Muslim Marriage - English Style

18 July 2010

Our London trip this time around is also to attend the wedding ceremony of my daughter Irina's sister in law to an Englishman who is a converted Muslim. We had a wonderful experience witnessing the solemnization of the marriage vows performed by the Imam of Regent Mosque. Then, the whole wedding entourage was treated to a sumptious dinner at a Turkish Restaurant, complete with a belly dancing performence during dinner.

Acquiring Knowledge

17 June 2010
Today is my grandson Jazyl Adam's 2nd Birthday and he is very lucky to have 3 generations of his family to celebrate his birthday right in the middle of London city. He is a new generation kid, very exposed to IT gadjets, having his own Ipad. And he learns a lot from the games and programmes uploaded by his IT daddy.  Children today are so vulnerable to all the advancements in ICT technology that if they don't embrace the technology, they will definitely be left behind. Jazyl must acquire knowledge at an early edge in order for him to keep up with all the challenges of the world that he is growing up in. Happy Birthday my dear grandson.....May Allah Bless you Always.

Save the Animals

16 June 2010
While walking towards the Hays Gallery from the Tower of London, I saw a very interesting campaign towards preserving the Elephants. There in the middle of the sidewalk were seated various elephants in multi-coloured motifs waiting for some kind-hearted corporate companies to buy them up, and the money would go to the Fund setup to save them from becoming a dying species. The concept behind this can be applied to the Orang Utans of Borneo, whom environmentalists believed that the Malaysian oil palm plantation industry is driving them away from their natural habitats, despite our Government's efforts to develop forest corridors for these animals to seek protection. Our big players in the Industry, Sime Darby, IOI, KLK, FELDA, etc,  must take a hint from this campaign.

13 Jun 2010

The British Monarchy is a very well-respected institution in Great Britain. Hence, visiting Buckingham Palace and watching the Changing of the Guards Ceremony is a must in the visit itinerary of any tourist in England. Since my sister-in-law is a first-time visitor here, we went to Buckingham Palace again. Later, we visited the Queen's Gallery, the Westminister Abbey, Big Ben and the London's Eye.
I have always marvelled at the great preservationist attitude of the British - preserving everything historical about their great country. This attitude must be emulated by our Government and supported by our fellow Malaysians. The early beginnings of our Malacca Sultanate, our Sultans and Rajas of each state - they are the national identity of Malaysia. They are the symbol of unity, strength, solidarity and identity of our great nation. Just like the Queen, our Yang Di Pertuan Agong is head of the Constitutional Monarchy in Malaysia.
I personally feel that the tourist visits to our Istana Negara or the Malacca Sultanate Palace should be made more interesting with performances of Silat, just like the Changing of the Guards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
 Psss...Whatever happened to the Eyes of Malacca?

London Again!

12 Jun 2010

I am back in London to look up my son who has just started working with Scottish Power, an energy marketing company based outside London. It is a new experience for him to be working here in London amongst the Mat Salleh, after a short stint with MOFAZ UK, a Malaysian-owned company, based in Northampton for about 6 months or so. I believe anyone must be exposed to the hard rituals of working life in order to enjoy life as a whole.
As a tourist on a visit visa, we went around shopping the usual outlets - Bicester Village, Oxford Street. I don't know, there is this magic about London that people go there year in, year out, without feeling bored about the place. Ask any tourist to London, and they cannot explain to you why they are charmed with England and keep on coming back.
I read somewhere that The Queen is asking a further 6 million GP to upkeep her Palaces. I for one fully support Her Majesty's request because she is atrracting tourists all over the world. The tourism industry is raking in millions to maintain the English economy. God save the Queen.

JASES - Old School Alumni

29 May 2010
Our Jasin Secondary English School in Malacca celebrated her 50th Anniversary this year 2010. So the school management invited the old pupils to celebrate the auspicious ocassion. YB Dato' Ir Wee Ka Siong, the Deputy Minister of Education, who himself was a former student, graced the wonderful ocassion. Looking up old friends after leaving school is a joyous meeting indeed. For further news on the celebration, check out the school website http://www.smkdb.blogspot.com/. All of us felt very nostalgic to be there, looking at the schoool field which now had been used to house the school library and other administrative buildings. However, old memories were lightened up when we saw the building at the entrance still looked intact - the former Headmaster's Office and the teacher's room - which are now used for different functions. The school had really expanded - new wings, new blocks, new activities, new enthusiasm amongst the younger set of children and teachers alike to lead the way. Congrats and syabas to all of the Management Committee on the success of the 50th anniversary celebrations!

Emerging Medical Tourism

23 May 2010
My family and I went to the FELDA Plantation Resort at Sg Klah, Perak over the weekend. It was a very interesting trip indeed. FELDA had developed the hot springs within their 6.5 hectare oil palm plantation at Sg Klah to become a tourist attraction, complete with resort rooms, hot spring family spa and a picnic area where you can boil your own eggs and eat them!. The hot springs were carefully preserved and channeled to serve as therepeutic pools for the aching body, legs and the tired feet. The sulphur content in the natural hot springs can cure skin diseases, refresh and energise the body. Over the weekend, there were many cars with Singapore number plates, parked in front of the hotel lobby. As I ventured deeper into the surrounding area, I could sense the emerging medical tourism element making its mark here. Oil palm and medical tourism - a perfect combination!
It was awesome to see and feel the elegance of the oil palm trees as avenue trees leading to the picnic areas. (Oil palm was first brought to Malaysia and planted as avenue trees way back in the 1870's. It was later planted commercially at the Ist oil palm estate in Tennamaram, Selangor.) Visit http://palmoilis.mpob.gov.my/Vtour/index.htm  for a brief history of the oil palm/palm oil industry of Malaysia.
I hope the big players in the oil palm industry of Malaysia emulate this FELDA example, preserving the oil palm trees in their quest towards developing their land banks into property development.