Friday, March 14, 2008

recollection of little nadia nasira’s 1st. birthday

in february, my sis in law asked my husband and I, what was little nasira’s birthday plans. my husband and i decided that we wanted a “kenduri arwah and doa selamat” cum birthday party. it was then decided that we will have a recital of prayers for little naida nasira's late great grandfathers and great grandmothers, grandfather, grand uncles as well as the recital of our thanks giving to the almighty allah who blessed us with little nadia nasira....

it was already mid-february and we needed to do quite a lot of things. while we planned the party (my first event planning) with some help from my sis in law, we realised that there was a lot of things to be taken into consideration.. setting the house, who to invite, what food to order, which caterer, the birthday cake, decorations, canopy, party pack, birthday dress etc….


one of the most interesting thing about her birthday to me, was her birthday cake, which my husband and i take pride in as we both designed it. the inspiration for the design is my little nasira’s favourite things… fish and bear… she can even say both words (ish… bear) instead of mummy and daddy!!!


then came the choice of birthday dress…. we shopped and shopped and finally found a dress for her at mothercare…. a long dress with a top. though i wanted a princess looking dress, we couldn’t find one that we liked despite going to party princess and etc. we did find one at lovely lace but it was too small… i was sad about it… nevertheless, on her birthday, she wore 3 dresses… one my husband bought for her from london, her birthday dress and finally, a traditional dress that my mum tailored for her (her first tailored outfit). as for the decorations, i liked the banner a lot… my husband and i had the design in mind… thanks to my sis in law who took care of the decorations…

finally came the big day….it was the first big event we were hosting, we were so clumsy looking at the final preparation, i did not even pick an outfit for myself… the cake has not arrived yet, some technical issues on the decoration to be settled, did not greet our families and guests properly, camera had settings problem, didn’t assign anyone to take pictures of our guests (a friend of mine managed to capture some at last), didn’t hand out party packs to the children properly, not sure all the guests had a piece of the birthday cake, not sure the guests have a hearty lunch, didn’t spend much time with my family and the list goes on…. despite everything, i am thankful that it all turned out to be wonderful with families and friends, those who mattered to us most came to bless her on her special day. she was showered with lots of presents too…. there was a mystery gift as well… a heart-shaped pendant. we have checked out all the guests and could not point at anyone….sigh….

with this event, we learnt a lot about hosting events…hopefully, the next time around, events would be smooth sailing…

as what my friend, khine said to me… first birthdays are always fun for the parents…. very true… my husband and I had fun the entire time celebrating our first born’s first birthday, thankful that she came into our lives giving us the experience as a mother and father together with all the joy and happiness that a first born gives parents….



the recital of prayers


my mum and sisters and nadia nasira's cousins



top view of the birthday cake




another view... notice the bear and fish...



cutting the birthday cake... she was confused being in the crowd...



she refused the birthday cake but ate her nanni's jelly....



feeding of jelly by ummamma...



the proud ummamma in her new sari especially for her grand daughter's birthday



little nasira with my friends and her friends... adam, danial and aqeel



aunty khine quenching little nasira's thirst....



surrounded by her birthday presents...


little adam having fun...


Wednesday, March 12, 2008

nadia nasira's journeny into the world

A year has past since my little nadia nasira was born into this world…. Yet the memories of bringing her into this world is so fresh that I thought I would recollect them here.

My friends and I was e-chatting on 27 February 2007.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Basaria Ahayanutheen
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 11:56 AM
To: Nafsiah Hafizah Khalit; Norhani Yusof; Khin, Myat Khine
Cc: Sharifah B. Ali
Subject: Labor

Gals,

Lets discuss about labor…. Im 16 days away from the due date however, esok the doc would do an internal check and let me know when he expects the real date… did you have had constipation during the time dekat dekat nak beranak?

What was your last minute preparation…. My bag nak gi hospital tu mcm nak pegi cuti 3 minggu… baby’s stuff just baju, towel napkin n mcm mcm nak bawak ipoh dah pack… pun ade I bag. all the toiletries, baby siap ade toiletries bag for all the tiny tiny stuff…. Got infant to toddler rocker lah plus all the avent stuff…. I rasa with all the things, baby so gedik… actually it is the parents yg gedik terlebih lebih… nasib baik all these things that we got can be used for subsequent babies and also can us for a few years…

The website that I gave semalam gave me all the tips jugak that is natural or homeopathy based… I cuma practice aromatherapy and I feel so much better… I suggest those yg stressed or have what ever problems to use this thing im practicing, its hydrotheraphy using aromatherapy … nuff knows kan… its CVT punya, its prepared very scientifically…I plan to take bantal I like how hani suggested…. Hmmm ape lagi ye… I dok minum air kelapa muda as this ex matron I terjumpa hari tu suggested to ensure clean delivery…
Lots of walking as sherry’s mum suggested….What else ye….

Warm regards,
Basaria Ahayanutheen
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From: Khin, Myat Khine Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 2:20 PM
To: Basaria Ahayanutheen; Nafsiah Hafizah Khalit; Norhani Yusof
Cc: Sharifah B. Ali
Subject: RE: Labor

Bass, u must let us know the moment labour starts so tt nuff, hani and i can come and kepoh immediately! Sherry can sms fr bahrain! : )

Semalam heard Sherry's voice all the way fr Bahrain! Sigh! Miss this makcik lah. So long havent borak panjang lebar like old times!

Bass, I had badd constipation before labour. I felt like going to bathroom and tried so hard to go .... but nthing.... turns out that that was when the water broke! Labour is like really bad period cramps ... and the whole huge tummy tenses up. Have u been having contractions lately? If you have, labour is like the contractions... only diff is tt there is some pain lah. Mine was not tt bad and I could tahan for abt 9 hours. Then they put in epidural bec they said my darah tinggi would naik if i felt too much pain. Are you going for epidural ke? Hani tak ambil I think. Its best not to take bec I now have some form of back pain. But I cant guarantee how sakit it is without epidural lah. Even with Epidural pun kadang2 sakit juga. They need to increase dosage as the labour pains get worse.

Dont forget to bring some small nail clippers for the baby's fingers. Kadang the nails come out lonnng like nobody's business and need to be cut. otherwise she scratch her face and u kena tegur kiri kanan. I think u would cukur baby when tali pusat falls out and timbang the weight of the hair and then donate the hair's weight in terms of value in gold (boys) or silver (girls) kan? Sometimes their hair is so panjang and even covering the ears etc. So just bring a small scissors and potong sikit and save it in a plastic bag so tt u can add to the cukur portion for donation purposes nanti.

Wht else. We have to cuci the tali pusat area with alcohol swabs. the nurse shd give u that and teach u.

Bring lots of pads and panties and kain batik to wear. There's lots of messy business after. bring sweater and socks for yourself to keep warm also.

Dont forget Nasir's baju and some food for him to eat/drinks for him. The hubby usually ends up starving away and also sejuk like mad bec the bilik is sejuk!

Might as well bring your baby some milk powder in case u dont have enough milk. The hospital would top up for baby now and then but its good to have some stock with u. Dont feed with a bottle give with a small cawan and sudu. No good to get em started on sucking on the bottle right away. Bring some honey and air zam2 to feed baby as well.

Tu je lah kot. I cant remember wht else I angkut dari rumah! I packed and packed and on D day we didnt put the suit case in the car so I went to hospital sehelai sepinggang. Later on only rizal balik rumah to ambil barang!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Basaria Ahayanutheen
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2007 2:34 PM
To: Khin, Myat Khine; Nafsiah Hafizah Khalit; Norhani Yusof
Cc: Sharifah B. Ali
Subject: RE: Labor

Heehheeh oh my GOD!!!! Thank you so much!!! I would be nice to have you guys around when I open my eyes or come out of labor… for nuff, I was there the day before, tunggu punya tunggu, baby tak lahir… and the next day on Friday, I spoke to her bout lunch time, and she was actually in pain and so kesian when she said, bass, sakitlah… tiba tiba petang tu, I sampai at about 530pm, baby just lahir or something like that. I got to see nazhan as early as some moments after birth.. so nostalgic. Khine, you I tak boleh lah coz sibuk nak kahwin… and Hani, too. Nanti I make it up.

Nasib baik you mentioned all these things to me…. Almost everything that you mentioned not in my list…. See, I referred to some mat Salleh book and did not prepare for all these things….

I think I have experienced Braxton hicks… but not contractionlah… my sis in law described that if contraction, its together with back pain… if the hicks je, the stomach mengeras… betul ke? I taknak epidural, insya Allah… really praying for this…

Nak tanya, must wash tali pusat with alcohol swabs ke? Coz nanti nak tanam, mcm mana?

I will have to print this email and add to my list of things…. Could I have missed anything else….
Heheh you are right about missing sherry. That day when she called and sounded so excited, her voice was not so recognizable, I thought it was a long distance call from some European country coz the person spoke some foreign language…..

Warm regards,
Basaria Ahayanutheen

From: Basaria Ahayanutheen Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 9:46 AMTo: Norhani Yusof; Khin, Myat KhineCc: Nafsiah Hafizah Khalit; Sharifah B. AliSubject: RE: Labor
Hmmm gals… I went for my check up yday and guess what…. Im 1cm opened yday morning… and doc gave 2 options.. he break the waterbag on the day I decide or I wait for the pain and have natural birth… I chose the later…. And I went to taman titiwangsa and went for a walk 1 round…. And im at work… he said I wont be long so he cancelled the appointment for Wednesday ni…. Im 14 days early if I deliver hari ni… please pray for me…

Warm regards,
Basaria Ahayanutheen

From: Khin, Myat KhineSent: 01 March 2007 09:59To: Basaria Ahayanutheen; Norhani YusofCc: Nafsiah Hafizah Khalit; Sharifah B. AliSubject: RE: Labor

Hi Bass! Looks like I must camp out at DSH every other week now - sumbody always giving birth! Better not stay at office lah I risau nanti terdeliver di sana. Kenapa tak MC terus? Nak clear last minute work ke?

Congrats in advance! Happy cuti dua bulan! : )

on 1 march 2007, i prepared the handing over note to my boss and ensured all documentation was in order. that day, i knew it was going to be soon as i had several weird pains for moments. i could not dismiss them as normal coz i never did experience those pain.


that evening, my husband came to pick me up and i wanted to go for a walk in taman jaya. i told him that night, i would like to just go n check at dsh on the dilation. he said it was alright and we would go friday evening. i put on a long face, mumbling to myself, “shouldn’t i be the one who knows better of the signs and changes? afterall, the baby is in me!!!!” thank god, we decided to go that evening otherwise, as feared by khine, i would have delivered at my office on friday. my husband had a daily flight friday and saturday morning before his 1 month holiday started.


we went just after the short walk (it rained) for a checkup and discovered that i was 2.5 cm dilated and the nurse asked us to get admitted ‘now’!!! i said nooooo.... i wanted to go home, pray and read yaasin. my vain husband left me at my in laws and on top of everything, went home to shave so that he would look handsome for his baby.... we got admitted at 11.39 that night.

at 6 the next morning, i was already 3 cm and at 8, the nurse told me to get ready, ‘the doctor wanna check you in the other room’ i still didn’t know that the other room is the labor room. i was wondering why they insisted that i change into the hospital gown and sit on the wheel chair. i told them i could walk to the room. still, i didn’t know i was already in labor. when i reached the labor room, i saw everything was ready and laid down well on the table, my mind told me it was for another person since the nurse said that the doctor would like to just check me. then came my gynae and the mid-wife...checked me and said i was already 4cm... he took a long stick.. only then it occurred to me that he is gonna burst my waterbag... i panicked and told him not to burst my waterbag... he replied ‘now the doctor is in charge’ and went on with his task.... he then gently asked me why wouldn’t i want the waterbag burst.... i looked at him sadly and said, ‘ want to deliver normal’. he said, with a laugh, ‘of course lah girl, we will try as much as possible for normal delivery... he then told my husband that by 12 noon, i should have delivered. the doc asked me if i am interested in any pain relief? i said no... he said ‘only 2% of women did it and if you managed to do that, i would give you a gold medal’.

my husband switched on the quranic recital from chapter 1 al-fatihah, got the special pillow for my back as hani suggested, aromatherapy and ehehehe my modern malay husband, also bought me bunga melur which is my favourite. i got strapped to the bed... i wanted to tell the nurse not to strap me as what i read on the internet but the nurses didn’t entertain. i asked to be on my side but then they could not get the readings correctly. i think my husband was nervous coz that was it....the moment finally came. i just relaxed... in my mind, i was waiting for such great pain and it never came. i was on the phone with my friends and family. they were all surprised. my mum was already on the way to kl. she couldn’t stay home while her little princess was on the hospital bed.

after sometime, the dilation didn’t improve so they put me on drips to induce contraction. slight pain started….all along, i used the color vibration therapy as aromatherapy to which i largely attribute my painless delivery to. the therapy uses physic methodology and vibration. my husband and i was checking the readings against my contractions... the readings showed that i have been having contractions but i could not feel it. it was 40 to 60... i was busy testing my pain tolerance level... the maximum contraction reading on the graph is 100 but mine was only up to 60.... then came the pain... they are like waves, i told my husband to check the readings and it was 90.... i could still bear it? my dilation was already 6 to 7 cm...and there was the last call on epidural... i said no... i called my sis and asked her if she had any pain killers before... she told me she did take pethidine and suggested that i took it too. she said it will only reduce the pain but it would still be painful. i panicked and told myself not to try to be a hero, just settle for pethidine....

once i got it, it really made my body numb... my brains told me bout the pain and contractions. i felt like i was moving in slow motion. i heard voices but the pain was like very bad period cramps... imagine without the pain relief, probably the pain would be more unbearable. it was way past 12 noon and still no signs of anything happening. the nurse informed that the doc would come by at 3 pm.. finally, he came bout 3.10... i heard him say ‘you have done a good job this far, just a little more’. he asked me to push and i did...but then, i was feeling so numb. i refused to look at my husband or hold his hand or drink the water he offered. pity him, wanting to help his wife but don’t know how. he just stood by me, folding his arms. it gave me a reflection of my character....

i realised that when i was in real pain or problem, i would keep them to myself..... i just made me realise that i am way stronger then what i thought..

the doc used vacuum as i wasn’t pushing enough and also because i took pethidine late, i was still so numb... i do remember when baby's head appeared as the doc called nasir to look.... as it turned out, the baby was looking up and that was the reason for the delay…then they asked me to push again.. and doc asked the nurse to get something ready... i panicked again and asked what was going on... but no one responded. i saw the doc holding something and the nurse holding some tube, and there were hissing sound.

moments later, the baby was on me, looking at me. i remember saying, “allahu akhbar, allahu akhbar, allahu akhbar”. i was told later that the doc looked at my husband for him to cut the cord but since my husband was crying, the doc cut. that was it. i delivered my little daughter...

i was in the labor room until 530 pm... my husband recited the azan to the baby twice as he was shaking the first time he recited. he already brought the baby out to show his mum and my mum. as i was wheeled out, i was smiling and laughing (must be the laughing gas).... my mum and mum in law were both on my left and right. as i saw my mum, she held my face and kissed me while being in tears. i was teary myself. my husband appeared relaxed but it must have been quite an experience for him...


motherhood has started on 2 march 2007 fulltime though it had already started 9 months earlier on a part time basis.

melayu and mamak

my brother-in law sent me this interesting article which appeared in malaysia today, indeed, a true enlightenment on melayu and mamak. i have searched for the article in the web so that i could quote the actual source but could not find it.

This article may contain some sensitive issues and misstatements , however, i am unaware of the real intent of the author when he wrote this article.

kurma is an excellent indian muslim dish. the diference between a kurma and a curry is in the chilli. a curry is reddish because it uses dried red chillies and also dried chilli powder. a kurma does not use dried red chillies or dry chilli powder. instead a kurma is cooked with fresh green chillies. the taste and the colour are therefore different. both are excellent methods for cooking poultry, mutton, beef, duck and even fish.

kimma is of course the kongres indian muslim malaysia, which is the ‘mamak’ version of the kongres india malaysia or malaysian indian congress or mic which itself is a namesake of the congress party of india. the mic was founded by mr john thivy of ipoh in the 1940s as the malaysian chapter of nehru’s congress party of india.

it is really ignorant of the kimma members to claim that they are malays when their party is still named after the congress party of india. this is a case of extremely serious mamak confusion. an indian muslim can be anyone of indian ancestry who is a muslim. tamils, keralas, punjabis, sindhis, mahrattas, hydrabadis etc are all indian muslims.

but in malaysia a large majority of indian muslims are tamil speaking. hence the term indian muslim is generally applied to the tamil speaking indian muslims. in malaysia, indian muslims are also known as mamaks, dkk (darah keturunan keling), kelings and jawi peranakan. the last one jawi peranakan is a strange misnomer. there is even a recent book written about the jawi peranakan which actually talks about the indian muslims.

in contemporary malaysia tan sri syed mokhtar al bukhari, zainuddin mydin, siti nurhaliza binti “thaarudeen”, justice haidar mohd noor, ahmad nawab, akbar nawab, p ramlee, man bhai, tan sri elyas omar, tan sri ali abul hassan are all indian muslims or descended from indian muslims. malaysia’s first speaker of parliament tan sri cm yusuf was a mamak. so was the permanent chairman of umno tan sri sulaiman “ninam” shah. ‘ninam’ is actually truncated tamil for ‘naina mohamed’. former sabah chief minister dato harris salleh and present chief minister musa aman are all mamaks. they are not pushtuns, pakistanis or yemenis.among our prime ministers tun dr mahathir mohamad is the son of an indian muslim. abdullah badawi has mamak blood from his father’s side. toh puan sharifah radziah syed alwi barakbah, the wife of our first pm tunku abdul rahman, had mamak ancestry. the tunku himself was of mixed thai and mamak parentage. ex dpm dato sri anwar ibrahim’s father is a mamak. the intellectuals kassim ahmad and farish noor have indian muslim fathers while the late tan sri muhammad noordin sopiee had a mamak grandfather. munir majid is a tamil speaking mamak and tengku adnan tengku mansor is a mamak too.

here it is pertinent to note the “syed” and “sheikh” name. among indian muslims the name syed or sheikh is common, its no big deal. the names “shah” and “khan” are also very common mamak names. other ‘malay’ names like ‘chik’, ‘tamby chik’ and ‘keling’ are definitely of mamak origins too.

the name ‘shah’ is not common among the malays but strangely enough it is very common among the malay sultans, for example sultan azlan shah and raja nazrin shah. shah is not an arabic name. it originates from persia and comes to malaysia from india through the indian muslim influence. this is just more indication of the mamak ancestry of our malay rulers.
but among kampong malays the name syed and sheikh are supposed to indicate arab ancestry, the name syed being associated with ‘keturunan nabi’ or lineage from the prophet. to the kampong malays these names are a really big deal. this is the furthest thing from the truth. another common mamak name is ‘maricar’. actually it is ‘marikiyaar’. this has evolved into ‘merican’. hence the thousands of malays who bear the ‘merican’ name today are also of mamak ancestry. they call themselves jawi peranakan. they are actually mamak.

many smart indian muslims realized very early on this malay liking for arabic names and arab ancestry. so they started passing themselves off, (or did not object if they were referred to) as arabs, usually of yemeni descent. in malaysia too many syeds and sheikhs from among the malays today are actually recycled mamaks. one good example is tan sri syed mokhtar al bukhari. among the malay elite tan sri syed mukhtar bukhari passes of as being of yemeni descent. his family actually comes from india. the former mayor of kl tan sri elyas omar is also of tamil mamak origins from penang.

among the malays it is also ‘ok’ if a mamak is from pakistani descent. perhaps pakistan is closer to bollywood. so some clever mamaks claim to be from pakistan. the former sabah chief minister harris salleh and present chief minister musa aman are said to be ‘of pakistan origins’ but in actual fact they are of indian mamak ancestry, and usually tamil speaking.
mamaks come in all colours and complexions from the dark skinned to the light skinned, green eyed and brown eyed types. a visit to the masjid kapitan keling in pitt street in penang or masjid india in kuala lumpur on a friday will witness all varieties of mamak.

the indian muslims in malaysia today can be classified as follows :
1. those mamaks who have inter married with malays for generations and have actually become malays. you can only know their mamak ancestry by their mamak sounding names like merican, shah, syed, sheikh etc, by their ‘indian’ appearances – prominent nose, rounder eyes etc.

2. those mamaks who have not inter married with malays but who have assimilated closely into the malay culture. they can only speak malay and have cut off almost all their links with india. these would include thousands of mamaks in penang, kedah, melaka and other parts of the country. only their dna remains indian. but practically, for all intents and purposes they are malay.

3. those mamaks who are still very much tamil and who can only speak pasar malay. they may not have links with india but they watch tamil movies and do not read the malay papers or know much about the malays. despite being born in malaysia they still would not know a ‘kuih talam’ from an ‘otak-otak’. many kimma members fall in this category. that is why they still call themselves kongres indian muslim malaysia after the indian congress party of panditji jawaharlal nehru.

4. those mamaks who are still very much tamil and who cannot even speak pasar malay despite being born in malaysia. they will not know ‘nasi lemak’ from a hole in the ground. they will have strong family ties to india. they watch tamil movies and know more about tamil nadu politics than malaysia politics. they read tamil nesan and malaysian nanban religiously everyday to find out what is happening in tamil nadu and india. again many kimma members also fall into
this category.

before 1970 the last two classes of indian muslims above (no.3 & 4) were usually overtly prejudiced against the malays. before 1970 many of them were not even citizens of the country. their slang term for malays was 'valayan-katti'. this is a term invented by tamil estate workers but which became widely used by most tamils including indian muslims to describe malays.
a 'valayan' means wire. 'katti' means to tie something. so ‘valayan-katti means ‘a person who ties a wire’. what does this mean? in the early days of the rubber industry, the british tried to get the malays to tap the rubber trees. however the native malays had problems tapping the rubber tree in the proper manner and ended up injuring the tree, reducing the output of rubber. the british had better luck getting the trees properly tapped with the tamils from india. malays were then delegated the simpler job of using wire (valayan) to tie (katti) the little latex cups to the rubber tree. hence the name ‘valayan-katti’. another tamil term used for malays is ‘naattu kaaran’ or ‘naattan’ which means ‘native’.

before 1970 the type 3 and 4 mamaks above and everyone else did not see much in the malays. but post 1970 and the new economic policy the mamaks realized that they suddenly depended on the malay for everything, especially the ever precious ‘entry permit’ to get permanent resident status in malaysia. until then few mamaks got married in malaysia. they always went back to india to get married. after 1970 and the nep, the trend disappeared in a hurry. the malays refused to give entry permits for mamak brides and grooms from india. all of a sudden mamaks realized that they were short of wives and husbands. hence the rate of inter marriage between mamaks and malays increased tremendously after 1970. after 38 years of the nep, the mamaks are even more assimilated now through marriage than ever before. today there is rarely a mamak family which does not have a malay son or daughter in law.

post 1970, the mamaks realized that real political power and with it economic largesse had shifted to the malays. but many mamaks included in class 1 and 2 above had no problem with this shift in power because often they were the ones holding high office. for example the first speaker of parliament cm yusuf, a mamak, was his own power in his day. it was only the class 3 and 4 mamaks described above who were (and still are) slow in assimilating into becoming malaysians. the kimma represents many of these people. hence the present scramble among them to be recognized as bumiputras, to get malay classification in the birth certificate, bin in the ic etc.

but it is a fact that the indian muslims are heavily intermarried with malays. this trend started over 600 years ago and continues until today. they and their offspring have played major roles in the history of this country. sang nila utama, parameswara, tun ali, hang kasthuri, hang tuah, mani purindan, tun teja, abdullah munshi and all the malay sultans are descended from indian muslims. the perlis royal family is almost certainly of mamak/thai mix.
it is also true beyond any single doubt that from their earliest history here, the mamaks have had extreme affection which the indian muslims have had for the malays throughout history. this could be attributed to the similarities in religion but there are also other muslims in the country (including from india) like pakistanis, punjabi muslims, patans and also others like the chinese muslims.

although the indian muslims are generally friendly with all races there is not as much intermarriage between indian muslims and other muslims compared to the heavy intermixing and intermarriages between indian muslims and the malays. and it is an established fact (evidenced by all the names mentioned above) that throughout history the indian muslims have always stepped forward to defend the rights of the malays. in the process many of the indian muslims have lost their identity almost completely to the malays. who are the descendants of the tamil educated munshi abdullah today? no one knows. a dna test will reveal indian dna among all our malay rulers but which sultan can or wants to retrace his indian ancestry? these are the mamaks who assimilated into the malay community from generations ago.

fast forward to today : in umno there are thousands of mamaks fighting for malay rights. in pas there are mamaks fighting for islam (aka malay) rights. pas stalwart hanipa mydin is a pure mamak while deputy mb of kelantan dato husam musa may have mamak blood. in the old keadilan ‘brother’ abdul rahman othman, another mamak tulen, became party secretary general and then quit later – to join pas. in the civil service and in the melayu korporat sector there are thousands of mamaks helping the nep ‘social engineering’ come true.
in penang pure malays are a rarity. as late as the 80s, they could only be found in sungai ara, balik pulau and other places where there were no roads. in all other places in penang, mamak blood is almost a certainty. hence words like ‘chacha’ and ‘nana’ are a part of penang malay. in kedah and melaka the mamak ‘penetration’ of the malay populace is much more earlier than in penang. which means the mamaks in kedah and melaka have diluted their dna into the malay population from much earlier (from portugese, dutch and british times).

in short mamaks are a permanent feature of the malay ‘make up’. it is the karma of the mamaks that they have become kurma in malaysia.

end of article…..

my personal comment.... i am proud to be a mamak and i think my category is a combination of 2, 3 and 4. i am married to a mamak of category 2. i would not fight for the bumiputra status but if it comes along my way, why would i reject? afterall, under the constitution of malaysia, i qualify to be a malay by definition i.e. a muslim, speak malay and practice malay culture and custom….hahahah in addition to my own, the malaysianised indian muslim culture which originates from my mother’s motherland, panaikulam village, ramanathapuram district, tamil nadu state!!!!

Friday, March 7, 2008

nadia nasira’s first trip to the zoo

there is so much to write, yet so little time. i procrastinated writing but with so many events happening around me…. i decided to capture them all here.

when i was expecting my little one back in 2006, about 24 weeks, i craved for a visit to the zoo negara, which i have never visited. i have been repeatedly asking my husband to take me to the zoo. one fine saturday, i raised it again and he promised me he would the next day, a sunday. i was all excited and woke up early…. my husband was still half asleep, was all lazy and wanted to postpone the trip. i said ok….though i was so disappointed. i sat quietly on the sofa, sadly, looking at some birds in the garden. tears rolled down. seeing my tears and my long face, he decided to get over with this zoo trip….. that was then….

27 january 2008, he suggested that we take our little one on her first trip to the zoo… i was excited again!!! must be my second pregnancy….. we packed some food for the both of us and off we went to the zoo with the little one. she was quietly watching what was happening around her and there was her first sight on some giraffes. she was captivated and fascinated by the sight. then on, she liked what she saw and quietly pointing out at the animals. she made sounds to indicate her interest in what she saw. she didn’t sleep at all and was all so tired. i was so tired to walk around too as i speed has slowed down in this pregnancy. hahhahhah my hubby and me skipped some of the animals as he was also tired carrying her. we put her in her stroller but she appeared passive. we thought that she was not interested but then when she was carried, she was all too noisy…. of all the things she saw, she liked fish a lot….

it was such a tiring day. on our way home, we dropped by my best friend, zeenath’s house in bukit wangsamas. zeenath has two sons, adam (4) and danial (2), adorable little boys who loves my little nasira, especially danial. they bring her all their toys (from trucks to fire engines to transformers) and their mother will tell them to give her some soft toys as she is a girl… then, they would bring her all the soft toys, such interesting sight to see our little ones are playing with each other….

we had dinner there. zeenath loves to feed me and i love her cooking. she is a good cook. come to think of it, i remember when she first got married, me and my other friends (we were decided to teach her to cook (each of us one dish) and messed up her kitchen!!!! not sure if she learned the receipe we tried showing her but she was all too busy cleaning the kitchen afterwards.

it was little nasira’s bedtime and we headed home…. feeling glad that we took her on her first trip to the zoo.




all ready to start the day....

the first sight.....


being observant, slowly getting excited.... starting to point at the giraffes.





the elephant show....

daddy showing her the lion....




not too interested with the birds...

i love tigers.... i think they look so powerful and their little ones look so intelligent compared to the kittens....


a look at mummy...

checking whether we have covered the whole zoo....looking at the map as what mummy and daddy was constantly doing....


happy girl at the end of the trip...

adam, danial and nadia nasira...


playing with the boys' stuff...

the curtain captured little nadia nasira's attention...

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