A visit to the Tengku Ampuan Afzan teaching institute in Kuala Lipis

Two weeks ago, a lecturer at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan teaching institute in Kuala Lipis, Pahang invited me to put up a stall at the institute to promote my books. He asked if I could attend from 20-24th October as there's was an upcoming event involving people from teaching institutes all over Malaysia.

This lecturer is a big fan of my "Berpetualang ke Aceh" trilogy of novels. He wanted to help me promote the books, so after verifying my schedule for the affected time-frame, I decided to come but only for one day, on Wednesday 22 Oct...

So there I was arriving just before 9am. After attending a function at Kampung Baru the previous evening where I was also asked to promote my books, I immediately head for Raub to sleep at my late grandmother's place. The next morning, I rushed to Kuala Lipis and set up the stall.

Too bad the location of the stall which was at the institute's cafetaria proved to be a poor choice. Later did I learned that there was a miscommunication between the lecturer who invited me and another lecturer who actually laid out this spot. You see, the first lecturer already informed his colleagues and students that I would be coming. It's just that I was supposed to set up stall at another place, closer to the on-goings. Too bad, he had to go to Melaka and was not around.

Instead, the other lecturer who was supposed to assist me in his absence thought the cafetaria would be the main centre of attraction... in-between the on-going events, that is. As it turned out, the people were converging by the numbers elsewhere.

Never mind, at least there's some who passed this way. Some did have a look at the books (and the DVD, I also brought my recently self-published "Sekitar Perjanjian Pangkor 1874" or "Around the Pangkor Treaty of 1874" DVDs) and grabbed a few. Otherwise, I would have been reduced to being a complete fool waiting at some non-event...

Logistically and economically, it was a bad trip for me. Imagine having to attend a function in Kuala Lumpur until evening then rushing to Raub some 110km away after escaping the madness of Kelang Valley traffic jam only by 9pm. Then the next morning, I had to rush another 70km to get to this teaching institute only to set up a stall with not much people in sight.

As it is, the following morning, I have to be back in the Kelang Valley, in Petaling Jaya to deliver a speech on being Malay and what it means... So I didn't have much rest in between. But yet, I drove to Kuala Lipis because I respected the first lecturer's efforts to help promote my books and his invitation.

Miscommunications, logistics and economics aside, visiting the institute has its good points. At least it proved my commitment and words. When I say I would do something, I would do it regardless of the obstacles and rewards. And at least ammenities such as the bridge above made the trip rather worthwhile...

There... how often do you find a hanging pedestrian bridge like this, much less in a teaching institute?

A look at another part of the institute...


Parts of it look like a hill resort...



And here's the lobby to the main office. That's all! :]

A freak 'accident' at Sri Hartamas

Last Saturday night, October 18th, I decided to go for a drink at the bustling area of Sri Hartamas which has a number of 'happening' nightspots... I haven't stopped here for some time, so I wanted to look for a restaurant known as Uncle Don's which used to be a favourite haunt...

After going around for a while, I didn't find Uncle Don's. I did find the same spot but it has changed names. Instead I found a wrecked car, a Proton Wira if not mistaken, 'parked' upon the staircase leading to the restaurant!

I was totally perplexed. How could this have happened? How could anyone drive a car up the staircase and in reverse too?

By the time I arrived here, there were a few traffic policemen around. They were questioning some of the bystanders but strangely no one could provide a clear answer of what happened. Strange, as this area is bustling with people. How could no one noticed what really happened?

Just a few metres away lies this wrecked BMW which was soon carried up a pickup lorry ready to be ferried away to some garage. The story I managed to gather is that the driver of BMW was drunk... So somehow he rammed into the car causing it to go up the staircase of the restaurant.

Yes, that is possible but to make that happen, the BMW must have been driven at some speed. Which is also quite strange considering that the other car was actually parked just outside the curb while the road leading to the parking area is a small curved one which would limit speed.

Then it occured to me what could have actually happened. You see just 5-10 minutes earlier, I passed the same area on my bike as I looked for a place to drink (I then had Uncle Don's in mind but just couldn't find it). I noticed an agitated lot of people right there at what could have been the unfortunate other car's parking spot with one or two cars making plenty of noises honking continuously for God knows what reason.

What came to mind then was someone has been blocking other cars. And since these are youths we're dealing with, there's bound to be plenty of noise.

So this is my theory. There could have been an angry exchange of words between 'hotshot' youths. You could read it in the make-up of the car. It has accessories that shows the owner likes speed and likes to show off which is very common with youths coming from Kuala Lumpur's middle and upper class family.

The driver of the BMW could have been the son of some rich and important guy. He was drunk... hell, some of the youths around said he could have been on drugs... for whatever reason, somehow he was angry at the driver of the other car and lost his top. So he decided to shove the car out... or rather, up!

This is quite logical as I have been around. I used to know many from rich and well-connected families who think they owned the world and could do anything they want without suffering any consequence. It looks like, in order to show his 'power and virility', plus he was under the influence of something which shortcircuited his better judgement, this guy just rammed the other car without thinking that it could have hurt anyone, that's all.

The hill I saw in a recent dream... Or is it Bukit (hill of) Setaki...

So let's continue from the piece titled The hill I saw in a recent dream... Is it Bukit (hill of) Sebabi at Olak Sepam?

OK, I was sure Bukit Sebabi fitted the bill. It does look like the hill in the dream as mentioned in the article The hill I saw in a recent dream? made nearly a year ago... minus the existence of the graves that is. But there's parts of the dream which implied the hill could also be elsewhere. So how? What now?

That's when I remembered a Johor-state round trip made at the end of last year until early this year. During the last leg from the district of Segamat back to my hometown Muar, I visited a hill called Bukit Setaki, also near the Pagoh to Jorak region and had a long deja vu there! I visited the hill to find closure after visiting another hill not so far away about a month early. And that's the one mentioned with pictures in The hill I saw in a recent dream? Do have a look at the article Dari Segamat kembali ke Muar... Berakhirlah satu episod pengembaraan... made in my Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU ...

So after Bukit Sebabi, I decided to go up Bukit Setaki which lies just about 3-4km to the west or so. And thus I arrived there at about 7.30pm with just enough sunlight to see the difference between the background and the surroundings. For the record, I first arrived at Bukit Setaki early this year in the dark... at around 8pm or so...

On top of the hill lies a big house... or is it a manor? Whatever, this is the place where the local estate manager stays. Earlier I bumped into a staff or something on the way out and asked if the manager, last time said to be a Perakian was around. He said, the Perak guy have left the place. The manager now is someone else and he is not at home...

I just went around to have a look to my heart's content. As far as I remember, on the way up to this hill, the Muar river is quite near but yet I could not see it from up here.

I could clearly see the 1,200 metre-plus high Gunung (mount) Ledang, the tallest mountain in the state of Johor as seen above but got not a hint of the Muar river. I checked back my bearings... That's when I realised the direction of the river from the hill and while it is not that far away, it is not as close as is the case with Bukit Sebabi.

So this confirmed that the hill with name Olak somehow attached on a signboard nearby as mentioned in the story The hill I saw in a recent dream? made nearly a year ago does refer to Bukit Sebabi. Positive! But yet parts of Bukit Setaki also fits into the scenery shown in the dream. So how should I tally this?

I walked to the backyard of the big house or manor or bungalow, or whatever you should call such a place and looked back, that is towards the south or so. From there I could see the hill which I actually climbed on foot following the search as mentioned in The hill I saw in a recent dream? (slightly hidden behind the house's pillars).

While I'm positive the hill with the name Olak attached to it is the one at Bukit Sebabi, I could also feel that the other hill slightly yonder also fits into the picture. Oh, hey! Perhaps what I saw in the dream was actually a compounded image of all three hills? Bukit Sebabi, Bukit Setaki here and the hill yonder? Or perhaps in that dream, I might actually have climbed the yonder one which is much higher before somehow 'jumping' to Bukit Setaki and then ending the episode at Bukit Sebabi, hence the name Olak attached to it? Perhaps!

One thing I could feel, as mentioned by a girlfriend, my main one now, the hill I saw in the dream could be related to Gunung Ledang. Perhaps there is some sort of storyline or history waiting to be released for me here... Once I've figured out the actually relation between all these places...

Ah... Having written all these, I felt a strange kind of relief. Whatever, this is the 252nd posting in this blogspot and that's a nice symmetrical number. With this thought in mind, I call it a day here... come the time to make updates at the blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU . So good day ya! Enjoy the reading... :]

The hill I saw in a recent dream... Is it Bukit (hill of) Sebabi at Olak Sepam?

Nearly a year ago, I wrote a piece called The hill I saw in a recent dream? ... after making a trip in and around the area of Jorak and Pagoh in Muar in search of a hill I saw in a dream. At the end of the piece I sort of admitted the hill that I climbed then was a hill from another dream, not the one from the recent dream which has the name Olak somehow attached to that hill.

Now, in that piece I did mentioned that there's an old man I met in Jorak who said that the place Olak as mentioned in the dream did not refer to Tanjung (cape of) Olak near Jorak but rather to another place called Olak Sepam nearer to Pagoh. Slightly just over a week ago, after spending much of the festive holidays of Hari Raya Aidilfitri at my parents' place in Muar, I got the urge to visit the tomb of Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah (ruled Melaka 1477-1488) at Kampung Raja in Pagoh and here goes the story...

At the mosque besides the tomb, I met the local imam (appointed head of congregational prayers). I don't know how it actually came about but while talking to him about historical places related to Sultan Alauddin and his period, I suddenly remembered the dream about the hill which I have forgotten long.

Strangely, the imam without any hesitation immediately said that the hill in my dream is a hill which funnily is called Bukit (hill of) Sebabi! Huh? Came my sudden retort of reaction. Sebabi? I don't know what that means but Babi means pig! Any relation to that?

The imam just smiled. He said whatever, my dream referred to that hill. As it is near a place called Olak, or rather in this case Olak Sepam (there's only two places with the name Olak in Muar and the other, Tanjung Olak has already been ruled out as I've checked it out). And it is very near the Muar river.

He and another elder however cautioned me. The place is rather spooky. Few dared to venture anywhere inside even during daylight while I was about to make the trip quite close to dusk! But seeing how comfortable I was in coming to this mosque alone with the stated intention of visiting the tomb of Sultan Alauddin, the only known existing tomb of an ancient Melaka ruler, he was not surprised at my resolve to have a look.

And so there I was getting to the hill-top alone on my bike. I must admit, the place did felt very spooky. Then again, I've been to many spooky places. And in this case, I must have a look to make sure if the hill fits the one in my dream...

As it turned out, the whole hill-top was peppered with graves. Coupled with the rather thick foliage, it can be scary!

I went around to ascertain my position. That's when I saw the Muar river nearby. Now I could positively say this hill does fit into my dream. But I was still not satisfied so let's continue the story in another piece ya... :]

My latest views of Muar and some thoughts...

Greetings all. Breaking the 2 weeks silence here are some pictures and thoughts on my hometown in Muar... Here goes...

These are my latest pictures of Muar. Sitting at the Tanjung (cape) at the southern estuary of the Muar river almost at dusk slightly more than a week ago, I can't help admiring the sunset and snap the scene for posterity...

For here in these area lies some of the my best memories of childhood, prowling the place with friends in joy and delight...

And when I was much smaller, under 6 years old and so, this was the place where my father likes to take me and my brothers too... In fact this was our favourite place to relax! I especially liked it when my dad took some snails from the muddy shores and showed it to us. Ah! The innocent delights of childhood... Hmm... Suddenly I felt a tinge of sadness upon the memory of my youngest brother Fauzani (born in 1977) who died in a road accident 6 year ago, a day after my daughter was born!

This is another part of Tanjung, slightly more inland. In the background is Muar's second main mosque built sometime more than five years ago if I remember correctly. It is almost an exact replica of the original main mosque situated across the Muar river but slightly bigger...

This part of the Tanjung is very popular to visitors local and outsiders. From here one could get a superb view of the riverside part of Muar town.

From here, one could take a boat ride up and down the Muar river. Do have a look at these articles posted last year.

Muar river cruise part I...

Muar river cruise part II...

Muar river cruise part III

And here are the views taken from the middle of the old Muar bridge at night. Cheers! :]

Melaka old city centre at night and the nostalgia around it...

Finally, continuing from the article A peculiar graveyard near Tampin but fast-forward some 24 hours later...

By that time, I'm already in Melaka and ready to break fast at the Kampung Hulu mosque right smack at the old city centre...

This is a picture after the meal was done. By the way this happened yesterday, the 29th day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadhan and today, the last day of the fasting month, I broke my fast with a tin of water in a Cyber-Cafe in Muar and haven't had anything since then (that was almost 4 hours ago!)... All because I intend to let-out a series of articles in my blogspots so that I could celebrate the festive first day of Aidilfitri tomorrow without carrying any baggages!

Back to the issue at hand. A look at the mosque's pool as I was about to take my abolution for the Maghrib prayers... For the record, I slept last night at this mosque...

After the Maghrib prayers I decided to take a walk. Here is how the Kampung Hulu mosque looks like from a short distance. Beautiful isn't it?

I walked towards the main road of Jalan Hang Tuah. Then I noticed this building which used to be Melaka's main 'skyscraper' nearly 30 years ago... I remember because then, I was staying in Muar and my family often go up to Melaka to shop for electric goods...

Back then, there was no North-South highway. Everyone going the distance must ply this route. Now, Melaka has expanded to so much that this old centre of Melaka is practically abandoned!

Then again, they have also improved the river, the Melaka river that is, much! Yes... Good riddance to all the rubbish and eyesore I remembered from years ago...

While many commercial centres have sprung up elsewhere in Melaka and the main bus centre has also been moved some 2km out, Jalan Hang Tuah still has its own charm...

With the Melaka river perked up with much lights and attractions, I guess Melaka old city centre at night nowadays is definitely much much better than before. There goes the last article for this blogspot for the current session of story-telling. Happy Aidilfitri everyone! Cheers... :]

A peculiar graveyard near Tampin

Continuing from Enjoying the waters at Gunung Datuk . I then went to Tampin. the town which lies on two states - Negeri Sembilan and Melaka. After spending sometime there, I took the road to Alor Gajah. That's when I saw the peculiar graveyard shown below...

This graveyard lies nearby the road...

Fairly big, at one look it looks just like any normal graveyard bar some old ancient-looking structures as seen in this picture...

It's when one looks at the centre that the peculiarity became obvious... There's a fenced area marking a graveyard within a graveyard with a huge peculiar looking tree inside!

You see, unlike normal graveyards, every grave within this fenced area is marked by upright unpaved stones, the type that looks like the famous megalithic stones peppering some parts of Negeri Sembilan...

I decided to get in...

The upright stones already looked peculiar enough... Another look at the tree and I could swear the tree itself looks like a special tomb with the two main branches jutting out and up looking like natural tombstones! Enough said...

Enjoying the waters at Gunung Datuk

OK, continuing from The Linggi river near Pengkalan Kempas . I then visited 2 more places around, actually near the slightly bigger town of Linggi some 4-5km away before going to the tomb of Raja Melewar. Have a look at the article Makam Raja Melewar di siang hari (The tomb of Raja Melewar during the day) in the blogspot SENI LAMA MELAYU (MALAY OLDEN ART) .

Once done, I headed towards the state of Melaka through the regions of Rembau and Pedas. Then I saw a sign pointing the way towards Gunung Datuk, a mountain said to contain its own mystery and decided to take a detour there...

I got off the main road into a village road before entering a rubber estate followed by some pristine jungle. Finally I arrived at the foot of Gunung Datuk...

The giant replica of the keris (Malay wavy blade) signifies this as a place of historical interest...

That is when I learned that the 2,900-foot high Gunung (mount) Datuk, fairly popular to climbers, was the place the legendary ancient figure Datuk Perpateh Nan Sebatang, founder of the maternally-heavy Malay custom called Adat Minangkabau set up some official structure of rule here... And that was supposed to have happened in 1372, two decades before the famous Sultanate of Melaka was said to have been established just before the 15th Century AD!

All this while I thought the stories of Datuk Perpateh Nan Sebatang all happened in the Indonesian island of Sumatera especially in the Minangkabau region. Now only do I know this important figure actually resided and set up a ruling structure here...

Now, apart from being a fairly popular climbing spot for enthusiasts, Gunung Datuk is also famous for a legendary footprint set upon a stone at the top, said to belong to the legendary Malay warrior Hang Tuah who hold sway in the mid 15th Century Melaka Sultanate.

This area also has a few small waterfalls, rapids and ravine. So I decided to stop and enjoy the fresh cold mountain waters. Cheers! :]

The Linggi river near Pengkalan Kempas

Peace be upon you all. Since the festive Muslim celebration of Aidilfitri in Malaysia is confirmed tomorrow let me make some postings here tu support a series of story-telling session in the Malay blogspot CATATAN SI MERAH SILU ya. Here's one...

Two days ago, I slept beside a tomb on the sleepy 'cowboy' small town of Pengkalan Kempas in the state of Negeri Sembilan. Then I loitered around the town. Above is the river Linggi, one of the state's main river if not the foremost one. The river runs through Pengkalan Kempas...

A look at the river from a different angle...

The sleepy 'cowboy' town of Pengkalan Kempas. Seen here is a signboard pointing the way to the jetty besides the river...

The jetty and the car-park beside. The jetty serves a dual function... One for fishermen plying their trade along the Linggi river, another for the odd tourists to come and watch fireflies at night!

And that's my trusty big bike parked nearby. Taa daaa!!! :]