and announced, after iftar that he is not afraid of the dark nor ghosts in Ramadhan "because all the syayatin are all locked up"

"I am pleased to hear that, son but I reckon if you can lock up the syayatin during the rest of the year, you will be brave and strong and need not fear the dark nor ghosts of any kind" I offered my advice.

" First, you must make sure the two ugly ones blocking your hearing so that you will not be able to hear the fajr adhan must go. Then the ones hanging to your eyelids; one on the left and one on the right.Finally, hardest to rid off will be the sweet one, beguiling you...go on sweet Sinan, sleep a little more, just five minutes and then no more. Sweet One will whisper to you, I will wake you up for fajr, not even your mother will notice you're a little late..no?"

My son listened to this and then asked me.."Will it go if I read the 3 Quls?"
"Oh yes, with conviction, insyallah, they all will"

It is easy for Sinan to rid himself of the sweet beguiling one for it only beguiles him to tarry his fajr prayer, but the sweet one beguiles his elders on the things their hearts hold dear.

In Ramadhan, we are given respite from the beguiling sweet ones.

The Fabled Cloths of Trengganu

2011-08-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

During the PJK organised workshop in Kuala Trengganu, I suggested to Prof Shaharir, the organiser that we should allocate some time for studying the state of small and medium enterprise there. This necessitated visits to places such as Kedai Payang, Arfa Batik and the like. Having agreed on this venture, Dr.Dzuraidah, Dr.Safi, Master Sinan and I headed for Kedai Payang. However was we wended our way amongst the older shops , some looking more like ablution shacks, we chanced upon a shop full of bric-a-brac. We browsed, or rather I browsed and the rest waited patiently through until my eyes fell on two pieces of songket cloth hanging on a hanger. As you can see, the cloths must be at least as old as I am, and in designs that you do not see any more. I have seen the same designs on Kelantan sampings of old. The designs are mostly checks and stripes. One of checked songket designed in a berantai manner had a flower motif. Both had dark purple, maroon and dark blue tanah.

The owner of the shop, a rather artistic type with a pony tail, jaunty coiffure, rings on three fingers on each hand, pulled out for me to view. They were really quite unique; the muted sombre reds of traditional dyes plus rather unusual designs that I had not seen before. They were sampings.

"How much are they?" I asked the artistic type trying to pass off as debonair, now.
I looked at his name card. It said "Jeff Jahit"
"How much are they, Jeff? " I asked using the age old tactic of breaking down barriers by the use of first names.
I didn't try to call him Mr.Jahit, of course.
"Due ghatuh lime puluh" He replied, in thick GGanung brogue
My daughter was aghast that these two pieces of cloth looking like our maid's kitchen cloths were going to be procured by her mother at this ghastly pricey price.

"Maha nyoh". My daughter replied in Kelantan patois.
"Kkughe, weh. Ni sale persahabate". She countered. (It's too pricey. This sale is merely for friendship)

"Ye , ye ". Replied Debonair Jeff "Kite pahang doh"

I agreed on the price of RM150 although my daughter was not pleased. But she relented when I told her someone sold me a piece of kain limar gerus from Kelantan for RM2k.

Jeff was happy someone bought his kains and so offered me more. We agreed to meet the next day. I ended up buying four pieces of beautiful old Trengganu cloths, which I am going to share with readers of Jauhar Kalam.

One of the pieces shown here, in maroon is very unique. It is a gerus songket.The purple samping is a purple cotton songket with a kepala of lawi ayam and perhaps kecupu flower.

Welcome to Ramadhan

2011-08-04T15:45:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Ramadhan, dear readers of Jauhar Kalam!
I have left you, dear readers, high and dry, without word for almost three weeks, for the last post I wrote was on the adroitness of the pen, procured for a (hefty) fee. I did comment yesterday on an FB friend's post on something in the same genre, trying to cast sense and how shall I say it , perspicuity on the debates on the productivity of academics and how it has impacted on academic scholarship . Forgive my verbosity in the early hours of a Ramadhan morning.

Yes, most of the three weeks were busy trying to eke, yes eke is the right word, publications out of my postgraduate students. The end of the year is nigh, all sorts of rating instruments beckons and the KPI's stand out ominously, like sentry guards in the semi-darkness between light and day.

I was going to finish my post on academic mentoring, a subject close to my heart, which I have left, literally hanging in mid air.I also took photos of old songket clothes I managed to nose out in a shack-like shop in KT (Kuala Trengganu, where did you think I went? I made a new friend there) for a post on these fabled cloths of the Nusantara. Aah, all these efforts shall not come to naught, for dear readers, I shall labour on these in these few days between my toil on the papers.

But this morning, in the early morning of the 5th of Ramadhan,as I listen to the chirps of the iridescent blue-breasted birds of Pinggiran Putrajaya, I want to wish all of you all the best wishes for Ramadhan al Mubarak. Welcome, welcome Ramadhan, may Allah let us live to see another Ramadhan and fill it with prayers and amal.

Ameen

Pen -ship Adroitness Procured for a (hefty) fee

2011-07-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

In the bad old days of old style academia, having good editing skills was an asset. In our Anglophile world, having good editing skills in the English language was an asset. Academics blessed with the gift of the golden pen had the advantage of getting the time to get their papers published considerably shortened because they did have to contend with an Editor fuming at their ‘is’ and ‘ are-s’ . Perhaps their services were required to assist less endowed or less trained comrades, and so were consulted.

Editing papers/theses of students whose native languages were not English then was the bane of supervisors who want to publish in English language journals. In our case in UKM at least much time was, is, in fact spent correcting incomprehensible English, or Farlish (Farsi English) Arabish (Arab English) Malish (Malay English) Indish (Indonesian English)Banglish, Indish and so on so forth. The rainbow of Englishes (there is such a term, by the way and a journal too to showcase studies on the world’s Englishes)produced by these students can be submitted to the journal of Englishes as a study by itself.

We spend an inordinate amount of effort and organisation on getting the “UKM Style of Abstract” getting passed in Senate. Many a supervisor, too busy to look at abstracts or to be fair to them, really too trusting to scrutinise every phrase in the Abstract suddenly to their absolute horror has to come face to face with their students’ English in either the Faculty meeting or worse in the Senate. More often than not, we can get fooled by a brilliantly written phrase at the beginning of an abstract and therefore we assumed the rest to be equally brilliant, little realising that it had not been scrutinised by the software Turnitin.

In my case, it had been a chequered experience. I had a few students with impeccable English ( one who stayed for his Masters but abandoned his PhD for industry) some with impeccable English when presenting his/her proposal at the beginning then revealing their true state of English-ness (referring to their lingual prowess, not their penchant for things English)some with different states of mangled-ness and some downright patois. There was a student who smiled at me for two years when I asked him to review papers in English and genially nodded in agreement before I discovered he could not understand a word of English. What a silly professor, you might say! Fancy that, she could not even detect this very basic competency.

This was in the days pre-having to show proof of competency such as the EILTS and TOFEL, people. I am a very trusting person. If my student were to nod and say yes yes, when I asked them..Are you able to review this paper, for me, please? It also took me many years to realise, after being alerted by friends that those students never understood my instruction in the first place. Fortunately, I am able always to see and appreciate the sense of comic in this. It is heartless to send them home after they have spent much money to come and be our students so what I did was to appoint mentors amongst their peers, one near to their field of study to mentor them. Some of these mentors, I promise joint publications, some I persuade to have a kind heart, some I tell that Jannah will be their reward, as incentives. Alhamdulillah, most of the time, the mentors were kind enough to mentor the struggling ones, for they remembered they were once in the distressing situation too.

The reason I wrote this post in the first place is to share my thoughts on the phenomena of bought editorship, if there is such a phrase. For a fee, we may submit our manuscripts to be edited by competent editors for specific targeted journals in the Q1-Q4 journals. Obviously the final decision to which quartile journal the manuscripts find themselves in belongs to the Technical Editor after the review process, but the attention to detail, consistency of facts, formatting and definitely the standard of English is all paid attention to in these paid editorships. I guess really there is nothing wrong with that, except that, we pay less and less attention to improving our very own skills at editing because we can get quick solutions to a long tedious process.

I am suggesting we tackle this editing in a two-prong manner; we submit raw manuscripts to the paid editorship to minimise the publishing downtime and secondly, we rigorously enforce editing training to both academics and students. I see that the lively discussion in the last UKM senate was cognisant of this need and plans are afoot to set the training in motion.