BERPETUALANG KE ACEH: 2013-03-10

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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, March 11, 2013

Terengganu river from the main bridge of Kuala Terengganu

Continued from Terengganu river mouth from Seberang Takir.

Next I headed for the city of Kuala Terengganu. To get there from Seberang Takir one has to cross this long bridge.

I felt like stopping and taking pictures at the middle of the bridge. Here's a look upriver.

Turning anti-clockwise one could see lights from the city.

Here's a look to the middle of the river, heading towards the river mouth.

Turning further clockwise one could see the island of Pulau Duyong...

Terengganu river mouth from Seberang Takir

On to a little trip to the East Coast almost 2 weeks ago...

Tuesday 26th February I rode my trusty big bike more than 500 km to Kota Bahru, Kelantan. The next day, after a meeting in Kandis, Bachok I rode down south to Kuala Terengganu following the coastal road and took a turn to Seberang Takir.

It is a stretch a land jutting out into the sea opposite the city of Kuala Terengganu. This is a view of Seberang Takir and the Terengganu river.

Turning anti-clockwise you could see the island called Pulau Duyong which sits in the middle of the river.

Turning further anti-clockwise, the city of Kuala Terengganu on the opposite side of the river came to view.

Next, I went to the part of Seberang Takir closest to the open sea.

The tip of land here should sit right at the Terengganu river mouth.

A look towards upriver.

A look across.

A look to the sea...

Sunday, March 10, 2013

An evening with the eminent Professor Syed Naquib Al-Attas

And this one is very recent.

Last night I went to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)'s campus at Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur to attend a lecture.

For the year 2013 this is the 2nd part of a series of lecturers by the eminent and world-renowned Malaysian intellectual, Tan Sri Professor Syed Naquib Al-Attas.

As I understand it, the lectures are open to the public. I've been told about it since sometime in the middle of last year but could not make it until last night.

According to the schedule it started at 9 pm. Well, I arrived 40 minutes late.

After a time part of me felt glad that I came in late as I began to get bored. You see while his thoughts are brilliant and I could see the crowd looking spell-bound and beholden, I felt that much of what he said about equality, justice and such, the main topics of the night are things I've already known and embraced for ages. Then there are some which I don't really agree with. At times I found his intellectual thoughts to conform too much to accepted philisopical dictums, maybe because he felt a need to explain things within the understanding of the Western-educated minds. Still, at times he displayed astounding breadth of knowledge when bordering on the Sufistic.

I wish he could have shared some real supernatural experiences instead of having to depend too much on intellectual reasonings when tackling subjects such as life and death. Having read his brilliant expositions on Sufi masters such as the venerable Sheikh Hamzah Fansuri, the Sufi master of 16th century Aceh and knowing that Syed Naquib is a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad SAW I'm sure he has had a share of supernatural visions too. Now, that would be very interesting to hear about. Then again when you are speaking to a crowd in academia priding themselves in intellectual discourses, not direct spiritual knowledge, perhaps the highest form of communication is philosophy and no more. And in that, it seems you have to speak according to the Western intellectual standard.

I was contempleting leaving the lecture early when it suddenly took a more interesting turn. Being 80-plus-years-old and having seen, in fact involved in the nation's many turns, trials and tribulations in achiving maturity, he sure has seen many things. For example he mentioned how he had to face a number of DAP supremos in a debate about nation building, in 1968 if I hear correctly. He recalled pointing out to a DAP member who was an architect how a hall the member built at a university was showing cracks. "If you can't build a hall properly how do you expect to even build a nation?" he quipped. Then to Lim Kit Siang, the main DAP person he mentioned how the political party's logo (at that time) practically signify much ado about nothing. The logo has a lightning bolt. So Naquib said, there is a Chinese proverb that goes something like this : "After lightning then there's no rain". That got the DAP members more flabbergasted.