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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.


Thursday, May 13, 2010

Latest visit to the old abandoned mosque at Teluk Memali (or is it just Bandar Baharu)?

OK. After stopping at the tombs of the 2 Muazzams (see Latest visit to the tombs of the two Muazzams...) I visited tombs of another 2 Sultans and a member of the Perak royalty called Raja Ahmad before visiting this old abandoned mosque.


This is either my 5th or 6th visit here. I remember accidently coming across the mosque while looking for the tomb of Raja Ahmad in September 2006. The second visit happened with my good friend Zaidi @ PerpatihTulus sometime in 2007. In August 2008 I came with a number of friends while in December the same year I was joined by my then newly-wedded wife and an old friend Shamsul Yunos who was acting as a photographer for a certain project.

Plus this latest visit, that makes 5 altogether. But I do feel like I could have made another visit sometime between 2006 and 2008 but I just could not put a finger on it. That is why I said this is either my 5th or 6th visit...

Inside still lies and old pulpit which is at least 80 years old. I was told that it was once removed to a modern mosque but something supernatural happened prompting for it to be returned here, never mind that this mosque has been abandoned since at least 1997. OK, I know for sure that the area around was called Bandar Baharu (the new town), a name which came out when the 19th Sultan of Perak, Sultan Abdul Malik Mansur Shah built his capital here almost 200 years ago. But the town practically withered away and died after the Perak war against the English from 1875 to 1877.

There used to be a village here which lasted a number of decades but continous flooding has made the populace moved 2 km or so towards the inland main road. Since the place has been uninhabited for some time I was made to understand that the name Bandar Baharu has become redundant... instead the name Teluk (bay of) Memali took centre stage. Recently only did I noticed that the tomb of Sultan Abdul Malik which lies about 200 metres from the mosque is said to be at Kampung (village of) Bandar Baharu, a name associated with this place after the original Bandar Baharu which was the capital of Perak withered away. I also noticed the tomb of the 17th Sultan, Sultan Alauddin Mansur Iskandar Muda (ruled 1773-1792) which is situated some 2 km to the south is said to be in Teluk Memali.

So does this mean Teluk Memali is a distinct place from Bandar Baharu? Or does it actually include the old Perak capital? As the name Teluk Memali refers to a bay area somewhere along the Perak river, I decided to check the satellite pictures using Google Earth. A bay on a river shows when the river bents and it seemed to cover an area more than 2 km long. Anywhere there's a signboard which says the tomb of Sultan Abdul Malik is situated at Bandar Baharu, Teluk Memali. So I guess the name Teluk Memali covers the whole stretch... :]


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