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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 24, 2010

Album for 3rd Raya... enter the JB folks

Continued from Living up to the family Raya tradition....


The following the day which is the 3rd day of the Raya celebration we began to receive serious visitors...


Not that we didn't receive any the previous day it's just before this it's mainly the closest members of our extended family, brothers and sisters to my mum and their children and granchildren coming.

The third day of Raya which was a Sunday, we were joined by the family of my late grandmum's youngest sister from Johor Bahru.


Unlike our family who have lost both my grandfather and grandmother, the JB family still got a member of my grandfather's generation, the husband of my late grandaunt...



If our family consist of 3 generations they still have 4...




Anyway it is normal for our kith and kins to come in packs and the JB folks came with no less than 5 cars, at least that's what I saw before having to concentrate on extending the hospitality.












Here's a pix as they were about to leave almost an hour later.
















My wife and baby Al-Rasyid in the fray...









That's the husband to my late grand-aunt from JB. My generation calls him Tok Su Sehat. Being 86-year-old he is one of 3 or so relatives from his generation to still survive. Oh, I still have a few other granduncles surving but that is from my mum's paternal side. For the record Tok Su Sehat is from mum's maternal side which included a certain 93-year-old Tok Musa, the eldest surviving person in mum's village in Muar.





As usual, even the bye-byes take some time, probably more than 15 minutes.





It is customary to shake everyone's hands and with more than 40 people present from my extended family including friends and about 30 from theirs that's like 1200 (40 x 30) times shaking hands plus the relevant last words before goodbye...






This is Tok Su Sehat with my dad...







Soon my auntie Cik Peah joined the fray...







My mum in the picture...








By this time part of both families have joined in...

























As the JB folks left some decided to continue with their own businesses... mainly having a rest.





There. Things might have quietened down but we still have enough numbers to shake the roof... :]



Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Living up to the family Raya tradition...

Continued from A Raya family outing with the monkeys in Tanjung, Muar. On to the night after which is still on Saturday 11th September 2010 but already considered the 3rd day of Raya or Syawal because the Islamic calendar starts a new day after dusk.

There was a small gathering of no less than 30 people gathering at my parents place in another part of Muar.


Since about 10 years ago or more, it has been a family custom for the extended family, my mum's siblings and spouses with their children and grandchildren to gather in a circle where the young have to make presentations such as comic sketches and singing to get their share of Duit Raya, the money given by often senior relatives to the rest.

Normally we managed to gather at least 50 family members, a number which could shoot up to 100 and more. But for this year less then a third showed up at the same time in Muar. For the record, there were those who came to the house earlier during the day but did not stay on long enough for this meet.


As a cousin and his family were busy planning his wedding in the Klang Valley scheduled for the following weekend some thought it is better to meet up there. The situation was such that my mum told us there would not be the usual gathering with performance for this Raya, that is until some family members surprisingly turned up at this house to our delight! :]



Al-Rasyid and the old Muar railway

Continued from A Raya family outing with the monkeys in Tanjung, Muar.


Next we went to another part of Tanjung where lies this old locomotive head.


For the record Muar used to have its own railway network which started operating about 100 years ago... before it was disbanded a few decades later. Al-Rasyid looking annoyed after being forced to pose... hehe...

The railway network is known as the Muar State Railway (M.S.R.). Note that Muar was considered as a state of its own before being turned into a district in the state of Johor (let me dispense with the Anglicised spelling Johore ya...).




A Raya family outing with the monkeys in Tanjung, Muar

OK. Now we move on to what happened during the Raya season. For those who don't know what the Raya is all about, it is the festive season celebrated by the Malays after having done the fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan. Muslims all over the world then celebrate the festive month of Syawal. In Malaysia also in Indonesia and places where there are Malays, the celebration which could last for a whole month is fondly known as Raya, a Malay world which means celebration of festival...


On Friday 1st of Syawal (10th September 2010) me, wife and baby Al-Rasyid were at the wife's family home in Tanjung Sepat, Selangor. The following the day we were already in Muar, my parent's home and in the afternoon we decided to visit a place fondly known to locals as Tanjung (the cape).


For there's a place in Tanjung which has plenty of monkeys and these creatures never fail to fascinate us.

Joining us were my only sister, husband and kids...


Here everyone was practically gaping at the mouth looking at the antics of some monkeys on trees.



Me and baby Al-Rasyid.




The wife looking out at the estuary of the Muar river at the end of the mangrove walk built to allow better views of the monkeys living in the mangrove swamp. Look at the older articles The new mangrove walk at Tanjung Ketapang, Muar and Monkeying around in Muar to get a better perspective of this place.





Here's Al-Rasyid pondering things just outside the walk.






Oh. We happened to be joined by some relatives from Johor Bahru. It was unplanned. Like us they are also fascinated by the monkeys and bumped into us...