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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.


Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Text for Views from on top a telecommunication tower in Muar...

OK... Two weeks ago I did say I will be telling the story for the posting titled Views from on top a telecommunication tower in Muar... . I'm sorry that it took longer than I thought before I could even say a few words on the matter... I was stuck with so much work regarding the release of my third book "Berpetualang ke Aceh: Sirih Pulang ke Gagang?" ("The trip to Aceh: The prodigal son returns?" or so) or BKA III. And whatever time I had in-between was either spent sleeping to get rid of the tiredness or travelling here and there to get the juices flowing... So let me just get this over with ya...
When I first posted the pictures, I was thinking of dissecting it into groups which explained what happened then... How I climbed from stage to stage of a certain telecommunication tour near my village in Muar and enjoyed a very refreshing perspective of the local geography especially that which concerns the winding Muar river...
What happened was the day before I took the pictures, I decided to take a long walk, about 5km or so around Bukit Treh and at the end of the walk then I saw this telecommunication tower which felt like it was calling out to me to take a climb and look around. It's just the time then was almost 7pm and I might not get a good view. So I decided to wait until the following day, a Friday... The day I decided to return to Kuala Lumpur after spending a week in Muar at my parents' place for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration and holidays.
As it turn out, it rained quite long that Friday morning. The moment it stopped, I went on to start the climb only to find the ladder quite slippery while there was no safety column to save me should I slip and fall.
My God! I nearly quit after arriving at the first stage almost 30 feet above ground. You see, two days before I had quite a nasty fall at Tanjung Emas where I was teasing some monkeys... I jumped and immediately climbed a tree at point some 10 feet high before it snapped while my whole body was already up! So there I was falling straight to the grown on my back (ouch!) while the 8-inch thick and12 foot long section which broke fell down and hit my breast.
Honestly, I felt like I almost fainted. In fact I'm sure my heart stopped a beat or two and so was my breath. Strangely, my auto-pilot reaction was to throw aside the section that broke and immediately jumped backed up straight, the pain throbbing in my chest notwithstanding.
Back to the climb up the telecommunication tower. The memory of what happened in Tanjung Emas almost made me quit. By right, one should wear a safety harness to climb up the tower but I don't have one meaning I would fall straight down should I lose grip.
So there I was contemplating the next step action... Then I made the decision... If I quit, it's going to bug me the rest of my life or until I make a succesful climb at some other tower if not this one... So I decided to continue with a lot of caution and prayers...
The result is the pictures in Views from on top a telecommunication tower in Muar... . I believe from here on, the pictures taken from several angles should be able to explain itself. Enough ya!

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