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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.


Monday, October 20, 2008

A freak 'accident' at Sri Hartamas

Last Saturday night, October 18th, I decided to go for a drink at the bustling area of Sri Hartamas which has a number of 'happening' nightspots... I haven't stopped here for some time, so I wanted to look for a restaurant known as Uncle Don's which used to be a favourite haunt...

After going around for a while, I didn't find Uncle Don's. I did find the same spot but it has changed names. Instead I found a wrecked car, a Proton Wira if not mistaken, 'parked' upon the staircase leading to the restaurant!


I was totally perplexed. How could this have happened? How could anyone drive a car up the staircase and in reverse too?


By the time I arrived here, there were a few traffic policemen around. They were questioning some of the bystanders but strangely no one could provide a clear answer of what happened. Strange, as this area is bustling with people. How could no one noticed what really happened?


Just a few metres away lies this wrecked BMW which was soon carried up a pickup lorry ready to be ferried away to some garage. The story I managed to gather is that the driver of BMW was drunk... So somehow he rammed into the car causing it to go up the staircase of the restaurant.

Yes, that is possible but to make that happen, the BMW must have been driven at some speed. Which is also quite strange considering that the other car was actually parked just outside the curb while the road leading to the parking area is a small curved one which would limit speed.

Then it occured to me what could have actually happened. You see just 5-10 minutes earlier, I passed the same area on my bike as I looked for a place to drink (I then had Uncle Don's in mind but just couldn't find it). I noticed an agitated lot of people right there at what could have been the unfortunate other car's parking spot with one or two cars making plenty of noises honking continuously for God knows what reason.

What came to mind then was someone has been blocking other cars. And since these are youths we're dealing with, there's bound to be plenty of noise.

So this is my theory. There could have been an angry exchange of words between 'hotshot' youths. You could read it in the make-up of the car. It has accessories that shows the owner likes speed and likes to show off which is very common with youths coming from Kuala Lumpur's middle and upper class family.

The driver of the BMW could have been the son of some rich and important guy. He was drunk... hell, some of the youths around said he could have been on drugs... for whatever reason, somehow he was angry at the driver of the other car and lost his top. So he decided to shove the car out... or rather, up!

This is quite logical as I have been around. I used to know many from rich and well-connected families who think they owned the world and could do anything they want without suffering any consequence. It looks like, in order to show his 'power and virility', plus he was under the influence of something which shortcircuited his better judgement, this guy just rammed the other car without thinking that it could have hurt anyone, that's all.