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This blogspot is a medium to share my thoughts and adventures apart from promoting my books. Below are the books which have been written or authored and published by myself.


"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Mencari Diri dan Erti".

ISBN 983-42031-0-1, Jun 2006


"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Membela Syiar yang Asal"

ISBN 983-42031-1-x, May 2007


"Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?"

ISBN 978-983-42031-2-2, November 2007


It is interesting to note that while these books were written in Malay it has gained enough attention to merit being part of the collections of the American Library of Congress and National Library of Australia. Look here and here.


While the first three books were published by my own company, the fourth titled "Rumah Azan" was published in April 2009 by a company called Karnadya with the help of the Malaysian national literary body Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. It features beautiful pictures along with stories behind selected mosques which could be related to the history of Islam and the Malays alongside the formation of the Malaysian nation. Look at the article A collaboration of old collegemates - the book "Rumah Azan".


My fifth book "Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and Malay Sultanates", an English translation and adaptation of the Malay book "Ahlul Bait (Keluarga) Rasulullah SAW dan Kesultanan Melayu" authored by Hj Muzaffar Mohamad and Tun Suzana Othman was published early 2010. Look here... My 5th book is out! Ahlul Bait (Family) of Rasulullah SAW and the Malay Sultanates... . For more information check out my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU.



Like my fourth book "Rumah Azan", the sixth book "Kereta Api Menuju Destinasi" is also a coffee-table book which is published by the company Karnadya with the cooperation of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (the main Malay literary body in Malaysia). Coming out January 2011 it features pictures and stories on the adventure travelling by train to all of Peninsular Malaysia along with the interesting places which could be reached this way.


My seventh book "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" in turn is a coffee-table book which is written, editted, designed and has pictures taken by me. Coming out of the factory October 2011, this book which combines family history with history of places such as Singapura, Johor, Batu Pahat, Muar and in fact the history of the island of Java and England has been reviewed with me interviewed live in the program Selamat Pagi Malaysia at RTM1. Look at the article Siaran langsung ulasan buku "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah" dan temu ramah di Selamat Pagi Malaysia. Some selected contents have been featured in Sneak peek "Jejak keluarga Yakin : Satu sketsa sejarah".


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The "Berpetualang ke Aceh" series of novels could be obtained in e-book form. Enter http://www.e-sentral.com/, click general novel and go to page 4. You can also type the word "Aceh" at the search box. Or click straight Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3.


Friday, September 05, 2008

Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... From the tomb of Keramat Kuala Bidor to that of Raja Ahmad...

Good morning... Actually good early morning as I'm writing this sentence at 1.28 AM. Without much further ado, let's continue from the last posting titled Exploring the happenings around the 1874 Pangkor Treaty in Perak... Batak Rabit in Teluk Intan, a major ground where the story unfolds... . This time we start to move out of Teluk Intan heading northwards to the district of Kampung Gajah to get to Pasir Salak where the first British Resident to Perak, J.W.W. Birch was murdered by locals in 1875. But not without visiting some places in between including the famous Birch's very own grave! Come...

Just a few kilometres outside Teluk Intan on the way to Kampung Gajah lies these old tombs...


I'm not sure who was buried in this one but I know for sure it is related to the tomb shown below...


Here is the tomb of a famous legendary Perak figure of old known simply as Keramat Kuala Bidor... Or literally could be tranlasted as the charismatic saintly figure of estuary of the Bidor river.

Now, I won't go into lengths explaining who is. Suffice to say that you should read these old articles which are translations/adapatations of excerpts from my Malay novels "Berpetualang ke Aceh" posted here almost 2 years ago! Have a look at it... Just click at the titles.

The tale of Keramat Kuala Bidor

The tale of Keramat Kuala Bidor 2… Touching a bit on the world shadow government

The Tale of Keramat Kuala Bidor 3 – And so the story goes…

Or you can check the video clip in the article Menyusuri sejarah sekitar Perjanjian Pangkor 1874... Keramat Kuala Bidor posted in the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU just before 1am today...


Next, we move some 15km more up north to get to this old abandoned mosque...


There's something unique about this mosque, it's beautiful design and architecture notwithstanding...

Just look at the pulpit inside... It's a gem isn't it?


A look at the front. For more explanation on it, please read the article Masjid lama Perak yang terbiar (An old and abandoned Perak old mosque) in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART)


Soon, it's time to go further into the wilderness. We actually have to walk as the path is not that accesible to cars... Yes, it was made wide enough for cars. It's just that the condition is not so good. You don't want your car getting stuck in the mud and such while exploring an abandoned area which is miles away from current civilisation, especially not when the time then was almost dusk!


Some 200-300 metres (or was it more than 500 metres?) further up north, we came across this signage leading to the tomb of the 19th ruler of Perak, Sultan Abdul Malik Mansur Shah...

Too bad, the condition of the tomb is deteriorating despite the fact that it is a historical site gazetted by the museum...


Just look at the condition of the actual tomb itself and one is hardpressed to find the tombstones... I mean for God's sake, this is not just anybody's tomb... This is the tomb of the person who ruled the state of Perak some 200 years ago! Why leave it like this?


On the other hand look at this burial ground another 500 metres further or so away...


This Christian burial site is so well-kept, such a huge contrast to the condition of the Muslim tomb that is resting area of a Perak ruler... Why?
For the record, in this burial ground lies the body of first British resident to Perak, J.W.W. Birch who was murdered in 1875 by the locals. Again, I won't go into lengths. Perhaps the articles The main players of the Perak-British war as depicted at the fort of Ngah Ibrahim... and In Perak's royal mausoleum to give justice to Laksamana Raja Mahkota Muhammad Amin posted here six months ago would help...

Oh... We are running out of pictures for this article when the article here mentioned someone by the name of Raja Ahmad... What actually happened?

Well, we actually arrived at the Christian burial ground at dusk and came out of the area in the dark. Still we went on by car to get to the tomb of Raja Ahmad, a 19th Century Perak royal who was the great grandfather to practically all the major Perak royals since then including rulers. But if you still want to see pictures showing the way it looked then (in pitch dark at night except for the beam of lights from our cars), you can have a look at the article Perjalanan terbaru ke Perak... Perjalanan malam ke Pasir Salak, Makam Raja Ahmad, Makam Keramat Kuala Bidor sebelum kembali ke Teluk Intan... made in the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU 2 months ago.

Oh, by the way, the officially genealogy mentioned Raja Ahmad as the son of Sultan Abdul Malik Mansur Shah whose messy tomb we have shown above. But some said, Raja Ahmad is actually the son in-law of the Perak's 19th ruler...

Whatever, what is interesting is Raja Ahmad was believed to have disappeared into thin air after falling down the nearby river of Sungai Terus. The tomb we visited is actually a place marked by a single 'tombstone' to signify the location where he disappeared at. Perhaps it would help if you view the video clips available in the articles just posted at CATATAN SI MERAH SILU tonight (or this morning... Whatever!) never mind everything there is explained in Malay. Please view it in order. The articles are...

Menyusuri sejarah sekitar Perjanjian Pangkor 1874... Masjid lama misteri, makam Sultan Abdul Malik dan kubur Birch - Petanda bandar Melayu yang hilang

and

Menyusuri sejarah sekitar Perjanjian Pangkor 1874... Makam Raja Ahmad... Sekali lagi sampai waktu malam!

With that, I close this article. Good night! :]




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