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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, July 19, 2007

In Kuala Lipis to settle an old 'debt'?

I will be brief here before going to the punchline. Frankly, I can't remember how I travelled down south from Kuala Krai on 24th December 2006. I've been travelling to many other places since then and it is impossible to keep track of every detail of travel.
What I do remember, at some point I did take the train. Whatever, from Kuala Krai, I passed through Gua Musang before reaching Kuala Lipis, the first proper town of Pahang on that route...

A picture of Sungai Jelai with the bridge over it... Early morning, 25th December.


Part of the town seen from the riverbanks...

Entrance to the stairs leading to the riverbank.



Hmm.. Still misty. The time was about 7 am or so if I recall correctly.


There... The words say "Kuala Lipis, o (km away)"... Obvious isn't it?


OK... Here is the old mosque of Kuala Lipis built in 1888. The place has its own legend and this has been mentioned in a previous article, Kuala Lipis, a cute town! What is special about this mosque on 25th December 2006 is that it was the place I slept the previous night!

Now, what is so special about that? After all I've spent many nights at many mosques, some with much more prominent history that this... Well to tell you the truth, I was 'supposed' to have slept here sometime in mid 2004 but didn't... I only slept there on the night of 24 December 2005 which is one and a half years later... Let me tell you the story.

For information, this mosque was my last embarkation point before going on a trip to Kelantan which would see me for the first time visiting the tomb and mosque of the famous Malay saint Tok Kenali. What happened was that I was from Raub going to Temerloh. Then out of whim took the bus to Jerantut, again out of whim took the train to Kuala Lipis.

At that town, I stopped and did the afternoon prayers at the old mosque. I was thinking of spending the night there when I went to the train station just to have a look at the schedule. Immediately just like at Jerantut, the train arrived. Again out of whim I just took a ride up to its last stop for the day, that is Gua Musang, the first proper town in Kelantan on the route.

To cut a long story short, it was in Gua Musang that I've learned the whereabouts of Tok Kenali's tomb and mosque and made my first visit there the next day. So it's funny to think, one and half years later, I came from Masjid Tok Kenali, stopped by at Masjid Kampung Laut and found myself sleeping at the old mosque of Kuala Lipis in the very same day... As if I had to stop at Kuala Lipis to pay a 'debt' of having to spend at least a night at the old mosque there!


Above is the picture of my late grandma's house in Raub. So after snapping some misty picture of Kuala Lipis, I found myself back to the place which sparked all my travels for the last five years... The place where nenek (that's what I call grandma) opened up a secret about our ancestry which in turn makes me want to visit old tombs of saints and royalty all over Malaysia.

Anyway, I'm glad to be able to complete this article, the seventh and last in a series I've arranged to be completed while presently being in Alor Setar. Coincidently (yes, coincidently... I just chose which pictures felt right without counting) there's seven picture here. Is there a hidden meaning behind it? (Wink! Wink!) :]

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